|
87%
|
The Way, Way Back (2013)
|
"It is a work of outward simplicity but resonates with a depth that anyone who was ever an awkward teen will identify with instantly."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
75%
|
World War Z (2013)
|
"Forster delivers big-scale action entertainment, a compelling work that flexes its own sinewy muscles while still fulfilling the hopes of zombie fans, who have wanted to see the walking dead given the mega-budget treatment for some time."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
11%
|
After Earth (2013)
|
"Shyamalan mashes up the man-vs-nature journey with some post-apocalyptic sci-fi stuff, and neither manages to hold audience interest."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
Final cut - Hölgyeim és uraim ()
|
"The millions of frames that have made up a century of cinema are honoured here in one of the most exhilarating montage constructs ever produced; it is a suitably grand yet deeply intimate work."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
56%
|
Lovelace (2013)
|
"Given content that screamed out for a vital, 'Boogie Nights'-style treatment, what we get is a workmanlike biopic that feels TV-safe rather than big-screen daring."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
38%
|
The Rambler (2013)
|
"Dermot Mulroney's 'Man with No Name' drifter is all too appropriately at the centre of offbeat auteur Calvin Reeder's 'Film with No Point', The Rambler."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
50%
|
The Great Gatsby (2013)
|
"Luhrmann's current creative mindset reflects more PT Barnum than J Gatsby; a manipulative showman able to conjure images of light and colour to dazzle the masses while wilfully neglecting their hearts and minds."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
11%
|
A Haunted House (2013)
|
"Sporadically misogynistic, homophobic and grade-school puerile in equal measure, it is also not without the occasional laugh-out-loud moment."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
20%
|
The Hangover Part III (2013)
|
"This final instalment...refuses to try for the giggly rhythm of the first film, preferring a solid examination of the endearing themes of friendship, individuality and eccentricity."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
87%
|
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
|
"Abrams works in scenes of friendship, honour, loss and loyalty, but the drama coasts on the emotional legacy of the series rather than creating any of its own heart or warmth. "
|
Simon Foster
|
|
78%
|
Iron Man 3 (2013)
|
"Shane Black's perfunctory, fatigued film will suffice for the fans who have to have their regular cinematic superhero fix, but will leave others generally unmoved."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
55%
|
Oblivion (2013)
|
"It is just as well director Joseph Kosinski renders his vision of a post-apocalyptic Earth with such crisp acuity, because his story plays a little fuzzy at times."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
9%
|
The Host (2013)
|
"Simply dismissing The Host as a shallow Invasion of the Body Snatchers/Romeo and Juliet mash-up would be to ignore how effectively it will play to large herds of mall-dwellers."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
94%
|
The History Of Future Folk (2013)
|
"If it sounds nutty, it is; but it is also an effortlessly lovable study in friendship, the power of the imagination and the joy of a musical awakening."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
85%
|
Sleepwalk With Me (2012)
|
"Sleepwalk With Me is a disposably sweet 'Annie Hall' rehash that achieves its minor ambitions with unremarkable efficiency."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
73%
|
Cockneys vs Zombies (2013)
|
"All that Hoene must do is stage his action well (he does), nail the comedic beats (gets it mostly right) and generally bring enough freshness to the endeavour so that detractors don't bleat "It's not as good as Shaun of the Dead" (which it is)."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
52%
|
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
|
"Few other mainstream directors wear their creative heart on their sleeve like the talented Singer; when next offered a time-filling gig, he may think twice."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
Vs (2013)
|
"Constantly struggling to match the promise of its premise, writer/director/star Jason Trost becomes mired in his own cyclical construct in the offbeat but underwhelming All Superheroes Must Die."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
The Human Race ()
|
"Filled with fine performances, splattery effects and an electrifying out-of-nowhere third-act twist that pushes Hough's feature debut into instant cult status."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
59%
|
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
|
"All four principals and their director Sam Raimi emerge no worse off for the experience, but nor do they cover themselves in any type of ground-breaking glory."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
60%
|
The Last Stand (2013)
|
"Resembling more the 'Austrian Oak' with each passing year, Arnold Schwarzenegger still manages to make a big, bloody fist of the archetypal action-hero in Kim Jee-woon's The Last Stand."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
13%
|
Safe Haven (2013)
|
""Nothing very much exciting happens, but it sure is beautiful," utters our square-jawed leading man Josh Duhamel, and there is no more apt description of Safe Haven."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
89%
|
Lincoln (2012)
|
"Every ounce of time-honoured respect a nation has seen fit to bestow upon The Great Emancipator is addressed frame by frame in Steven Spielberg's stately masterwork, Lincoln."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
4%
|
Movie 43 (2013)
|
"The very fact that all gave so willingly of their time and talent to feature in such a grotesque spectacle is sort of endearing."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
83%
|
Kon Tiki (2013)
|
"A handsomely-mounted human drama, epic in scope if not execution, Kon-Tiki is a worthy testament to the magnitude of the feat it portrays."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
