Blu-ray

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Anton van Beek  |  Sep 12, 2011  |  0 comments

While it’s a long way from the abject disaster that was At World’s End, this fourth Pirates of the Caribbean flick proves that the franchise still has a long way to go before it can re-capture the spirit of the original film.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 12, 2011  |  0 comments

George Lucas' space opera is arguably the defining event in modern cinema - one that reshaped Hollywood the films it produces. As such, it's pretty much unthinkable that anybody visiting this website isn't already incredibly familiar with the films (albeit, maybe not the fan-baiting, re-tweaked versions Lucas has prepared for this release). As such, it seems like there's very little point in going over them in any great depth. So let's quickly breeze through this bit, before getting stuck into the really juicy stuff about this Blu-ray boxset...

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 05, 2011  |  0 comments

Is Japanese cinema’s enfant terrible finally growing up? To be honest, probably not. But 13 Assassins is undoubtedly Takashi (Audition, Ichi the Killer) Miike’s most assured and most mainstream film to date.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 05, 2011  |  0 comments

If the 1980s were truly the decade of excess, then no film better encapsulates that than Scarface. With a script by Oliver Stone, direction by Brian De Palma and a barnstorming central performance by Al Pacino, this loose remake of Howard Hawks’ acclaimed 1930s gangster film is anything but subtle as it plays out the almost Shakespearean tragedy of Tony Montana, a small-time hood from Cuba who arrives in Florida with dreams of making it big, only to end up self-destructing under the weight of his ego, a mountain of cocaine and some rather odd feelings for his sister. Great stuff.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 01, 2011  |  0 comments

It’s now ten years since Rob Cohen’s unassuming street racing flick turned Vin Diesel into a true action star and kick-started a new franchise for petrolheads all over the world.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 29, 2011  |  0 comments

Marketed as a straightforward action-thriller, Hanna is anything but your typical Hollywood flick. True, the storyline about a sixteen year-old girl (Saoirse Ronan) who, having spent her entire life being trained to survive and kill, goes on the run from a vindictive CIA chief (Cate Blanchett) sounds like standard blockbuster material. But director Joe (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement) Wright takes its in a completely unexpected direction, using it as the springboard for a modern fairytale that seems as much in debt to the grotesquery of David Lynch or The Brothers Grimm as it does to the traditions and conventions of action genre it continually toys with. It’s the kind of brave, inventive filmmaking that is sure to divide audiences right down the middle.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 18, 2011  |  0 comments

Having found success directing a horror remake (Dawn of the Dead), a couple of high-profile comic book adaptations (300 and Watchmen) and a CG ‘toon based on a popular kids book (Legend of the Guardians), Zack Snyder has finally let his own imagination have free reign on the big screen and the results are… rather confusing.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 16, 2011  |  0 comments

Joel and Ethan Coen’s ‘handsome film about men in hats’ (as cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld once described it) has never been one of the most widely acclaimed of the filmmaking siblings’ movies. And yet, following a quick office poll, this beautifully shot and often wickedly funny mix of gangster and film noir tropes ranks up with the Coens’ very best work among the HCC team.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 15, 2011  |  0 comments

Duncan Jones made quite a splash with his feature debut Moon, so it’s hardly a surprise that his next directorial outing arrived on a tide of expectations that would prove almost impossible to meet. While its reach outweighs its success, Source Code is still a very successful sci-fi thriller with a cracking Groundhog Day-like plot about a repetitive time travelling effort to discover the identity of a mysterious bomber before he strikes again. And while the pseudo-science driving the story sometimes becomes a little overbearing, excellent performances from the film’s two time-crossed leads, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan, give it all an emotional resonance that keeps pulling you back in.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 01, 2011  |  0 comments

There are not many filmmakers who can say that they beat Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez at their own game. But debut director Jason Eisener is one of them.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 01, 2011  |  0 comments

Limitless stars Bradley Cooper as failed writer Eddie Mora, whose life is completely turned around when he gets his hands on an experimental drug that boosts his brainpower. Within days he’s not only finished his novel, but also made millions on the stock market and come to the attention of high-powered businessman Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro). Trouble is, the pills are leaving him with gaps in his memory, one of which might connect him to a murder, and if that’s not enough, there’s also a Russian gangster who wants to get his hands on the wonder drug.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 25, 2011  |  0 comments

There’s a world of difference between an ‘adult cartoon’ and a ‘cartoon for adults’. Director/co-writer Gore Verbinski’s Rango is a superb example of the latter – a cartoon aimed at an adult audience who will understand its in-jokes and satirical approach to the Western genre, but one that can still be enjoyed by folk of all ages. Playing out for large parts like a reworking of Once Upon a Time in the West enacted by anthropomorphised animals, the film stars Johnny Depp as the titular would-be gunslinger, a pampered pet chameleon lost in the wild, whose lies lead to him becoming sheriff of a town called Dirt. 

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 18, 2011  |  0 comments

Unknown may look like another Taken-style action-fest for Liam Neeson (and it was definitely advertised at such), but apart from a quick car chase and a final punch up, it’s actually the kind of conspiracy thriller that both Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski have dabbled with over the years. That’s not to say that Unknown is in any way on a par with The Lady Vanishes or Frantic, but while it lasts it’s an entertaining ride that offers up some solid performances from its leads, stylish direction from Jaume Collet-Serra and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right up to the final revelations.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 15, 2011  |  0 comments

Conan the Barbarian may not be particularly faithful to Robert E Howard’s original pulp writing, but this 1982 flick is a rollicking piece of fantasy filmmaking that almost single-handedly made Arnold Schwarzenegger a Hollywood superstar and heralded a renaissance in the swords n sorcery genre. Written by Oliver Stone and directed by John Milius, it’s a suitably bleak and macho piece of filmmaking where men are muscular, women are barely dressed and camels exist only to be punched in the face. In other words, it’s bloody brilliant.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 15, 2011  |  0 comments

The Adjustment Bureau is the latest in a long line of middling Hollywood films to by inspired by the writings of Philip K Dick – in this case a loose adaptation of his 1954 short story The Adjustment Team. Essentially a discussion of the play between free will and destiny masquerading as a sci-fi-infused romantic thriller, the film stars Matt Damon as a promising congressman who falls for Emily Blunt’s carefree dancer. Trouble is, destiny has other plans for the duo, and before long the mysterious agents of the Adjustment Bureau are hot on their tale and trying to keep the pair apart to ensure that everything runs like it should.

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