iKickstand Reviews

Lost River (2014)

A beautiful, mysterious and grotesque moving painting

[8/10 · 17 April 2015]

Visually stunning. Sets, lighting, locations, imagery and grading. Soundtrack also helps to set a very moody tone. Feels very much a Refn film, I can understand why he recently said they were "twins" making the same movies. Matt Smith is great as the psycho nutjob, I encourage any Dr Who fans to see this based on his performance alone.

The film does feel a bit rushed at the ending (perhaps because of the ten minutes taken out since Cannes). The whole package of visuals, sound and eerie town creates a fantasy like package like Only God Forgives, Valhalla Rising or even Mullholland Drive.

Yes, the plot wasn't the strongest but I don't believe this is enough of an issue to warrant such a tiny limited cinema release on a weekend that the Fast and Furious 7 is playing four times a day in every town. Gosling is a very promising director and once he gets hold of a great script with a really strong story, he may have a universally praised hit on his hands. I for one though will be happy If he continues making mystical art house films like this. The last few years have clearly shown it's where his passion lies.

Ex Machina (2014)

Thrilling, tense, scary and though provoking

[9/10 · 16 March 2015]

I love Artificial Intelligence films. "Blade Runner", "A.I" and "The Terminator" are among some of my favourite Sci-Fi movies so I was naturally looking forward to Ex Machina as soon as I saw the trailer. It didn't let me down.

I love the feel of this movie. Everything in Nathan's housing complex seems so clean, polished and state of the art yet the confined, remote setting makes you feel claustrophobic and helpless when things start going wrong. Despite all the advanced technology we are introduced to though, it doesn't feel too optimistic or far off into the long-term future, like a more civilised version of "Children of Men".

The film centers around four main characters which is just enough to keep things tightly focused but also keep you guessing everybody's motives throughout the running time. The performances by Oscar Isaac (who I am sure everyone is familiar with now) and Alicia Vikander are especially great with Alicia embodying the intelligent android "Ava" brilliantly.

The film says a lot about what it means to create an artificial life with personality in this quickly evolving world that we are living in. With mobile companions like "Siri" or "Cortana" now commonplace in our pockets, I feel this is a better time than ever to watch and discuss what these advancements will mean for the human race in ten to twenty years, and provides a good companion peace to "Her" released at the same time last year.

The last fifteen minutes are exciting, tense, slightly horrifying and will leave you with mixed emotions about each character and how they behaved. For me, it's already a top contender for film of 2015. Catch it on theaters or on Blu-Ray as soon as you can.

Frank (II) (2014)

I love you all

[7/10 · 16 March 2015]

"Frank" was great. Ginger lad from Ex Machina joins Jake Gyllenhaal's sister (Yoko Ono)'s avant-garde band. They spend time recording in Ireland before heading to the states to perform live for their masses of fans at the SXSW festival. Picks up especially to the end building up to their final performance where we see band life isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

You will feel inspired to go make some crazy music or walk out the house in just a dressing gown and some flippers as this movie cheers for the unique and strangely creative creature inside all of us. Recommended - as long as you're looking for something different.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Great searching-for-someone thriller. Especially picks up during last hour

[8/10 · 16 March 2015]

I read that the original script was written about the decade long search and failed manhunt of Osama Bin Laden but was completely re- written months before filming began once American forces had found and killed him. In hindsight, this is really lucky because I felt the film really picked up pace once the Pakistan fortress was introduced and especially during the half hour long night raid. Jessica Chastain gives another great performance as the strong and smart CIA operative who's ten year work was the backbone of finally hunting down the worlds most wanted man. Other roles are played well enough but it really rests on Chastain's shoulders. The movie was released at the perfect time following the true events that took place. I'm glad that they didn't release this a year earlier or I feel it would have felt unfinished ala Zodiac.

Locke (2013)

In a confined and limited setting, a grand central performance shines

[8/10 · 16 March 2015]

Whoever pitched "Locke" to a film studio must have some magic Jedi- mind convincing powers because on paper - a Welshman driving down the M1 for an hour and a half, while using the hands-free speaker in his car to communicate with the other characters in the film - it doesn't sound like the most riveting plot for a feature length movie.