50%
|
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
|
"Hyams' film is steeped in the myopic lust for vengeance that fuels many B-actioners, but he brings a great deal more to the proceedings."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
32%
|
Gangster Squad (2013)
|
"Gangster Squad...so clearly riffs on plot beats and key characters from 1987s The Untouchables, one is tempted to scan the credits for acknowledgement of Brian De Palma and David Mamet."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
61%
|
Jack Reacher (2012)
|
"As the melodrama unfolds, Jack Reacher might occasionally feel like a minor work in Tom Cruise's filmography; hindsight may reveal it to be one of his most accomplished and defining characterisations."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
65%
|
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
|
"For thousands, the Lord of The Rings trilogy was an emotion-filled spectacle; The Hobbit, by comparison, is all pixels and no pulse."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
52%
|
This is 40 (2012)
|
"Judd Apatow's first stint in the director's chair since 2009's under-appreciated Funny People isn't quite the classic middle-class American comedy/drama he might have made, but it's as close as Hollywood has gotten in a long time."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
88%
|
Life of Pi (2012)
|
"The wonder of Pi's sea-going struggle (phosphorescent whales; swarms of flying fish...it's all there in the trailer) is convincing; the framing, structure and impact of Pi's emotional and mental struggle, somewhat less so."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
81%
|
The Impossible (2012)
|
"That it should be so dramatically inert makes The Impossible one of 2012's most frustrating film-going experiences; you should feel so much of the anguish and suffering, so universal is their pain. But you just don't."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
59%
|
American Mary (2013)
|
"With their up-for-anything leading lady totally synched to their vision, [The Soska's] have crafted a shocking, slyly funny work of baroque modern horror."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
80%
|
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)
|
"The film captures the exhaustive healing process he had to endure to emerge (relatively) cleansed."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
60%
|
Housos Vs. Authority ()
|
"Dawes is the film's rough diamond; underneath her vulgar facade, she takes Shazza on a (comparatively) strong emotional arc and, to her credit, somehow manages to engender audience empathy. "
|
Simon Foster
|
|
92%
|
Skyfall (2012)
|
"Parental figures and familial legacy are central to the importance and impact of Sam Mendes' story and Ian Fleming's stylish protagonist becomes a more real but no less exciting figure because of it."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
Le guetteur ()
|
"Placido is a confident, competent craftsman...but not so much that a nagging sense that the whole enterprise is a little bit daft ever fully dissipates."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
Marija's Own ()
|
"Despite all the indulgent add-on elements that Sukova imposes upon her debut work, there is sufficient insight and honesty to transcend the conceit."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
85%
|
The Master (2012)
|
"The Master, while probably not Anderson's 'best' film, may be remembered as his most important and unarguably most ambitious."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
——
|
Le prénom ()
|
"This compelling if occasionally too boisterous work never quite breaks free from its origins but is a vivid piece of cinema nonetheless."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
38%
|
Save Your Legs ()
|
"Steeped in a purely 'Strine larrikinism that clearly stems from screenwriter/co-star's Brendan Cowell's well-established on- and off-screen persona."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
93%
|
Looper (2012)
|
"Rian Johnson...has conjured a supremely well-crafted science-fiction thriller that fully delivers on the promise of its out-there premise."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
40%
|
Mental (2013)
|
"This is clearly an aesthetic that [Hogan] adores, but the unbridled joie de vivre he specialises in has also resulted in a deeply indulgent, wildly unwieldy film that ultimately feels as schizophrenic as several of his characters."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
26%
|
Kath & Kimderella ()
|
"There is a tangible sense that Kath and Kimderella is the last roll of the dice for a property that is well and truly played-out."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
7%
|
Whiteout (2009)
|
"Gallons of the titular correction fluid may have helped Dominic Sena's abysmal thriller if it had been applied at just about any juncture during the graphic novel-to-feature film script stage."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
65%
|
The Expendables 2 (2012)
|
"The Expendables 2 meanders through a reined-in, talky first half before giving the modern action fans (or, more likely, their fathers) the nostalgic bloodbath they have unknowingly longed for."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
74%
|
Hope Springs (2012)
|
"Jones should be in line for an Oscar nomination; so should Taylor's script. So to Streep, though her sublime skill at underplaying Kay is not as grandly showy as the Academy seems to like in her work. "
|
Simon Foster
|
|
61%
|
The Awakening (2012)
|
"Murphy exhibits a deft touch for a first-timer and can feel satisfied that his film honours the tradition of such spooky Brit works as The Haunting and The Innocents."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
31%
|
Total Recall (2012)
|
"Had he recalled the past with greater respect rather than crassly exploiting it for meagre present gain, Wiseman may have made a better film."
|
Simon Foster
|
|
85%
|
Bestiaire (2012)
|
"These beasts live a compromised life and Bestiaire raises questions as to whether mankind's best intentions justify the sacrifices they have unwittingly made."
|
Simon Foster
|
75%
80%
62%
52%
26%
4%
