Song for Marion

What’s it about?
Arthur, a stereotypically cantankerous old man with a complete aversion to fun learns to cope with the death of his wife, Marion, while mending the strained relationship with his son and carrying on Marion’s legacy at the local choir club. Think Glee but with old people.

What did we think?
Matthew says: From beginning to end, Song for Marion is as clichéd and predictable as it comes.  If it weren’t for Stamp, Redgrave (and even Arterton), this movie would have fallen completely into the dark abyss of mediocrity. It’s a shame they did not have a huge amount of material to work with and much of the plot seemed to be dragged out and made to appear larger than what it was.  It lacked the impact it should have had but the sincere performances and one particular solo still managed to move me to manly tears (a fact that I will strongly deny).

Jurassic Park 3D

What’s it about?
An eccentric billionaire (Richard Attenborough) employs a pair of palaeontologists (Sam Neill and Laura Dern), a rock star mathematician (Jeff Goldblum), and his grandchildren (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) to earn their seal of approval for his ground-breaking, but woefully understaffed, dinosaur park. All it takes is one rogue technician and a poorly thought out power grid for the aspirant utopia to become a walking, screeching nightmare…

What did we think?
Mitch says: This 3D re-release is a testament to the visual achievement that Jurassic Park really is – here we are, 20 years later, and the animatronic work of Stan Winston and his crew is as captivating and believable as it was 1993, even having gone through the rigours of 3D processing. The film itself as is enjoyable a ride as ever, with the added bonus that now at least you can say you’ve seen a man die on the toilet in 3D.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

What’s it about?
The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their existence.

What did we think?
Anthony says: Putting Channum Tating, the Rock and Bruce Willis together in a movie sounds like a no-brainer. Sadly they must’ve used up all the money on the cast and special effects (which are impressive, it must be said) and none on writers. Or continuity/error checkers. There are a couple of great action scenes but this 110-minute-long action-figure advertisement has more plotholes than…. zzzz. Sorry, what was I writing? I nodded off  just thinking about the movie.

Escape From Planet Earth

What’s it about?
An heroic alien being is lured to Earth (aka The Dark Planet) by a false SOS  and captured. His smarter but no-so-heroic alien brother sets out to rescue him.

What did we think?
Anthony says: You’ll want to Escape From The Theatre. While the premise of humans being the feared bad guys promises some interest, the fact aliens all seem to act the same way just leaves this film as space junk. William Shatner playing the bad guy is the sole saving grace of a movie that will only appeal to the very young.

Identity Thief

What’s it about?
A regular Joe (Jason Bateman) goes to extreme lengths to track down the person who stole his identity (Melissa McCarthy). He’s got nothing to lose and a bad credit rating to settle!

What did we think?
Elodie says: This flick is very hit and miss and suffers from a few pace problems especially early. A handful of lighter moments peppered with ridiculous humour save Identity Thief  from being a lost cause, though. The chemistry between Bateman and McCarthy definitely deserves a mention; McCarthy in particular is a delight to watch on screen.

I Give It A Year

What’s it about?
Finally! A movie that starts where most rom-coms leave off. We begin with a wedding between Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall and look at the pressures of their first year of marriage including exes, jobs and temptations.

What did we think?
Anthony says: British comedies on the whole walk the line between clever and cringing very well which is why this movie is such a let down. With such a wonderful premise, one would have hoped for more wit and less cringe but most of this movie will leave you squirming rather than laughing. It IS funny in its way, features an amazing cast and the final act probably does justify it but it’s a question of whether you would take the time to get to the end really.

What’s Popular

Cooties

Um… I’m conflicted. The premise looks good but it seems to go overboard a bit and not enough for it to become good again. Plus Kristen Stewart.

San Andreas

What’s it about?
The ‘big one’ – the overdue earthquake that has threatened California for over 100 years – finally hits. Cue special effects. And The Rock.

What did we think?
I grew up on disaster movies (Towering Inferno is seared into my brain) so have a special place in my heart for them. So I enjoy Hollywood revisiting them every few years despite the fact that most of them are quite poor. But there’s still something ‘fun’ about watching mayhem and carnage on the big screen and for special effects San Andreas is incredible despite the fact you’ve seen most of the best ones in the trailer. The rippling of the earth is almost worth the price of the ticket alone although how they spend so much on FX and still have have one of the worst photoshopped family pictures is beyond me. Plotwise it’s incredibly predictable and the fact a decorated war hero stole a government helicopter to save two family members over the thousands of people he is paid to save is completely overlooked. The science is woeful (don’t start me on the tsunami) and the aftermath is heavily sanitised. I still enjoyed it as a mindless popcorn movie but my wait for a new smart disaster flick continues.

Tomorrowland

What’s it about?
A headstrong teenage science enthusiast (Britt Robertson) teams up with a bitter inventor (George Clooney) to re-enter a trans-dimensional utopia and save the world from destruction.

What did we think?
Director Brad Bird has made dazzlingly fun movies such as The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and while Tomorrowland isn’t as good as his past work, it’s definitely in the same spirit. The visuals are very creative, and the main characters are endearing, with Robertson being an especially lively presence. The plot (co-written with Lost and Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof) is a bit hard to follow and sort of unsatisfying, but it’s still charming enough to be worth the ride.

War Machine Movie Review

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Editor's Choice

Cooties

Um… I’m conflicted. The premise looks good but it seems to go overboard a bit and not enough for it to become good again. Plus Kristen Stewart.

San Andreas

What’s it about?
The ‘big one’ – the overdue earthquake that has threatened California for over 100 years – finally hits. Cue special effects. And The Rock.

What did we think?
I grew up on disaster movies (Towering Inferno is seared into my brain) so have a special place in my heart for them. So I enjoy Hollywood revisiting them every few years despite the fact that most of them are quite poor. But there’s still something ‘fun’ about watching mayhem and carnage on the big screen and for special effects San Andreas is incredible despite the fact you’ve seen most of the best ones in the trailer. The rippling of the earth is almost worth the price of the ticket alone although how they spend so much on FX and still have have one of the worst photoshopped family pictures is beyond me. Plotwise it’s incredibly predictable and the fact a decorated war hero stole a government helicopter to save two family members over the thousands of people he is paid to save is completely overlooked. The science is woeful (don’t start me on the tsunami) and the aftermath is heavily sanitised. I still enjoyed it as a mindless popcorn movie but my wait for a new smart disaster flick continues.

Tomorrowland

What’s it about?
A headstrong teenage science enthusiast (Britt Robertson) teams up with a bitter inventor (George Clooney) to re-enter a trans-dimensional utopia and save the world from destruction.

What did we think?
Director Brad Bird has made dazzlingly fun movies such as The Incredibles and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and while Tomorrowland isn’t as good as his past work, it’s definitely in the same spirit. The visuals are very creative, and the main characters are endearing, with Robertson being an especially lively presence. The plot (co-written with Lost and Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof) is a bit hard to follow and sort of unsatisfying, but it’s still charming enough to be worth the ride.

War Machine Movie Review

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