You don’t need us to tell you this was never going to be a good film, but in the age of Up and Where the Wild Things Are, there’s always a chance kids’ movies might surprise you. No surprises here unfortunately – this sequel to the equally inane Alvin and the Chipmunks sees our high-pitched protagonists dealing with high school and a rival rodent-based pop group with typical stupidity and slapstick humour. The plot is formulaic, there’s no acting to speak of and there’s enough cutesyness to test even the strongest stomach.
Rob Marshall’s Nine is set in an ultra chic 1960s Rome. Daniel Day Lewis stars as Guido Contini, a troubled Italian film-maker who after a string of cinematic flops, has ten days to go before shooting his long awaited movie Italia. What’s troubling him? Women of course. Women in the form of Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Marion Cotillard to name but a few…
It was about time Sherlock Holmes got the Hollywood treatment – audiences have been continually fascinated with Arthur Conan Doyle’s series of short detective stories through the years, yet they undoubtedly needed a little sexing up to succeed with a modern audience. Enter Guy Ritchie, whose new action-packed adaptation is certainly a departure from the original series, but nonetheless entertaining in its own right. The screenplay has enough intelligence not to completely insult fans of Conan Doyle’s stories, and it’s perfectly complemented by Downey Jr’s sarcastic, slightly camp take on Sherlock. This adaptation won’t set the world on fire, but it’s a fine two hours entertainment for a dreary winter’s night.
After the surprising success of the first St. Trinian’s reboot in 2007, a sequel was always a risky proposition: will it surpass the original and cement the franchise as a bona fide modern classic or sully the occasional chuckles of the original and sink the whole thing.
The buzz around Avatar has been almost unprecedented – James Cameron’s long-awaited return to sci-fi has been panned, praised and everything in between even before it was released. Approaching Avatar with an open mind, we discovered one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films of recent years.
No – scratch that. One of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and immersive films ever released.
Having won four British Comedy Awards, two Baftas and a South Bank Show award, James Corden’s comedy drama Gavin and Stacey is one of the BBC’s most well-received comedies of..
You can always judge a film (well, nominally, at any rate) by the quality of its source material. Cherishing our cynicism as we do at BestForFilm, a film based on a line of chunky, over-muscled action figures doesn’t exactly have us pre-booking our tickets. As it turns out, our cynicism is – once again – justified.
The latest in a steady stream of ‘bromance’ comedies that have been infiltrating the cinema since Anchorman and Knocked Up were surprise hits, you know what you’re in for when you go to rent this film from your local Blockbuster. That said, this film was a box office triumph when it hit cinemas as word spread it was a cut above most frat-boy comedies. But after all the hype, upon finally viewing this film we were underwhelmed.
If ‘kidult’ films are the latest trend in Hollywood, Where the Wild Things Are would be at a Kate Moss level of cool, as the hype surrounding it demonstrates. But this is one movie that lives up to its press – the sumptuous visuals, amazing costumes and edgy soundtrack create an amazing and unique cinematic experience. There’s not as much in it for the kids as some parents might like, but the lack of family-friendly formulaic storytelling is also what makes it great.
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