Letterboxd — Your life in film

Quentin Tarantino has a habit of going against the Hollywood grain. Specifically in that he champions grindhouse movies. Dirty, cheap and violent genre pictures from the 70s and 80s designed for drive-in theatres and filmed on a shoestring. QT's love of this style is the basis for much of his work. Django Unchained itself coming from the Sergio Corbucci spaghetti western. A bloodbath with grindhouse roots.

I like Django Unchained more than Inglorious Bastards (I can't remember how to miss-spell…

The fifth film in the Marvel Animation Extravaganza.

I've never been particularly fond of Steven Strange. He's not captured my imagination like Captain America, Hawkeye or Iron Man. And I think there's a reason for that. All the guys I love in the comic book world are normal guys in extraordinary situations. Doctor Strange's world is a magical one but there's a peculiar disconnect between him and reality. And Marvel try like hell to correct that here. The relationships he…

Right...Tsui Hark, you're not allowed back. Stay in Asia. Your movies over there are much more. More...not this. Also, Dennis Rodman don't you ever act again. Just don't do it.

The problem with 1997 is that Dennis Rodman was really famous. Like Paris Hilton levels of celebrity. Except he actually did something beyond blowing some dude on video and being a hotel heiress. Rodman was a basketball player famous for flamboyant outfits (which he wears throughout), flamboyant hair (which he…

I'm well aware that everyone and his uncle have already logged Dredd this month so I apologise for stating the bleedin' obvious in this review.

1. Dredd was a resounding success, albeit not financially, in that it captured the essence of the 2000AD source material. 2000AD doesn't translate well to the big screen on account of how dated, British and in-jokey it was. And I loved 2000AD. I was hoping for not only a Dredd series but also movies for…

This film doesn't just erase the memory of Stallone's poor mid 90s effort, it puts an explosive bullet through its eye.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about the new Dredd movie is that no one is going to see it. Both in the US and globally the numbers aren't coming back as 2000AD had hoped for. The film had a smart budget of $50M, which should have been easily attainable. And yet its not getting there. Its a real…

I've not seen Drop Zone since the original release. I got in from a long, long day at work last night and surfed until I hit this on TV and thought it'd be fun to re-watch. It sort of was but I had totally forgotten what a shameless attempt to recreate Point Break the whole thing was. But then, Point Break is awesome. I can see why so many imitators have tried (and failed) to recreate that movie. I'm looking…

I checked this out as part of a minor horror season, what with it almost being Halloween. Boy, was this a mistake. Eden Lake isn't a conventional horror. Its constructed like one. The normal 'bad guy' replaced with a bunch of chavs. It comes off as part Daily Mail social commentary and part British 'Hills Have Eyes' inbred hillbilly type movie. Its not even a badly made film but I found myself hating it anyway. Kelly Reilly makes for an…

I saw and quite enjoyed the original but Elite Squad 2 is a different kettle of fish entirely. It takes the street violence of the original and intertwines it with politics and personal lives. Its not as mean spirited and yet its far more relevant. Brazilian films have been on the rise for a decade now. Capitalising on the brilliance of City of God. Jose Padilha began his rise with the excellent documentary Bus 174. He may have struggled initially…