Ever since the first trailer was released, Baywatch has always been self-aware. The wind in a golden-blondes hair as she runs down the beach (obviously in slow motion) in the iconic red bathing suit is an image the new reboot has embraced, but it doesn’t fare well in a feature length film. To put it…
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After showcasing his worth as a filmmaker to keep an eye on with 2014’s The Skeleton Twins, Craig Johnson sadly suffers a sophomore slump with Wilson, an episodic dramedy that proves to be too far removed from Johnson’s directorial capabilities. It’s not that he is unable to guide dark material to fruition – something he…
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May I set the scene? On a farm in Queensland, 22-year- old Lyndall (Sara West) is talking to lawyer Stephen Roche (Aden Young) about her willingness to face the might of the Anglican Church in court over the abuse she suffered in boarding school. She asks about Bob Myers (Jack Thompson), the barrister who would represent her…
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A more appropriate title for the film Snatched would be “Botched” because this was a wasted opportunity. The movie is an uneven one starring comedian Amy Schumer and Hollywood’s own, the truly wonderful Goldie Hawn making her silver-screen comeback after a 15 year hiatus. It’s one that has some decent-enough ingredients but the overall combination…
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After proving himself a competent director and screenwriter with the rather modest (at least in comparison) action/comedy Hit & Run in 2012, Dax Shepard unfortunately fails to pair the aforementioned genres together again with CHiPs, an extremely loose adaptation of the popular 1977 television series, which attempts to blend sordid humour with high-grade action and…
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Horror films aren’t like they used to be. Gone are the days of chainsaw wielding psychos with mummy issues and hockey mask wearing killers…. with mummy issues (I’ve stumbled upon something here). Indeed, the genre has become less about horny teenagers getting gutted in creative ways and more about utilising tropes to symbolise prevalent issues…
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Films adapted from a stageplay have always offered mixed results. While we have classics like Chicago, Glengarry Glen Ross and Sweeney Todd, we often have disasters like Rent and Mamma Mia! The reason for this is either because the stories of these plays or musicals do not have enough cinematic potential to succeed as a film-viewing experience or…
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Just as emotionally manipulative as the 2011 original Red Dog but less successful in its execution, Red Dog: True Blue looks to merely survive on a superficial level as the “aww shucks” cuteness of the titular canine appears to be the sole reasoning behind this sequel/prequel hybrid coming to fruition. The stunning harsh red dirt…
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Every now and again, a television series delivers an episode that may not necessarily be bad but it’s just mundane and almost boring. Enter DUI. Despite an important closing minute, Ash vs Evil Dead’s fourth episode of its second season can pretty much be regarded as filler. After Ash’s dad had his head mushed all…
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Before Season 7 of The Walking Dead premiered with the harrowing “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” (the line Jenner said to Rick in Season 1 after he let the group leave the CDC) Chris Hardwick hosted a special preview edition of The Talking Dead. He closed with something along the lines of…
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When “based on a true story” flashes across the screen in the beginning moments of Masterminds, you can’t help but think that it’s trying to squeeze an easy laugh out of its audience. Somehow, whether you believe it or not, Jared Hess’s comedy adopts its premise from an actual robbery that took place in the…
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Based on the 18th book in the series by Lee Child and a follow-up to 2012’s Jack Reacher, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back sees the titular brooding anti-hero (Tom Cruise) roll into DC for a date with Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) only to find her imprisoned on espionage charges. Before long Reacher, Turner and…
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The new biopic Snowden – in cinemas today – is a film about one of the world’s most famous political dissidents, Edward Snowden (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), by a filmmaker (Oliver Stone) who is celebrated for his political dissidence. It should be a match made in cinematic heaven. So why isn’t it? The problems with…
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The Adderall Diaries comes across as an incomplete and incoherent collision of storylines. While an interesting concept to discover the faults in our memory and recollections, the unfocused execution of the film ultimately leaves you confused and bewildered more than it does captivated. Based on the true crime memoir of the same name, The Adderall…
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Tarzan is a character that I have enjoyed over the years. I’m far from a fanatic, but I did like the concept of a man living in the jungle, residing with its inhabitants to become one of them, as well as its fish-out-of-water plot. I grew up watching Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the…