In truth though, the stellar performance and charisma of Tom Hardy make "Locke" thrilling and unable to turn your attention away from the screen as this mans life unravels during the hardest and longest emotional drive of his life. Bar one or two shots, the whole thing is filmed inside one BMW X3 but at no point do you feel bored or wishing for more to entertain your eyes.

If you enjoyed "Buried" or "127 Hours" then give "Locke" a go next. It's available on Netflix now and well worth the 88 minute sitting.

Buried (2010)

A lesson of getting the absolute most from very little

[8/10 · 14 July 2011]

10 minutes in I thought "This is going to be a long hour and a half" but it soon picked up and did a great job of keeping suspense and tension for the film's duration. Don't think I've ever seen a movie so minimalist (only one character & one "room" shown) so to keep excitement going throughout is a testament to everyone involved (including Reynolds) and an inspiration to any low budget film makers, proving you only need a camera and one cast member to make a decent film.

I applaud the brave ending too, although not so sure about the song at end credits. Not sure what they were playing at there, seemed completely out of tone with the film. Worth watching if you didn't get bored through "Phonebooth" or "12 Angry Men". Avoid if you have a child's attention span.

My Left Foot (1989)

More to offer than just the Day-Lewis performance

[8/10 · 14 July 2011]

Was at first sceptical whether I would enjoy it but the interesting events of Christy's childhood and humour of 40's Irish family life won me over.

The relationship of Christy and his mother is a special one and the way the film shows a person with cerebral palsy doing all he can to live a normal life, is inspiring. Of course most people will seek this out for Daniel Day-Lewis's Oscar winning performance which is completely justified but I think Brenda Fricker is just as good here. Give it a chance even if the subject matter doesn't appeal to you. You'll be glad you did afterwards.

Carrie (1976)

Drawn out, irritating and disappointing

[2/10 · 14 July 2011]

I had been greatly looking forward to watching this one for a long time and after finally doing so I honestly can't see what people like so much about this drawn out, stupid, annoying, wet flannel of a horror film.

For an allegedly famously scary movie, it took so long to get to any sort of horror it was a joke. It wouldn't have been so bad if the buildup content was interesting but what we have instead is child-like garbage dialogue from John Travolta and Nancy Allen's characters (along with comedy slap noise and school ground insults - most of this movie felt like a spoof to me ) and a repulsively irritating mother who will definitely prevent me from re-watching the film. Everyone know's what is going to happen at the end by the poster or DVD cover so by the time the slow-mo bucket scene at the prom was dragging along at snail's pace, I was virtually screaming out JUST PULL THE ROPE ALREADY!! Of course the only highlight of the film following this scene (all the destruction/revenge bits) went so quickly compared to the rest of the picture, that I felt robbed.

The only savior came at the very last scene, when even when I'd guessed what was coming it still made me jump a little. Truly a below average movie which I'm sure could have been filmed much better had someone else directed the Stephen King story. After seeing so much praise for this, I am very, very disappointed.

22 Bullets (2010)

Nothing bad but nothing new

[5/10 · 14 July 2011]

Cliché'd, slowly paced and terribly inaccurate firearm behaviour goofs. I'm all for purposeful silliness but when this is tries to be a "Bourne" film at the same time as a man surviving 22 close range bullet wounds without any serious injuries, as well as using the usual wooden doors for cover later on - that gets to me.

Suffers from dumb-mobsters syndrome too. Plot and acting was just enough to stop me from getting too bored before the end. Not a badly made film if you are looking for a run-of-the-mill revenge movie but if you have watched any number of movies in this genre before, this will seem very familiar with not much originality to offer. See "Man on fire" (2004) for a great alternative.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

First a Rom-Zom-Com, now an action-comedy?

[7/10 · 6 February 2007]

I saw this film last night at a preview screening at the vue cinema in Romford.

I must admit I was a little worried about the movie, during the first 10 minutes. There are surprisingly few laughs at the start of the film which may put some people off or cause people to expect the worst. Thankfully it does pick up soon enough though.

