• Following Us

  • Categories

  • Check out the Archives









  • Awards & Nominations

Non-Review Review: Waltz With Bashir

Waltz With Bashir garnered quite a bit of attention on its release – winning all sorts of awards and even receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film (though it didn’t get a nomination for Best Animated Film – because, didn’t you know, animation is for kids?). An animated film from Israel, it’s a very interesting look at the Lebanese War, and what we tend to remember and – more importantly – what we tend to forget in hindsight.

Tanks for the memories...

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: Disturbia

Yes, it’s Rear Window for the MTV generation, but what’s the harm in that? They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all. Disturbia is a movie that is more than entertaining on its own terms, a light bit of fun that doesn’t let itself get carried away with taking itself too seriously. The final third degenerates into standard teen thriller fare, but – for most of its runtime – the movie manages to keep you smiling along enough that you don’t mind that it’s a copy of a cinematic classic.

Yes, even in his dressing gown, David Morse could still take you and use you as cheap building insolation... ((Allegedly...))

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: Last Chance Harvey

There’s something pleasant about watching just-past-their-prime actors working together on small-scale productions. Kinda a reminder that even though they don’t dominate Hollywood anymore (because Hollywood has little respect for their elderly), they are still around. It’s even nicer when they stray from the projects that they are obviously making a fair bit of capital on (such as Dustin Hoffman’s work in Meet the Fockers) towards smaller, more intimate fare. Last Chance Harvey is a solid and sweet romantic comedy in the very classical sense. It doesn’t rely on inappropriate sex jokes or physical comedy to make its audience laugh, just provides some wonderfully awkward ‘that could happen and it would be mortifying’ humour paired with some emotional honesty. And, despite being crafted in the mould of a classical genre, it manages to seem like a breath of fresh air.

Thankfully, Harvey is never short with her...

Continue reading

Is Avatar Addictive?

I read an interesting article on Avatar over at CNN last week, which basically suggested that some audience members were feeling a deep depression on returning home from the cinema. Since my dislike of the film appears to a very minority view (a borderline fringe view, to be completely honest), I will assume it has nothing to do with the poor storytelling of the movie. Instead, they seem to depressed at the prospect of leaving Pandora, having been so immersed in the 3D world that James Cameron had created.

Did the end of Avatar leave you feeling blue?

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: The Happening

Something’s happening… And it’s happening all over the East Coast… And it’s just happening to people without a reason… And… oh, that’s what’s happening? What the hell was M. Night Shyamalan smoking? Probably some killer grass.

It's a car crash of a movie...

Note: This review contains spoilers. But I’ll flag them beforehand. Still – you have been warned. Oh, and – if you’re looking for a recommendation – the only appeal of the film is in the ‘so bad it’s good’ category. It’s the movie that Lesbian Vampire Killers wishes it were.

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: Lesbian Vampire Killers

I like to think that I can appreciate a movie for what it is. I was even able to find something positive to say about The Land of the Lost, for crying out loud! Still, this doesn’t stop Lesbian Vampire Killers from being one of the worst films I’ve seen in quite some time (The Reader and Deception are the only other two movie that stick out so strongly in my mind). Paul McGann is literally the only thing that is anyway half-decent in the film, and – much like his lead role in Doctor Who – he is sucked into the mindless vacuum of crap which surrounds him. Who the hell thought this was a good idea? Really?

Look, Paul McGann, if your religious relics couldn't keep you from getting tied up in this mess, they're probably not going hold off that rampaging sexually-liberated blood-sucker...

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: Mission Impossible III

Before Star Trek, JJ Abrams had his eye on another geek property. The Mission: Impossible franchise has had bit of a rocky history, with a deconstruction helmed by Brian dePalma and an explosively mind-numbing shaving commercial of a sequel from John Woo. With the Bourne franchise already checking the box for an American spy movie franchise, it seemed that the odds should have been against JJ Abrams’ action movie vehicle. In fairness, he doesn’t manage to entirely revive the franchise or provide a kickstart to a cinematic series, he merely provides a solid action movie with a bit more sparkle than most. In hindsight, it almost seems like it was just practice for his directing duties on Star Trek.

Somebody's Cruisin' for a bruisin'...

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: The Taking Pelham 123

Much like the titular train, The Taking of Pelham 123 runs almost perfectly to schedule, making all the mandatory stops. Sure, it is confined to the storytelling tracks of a cut-out hostage drama, checking all the necessary fields. It doesn’t do this in anyway exceptionally, nor does it do anything original or daring. Still, Tony Scott is a very talented director and he has two more-than-capable leads to work with, so we have a perfectly mediocre action film to work with.

Travolta trains (geddit?) his sights on a hostage?

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: Land of the Lost

What an odd film. Part buddy comedy, part adventure movie parody, Land of the Lost is a chronic mess of a film. However, I see cult appeal looming on the horizon. At the very least, it should become a solid stoner movie.

The only thing scary than one lumbering extra in a fake-looking reptile costume is five lumbering extras in fake-looking reptile costumes...

Continue reading

Non-Review Review: The Hurt Locker

I’ve always said that great movies take the audience on a trip somewhere, so it’s really appropriate that The Hurt Locker brings viewers on a trip to hell. Or as close as it is possible to get to hell on earth. A place where flies roam the bodies of the still living in the desert heat or where even the cats walk with limps and scars or where the dead are stuffed with explosives to mount an attack upon any member of the living not callous enough to know better than to care. This is Iraq, where anything – and anyone – could turn out to be fatal and this is the story of those who survive there, those who die there and – against unlikely odds – those who thrive there.

Sadly, Guy Pierce's improvised retelling of "Moon", complete with homemade space suit, did little for troop morale...

Continue reading