Author Archives: Sam S-P

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About Sam S-P

Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.

Review: The Monuments Men (2014)

THE MONUMENTS MEN is an all-star ensemble period comedy-drama directed by George Clooney. It should be great, but doesn’t quite get there despite the good intentions behind it and the abundance of talent involved. The year is 1943, and Hitler’s … Continue reading

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Review: I, Frankenstein (2014)

Firstly, my thoughts on the UNDERWORLD series – the first one wasn’t very good, and has only become hokier with age, the sequel and prequel were slightly better, but only slightly. I’ve yet to have the “pleasure” of the second … Continue reading

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“You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to” (RIP Robin Williams)

As Jeff Bridges’ self-hating DJ Jack Lucas says of Robin Williams’ Parry in THE FISHER KING, “You’re a psychotic man…a very nice psychotic man”. With the most affection possible, that would accurately describe Robin Williams’ public persona – a mad … Continue reading

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Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

It’s good! Marvel’s biggest risk to date (and we really mean that this time) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is not only a pleasantly shiny space adventure film with laughs, loveable anti-heroes  and fireworks aplenty, but it’s also the most outright … Continue reading

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Review: Surrogates (2009)

SURROGATES suffers from the same problem that a lot of middling sci-fi films suffer from (besides being derivative), namely that it has a solid and interesting central premise which doesn’t hold up to much, if any, additional scrutiny. It’s a … Continue reading

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Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL is Wes Anderson-y even by Wes Anderson’s standards. A vividly colourful cornucopia of eccentric characters on an elaborate farce barely contained within Mr Anderson’s utterly unique “Wesworld”, it’s certainly an experience to watch. It’s also probably … Continue reading

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Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

From the visceral opening ape-hunting-deer action sequence, I was completely enthralled by DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. I enjoyed the previous instalment, Rupert Wyatt’s RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, a solid little film, but Dawn makes … Continue reading

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Review: Religulous (2008)

Just to start I’d like to say that yes, I am an atheist, and my views of RELIGULOUS, an admittedly fairly one-sided satirical documentary will reflect my religious outlook. It’s a divisive film, and there’s no reason why you’d get … Continue reading

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Biopics: 3 of The Weirdest and Most Wonderful

Biopics have understandably remained popular throughout cinema’s history. Take a famous figure who lead an interesting life, cast a (usually) big star to play them, and half the battle is already over for any half-decent filmmaker. There are a lot … Continue reading

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SSP Thinks Film – A Year On…

I’ve been writing this blog for a year today. How time flies. I’m not sure whether I’m a better writer than I was in July 2013, but I think I’m a more economical one, and I’ve enjoyed the experience regardless. … Continue reading

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