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There’s an extended sequence in Independence Day: Resurgence where an all-powerful queen-bee alien is chasing a Jeff Goldblum-driven school bus across the desert, somehow finding itself unable to keep up with his wild driving skills despite swatting down fighter-jets only moments earlier with unspoiled precision. It’s one of the many moments this large, loud sequel…
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A journey following little more than what the title suggests, director Liza Johnson takes on her biggest task yet with Elvis & Nixon. It’s not easy to be trusted with the reigns of puppeteering acting powerhouses Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon. It’s an even tougher responsibility to direct them embodying two of the Twentieth Century’s…
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Following on from his recent slew of American indie movies, Jake Gyllenhaal attempts his best to command the screen in what can only be described as the standout aspect in the labourious study of grief that is, Demolition. Having celebrated recent acclaim with titles such as Dallas Buyers Club and Wild, Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition sees…
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After a strong fourth episode, “Blood in the Streets”, Fear the Walking Dead made the smart move of getting us off the open water in order to make a big push for season 2, bringing us to Strand’s promised compound in Mexico to deal with the intricacies of death and, surprisingly, split the group into…
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Internet comedy team Rooster Teeth have been kicking around for over a decade now. They created the cult machinima series Red vs Blue and from there, expanded into a community driven, multi-channel, YouTube sensation. It is with that growth and loyal fan base that they were able to drum up over US$2 million on Indiegogo…
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It happens far too often. Someone decides that a franchise that was mediocre in the first place, needs to continue despite losing its lead and competent director. I’m not saying that Transporter: Refueled is a work of incompetence, it is certainly polished enough to stand among it’s predecessors, but it lacks virtually any of the redeeming…
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There are plenty of people who’ve seen the original 1991 Point Break film starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. If you’re one of them, and you’re curious about the remake starring Édgar Ramírez as Bodhi and Luke Bracey as Johnny Utah, you might want to leave your expectations at the door and view this film…
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When it comes to reviewing a film like Daddy’s Home, one must take a moment to put things in context. You know from the outset – be it the trailer, the poster, the cast, the Director (Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2) or any of the other warning signs – that this is going to be…
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Steven Stelfox (Nicholas Hoult) is an A&R agent for a top record label. Those who live and breathe music would kill for that job. He lives and breathes cocaine. When one of his colleagues outperforms him, he copes by listing the different names for it – blow, bugar-sugar, lump etc – like counting to ten….
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Paranormal Activity has become a huge moneymaker over the years, requiring a modest budget and commanding endless profits despite quality – as if with most horror franchises – slipping fast. The film’s formula of night-vision cam jump scares quickly defined the genre in the 21st century right alongside the other big franchise of the times,…
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If Quentin Dupieux can make Rubber, a film about a tyre work, then I figured that this one that is about a person was bound to be gold. People are way more interesting than tyres! He really did make a film about a tyre (I’m not being weird… he is) and I’ve been told it’s great. But…
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Oh you like Korean cinema? Me too! You like violent Korean cinema? Yes please, me too! Have you seen any of Kim Ki-Duk‘s films? Me neither. When I read that he had directed 20 features and had received the Cannes Lion a couple of years back, I felt like I might be missing out on…
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Oh the movie Barely Lethal could have been had it been in the hands of the right people. There’s a neat little premise here, even a hint of charming self-awareness, but sadly director Kyle Newman and screenwriter John D’Arco have ignored the multitude of opportunities presented to them and ultimately made just another high school comedy…
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Pixels is not your usual alien invasion fare type film. It’s also not your usual Adam Sandler type film. And it’s also not your usual family type film either. You would think that being unusual would work in its favour but sadly it doesn’t. What this film does have is some funny moments, some really…
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I think I was amongst many confused fans after watching X-Men: Days of Future Past last year upon seeing Anna Paquin’s name so high in the credits, especially given that I’d only seen the back of Rogue’s head once throughout the entire duration of the film. As soon as I got home, I ran to my computer…
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