Letterboxd — Your life in film

I was born in the long, hot summer of 1982, the year Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan appeared on cinema screens. As far as I can recall, it was the first piece of Trek I watched on TV in late 80's as a young child, as I vividly recall a VHS tape from 1988 that I kept for a very long time. It kickstarted my love of a franchise that has lasted a quarter of a century and,…

I'd been waiting a small age to see V/H/S, for two reasons: I love, for my sins, found footage and equally I love anthology stories, especially when they're in the sci-fi or mystery realm, the latter of which this multi-directed piece hems the closest to. I'm sure someone new to the genre would have been jumping out of their skin at this, however seasoned horror veterans will be mildly ruffled at best; the beats that keep V/H/S above average are…

I would imagine most people agree that Iron Man 2 was quite the disappointment. Marvel's first foray into its ambitious cinematic universe was a strong Iron Man debut, full of vim and vigour, yet as the world around him deepened and grew more complex, director Jon Favreau forgot that darker & longer does not always mean 'better', delivering a bloated, sagging sequel with only a few bright spots; one might suggest, in fact, it's the only slightly below average entry into…

Two kinds of moviegoer will approach Jack Reacher from two different angles; there'll be the people who like Tom Cruise or the sound of the movie, and there's the fans of Lee Child's increasingly well known novels featuring Reacher. He's been knocking them out regularly since the mid-late 90's but I myself only picked them up on a mates recommendation a few months ago, in advance of the film. Given I'm reading chronologically, I'm a way off One Shot -…

Could Die Hard be the greatest action film of all time? I genuinely think there might be an argument for it, as John McTiernan's movie seems to tick every single box. Exciting? Check. Memorable? Check. Strong characterisation? Check. Funny? Check. I could go on. The list of what it gets right is huge, and the list of what it gets wrong is... possibly non-existent. It's brilliantly written, acted to near perfection, and directed with a verve McTiernan never recaptured. Not…

There are some movies that need no in-depth analysis, that need no explanation for why they are simply wonderful. They just are. The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of them.

Because when you combine, in my humble opinion, the finest story in all fiction from Charles Dickens, with possibly the best non-human creations in entertainment, and then throw the ever brilliant Michael Caine into the mix as Scrooge - not to mention a brace of memorable songs you'll be singing…

It's almost a no-brainer to think a director as oddball as Tim Burton might take on Lewis Carroll's infamously strange and trippy 19th century classic, it was surely only a matter of time he brought his Gothic aesthetic to the story of Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole to find herself in a new world of wonder, allegory and self-discovery. Yet if you're expecting anything as truly magical or deep as Carroll's source material, you're in for a disappointment; Burton's…

I remember the day Ayrton Senna died. I was almost 12 years old, at that time an avid watcher of Formula One racing, and the first weekend of May 1994 turned out to be one of tragedy for sport. Asif Kapadia's documentary is a fitting tribute to one of racing's greatest drivers, not because its a complete biography but rather it has the feel of a tragic drama; knowing how abruptly Senna's story ends only makes this journey all the…

You really get the feeling Dinner for Schmucks would have worked very well as a sketch, or perhaps even a one-off half hour comedy, given the simple premise taken from a well-received French farce. It's a good idea but as frequently is the case, the Hollywood treatment in an effort to fit a typical comedy formula strips back the funny nugget of an idea and serves up a lukewarm, sporadically funny and quite mean-spirited comedy that wastes the comedic talent…

I've heard Girl, Interrupted described as 'heartwarming' and I can see why some might find the real life story of Susanna Karsen and her time in a 1960's mental home such an experience, given it sees her troubled young woman rediscover life through her fellow patients - recipe for tugging the heart strings right? It would be if James Mangold's movie didn't unfortunately portray Winona Ryder's Susanna as a self-absorbed whiner who it becomes very quickly hard to root for.…