Category Archives: Film Review

Review: Room (2015)

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Sam S-P

It’s been a long time since a film affected me to quite this extent. ROOM got to me on a primal level, it cut into my soul and left me a blubbering wreck coming out of the cinema. It isn’t … Continue reading →

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Review: The Revenant (2015)

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Sam S-P

I’m one of a rapidly shrinking camp that still thinks that BIRDMAN deserved to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards last year. Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu is an iconoclast out to shake things up in Hollywood by being stylistically … Continue reading →

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Review: Ted 2 (2015)

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Sam S-P

It would be nice if TED 2 avoided the comedy sequel trap of doing the same thing again only bigger and less funny. It doesn’t. This is first-draft “that’ll do” comedy with recycled FAMILY GUY riffs to fill in the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Hateful Eight (2015)

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Sam S-P

With THE HATEFUL EIGHT Quentin Tarantino may well have invented a new sub-genre: the misdirection-Western. The mystery that is seemingly a key plot point from the second act onward is, in fact, pretty incidental. While this might disappoint some, the … Continue reading →

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Review: Aloha (2015)

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Sam S-P

Hey they used the old film studio logos and fanfares – that probably means something, right? A lot in ALOHA probably means something, but I’ll be damned if I can puzzle out what Cameron Crowe wanted his movie to say, … Continue reading →

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Review: Black Mass (2015)

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Sam S-P

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 →

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Review: Wild Card (2015)

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Sam S-P

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 →

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Review: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Sam S-P

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 →

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Review: Cop Car (2015)

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Sam S-P

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 →

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Review: The Lady in the Van (2015)

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Sam S-P

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 →

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