Rating: A plethora of clichĂ©s. 2017’s summer blockbusters fizzle to a halt with “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”. In this formulaic action comedy. Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool“) plays Michael Bryce: a cocksure “Triple A rated” bodyguard, always planning three steps ahead so that he can protect his clients without killing anyone in the process. With such arrogance, a … Read more
I always approach a Quentin Tarantino film with a degree of nervous excitement. The nerves arise since the levels of gratuitous violence in his films is about 2 notches above the level I personally find comfortable. The excitement comes from the fact that the guy is an undisputed genius of storytelling through film. The Hateful … Read more
Avengers: Age of Ultron is nonsense. But it is glossy, well-packaged and star-studded nonsense. Following on from the defeat of Thor’s brother in the last film, the story revolves around Loki’s staff, an object of unspeakable power, which in a blitzkrieg of special effects is repatriated by the Avengers from a mountain fortress in a … Read more
Matthew Vaughn, who’s previous films in the director’s chair number just four – “Layer Cake”, “Stardust”, “Kick Ass” and “X-Men: First Class” – does not do subtle. But he certainly does do stylish and entertaining. Of this set of past works, Kingsman is probably most closely aligned to Kick Ass with its anarchic tone and … Read more
This is a very ‘worthy’ film, about an extraordinary moment in history, beautifully photographed by Janusz KamiĹ„ski, with a mesmeric performance by Daniel Day Lewis and an equally good performance by Tommy Lee Jones (I was less convinced by Sally Field). But it is very much a ‘Marmite’ film – some will love it, others … Read more