In the nine years since The Office first appeared on out TV screens, way back in 2001, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have become household names and international superstars. The Office has spawned numerous foreign versions (The American version is currently on its sixth season) and their follow-up sitcom Extras went on to be just as successful. That’s not to mention all the radio shows, podcasts and stand-up shows the pair have done between them. So it’s safe to say there’s a fair old expectation surrounding Cemetery Junction, Gervais and Merchant’s first feature film. But is it any good?
First they released Alvin and the Chipmunks, a horrifically high-pitched cacophony of holiday season ‘fun’. With kids flocking to the cinemas in droves, the inevitable follow-up, painfully labelled ‘The Squeakquel’ materialised in late 2009. Following the DVD marketing mantra of “everyone loves a film series packaged in the same box with loads of extras” to the letter, the unavoidable ‘Double Trouble’ has surfaced, breaking the record for “the biggest piece of crap to ever be released in a two-disc box set”.
You don’t need us to tell you this was never going to be a good film. The title alone is enough to not only toy with your upchuck reflex, but also cause you to file this one away to the ‘only if I’m stuck on babysitting duty’ box. Still, we live in an age where kids’ films are fast becoming an art form all their own – from Up to Where the Wild Things Are, this year’s family offerings have allowed us all to shamelessly enjoy ourselves at the cinema with the under 10s. So perhaps some out there among you are curious whether The Squeakquel could rise to the occasion?
The original Universal Soldier, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as a pair of battling super-soldiers, was released in 1999, back when the ipod was less than a glint int Steve Jobs’s eye and nobody except super nerds had heard of the Internet. Now, for the first time in 18 years, Van Damme and Lundgren have reunited to bring the smack down in Universal Soldier: Regeneration! Better late than never, guys…
Whip It is to feminism what GPS systems are to driving: a voice confidently telling you you’re on the right road, whilst you can’t help but stare around wildly, wondering where the hell you are. Sexy, grubby and exciting to watch, Whip It is certainly a cut above your average chick-flick and we’re happy to roll their way, though we’re not totally sure where they’re taking us.
Considered by many to be the last great British film of the ’90s, Human Traffic is an endearingly honest depiction of a weekend in the lives of five pill-popping twentysomethings. Credited with launching the careers of John Simm (Life on Mars) and much-maligned ‘mockney’ Danny Dyer, Human Traffic manages to capture the zeitgeist of the rave scene to perfection.
Edward Norton, an office worker unfulfilled by the monotomy of modern life teams up with the dynamic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) a soap salesman. Together they embark on a journey of illegal boxing, civil disobedience and ultimately the destruction of modern corporate society. But the real question that needs to be asked is; who really is Tyler Durden?
Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann star in this cult classic about two actors who go on holiday “by mistake”. Unemployed actors Withnail (Grant) and “I” (McGann) escape their 1960s Camden flat for a much-needed holiday in the countryside. However they soon discover that the country is just as, if not more stressful than living in London.
Rec, The Ring, Let The Right One In, the list goes on. Foreign horror films always seem to know how to get the adrenaline going and the new French sick flick Martyrs is no exception. The film is based around Lucie, an abused orphan (this is the first clue that the film is going to be uncomfortable viewing) who, along with her childhood friend Anna look for revenge on her past tormentors. The tormentors seem to be, on the outside, a regular suburban couple and you start to think Lucie has made a mistake. Lucie kills the couple and their children as well as her taking her own life, leaving Anna behind.
Enter the next generation of comic-book movies. Kick-Ass is truly a brilliant and original take on a sorely overdone franchise, but if you’re looking for a laugh-a-minute flick you’ve come to the wrong place. Kick-Ass is not for the faint of heart, with humour as black as coal and violence to rival the goriest of horrors. However, it could be that it’s all the better for its darkness. Though its pretty impossible to avoid the hundreds of stars thrown in Kick-Ass’s direction, we tried our very hardest to come to it with an open mind. And we’re glad we did.
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