Category: movie-reviews

This is a first of many things. This is my first review for a film festival film, at its first screening at the first Aberdeen Film Festival. However, for all these firsts, this movie is not new.

By which I mean this is a very traditional thriller story surrounding a civilised game night which becomes a little less civilised as certain things begin to be revealed.

A true testament to good old fashioned filmmaking. This is a film which works its way out like a play. The acting is theatrical and purposely OTT and the use of more than one camera simultaneously allowed intercutting on some of the soliloquys work seamlessly.

The film looks terrific. Every shot feels as if it has a purpose within the story.

It will soon become a cliché amongst critics, to call this film Hitchcockian, a phrase used so often these days that sometimes loses its meaning in my opinion.

There are two things which reminded me of the great master of suspense. The first is the opening title sequence, designed by the Director (though he gave credit to someone else out of humility), which uses animation to form a Cluedo board game, nodding to Psycho.

The second is the music, which is real, visceral and as violent as any of Film Noir’s villains.

This film is not a classic as there is nothing groundbreaking in it, really. But it deserves recognition as a proper harking back to “the good ol’ days”.

Recommended Scenario: When you want to see what Dial M For Murder would look like in 2014’s London.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

The trailer for this film did not entice me.

It explained story well enough. A family travel from London to Scotland to see the Grandfather for his birthday.

Everything seemed innocent enough, but it didn’t grab me and say “this is what to watch”. My expectations were of mediocrity.

I ended up watching it with other members of the RGU: Film Society. And by the second minute, I was hooked.

Humour, here, is smartly balanced, with more serious moments by the two writer/directors, who also created the even better “Outnumbered” TV Series. These guys know how to write and direct children and they work their magic here with three glorious child performances.

At points in this movie I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, which seemed appropriate as the events which transpire in its plot, which I won’t spoil, cause the characters to feel the same way.

Flaws exist, however. Most notably, the film’s main message, is stated explicitly by two characters in the same words. This may be realistic and put across some message in itself but it did seem as I was watching it to be flogging a dead, emotional horse.

Another thing is that, though the music is perfectly lovely, it comes in at points which drew me to notice it too much.

That’s me nit-picking though. The average viewer of this movie will have a great time.

Recommended Scenario: When you need a bit of cheering up.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

In the cinema, this year, I don’t think I can say I’ve seen a horrible movie. I’m discerning with which film I invest my time with. However, I haven’t seen anything yet that has been ground-breaking.

Today’s film, “The Equalizer”, is of the standard “one-man-army” sub-genre of action films. Denzel Washington plays a mysterious, yet good-natured man working in a hardware store who, through a strangely familiar set of circumstances, ends up showing his roots as a baddie beatin’ bad-ass.

“Strangely familiar” as there are various plot lines and tropes in this film which have similarities to others I have seen or heard of, besides the simple fact that it is of its genre. I won’t spoil anything, but one major part of this movie has an uncanny resemblance to “Taxi Driver”, a film that is far superior to this one.

This film isn’t bad, though. The violence, particularly in the exceedingly long finale, can be over-the-top at times, but it is at least stylishly handled by the director of “Training Day”. Washington, as always, is brilliant. Even in bad films he can be a shining star of gravitas.

That this film is similar to others need not be a downside. I understand that all art is inspired by others. “On the shoulders of Giants” as Isaac Newton and my Grandfather have both been quoted as saying.

Recommended Scenario: When you want to watch a pretty decent action movie starring a man who actually knows how to act!

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

This is an important film for an unfortunate reason. It contains the last leading performance of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, one of the best actors of his generation.

The loss of such a talent is made more profound when one watches “A Most Wanted Man” and see that this actor will never be able to see, in my opinion, his best performance.

Hoffmann plays a German spy based in Hamburg, tasked with orchestrating the surveillance of Islamic terror suspects in the city.

Like John Le Carre’s other famous recent adaptation “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, a one sentence synopsis cannot convey the complexity of this movie. A movie which, I can safely say, is my favourite I’ve seen this year.

Hoffmann’s character has little explained backstory and rarely expresses much emotion. Yet the actor was able to channel great silent nuances which couldn’t be put across if screenwriter Andrew Bovell, who has done a great job here, had him explain verbally how he was feeling.

Willem Defoe and Rachel McAdams, in supporting roles, give my favourite performances I’ve seen from them. And, like Hoffmann, their German accents never stray from authenticity.

“A Most Wanted Man” explores REAL Post 9/11 espionage. No gadgets, no beautiful girls, no fast cars. Just people fighting a war against an extremely complex, invisible threat. It delivers this in a way which is balanced, thrilling and makes it deserve recognition as one of the best spy movies ever made.

Recommended Scenario: When you want to see a brilliant film take a global issue as seriously as it deserves.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.