Disney's Frozen Review (2013) Has Disney Finally Reclaimed Its Crown?

Home On The Range, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire... all is finally forgiven Disney.

Since the 1940s, the world's most iconic animation studio has tried it darndest to adapt Hans Christian Andersen's classic fable The Snow Queen, but not even the great Walt Disney could get it right. Finally, in 2013, the Magical Kingdom has nailed it with their 53rd animated classic Frozen, which had the largest ever opening weekend for a Disney animation in the studio's history.  

Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) Review - Does It Live Up To The Hype

Why is it that all the best blockbusters are being released now in the run up to Christmas? Thor: The Dark World, The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug, Hunger Games: Catching Fire... And since when did the number 2 get replaced by the almighty colon? It's hard to say but what is clear is that The Hunger Games franchise is quickly shaping up to be one of the most successful book adaptations of the past decade. My question though is this (hello colon!): does Catching Fire live up to the hype or is it coasting on the success of the first film?

The Butler Review (2013) Has Lee Daniels Sold Out?

After dividing critics with his previous two outings, Lee Daniels has returned with The Butler, a mainstream historical drama that features more stars than the American flag. Fans of the seedy Paperboy or the hard-hitting Precious may leave cinemas somewhat disappointed but what about the commercial crowd Daniels is aiming for?

Thor: The Dark World Review

Marvel is on top of the world right now, on top of the Nine Realms in fact, but even just ten years ago, it was hard to imagine that the prolific studios would have two of the five most successful movies of all time under their belt. Now, at the brink of Marvel's plan for Phase Three, the studio is back with the third cinematic outing from the God of Thunder himself, Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Yes, there is a colon in the title and yes, the word 'dark' is prominent, but does Thor: The Dark World deliver or should it be called something more condemning like Thor: The Lame World but you know, actually clever?

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa - The Review

With Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, director Jeff Tremaine continued his winning streak, helming his fourth consecutive Jackass film to #1 in the US with help from fellow screenwriters Knoxville and Spike Jonze, the co-creators of the Jackass show. Success is one thing, but have the boys still got it or is Bad Grandpa as dated as its octogenarian star?

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 Review - "There's A Leek In The Boat!"

Never have I ever been so hungry watching a film.

Chance Of Meatballs 2 (CWACOM2... just rolls off the tongue) is executive produced by the original film makers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have since moved on to the 21 Jump Street franchise. In their stead, we have Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, the promising directors behind...Open Season 3. Don't worry though Cloudy fans; director Cody Cameron is the voice behind Pinocchio and the three little pigs in the original Shrek... and they were funny right? With such a strong creative team, surely CWACOM2 will best the inevitable decline in quality that most sequels fall prey to, right?

How I Live Now (2013) - Film Review

After the success of the documentary Marley, Kevin Macdonald has returned with an unusual narrative film based on the award winning sci-fi novel How I Live Now. The original book came packaged with two different covers, one aimed at adults and one aimed at teenagers, but will the film adaptation split its audience in a similar way, limiting its success in the box office?

Rush Review; Formula 1 Finally Got Interesting!

The critical success of the documentary Senna proved that audiences can enjoy films about motor racing, but with disappointments like The Dilemma and Angels and Demons still in recent memory, the real question is; can Ron Howard still make a good movie?

Insidious 2: My Favourite Horror Sequel of All Time

After the surprise success of The Conjuring this summer, horror fans worldwide have been clamoring to see the latest release from James Wan. However, the first Insidious divided fans and critics alike with a tonal shift midway that some found to be too absurd.  Furthermore, the sequel has been receiving mixed reviews, so I was worried that  Insidious 2: Chapter 2 would fall victim to the inevitable drop in quality that all horror franchises suffer. Could Wan's latest ever hope to match the scares of the first film?

North Sea Texas (2011) A Flemish Coming Of Age Drama

Over at www.myfilmviews.com, a new event has begun, titled the 5 Obstructions Blogathon. Each month a challenge is set which is designed to test writers in ways they may not have encountered before. In June, I completed obstruction 1 by writing a negative review for a film I love; Avengers Assemble. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to complete Obstruction 2 but I did successfully write Obstruction 3, a jigsaw review for The Conjuring which you can read here. Next up, Obstruction 4.

At first, I figured that this challenge would be pretty easy to complete but the trick here is to keep the review interesting throughout the entire 1250 word length. Today I'm going to review North Sea Texas, a Flemish coming of age drama which is close to my heart. Click below to read my views on the film and to read more about the blogathon, click here.

Kick-Ass 2 Review (2013) Or Should I Say The Hit-Girl Movie Review?

Among all the superhero comics that have been adapted for the big screen recently, 2010′s Kick-Ass stood out more than most for its thrilling super heroics and shockingly infantile sense of humor. For the sequel, Matthew Vaughn stepped down to a co-producer role, handing over the directing reigns to Jeff Wadlow, whose previous credits consist of Cry Wolf and…Never Back Down. You can understand now the concern I felt walking into the cinema. Would Kick-Ass 2 be better than the first film? And would it do Mark Millar’s comic justice? 

The Wolverine Review (2013) Is It Better Than X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

After the embarrassment that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan's latest solo outing had a lot to make up for. In a determined effort to console the fans, James Mangold's take on the most popular X-Man is based on the classic Chris Claremont limited series from 1982, which transported Wolverine to the exotic setting of Japan. This all sounds promising but after being burned by Origins, I was sceptical that this would turn out any better. Is Mangold's take Ol' Canucklehead the definitive Wolverine film that everyone was hoping for? 