Being a fan of Simon's, Nicks and Edgars previous work, it is impossible to not compare this to Shaun or Spaced. And although Fuzz only really shines in the second half, and I don't feel this film had as many quotable one-lines as SOTD, it does have very funny parts. Nick Frost is great as usual, and plays a very different & unique character then Ed or Mike. I did feel Pegg's character was maybe a bit too serious though, as most of the comedy was left to the village supporting characters (played by a lot of Britain's comedy stars).

I think the biggest surprise was how good the action element was in the last section of the film. It really was as good as any other action film around these days, and left me wondering if Hot Fuzz was intended to primarily be an action or comedy film.

One word of warning for anyone young planning on seeing the movie: some of the murder scenes are a bit gruesome. But nothing worse then in shaun.

Overall a very good British comedy film,, and nice follow up to Shaun of the dead. I would gladly go again Now I just wish the guys would get on with spaced series 3!

The Departed (2006)

Violence, Language & maybe a bit over-clever

[7/10 · 6 October 2006]

I will start by saying if you are not a fan of very strong violence or very strong language, you should probably steer clear of this one. If you have seen any Scorsese movie before, you should know what to expect, but be warned this should be able to give goodfellas a run for its money on the cold blooded killings and swearing front.

I did like this movie a lot, but did have a hard time keeping up with it at times. There is A lot of people being undercover, switching sides and generally lieing to each other as to who's side they are on. Luckily it didn't get to the point of trying to be too over-clever (see oceans 12) but at times it was trying, and I feel the average viewer would have a hard time keeping up with this story.

Jack Nocholsons character reminded me a lot of Ben Kingsley's in Sexy Beast. A very intimidating and unpredictable man, who uses extreme violence and language on an everyday basis. And even though they both did not have much screen time (compared to some other major characters)I think everyone will agree they were both the best thing about both of these films.

Throughout watching this film, I couldn't help think it reminded me a lot of Michael Mann's action-drama "Heat". Both films used a lot of character development to make the shootout scenes that much more rewarding. Both used a mix of mellow and tense music to add extra depth to the scenes, and both used the entire first three quarters of the movie just as a warm up for the end when all the action took place, and you finally figured everything out.

I'm sure a lot of people will like the final 20 minutes a lot, I felt a bit like as there was so much time spent on developing thee plot and characters, Marty felt as though there wasn't much else left to do so just decided to kill everyone off. But I guess this was the way it turned out in the original, so I cant comment on that.

Overall I liked this film a lot. I think it should have maybe ended about 10 minutes earlier, as at one point near the very end I thought to myself "Most of the characters are gone, what is left to do"? I'm still deciding if it was my favourite of the year so far, but after 6 months or so waiting for the release, I think I can safely say I was not disappointed.

First Strike (1996)

Probably my overall favourite Chan

[7/10 · 1 April 2006]

I'm pretty sure this was one of the first Jackie Chan movies I saw, and the point where I became a fan. After watching it again last night, I can see why I started to like Jackie so much after this film.

The film isn't perfect, far from it. As very common in these films, it takes ages to settle into any proper action or story, carries the trademark terrible dialogue in all talking scenes and has a whole host of continuity errors and goofs. But what this film does have, in my opinion, is possibly Chans best overall performance of his career so far.

This film shows how much of an athletic talent Jackie really is, from the fight scenes to all the ways Jackie climbs over obstacles and into windows during the movie. This movie really showed me what a leading man was capable in the way of stunts when I first saw it, and still shows what the human body can do in any situation.

I don't think it really needs any more praise on here, but the mid movie ladder fight (and all build up to it) really needs to be seen to be believed. The gag real at the end of the movie show how dangerous this really was as well.

I just love Jackie's acrobatic style in this film. I am so glad I still find movies like this entertaining after I was so disappointed by the much hyped drunken master and original police story. I still need to see a few more of Chan's early work, but for now, this is my fav.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Whats "Mad" about him?

[3/10 · 21 March 2006]

This movie confuses me.

