Touted by its marketing materials as “the best boxing movie since Raging Bull”, Antoine Fuqua’s sports-drama has generated considerable expectations for itself. Jake Gyllenhaal’s “beast-mode” physique and tales of production meetings taking place inside the gym have been all over the movie press in the build-up for Southpaw, but does the film live up to…
Warning: if you thought the opening scenes of Up were heart-wrenching, then get ready to cry yourself into dehydration during Inside Out – you may even consider catching it in 3D so that you can use the glasses to hide your embarrassingly watery eyes. Pete Docter’s newest animated feature is the raw definition of bittersweet…
Tarsem Singh continues in his apparent quest to never quite strike a suitable balance between style and substance; Self/Less, his latest directorial project, fails to find either concept over 116 minutes of unremarkable storytelling and uncharacteristically weak visual appeal. The story, which bears more than a passing resemblance to 1966’s Seconds, centres around New York…
Ant-Man is a must-see for those who prefer zany and absurd action in their comic-book adaptations. If The Dark Knight is the king of gritty superhero stories then Ant-Man is its polar opposite; rather than trying to mix a dark atmosphere with witty quips (e.g. The Avengers), director Peyton Reed has gone all-out to create…
Brought to you by Asmodee we got our hands on Timeline Music & Cinema a simple yet addictive card game that tests your knowledge and educates you at the same time. The object of the game is simple, you are presented with a group of cards and you have to guess the dates of each…
If you’re looking for a film to stream this weekend, look no further than Back To The Movies’ new weekly feature. Every Thursday we’ll be serving up hot tips on the best that Netflix has to offer, from forgotten gems and timeless classics through to modern masterpieces and essential documentaries. Adapted from the 2008 novel…
Amy is a film so filled with frustrations, about what might have been and about what could have been done differently, that it is difficult not to feel drained upon leaving it. If indeed one can leave it, as director Asif Kapadia has assembled his portrait so effectively that it will likely linger with you…
If you’re looking for a film to stream this weekend, look no further than Back To The Movies’ new weekly feature. Every Thursday we’ll be serving up hot tips on the best that Netflix has to offer, from forgotten gems and timeless classics through to modern masterpieces and essential documentaries. When the starting bell of…
In 2011, director Paul Feig changed the landscape for female-centric comedies with the smash hit Bridesmaids. Sticking with his muse in Melissa McCarthy, Feig now turns his attention to the James Bond trademarked secret-agent genre with Spy.McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a timid and desk-bound CIA agent who remotely directs her suave field counterpart, Bradley…
At one point during Terminator: Genisys, Kyle Reese exclaims “time travel makes my head hurt”. Truer words have never been spoken. This isn’t because the plot does anything intricate or intelligent with paradoxes or timelines, far from it; Genisys instead utilises time travel as a story convolution device. It throws multiple alternate realities at the…
Much of what’s been written surrounding this big screen adaptation of the popular television show has, quite understandably, centred on the heavily sexist leanings of its portrayal of Hollywood life. Anyone familiar with the series during its original run will be aware of these criticisms, though whether or not its more committed viewership have any…
The transition from creating a successful indie-comedy film to directing the difficult revival of a classic and adored franchise can be no easy task, yet Colin Trevorrow has done exactly that. Following 2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed, a film made with a modest $750k, Trevorrow graduated straight into blockbuster leagues to take the reigns on a…
The one saving grace I can really identify in Survivor, is that it was all mercifully over before I even realised thanks to its bite-sized 96 minute running time. The film follows Milla Jovovich’s ‘Kate Abbot’, a hot-shot processor of visa applications (as thrilling as that sounds) at the American embassy in London. Kate must…
Can you believe it’s been over ten years since The Day After Tomorrow became the 21st century’s benchmark for formulaic disaster movies? Back in the days when Jake Gyllenhaal wasn’t yet a box office headliner, Dennis Quaid was somehow still clinging on as one, and the The Rock’s transformation into a Hollywood action star had…
Director: Thomas Vinterberg Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tom Sturridge, Michael Sheen Other than action veteran Jason Statham and “so hot right now” Oscar Isaacs, there has been no-one more ubiquitous than Matthias Schoenaerts in 2015 UK cinema previews. Following stellar performances in Suite Francaise and A Little Chaos, the rising Belgian star now appears…
Director: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson UK Release Date: 23rd April 2015 Say what you want about superheroes dominating the modern blockbuster, but when a franchise’s newest offering can sell out 2 screens at midnight on a Wednesday, they must be doing something right. Avengers: Age…
