HandsomeDead (Level 18)

As witnessed in the complete failure of Passion Play, being too close to a project can lead to disaster. Typically, it’s a case of not knowing that the tendrils of the material have stretched too far and become too distant from one another to form one cohesive unit. For One ...

As movie projects go, I struggle to think of one as confusing as Larry Crowne. With most actor-turned-directors, there’s typically a reason behind the film; usually a passion project, such as Sean Penn’s Into The Wild or, at least, some kind of political message like in Robert Redford’s disastrous Lions ...

Drama is borne from conflict. Be it good vs. evil; man vs. wild; left vs. right, the difference is what creates the conflict which creates the drama. Movies often distill it to its purest form, as witnessed in the masterworks of Michael Mann, but sometimes the gap is too great ...

It feels good to be vindicated. With the recent influx of high concept, low pay off films in cinemas, I’ve taken to a personal philosophy of believing that the more simple the plot mechanics are, the more enjoyable the film is likely to be. As with everything, there are exceptions, ...

In 1959, The Twilight Zone first appeared on CBS in the form of half hour serials that dealt with different forms of storytelling, ranging from science fiction to horror to fantasy but each time with some kind of central human message; it was a roaring success and rightfully became iconic. ...

In terms of cultural infamy, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible is perhaps the only real modern example of a video nasty. Sure, there’s franchises like Saw and Hostel out there which prey on gorehounds everywhere, but people know exactly what kind of sanguine soaked terror they’re in for and, besides for the ...

New York in the 60s and 70s was hell. I wasn’t there, I wasn’t even born, but if movies such as Marathon Man, Midnight Cowboy and Death Wish, among many, many others are to be believed, the city was a sewer. A sentiment shared by Robert De Niro in Taxi ...

It’s hard to go into a movie like Scott Pilgrim without being a touch cynical. It flopped. I suppose it’s not unjust to say the best film of a year can be one of the least seen, just look at 2000’s Wonder Boys for proof of that, but when the ...

Sequels thrive on continuity, more so than just in terms of plot and character. It’s expected for the production quality of a sequel to match, if not better, the prequel and so when The Girl Who Played With Fire begins, immediately, the expectations are dashed. Made as a TV movie ...

With a two and a half hour running time, a mystery as convoluted as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo could have been a sprawling mess but with the deft direction of Niels Arden Oplev and a mesmerizing relationship at its core, it becomes one of the most compelling thrillers ...

If you’ve ever seen a heist movie before, the plot of Dobermann will hold no surprises. There’s the criminals, the police on their tail, the obligatory double cross and the final stand off. What makes Dobermann special is the complete lack of restraint in the both the script and the ...

 It’s difficult to write a review for a movie like Marathon Man without giving away spoilers. From almost as soon as the picture starts, the plot kicks into gear and doesn’t let up for a second. That’s not to say the movie is completely plot driven, rather, unlike a lot ...