RIP Bob Anderson
You may not know the name but you know his work. My favourite sword fight scene of all time is Inigio Montoyez and the Dread Pirate Roberts. Anderson choreographed it.
Darth Vader fighting? Actually Bob Anderson in the suit.
James Bond, Zorro, Pirates of the Caribbean and even the cast of the Lord Of The Rings… Bob Anderson. He even coached and choreographed Errol Flynn.
Still not enough? He was the swordmaster on the Highlander TV show and even worked on some of the Superman movies as well as the Guns Of Navarone.
Thank you so much for some of my favourite scenes and moments Bob.
The Town
What’s it about?
As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent looking to bring him and his crew down.
What do we think?
Anthony says: Wow. An engaging movie with strong characters and deep insight into a world where crime is a way of life. Wonderfully realistic, this film demonstrates that life is shades of grey rather than black and white.
Killers
What’s it about?
A vacationing woman meets her ideal man, leading to a swift marriage. Back at home, however, their idyllic life is upset when they discover their neighbors could be assassins who have been contracted to kill the couple.
What do we think?
Anthony says: One of the trailers for this movie was the upcoming Pirahna 3-D which looks horrendous. Now I think they put that trailer in deliberately to make this cr4p film look better by comparison. Not even Tom Selleck can save this one.
Fright Night
What’s it about?
A teenager suspects his neighbour is a vampire. What? In this day and age? But what IF he really is…?
What did we think?
Anthony says: Not quite horror and not quite comedy, Fright Night is simply fun. A vampire movie either has to be suspenseful or an entertaining romp. This is the latter. A remake of the 80s film of the same name, Fright Night dishes out laughs and suspense in equal proportions. Colin Farrell and David Tennant steal the show.
The Smurfs
What’s it about?
When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world into New York City.
What do we think?
Anthony says: The movie poster asks “Where the smurf are we?” I’m inclined to ask “what the smurf was that?” With a storyline from cliche central, there’s nothing truly engaging here if you’re above the age of 12. In fact, it seems to spend more time trying to appeal than actually coming up with an entertaining story.
They smurfed it up.
What’s Popular
Tusk
What’s it about?
A new media letch with a poorly calibrated moral compass gets abducted. He is to be the subject of experiments to see if his humanity can be stripped from him if he is surgically transformed into a walrus.
What did we think?
Dan Beeston says: I’ve never seen a film where a fifth of the audience walked out and two fifths stayed right through the credits. This film is nothing if not divisive. Kevin Smith creates an eclectic parody of a horror film. It’s never scary but is appreciatively grotesque.
Justin Long is denied lines of dialogue as his character transforms – it’s probably a good thing as his character is neither likeable nor charismatically detestable. The Québécois detective is boring and pales in comparision to Michael Parks’ stellar performance.
Smith has re-embraced his independent beginnings and I’m glad this film exists but I think that he also needs a slightly firmer guiding hand.
Gone Girl
What’s it about?
Nick Dunne’s wife Amy disappears suddenly one morning, with signs suggesting she has been abducted, possibly murdered. As the hunt for her begins and the story of their marriage unfolds, police and media suspicion falls on Nick.
What did we think?
Francesca Percy says: How well do you know your spouse? This is the central question of Gone Girl, based on the acclaimed novel and screenplay by Gillian Flynn, cleverly directed by David Fincher and featuring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, brilliantly cast as the central couple, too cool to be true. It’s a suspenseful treasure hunt that draws you in further with every clue, twist and revelation about Ben and Amy, from the first time they meet to the day of their fifth anniversary. Honestly, the less you know about the plot, the better. It’s thrilling, chilling, occasionally funny, and well worth your time.
Dracula Untold
What it’s about?
Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans), prince of Transylvania, risks eternal damnation by gaining demonic superpowers in order to save his people from the invading Turkish hordes.
What did we think?
