Author Archives: Sam S-P

About Sam S-P

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

Review: Not Another Happy Ending (2013)

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Sam S-P

On the surface, NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING has the makings of the kind of film I tend to love. A British (specifically, it’s shot and set in Glasgow) dramedy with quirky characters in crisis with an indie soundtrack. But from … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Amy Manson, Annie Hall, Bridget Jones's Diary, Comedy, David Solomons, Diane Keaton, Drama, Film, Gary Lewis, Henry Ian Cusick, Hugh Grant, Iain De Caestecker, John McKay, Karen Gillan, Movies, Not Another Happy Ending, Stanley Weber | Leave a comment

Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Sam S-P

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 comes agonisingly close to bettering its predecessor. It’s not quite the pitch-perfect intimate adventure the first film was, but there’s still humanity here (not to mention dragonity) as this world of Vikings and flying … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged America Ferrera, Animation, Cate Blanchett, Dean DeBlois, Disney, Djimon Hounsou, Fantasy, Film, Gerard Butler, Godzilla, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Jay Baruchel, John Powell, Kit Harington, Lord of the Rings, Movies, Star Wars, Superman | 5 Comments

A Few Thoughts More: Her (2013)

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Sam S-P

Spike Jonze’s HER was the cinematic high-point of 2013 for me, though I didn’t actually get to see it until the beginning of this year. I still stand by what I said in my original review, which you can find … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Amy Adams, Arcade Fire, Film, Her, Joaquin Phoenix, Karen O, Movies, Rom-com, Scarlett Johansson, Sci-fi, Spike Jonze, The Master | Leave a comment

Review: Carrie (2013)

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Sam S-P

From the start I’d like to say that I do like Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s CARRIE. I don’t see it as a classic of the horror genre by any means, but it’s mostly solid stuff, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Alex Russell, Barry Shabaka Henley, Brian De Palma, Carrie, Chloë Grace Moretz, Film, Horror, Judy Greer, Julianne Moore, Kimberly Pierce, Movies, Piper Laurie, Portia Doubleday, Sissy Spacek, Stephen King, Total Recall | Leave a comment

Review: Out of the Furnace (2013)

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Sam S-P

OUT OF THE FURNACE is one of those movies I’ve been highly anticipating since the first trailer was released. It looked like a gritty, powerful social drama with an impressive cast and a decent director (Scott Cooper of CRAZY HEART), … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Bingo O'Malley, Casey Affleck, Christian Bale, Crazy Heart, Drama, Film, Forest Whitaker, Get Carter, Masanobu Takayanagi, Movies, Out of the Furnace, Sam Shepherd, Scott Cooper, Social Drama, The Grey, Willem Dafoe, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana | 2 Comments

The Work of Rich Kelly

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Sam S-P

This gallery contains 13 photos.

These are awesome!

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Series Retrospective: Planet of the Apes

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Sam S-P

Haven’t done one of these in a while. With the imminent release of Matt Reeves’ DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, I thought I’d go back and examine where the Apes franchise began nearly 50 years ago, where it … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Feature | Tagged Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston, Claude Akins, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Film, Hari Rhodes, James Franciscus, Jerry Goldsmith, John Chambers, Kim Hunter, Matt Reeves, Movies, Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Roddy McDowall, Satire, Sci-fi, Tim Burton | 1 Comment

Review: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Sam S-P

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB is a rewarding film about mortality, against-the-odds achievement, and a brutal critique of big business pharmaceuticals, but it becomes a really great film when it gets into analysing prejudice (for all the good it does). In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Brad Pitt, Craig Borten, Dallas Buyers Club, Drama, Film, Frank Capra, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Kevin Rankin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Movies, Ryan Gosling, The Wolf of Wall Street, Woody Harrelson | Leave a comment

Playing Catchup: The Japanese Edition

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Sam S-P

A few more films I’ve (to my shame) only seen for the first time recently. This time, I’ve headed to the Land of the Rising Sun, and come back better for it. SEVEN SAMURAI (1955) Akira Kurosawa’s seminal epic was … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Feature | Tagged Akira Kurosawa, Animation, Film, Hayao Miyazaki, Howl's Moving Castle, Movies, My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Seven Samurai, Spirited Away, Toshirô Mifune, World Cinema, Zulu | Leave a comment

Review: Dead Man Down (2013)

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Sam S-P

Sometimes a really interesting central relationship is enough to elevate a pretty generic gangster movie, and DEAD MAN DOWN is a pretty generic gangster movie. Having a good director and a strong lead pair of actors on board doesn’t hurt … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Colin Farrell, Dead Man Down, Dominic Cooper, Film, Gangster Film, Hitchcock, Isabelle Huppert, Movies, Niels Arden Oplev, Noomi Rapace, Terrance Howard, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Thriller | 1 Comment