Reviews

The Strangers

On the surface, Bryan Bertino’s debut film, The Strangers, is about as derivative as they come but David Holmes more than a little to be scared of in this highly effective horror.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Arriving as the 4th installment in a beloved franchise, after nineteen years of anticipation, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
probably always had an uphill battle ahead of it. However, Patrick McKay still sees a little aparkle left in this tarnished series.

Lonesome Jim

Returning to the listless small town trap of Trees Lounge, Steve Buscemi offers an engaging and witty tale of a drifter and dreamer on his passage to maturity. It may have taken 3 years to get a UK release but it's been well worth the wait to learn a few home truths.

Iron Man

The long wait has paid off. Iron Man is one of the defining statements of its genre, a funny and exhilarating piece of pop entertainment that is perhaps the first superhero movie whose greatness is derived almost solely from the its actors. David Holmes beams through Jon Favreau's comic book adaptation.

No Country for Old Men

The silence and the violence, the brood and the mood: the post noir Western games of No Country for Old Men sees the Coen brothers shake off a career threatening slump in lean and mean style. Matt Kendall looks back at one of the most remarkable films of last year.

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Amid all the fart jokes, tired racial observations, topless women, and bottomless men are some brilliantly-staged sequences that really get to the heart of America's supposed "War on Terror" - it's just a pity that in this outing Harold and Kumar falls into many of the same sterotypical traps it tries so hard to rally against.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Within the first five minutes of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason Segel is seen fully and frontally nude, sobbing like a giant hormonal polar bear who’s lost just her cub. Yep, we're in Apatow territory, David Holmes explores...

[Rec]

This Spanish zombie flick offers nothing new - it's the same old scream, bite and infect narrative - but is constructed with such vitality and pace that it soon becomes a rare and mesmerising slaughterfest. Unlike many of the recent first-person perspective films, [Rec] offers an authentic panic and terror to the unfolding events. For a short, sharp shock to the system, don't look any further than this scintillating movie...

In Bruges

Playwright turned director Martin McDonagh makes his debut with this dark, murderous comedy. Despite being pitched to the masses as a knockabaout gagfest, every outburst of laughter and jubilation serves only to distract the characters from the sense that death (either their own or an adversary's) could be around every corner.

Teeth

Our reviewer has been excited by Teeth for quite a while now. It’s just such a great concept — reclaiming the vagina dentata! So much possibility! So much expectation. So much pressure to love the damn thing. Ethan Robinson is prepared to be dazzled...