Although snubbed in the Oscar nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as the controversial FBI head J. Edgar Hoover is nothing short of magnificent. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is sadly a patchy and often turgid recount of the successes and failings of much-hated but revered man who spent over 40 years trying to keep America…
Pathetic new teen-movie Project X is released by Warner Bros. Pictures this week. The film shows a bunch of guys throwing a massive house party in the hope to increase their popularity at school. The party descends into violence, destruction and street rioting. All this is immensely cool, apparently. In my review (which you can find…
The trailer wrongly presented The Descendants as a quirky commercial for Hawaii featuring George Clooney. Alexander Payne’s film is in fact much more hard hitting and compelling as it explores themes of loss, family and adultery. I’m not going to lie; the breath-taking Hawaiian backdrop did leave me desperately wanting to pack my suitcase and…
Roman Polanski’s latest film ‘Carnage’ is a tense black comedy, wittily adapted from Yazmina Reza’s stage-play ‘God of Carnage’. The tells the story of two middle class couples who meet to discuss an altercation between their children. Jodie Foster and John C Reilly play Penelope and Michael, a relaxed couple who invite the more business-like Nancy (Kate Winslet) and Alan (Christoph Waltz) over…
Recent films concerning either Wall Street or the current economic situation have been erratic in quality. For every Inside Job we get a Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Thankfully Margin Call is more akin to the former and marks an excellent debut from writer/director J.C. Chandor. Chandor’s film does not look so much at the…
A Dangerous Method is a very strange film for David Cronenberg to make. He is known for making strange films with strange stories involving strange things happening, but the strangest thing about this film is that it isn’t very strange. It’s surprisingly boringly directed, with very little happening except people talking in rooms while a…
Considering the stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel is one of the longest running West End plays of all time, and there hasn’t been a screen adaptation for nearly 25 years, it’s amazing Hollywood hasn’t got its hands on The Woman in Black before now. Actually, it must be said, Hollywood still hasn’t caught hold…
David Gordon Green, director of Pineapple Express and the disappointing Your Highness brings us yet again another run-of-the-mill, forgettable crude comedy. Loosely based on the far superior 80’s hit Adventures in Babysitting, The Sitter follows the child-hating Jonah Hill as he is given the task of looking after three mischievous (and one homicidal) children, who…
Who would have thought a film that is silent, monochrome and not widescreen would be a public favourite, as well as a darling for the critics and frontrunner for a batch of Oscars? But regardless, is a revisionist post-modern nostalgia piece going to actually be a decent film, or just a dull art-house bore? Set in in…
Steven Spielberg outdoes himself with the beautiful tale of War Horse on the big screen, in what is sure to gain classic status.
Whether you’ve seen The Iron Lady yet or not, it’s quite likely you’ll have an opinion on it. Some have been appalled at its intrusive nature, expressing dismay that the filmmakers haven’t waited until Margaret Thatcher’s death before portraying her as a frail old lady with dementia. Others have speculated as to how director Phyllida…
The Thing is the most recent addition to the current sling of Hollywood remakes and prequels. With most of these being critically derided how does this latest offering fare, and can it even compare to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic? The story starts with a group of scientists at work in the Antarctica, who uncover an…
The Edge’s Film Editor takes you through his top ten worst films of the year gone by.
Gary Marshall’s second holiday-focused movie is just as poor and cheesy as the first.