About Sam S-P
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
BLACK MASS is a frustrating beast. I’d recommend you just watch THE DEPARTED again instead as it’s a much better Boston gangsters and informants movie that was partly based on Whitey Bulger’s story anyway. In the 1970s and 1980s, few … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Black Mass, Crazy Heart, Drama, Film, Gangster Film, Gary Oldman, J. Edgar, Jesse Plemons, Jez Butterworth, Joel Edgerton, John Connolly, Johnny Depp, Mark Mallouk, Movies, Out of the Furnace, Scott Cooper, Sherlock, The Departed, Whitey Bulger
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I like a Jason Statham movie as much as the next guy. There’s also a certain pleasure in seeing Statham being beaten up by a toupee-wearing Max Casella early on in the film, and in a goon having his forehead … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Action, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Con Air, Crank, Dominik García-Lorido, Film, Jackie Chan, Jason Statham, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Max Casella, Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia, Movies, Safe, Snatch, Stanley Tucci, The Princess Bride, Wild Card, William Goldman
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It’s that time of year, where every critic professional and amateur alike publishes some sort of Best of the Year list. This time last year, I thought 2014 was a mixed bag. 2015 may have been even more so. There … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Feature
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Tagged Adam Driver, Alan Bennett, Alex Garland, Alex Jennings, Alicia Vikander, Aloha, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Benicio del Toro, Bill Condon, Bradley Cooper, Bridge of Spies, Cameron Crowe, Carol, Cate Blanchett, Cop Car, Daisy Ridley, Denis Villeneuve, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Olsen, Emily Blunt, Emma Stone, Ex Machina, Fantastic Four, Film, Focus, George Miller, Harrison Ford, Ian McKellen, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Josh Trank, Joss Whedon, Kevin Bacon, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Mad Max: Fury Road, Maggie Smith, Margot Robbie, Mark Rylance, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Mortdecai, Movies, Mr. Holmes, Oscar Isaac, Paul Bettany, Rooney Mara, Sicario, Spectre, Star Wars Episode VII, Terminator Genesis, The Force Awakens, The Lady in the Van, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Tom Hanks, Turbo Kid, Will Smith
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First, a disclaimer: STAR WARS is one of my favourite things in this, or any, galaxy. It was my childhood playground and will always have a very special place reserved in my heart. Now arguably the most highly antipated film … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged A New Hope, Adam Driver, Blockbuster, Daisy Ridley, Fantasy, Film, Harrison Ford, JJ Abrams, John Boyega, Jurassic World, Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Hamill, Movies, Oscar Isaac, Revenge of the Sith, Saving Private Ryan, Sci-fi, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VII, The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens
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Marvel Studios are unrivaled at spotting raw talent early and snapping it up before the rest of the world notices. From Tom Hiddleston to the Russo Brothers, the latest to be enlisted by the world’s most powerful film studio is … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Black Comedy, Cop Car, Film, Hays Wellford, James Freedson-Jackson, Jon Watts, Kevin Bacon, Marc Webb, Marvel, Movies, Russo Brothers, Stand By Me, The Selfish Giant, Tom Hiddleston
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It’s always nice to sit back and watch a great actor do their thing. THE LADY IN THE VAN is often just that: Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett’s words. and a camera. You might not think Bennett’s stories would be particularly … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Alan Bennett, Alex Jennings, Comedy, Drama, Film, JB Priestley, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Movies, Nicholas Hytner, Proust, Roger Allam, The History Boys, The Lady in the Van
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The thing about Steven Spielberg is that he’s consistent. A couple of clangers aside (and 1941 and A.I ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE are at least terrible in interesting ways) you can usually rely on him to deliver something special. That goes double … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged 1941, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Amy Ryan, Bridge of Spies, Eve Hewson, Film, Historical Drama, James Donovan, JFK, Mark Charman, Mark Rylance, Movies, Noah Schnapp, Rudolph Abel, Steven Spielberg, The Coen Brothers, The Spy Who Loved Me, Tom Hanks
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It’s over. We now have Peter Jackson’s final Middle Earth Extended Edition. It doesn’t dramatically improve THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES but it certainly isn’t a pointless exercise in making your lean movie unwieldy like extended DESOLATION OF SMAUG. … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Blockbuster, Christopher Lee, Fantasy, Film, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, King Kong, Martin Freeman, Movies, Peter Jackson, Richard Armitage, Stephen Hunter, Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Brothers, William Kircher
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Ian McKellen and Bill Condon have done it again, but in perhaps the exact opposite fashion to how they approached their stunning not-really-biopic of James Wale, GODS AND MONSTERS. In that film they wrapped a real person in the trappings … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged A Slight Trick of the Mind, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bill Condon, Drama, Film, Gods and Monsters, Ian McKellen, James Whale, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Mitch Cullen, Movies, Mr. Holmes, Roger Allam, Sherlock Holmes
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Well this one’s just shot straight to the top of the list of movies it’s OK for guys to cry at. The untimely death of Paul Walker in 2013 has cast a shadow over the latest instalment of Universal’s ever-revving … Continue reading →
Posted in Film, Film Review
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Tagged Action, Blockbuster, Fast & Furious 7, Gina Carano, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, Ronda Rousey, Tyrese Gibson, Universal, Vin Diesel
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SSP Thinks Film 