Film- A Temporary Distraction

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on July 29, 2010 | No Comments

Film Review: City Island

As a minor indie comedy release in a sea of big-scale summer blockbusters, City Island is almost destined to get lost in the shuffle. Which is a crying shame, as it’s a wonderful film that’s sharp, incredibly funny, with an abundance of heart, character and charm, brought to live by an amazingly...

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on July 26, 2010 | No Comments

Film Review: Splice

Even with its missteps, Splice is an excellent piece of Cronenbergian weirdness and the kind of film that occurs all too rarely: an incredibly dark, creepy science fiction horror that doesn’t ditch smarts in its attempts to conjure up scares...

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on June 23, 2010 | No Comments

Film Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

It’s not without its flaws – the film’s heavy-handedness and lack of character development are unfortunate – but The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is still a visually stylish, incredibly absorbing and often chilling thriller with more depth and smarts than the average potboiler. With an...

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on June 15, 2010 | No Comments

Film Review: Brooklyn’s Finest

It’s a film whose very marrow is riddled with familiarity and cliché, but thankfully it has some muscle and meat on its bones in the form of an exceptional cast at the height of their game. While it’s unfortunate that they’re not given better material to work with, Brookyln’s finest...

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on May 26, 2010 | No Comments

The Losers: Film Review

It’s disposable action entertainment, but entertaining all the same while it lasts. Bolstered by a fantastic cast armed with quips a-plenty, the substantial chemistry and joke-laced banter between the leads is infectiously fun enough to make The Losers a joy to sit through, even if the plot and action...

Posted by Simon Rowson in DVD, Film on March 30, 2010 | No Comments

The Descent: Part 2 – Film Review

For those unable to resist the urge to revisit the characters they enjoyed the first time around, The Descent: Part 2 might provide enough entertainment with lowered expectations – there’s enough mushy grue and action to stave off boredom, and it’s certainly not the worst sequel in the...

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on March 27, 2010 | No Comments

[REC] 2 – Film Review

An early tense scene or two aside, there’s not much to recommend [REC] 2 to those who loved the taut, unsettling, high-tension scares of the original. Shocks that were intense and terrifying in their sparse use the first time around are rehashed, overused and overexposed to the point of dilution and...

Posted by Simon Rowson in DVD, Film on October 30, 2009 | No Comments

Creepy Kids Double Feature: The Children (2008) & Orphan (2009) – Film Review

To celebrate Halloween, enjoy a Double Feature review of The Children and Orphan. Just keep a kebab skewer handy in case of attack from homicidal pre-pubescant trick-or-treaters....

Posted by Simon Rowson in Film on October 21, 2009 | No Comments

Paranormal Activity (2007) – Film Review

If the suggestive and unnerving scares of Blair Witch wriggled under your skin like nothing else, then you’ll no doubt stumble home from seeing Paranormal Activity shaken and uneasy, rushing to turn all the lights on and avoiding wandering upstairs alone for days....

Posted by Simon Rowson in DVD, Film on October 11, 2009 | No Comments

Assassination of a High School President (2009) – Film Review

Brett Simon’s film is oozing with visual style, riddled with quirky and incredibly fun characters, an endearingly geeky turn from lead Reece Thompson and enough genuinely funny jokes to offset the toilet humour. There’s a lot to love here, it’s just unfortunate that its weighted down by an...