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Bad Bromance (The D-Train) (DVD Review)

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bad-bromance-slideStarring: Jack Black, James Marsden, Jeffrey Tambor, Kathryn Hahn, Russell Posner
Directed By: Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul
Running Time: 101 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 18th 2016 (UK)

Our Score

When Bad Bromance (under its original title, The D-Train) first debuted at film festivals, it was met with surprise largely for a single scene, which it appears no one watching was expecting. Indeed, it is perhaps the playing down of that scene that’s contributed to the film making little impact.

Jack Black plays Dan, who’s living a dead-end life in the same town he grew up in. He has no real friends – people actively avoid hanging out with him – and very little to get excited about. He is however the chair of the 20th Anniversary High School reunion committee, but he’s having difficulty getting anyone to attend. [Read more…]

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Everest (Blu-ray Review)

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everest-slideStarring: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Emily Mortimer, Sam Worthington
Directed By: Baltasar Kormakur
Running Time: 121 mins
BBFC Certificate: 12
UK Release Date: January 18th 2016 (UK)

Our Score

It’s climbing season in the Himalayas and Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is planning to lead a group of adventure tourists to the summit of Mount Everest. While he keeps telling them how dangerous it is and how many people physically cannot make it, many are gung-ho to get to the top. As they make their way higher up the mountain, Rob decides it’s going to be best to team up with a rival company, led by Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal), in the hope of keeping things as safe as possible.

After facing illness and other issues that prevent some of them getting to the top, a group of them make it, only to be hit by an extremely nasty storm, which threatens to ensure that none of them will make it back down again. As the team gets separated and faces ever greater threat, it becomes increasingly clear that not everyone is going to make it back alive. [Read more…]

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The Visit (Blu-ray Review)

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the-visit-review-slideStarring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn
Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan
Running Time: 94 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 18th 2015 (UK)

Our Score

After a strong start with the likes of The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan has certainly had an up and down career. With his latest, The Visit, he’s stripped things back to the basics, with a relatively little known cast, low budget and ‘found footage’ premise. However, this being Shyamalan he still has a go at trying to surprise the audience and keep them guessing.

In order for their mother to be able to get away for a much needed break, Becca and her little brother Tyler are sent off to stay with their grandparents for a week – despite the fact they’ve been estranged from their daughter for many years. Becca is an aspiring filmmaker and so plans to document the entire trip on her camera, hopefully finding out what happened between her mother and grandparents along the way. [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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Straight Outta Compton – Director’s Cut (Blu-ray Review)

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straight-outta-compton-slideStarring: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Paul Giamatti
Directed By: F. Gary Gray
Running Time: 147/164 minutes
BBFC Certificate: 18
UK Release Date: January 11th 2016 (UK)

Our Score

Oftentimes having the subject of a documentary involved in the production ends up watering it down to the point it’s completely neutered. However, we should have probably guessed that wouldn’t have been too much of a problem for the members of NWA, who made their name by being honest about their lives and the world that they came from.

Even so, it’s take a long time to get the project off the ground, and even just before it arrived, some wondered whether the subject matter would have genuinely wide appeal. However, with a great critical reaction and a gross of $160 million just in the US, it certainly defied expectations. It undoubtedly helped as well that the film arrived just at the right moment too, as the Black Lives Matter movement was rising and distrust of US law enforcement made the message of songs like ‘Fuck tha Police’ seem as timely as when they were first written. [Read more…]

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45 Years (Blu-ray Review)

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45-years-slideStarring: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells
Directed By: Andrew Haigh
Running Time: 95 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: January 11th 2016 (UK)

Our Score

Following the indie success of Weekend and helping to produce/direct HBO’s Looking, Andrew Haigh shows he isn’t simply be a ‘gay director’ with the tender 45 Years. The film introduces us to Kate and Geoff Mercer (Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay), who are soon to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.

Geoff gets unexpected news when he receives a letter informing him that the frozen body of his old girlfriend, who died in an accident decades before, has been discovered in the Swiss Alps. Initially Kate thinks this is surprising and upsetting news for her husband, but not something that will greatly affect either of them. However, as Geoff talks more about this women he knew before he met Kate, she starts to feel that perhaps their marriage has been haunted by her and Geoff’s feelings about an entirely different life that he might have led if fate hadn’t intervened.

As their 45th anniversary approaches, the strain begins to grow on this quiet, fairly staid relationship. [Read more…]

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