Andrew Stewart says: Action hero flick meets comic-book thriller meets PG13 horror film and it’s not a winning combination. Evans carries the film through a suspenseful but ultimately jumbled Dracula origins tale. Battle scenes don’t reach any epic heights (they’re mostly just full of bats, and not the kind you hit people with) and for a vamp story there’s not a great deal of horror here either. This one didn’t totally suck (get it? Vampires!) but it wasn’t bloody good either.
The Equalizer
What’s it about?
An everyday insomniac turns out to be more than he seems when the scum of the earth floats to the top of his little pond. He quickly goes about adding ventilation holes to those who would do harm to the innocent in his life.
What did we think?
Dan says: This modern reimagining of the eighties TV show of the same name is a beautiful demonstration of the ‘Justice Porn’ genre of film. Denzil Washington is a calm and calculating avenging angel. Apparently invincible he separates each two dimensional bad guy from his insides on route to make calmly psychopathic speeches to his main adversary.
The film doesn’t really challenge the viewer unless the viewer’s stomach for visceral violence is weak. No big surprises but a well-made piece of cinema that would have wooed Edward Woodward if Edward Woodward could be wooed.
Editor's Choice
Tusk
What’s it about?
A new media letch with a poorly calibrated moral compass gets abducted. He is to be the subject of experiments to see if his humanity can be stripped from him if he is surgically transformed into a walrus.
What did we think?
Dan Beeston says: I’ve never seen a film where a fifth of the audience walked out and two fifths stayed right through the credits. This film is nothing if not divisive. Kevin Smith creates an eclectic parody of a horror film. It’s never scary but is appreciatively grotesque.
Justin Long is denied lines of dialogue as his character transforms – it’s probably a good thing as his character is neither likeable nor charismatically detestable. The Québécois detective is boring and pales in comparision to Michael Parks’ stellar performance.
Smith has re-embraced his independent beginnings and I’m glad this film exists but I think that he also needs a slightly firmer guiding hand.
Gone Girl
What’s it about?
Nick Dunne’s wife Amy disappears suddenly one morning, with signs suggesting she has been abducted, possibly murdered. As the hunt for her begins and the story of their marriage unfolds, police and media suspicion falls on Nick.
What did we think?
Francesca Percy says: How well do you know your spouse? This is the central question of Gone Girl, based on the acclaimed novel and screenplay by Gillian Flynn, cleverly directed by David Fincher and featuring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, brilliantly cast as the central couple, too cool to be true. It’s a suspenseful treasure hunt that draws you in further with every clue, twist and revelation about Ben and Amy, from the first time they meet to the day of their fifth anniversary. Honestly, the less you know about the plot, the better. It’s thrilling, chilling, occasionally funny, and well worth your time.
Dracula Untold
What it’s about?
Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans), prince of Transylvania, risks eternal damnation by gaining demonic superpowers in order to save his people from the invading Turkish hordes.
What did we think?
Andrew Stewart says: Action hero flick meets comic-book thriller meets PG13 horror film and it’s not a winning combination. Evans carries the film through a suspenseful but ultimately jumbled Dracula origins tale. Battle scenes don’t reach any epic heights (they’re mostly just full of bats, and not the kind you hit people with) and for a vamp story there’s not a great deal of horror here either. This one didn’t totally suck (get it? Vampires!) but it wasn’t bloody good either.
The Equalizer
What’s it about?
An everyday insomniac turns out to be more than he seems when the scum of the earth floats to the top of his little pond. He quickly goes about adding ventilation holes to those who would do harm to the innocent in his life.
What did we think?
Dan says: This modern reimagining of the eighties TV show of the same name is a beautiful demonstration of the ‘Justice Porn’ genre of film. Denzil Washington is a calm and calculating avenging angel. Apparently invincible he separates each two dimensional bad guy from his insides on route to make calmly psychopathic speeches to his main adversary.
The film doesn’t really challenge the viewer unless the viewer’s stomach for visceral violence is weak. No big surprises but a well-made piece of cinema that would have wooed Edward Woodward if Edward Woodward could be wooed.