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The Finest Hours (Cinema Review)

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finest-hours-slideStarring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana
Directed By: Craig Gillespie
Running Time: 117 Minutes
UK Release Date: 19th February 2016
BBFC Certificate: 12A

Our Score

Disney presents ‘The Finest Hours’, which based on the true…. Hang on, Disney presents? Disney didn’t present the new Star Wars movie or any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. I guess it wants to maintain its family friendly image when dealing with films that don’t focus on action or violence. Although in the above films they do mostly paint a binary picture of good vs evil, where good will always win with a fist, a blaster or a lightsabre.

Back on track, The Finest Hours is based on the remarkable true story of an oil tanker that is ripped in two by a massive storm off the coast of Chatham Massachusetts in February 1952.  30 sailors were trapped in the slowly sinking stern of the ship, and 4 brave coastguards in a small boat are sent on a mission to rescue them against all odds. [Read more…]

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Zoolander 2 (Cinema Review)

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zoolander-2-poster-slideStarring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penélope Cruz, Will Ferrell
Directed By: Ben Stiller
Running Time: 102 Minutes
UK Release Date: 12th February 2016
Certificate: 12A

Our Score

Derek Zoolander returns after a 15-year absence and is thankfully none the wiser. This belated sequel hits the ground running with the assassination of a well known pop star and a great Instagram gag, and initially has the feel of a spy thriller.

A news montage through the credits fills you in on the last 15 years since a tragedy at the ‘Derek Zoolander school for kids who can’t read good and want to do other stuff good too’. Model Hansel (Wilson) is seemingly disfigured and living in the desert with his group of lovers, and Derek (Stiller) has since lost his son to child services and is living as a hermit somewhere snowy. They both receive an invitation from fashion guru Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig) to attend a fashion show in Rome, and end up working with agent Valentina (Penelope Cruz, who is clearly having fun in this film) from Interpol’s fashion division to solve the mystery behind the deaths of several famous pop stars. As you would expect it is all part of a bigger, yet muddled plan. [Read more…]

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Dirty Grandpa (Cinema Review)

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dirty-grandpa-slideStarring: Robert De Niro, Zac Efron Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney
Directed By: Dan Mazer
Running Time: 102 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 28th 2016

Our Score

This film won’t be for everyone’s tastes and ultimately made me question what Robert De Niro is doing with his career. I reviewed this film with the mind-set that it would be another standard American college sex comedy, and as such I was in full American Pie (1999) mode as I watched it. More so expecting a hormonal comedy full of crude jokes, but not involving a personal interaction with a fruit-based dessert.

Dirty Grandpa tells the ‘wholesome’ story of Dick Kelly (De Niro), a recent widower who tricks his grandson, Jason Kelly (Zac Efron), into driving him down to Daytona beach for spring break, so that they can spend some quality family time together and so that Dick can get his end away.

To flesh it out a bit more Jason is uptight, works for a law firm and is about to get married to the wrong woman. As such Dick wants to liberate his oppressed grandson, reinvigorate Jason’s lost free spirit and forgotten desire to be a photographer, but the story doesn’t really matter in a film like this as it is just an excuse to set up lots of bland set pieces and poor jokes. [Read more…]

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The Revenant (Cinema Review)

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revenant-slieStarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter
Directed By: Alejandro González Inarritu
Running Time: 156 Minutes
UK Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: 15th January 2016

Our Score

Awards season is yet again upon us, bringing with it the usual ‘tick these boxes in order to get an award’ type films. Not that I think this is a bad thing, as I have previously written that this is the time of year where audiences are treated to some of the best films studios have to offer, and I stand by that.

The Revenant tells the story of Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a fur huntsman and frontiersman in the 1820’s who is left for dead by his party after a vicious bear attack. His half Native American son is murdered in front of his eyes by fellow hunter John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Glass’s lust for revenge drives his survival against the odds and elements. [Read more…]

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In The Heart Of The Sea (Cinema Review)

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in-the-heart-of-the-sea-review-slideStarring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy
Directed By: Ron Howard
Running Time: 122 Minutes
UK Release Date: December 26th 2015
BBFC Certificate: 12A

Our Score

Ron Howard returns to direct the film based on the script, based on the book, that’s based on the true story that Moby Dick was based on. As one can imagine I won’t be fact checking this film for historical accuracies.

In the Heart of the Sea tells the story of the whaling vessel The Essex, which, while on voyage in 1820, was attacked by a monstrous whale forcing its crew to abandon ship. This is a sea faring adventure which turns into a quest for survival against all odds with many dramatic moments throughout, but it unfortunately doesn’t live up to its potential. [Read more…]

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Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie (Cinema Review)

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Snoopy-and-Charlie-Brown-slideStarring: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller
Directed By: Steve Martino
Running Time: 93 Minutes
BBFC Certificate: U
UK Release Date: 21st December 2015

Our Score

It’s commercially viable and common place for beloved franchises of the youth of yesteryear to be revitalised for the modern day big screen, and I have no problem with this as long as the new versions are made with care and an appreciation of the original source material, whilst retaining the spirit of its predecessors (21 Jump Street (2012) being an enjoyable exception).

Parents are able to introduce their children to the franchises that they loved in the hope that their kids will get the same enjoyment. However, times do change and the magic is more often than not lost and not relatable in the modern world. This is not the case with this film. [Read more…]

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