It seems as if it wants to appeal to a young audience, as a good portion of the film features Max hanging round with a posse of 10 year old kids. But unlike the movie "Hook" (which has more of the same) this film carries a 15 certificate by introducing scenes where 2 men battle it out with chainsaws (while attached to a bungee, as you do).

So as you can suspect, one man and 50 kids didn't provide the most interesting scenes, and was the main reason why this film sags so much in the middle. I guess the end road race could be considered a minor highlight, but it was too little too late for a film which starts with a midget and a mentally challenged giant ordering a towns villagers around.

Mel Gibson has done a lot better then this. As I said before, the whole tribe-kids bit in the middle bored the hell out of me. If you want to make a kids film, do it properly. If you want to make an adult one, get rid of all this pantomime action.

It's probably the right time now to say I hadn't actually seen the first two mad max films, before seeing this one. But after this effort, I don't know why i'd want to.

And i didn't even start on Tina Turner. I'm sure enough people on here already have..

It gets 3 out of 10 because I did watch it till the end, and, well I just don't like giving really low scores out often.

Anger Management (2003)

As Sandler comedies go, this is a good one

[6/10 · 21 March 2006]

I first saw Anger Management on release in 2003, and watched it again recently. I must say it didn't feel as good as I remembered it, but I still found it entertaining on second watch and a cut above most Hollywood comedies of the last few years.

I think it is obvious (Even if you haven't seen it yet) that Nicholson makes the film what it is, but thats not to say Sandler acts his typical un-funny self (although I did also enjoy Big Daddy).

Some nice gags, watchable slapstick comedy, and another great Nicholson performance make this stand out as a good comedy of recent years for me. But then again, I'm not a massive ran of the genre.

Its performances like this from Sandler, which put my faith back in Tarrantino for allegedly casting him in his upcoming war movie (if you believe the rumours) And I didn't even mention how good Marisa Tomei and Heather Graham look in this movie..

Made in Britain (1982 TV Movie)

More appealing then you would expect

[5/10 · 14 March 2006]

I'll keep this one short by just saying I liked this movie a lot more then I thought I might. By the middle of the film, I found myself laughing out loud at a lot of Trevor's comments and actions. In particular, the finger on the bell scene at the end of the movie had me in hysterics because of Trevor's sheer lack of respect for anyone else. His facial expressions were also a treat at times, especially at the end when you realise there is just no hope for him.

Obviously this film is not for everyone, as it deals with the kind of issues you would expect from the director of the firm and scum. But if you realise this character is only fictional, and no one really thinks like that these days, you might find Made in Britain a fairly entertaining hour.

At only 70 odd minutes, its hard for me to reward it with a higher score. But it was indeed interesting viewing, and a must see for any Tim Roth fans out there wanting to see where he started out.

The King of Comedy (1982)

A solid De Niro comedy performance, without a focker in sight

[7/10 · 14 March 2006]

For me the main attraction to this movie was to see if De Niro was ever a good comedy actor, before he got involved with Ben Stiller in those dire focker films. Of course it was another De Niro-Scorsese movie to, which was another strong drawing point.

After watching the movie, I think Robert pulled of another great performance as a wannabe comic/nutter. He can do all the gangster roles he likes, but for me these are the types of movies that show what a great range his acting has. Jerry Lewis was also very good as the celebrity who was sick of all the attention. I must admit Sandra Bernhard was nothing special here though, only really drawing attention away from de niro and lewis who were the main attractions.

For me, the films highlight was when we finally got to see some of Rupert's material at the end of the movie. I also liked how the movie was put together (a bit like taxi driver) where we were left wondering which events actually happened, and what was just in his head.

Don't go into this movie expecting a comedy/de niro-scorsese master piece. But if you would like to see something a bit different from Robert, this is definitely worth a watch.

Police Story (1985)

Very Disappointed

[3/10 · 11 March 2006]

Being a big Jackie Chan fan, and trying to watch as many martial arts films lately, I was looking forward to seeing Police Story as I have heard a lot about it being arguably his best film. So I thought I would buy this film last week, to finally see what all the fuss was about. After watching it, I still don't know.