Obstruction 3 - The Conjuring (2013) A Jigsaw Review

Over at www.myfilmviews.com, a new event has begun, titled the 5 Obstructions Blogathon. Each month a challenge is set which is designed to test writers in ways they may not have encountered before. In June, I completed obstruction 1 by writing a negative review for a film I love; 'Avengers Assemble'. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to complete Obstruction 2 but I'm back this month, ready to have a go at Obstruction 3.

Today I'm going to review James Wan's latest horror 'The Conjuring', but by only using words originally written in other blog reviews.  It's going to be tough but then that's the whole point! To read more about the blogathon, click here and to find the original reviews which I sourced from, scroll to the bottom of this post after the jump.

World War Z Review (2013) How Did Brad Pitts' Hair Stay So Shiny?

'World War Z' has finally made it to the big screen after a number of setbacks and reported disputes between director Marc Foster and producer/star Brad Pitt. Here's how I think their discussions might have gone;

Foster: 'World War Z' is an incredible book.

Pitt: I couldn't agree more. I love how the plot keeps switching between the stories of different survivors.

Foster: I'd love to keep the political undertones intact so our film isn't just a generic summer blockbuster.

Pitt: That sounds perfect.
Foster: Oh but actually, won't that give us problems with international distributors? 
Pitt: Yeah but who cares? We have to keep the film true to the book.
Foster: Yeeeeeeeeah, I know but... Let's just ignore the book completely and keep the title. That way, we can still have a huge hit on our hands. I'm sure the fans won't mind...

Pitt: Whatever. Let's just finish the damn thing.

Star Trek: Into Darkness Review (2013) Is It Just For Geeks?

Star Trek. Two words that have struck joy into the hearts of geeks everywhere since the mid 1960s. Loving Star Trek openly used to be a cause for embarrassment but these days? I know loads of people who can tell the difference between their Spocks and their Kirks, even though half of them don't even like science fiction. So what's changed? 

Well Kirk has definitely got hotter but the real reason is JJ Abrams. The director's 2009 reboot of the failing franchise became a huge smash that appealed to the action hungry mainstream while still satisfying the hardcore Trekkie audience. No easy feat. But what about the new sequel 'Star Trek: Into Darkness'?

How Many Times Can One Man Say "Old Sport"? The Great Gatsby Review (2013)

 

'The Great Gatsby' is considered to be one of the all-time greatest American novels and it is certainly F.Scott Fitzgerald's most influential work, so why has it been so hard to adapt successfully? The fifth - that's right, fifth -movie adaptation has been out in cinemas for a few weeks now and unfortunately, the general response has not been as positive as everyone expected. I had high hopes when it was originally announced that Baz Luhrmann would be taking the reins, but not even the director of 'Romeo & Juliet' and 'Moulin Rouge' could make a good film out of the original source material. So where did it all go wrong? How did bland old Tobey Maguire win such a key role in the film? How did the 'roaring 20s' come across as so bloody boring? And seriously, how many times can one man say "Old Sport"?

How Does The Great Gatsby Soundtrack Compare With Luhrmann's Best? - Track By Track Review

Reviews may have been mixed for 'The Great Gatsby' film but what about the official soundtrack? Baz Luhrmann is renowned for having impeccable taste when it comes to selecting the music for his films and previous soundtracks such as 'Romeo & Juliet' and 'Moulin Rouge' have been hugely successful albums, both commercially and critically. How does 'The Great Gatsby' soundtrack stack up against Luhrmann's best?  

Dark Skies Review - Is It As Bad As The Critics Say?

I initially approached 'Dark Skies' with some trepidation. I'd already seen 'Legion', which was also directed by Scott Stewart, and I thought that was horrendous so what hope did his new film have? Promotion for 'Dark Skies' emphasised that it was produced by the same company responsible for 'Sinister' and 'Insidious', so my expectations increased somewhat but I was still shocked to realise that 'Dark Skies' is actually a great little horror film which I feel has been completely overlooked by critics. I rarely get scared so I was surprised to find myself feeling pretty damn tense throughout the majority of this sci-fi horror.

The Paperboy - A Flawed Masterpiece?

'The Paperboy' is just one of those films. Straddling the middle ground between crowd pleasing thriller and pretentious arthouse fare, Lee Daniel's latest may alienate most audiences but that just means they're missing out on what may be one of the most original and exciting films to hit cinemas in a long time. Many panned it upon its initial release but 'The Paperboy' has since picked up many positive reviews by critics who argue that the film deserves to be re-evaluated as a homage to the exploitation genre, rather than just a trashy 70s style film with no real substance. 'The Paperboy' is not perfect by any means yet I'm sure it's destined to become a cult classic in years to come. It's also a fantastic excuse to see Zac Efron in his pants, just so you know. 

Hitchcock 2012 Review

Alfred Hitchcock is widely regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest director of all time. In a career that spans over 40 years he is synonymous with creating some of the most iconic films ever, from Vertigo to Rear Window. But in 1959, he was having trouble finding his next film project. Hitchcock needed something new, something exciting because he had a lot to live up to. The film 'Hitchcock' explores this period, when he was going through some tough times while making his most famous film, 'Psycho'. 'Hitchcock' is part of the current wave of films that are based around the production of real films, a subject I find fascinating, but is it any good?