John Wick review
The divisions between the good guys and the bad guys in John Wick are obvious and uncomplicated, and it’s very much by design. The film sets this up with some particularly economical plot mechanics in its opening scenes, at the same time being careful to ensure the audience will be able to sympathise with the title character, even though he’s about … Read more
Doc of the Dead review
There was a time in the not too distant past where you might easily have found people who didn’t know what a zombie was. These were people who had never seen a zombie film, people who had no idea what the zombie ‘rules’ were, and people who had no opinion about whether zombies should be fast or slow. … Read more
Insurgent digs itself deeper into Divergent’s hole
When Divergent was released just under a year ago I wrote about it at length. I found the film to show a lot of promise, despite some clear flaws, and I expressed my concern with the film’s political and social subtexts. The sequel, Insurgent, is now in cinemas. Sadly, it’s notable how little of the original promise has … Read more
Wild Card review
Simon West‘s Wild Card is rooted in William Goldman’s 1985 novel Heat but has more in common with the 1986 feature film adaptation of the same source material, also scripted by Goldman; and while West has made some of his own updates to that eighties-set story about a soldier of fortune living in Las Vegas, he has thankfully kept the best of Goldman’s screenplay intact. … Read more