I will first start with the films highlights (yes, it does have a few). The opening bus/umbrella scene was very well done, and is a classic example of vintage Chan. That whole beginning scene wasn't bad, and remained entertaining at the very least. It was after this opener was over, when the film started to go down hill. What we have during the middle of the film, is just a lot of nonsense which included needless and boring dialogue and a totally stupid (but although slightly amusing) scene where Chan pretends to be fighting off an unconscious intruder. I think I remember one very short and average fight scene in this middle of this somewhere, but the majority of the film is just padded out rubbish that didn't keep me interested at all.

Which brings me to the last 10 or so minutes of the movie which involved a lot of glass being smashed in a shopping centre. While this did keep me interested (mostly because something was finally happening after all that nothingness) I did still find it a below average climax to a Jackie Chan film that I am used to. The main films highlight for me, came when the film was over during the credits as we say Jackie's first trademark out-takes session which was amusing and nice to see included. But overall, this didn't make up for my disappointed and the money I had wasted on this DVD purchase. I'm just glad I didn't buy the special edition..

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, and who knows, I may really enjoy this movie on a second viewing (that does happen a lot actually). But I think a lot of my disappointed from this movie was due to the amount of praise and build up I had heard before watching it. I think you would enjoy it more going in with an open mind having not heard any previous reviews or comments on its quality. But I still prefer most of Jackies later films.

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Not as bad as some say...

[6/10 · 11 March 2006]

I think this film has got some rather harsh reviews from some sources, claiming it is not as clever as it thinks it is and so on. I've also heard it being compared to the similar film of last year revolver, but I haven't seen this one yet so I cant comment on this.

I saw this movie last week, and I must say cant really remember a lot of it (which isn't really a good sign). What I can remember is the cast performances were actually quite good. John Hartnett made a good job of keeping the main character funny and interesting. Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley both played their crime boss parts well. If nothing else, Lucy Lui is very nice to look at, and although it was obviously not his best performance ever, Bruce Willis did a good job of playing a world class assassin who is more involved in the stories events then you might first think.

I cant really remember anything at all about the soundtrack, editing or direction apart from the fact there was nothing we really haven't seen before, as most of the films appeal lies in the cast and complex plot.

I think Lucky Number Slevin is just another case of a decent crime-mystery thriller which we have seen pulled off in better ways before. You could certainly find worse ways of spending a few hours, and make no mistake, this film is a lot better then most Hollywood action-thrillers that spoon feed the plot to you, and leave you to just turn your brain off.

If you really want to see a perfectly crafted crime thriller that will have you guessing the plot till the end, you may want to rather watch something like L.A Confidential, or the brilliant Usual Suspects. But if you like the look of this film, don't listen to a lot of the critical abuse it has been getting, and give it a go. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Another well made Scott film, but we've seen it all before

[4/10 · 11 March 2006]

Well i'll start by saying this film isn't exactly badly made, although most of the problem is it just doesn't offer much new material that we haven't seen before from this genre. I cant really complain about the acting, in a film where even Orlando Bloom gave a good performance. It would have been better however if Liam Neeson had starred a bit longer, but he was yet again only reduced to the first half hour or so of the film.

For a film of this nature, I thought the soundtrack was a bit bland to be honest. I guess the film's main highlights were the big and small battle scenes, and although remaining realistic and interesting, I couldn't help feeling the final battle had spent to much time trying to be identical to the one at the end of The Two Towers.

Kingdom of Heaven is a well acted and choreographed movie, that suffers from very clichéd pre-battle dialogue and a predictable plot. I guess it may be entertaining to those who have yet to see the likes of Spartacus, gladiator or the lotr films. But for anyone who has, this feels like just another carbon copy which has little new to offer. I would like to say it is still an entertaining way to spend an evening, but with a plot that is dragged out to 2 hours+ just to make it feel more epic, I fail to see the point of more movies like this when we already have similar, better alternatives.

Of course it was directed by the legend that is Ridley Scott though who has earned the right to make a few mistakes like this.