A technically impressive but stylistically stale distraction piece. Epic was forged at the hands of a swarm of screenwriters and script tweakers, which is probably why it feels so thoroughly generic. Kids and adults who want to experience the old and familiar in the guise of the new will lap… Read More →

Only three things get better with age: wine, towels and the Fast & Furious franchise. It’s surprising that something so ham-fisted can be so enjoyable, and yet director Justin Lin and his ensemble cast of semi-stars have achieved the seemingly impossible with Fast & Furious 6. It’s a raucous action… Read More →

Baz Luhrmann’s lurid vision of 1920s excess is an enjoyable facade, but it masks a movie that lacks substance. The Great Gatsby is, like Luhrmann’s other major works, annoyingly kinetic. Cut together like a perfume ad, scenes and dialogue seem like abridgements and there’s rarely a moment to linger on… Read More →

Big, stupid fun. If you’re not sick of sci-fi by the end of the year then you’ll probably not have been to the cinema enough. Star Trek is the lumbering granddaddy of this genre, with each of its hairy limbs representing another spinoff or reboot, like some bloated, nerdy Shiva…. Read More →

This hostage thriller is utterly brilliant. And you’ll never want to watch it again. In the 90s there was a surge of Hollywood action films which focused on hostage negotiation, most of which followed an uncomplicated set of rules. A professional negotiator, perhaps with a chip on his shoulder after… Read More →

Strip away the generic name and you have a quirky, occasionally effective thriller. Dead Man Down is an imposter. It’s a WWE Studios-funded project that wants to trick you into thinking that you’re about to sit down for an hour and a half of gun-slinging action. But this is a… Read More →

Steve Coogan brings the king of Soho to life in tepid style. There’s nothing like a biopic to glorify and gloss over the cracks in the life story of an infamous dead person. The Look of Love does this job for Paul Raymond; a club owner, property tycoon and gentleman… Read More →

Shane Black delivers a trilogy-topper that exceeds expectations. In Iron Man 3 we find Robert Downey Jr. back in the swing of things as billionaire genius Tony Stark. He’s as funny and flashy as ever, but the trip through the worm hole he took at the end of Avengers Assemble… Read More →

Jack Black gets semi-serious in this dark comedy hybrid. The mockumentary format has been done to death, but director Richard Linklater manages to breathe new life into it through Bernie. It’s unapologetically American and on paper sounds like a low brow farce, so its subtlety and morbidity might take some… Read More →

Die Hard 6: Red, White and Boom. If you were paying attention a little earlier in the year you might have noticed the disappointing carbuncle of A Good Day to Die Hard clinging gamely to February’s underbelly. Bruce Willis looked tired and confused throughout, as he often does nowadays, presumably… Read More →