Whip It (2010) Coming of age sports movie Whip It is the directorial debut of actress turned producer Drew Barrymore. Rating: MMMM Director: Drew Barrymore Starring: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden,...
Invictus (2010) Rating: MMMMM Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Invictus tells the story of the true events that followed the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa, and Mandela’s subsequent...
Up In The Air (2010) Rating: MMM+ New slick comedy-drama from the award-winning director of Juno, Jason Reitman. Director: Jason Reitman Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick Running time: 109 mins In...
Sherlock Holmes (2009) Rating: MMMM Review of 'geezer' director Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic character (and the world's most famous detective) the inimitable Sherlock Holmes. Director: Guy Ritchie Starring:...
Avatar (2009) Rating: MM Review of James Cameron's uber-blockbuster and long anticipated space adventure epic, Avatar. Director: James Cameron Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Zoe Saldana,...
Rating: MMMM
Review of Richard Linklater’s 1930s set period piece about the great Orson Welles’ theatrical triumph – his version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay
Running time: 114 mins
It was a tiring day at work, I’d already watched an old (and slightly below-par) episode of Gavin and Stacey, I’d dropped the last cookie in the house in my cup of tea (turning it into a soggy mush), I was in a downward spiral. Gazing over at a pile of unwatched and unopened dvds, my listless eyes fell upon series 1 of ‘Mad Men’. Despite believing myself to be devoid of the energy that I usually invest in a new television series, I blithely decided to give the aliterated show a visual whirl.
Currently finishing airing on BBC2 is HBO’s ‘reconstruction’ of the cop show, ‘The Wire’ (2002-2008), which for me has set a new standard in television drama. Not since ‘The West Wing’ have we seen such a rich and frankly rewarding series.
Rating: MMMM
Review of Michael Mann’s ‘biopic’ of the notorious American criminal, John Dillinger.
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, David Wenham, Stephen Dorff
Running time: 140 mins
Rating: MMM
Review of Doubt first published in a February 2009 issue Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Starring: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Running time: 104 mins
Rating: MMMM
Review of Frost/Nixon first published in a January 2009 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell
Running time: 122 mins
Review of Blood Diamond as the ‘classic review’ feature first published in a November 2008 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly
Running time: 143 mins
Rating: MMMMM
Review of the first season of hit US television show ‘The West Wing’, article first published in October 2008 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.