Iron Sky
Released: 2012
Directed by: Timo Vuorensola
Written by: Michael Kalesniko
Starring: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Götz Otto, Peta Sergeant
Plot: After World War 2 a select group of Nazis build a secret base on the Moon and plan for a future invasion. Accidentally discovered by astronauts they begin the invasion early.
For: Some cool FX / great idea.
Against: Everything else. Not funny, acting is terrible, plot is terrible etc
Favourite Scene: None
Rating: 0.5 Lukes
Haywire
Released: 2011
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Lem Dobbs
Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender
Plot: A black ops mercenary seeks payback after she is betrayed during a mission.
For: Great stunts and fighting scenes. You can actually see what is happening, which seems to be a rarity these days. Gina Carano’s first acting performance and she does a good job. Great cast
Against: Plot is obvious and drags on a bit / soundtrack is weird and distracting / Carano sounds dubbed
Favourite Scene: Every fight scene, especially the sequence where she is trying to elude capture through the city.
Rating: 3 Lukes
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Highlander
Released: 1986
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Written by: Gregory Widen
Starring: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown
Plot: An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled “Prize”.
For: A classic from my childhood that I watched again recently with Crystal, and even she liked it! What’s not to love – epic sword fights, a Frenchman playing a Scot, and a Scot playing an Egyptian, Clancy Brown in the performance of his life as the awesome Kurgan, There Can Be Only One!
Against: Although I love this film I do admit it has flaws, especially Lambert’s terrible acting, but I’m not going to dwell on them.
Favourite Scene: Too many to list them all so I’ll go with every scene the Kurgan is in, especially the church scene.
Rating: 4.5 Lukes
Mirror Mirror
Released: 2012
Directed by: Tarsem Singh
Written by: Jason Keller & Mark Klein
Starring: Julia Roberts, Lilly Collins, Armie Hammer
Plot: A retelling of the Snow White fable, an evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.
For: Everything looks gorgeous / a great film if you’re 5 years old / Lilly Collins is very pretty
Against: Gorgeous sets and design can’t cover up a crap story / Julia Roberts / the entire tone of the film is off / not funny / I’m not 5 years old
Favourite Scene: None
Rating: 1 Luke
Safe House
Released: 2012
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Written by: David Guggenheim
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds
Plot: A bored young CIA agent is the caretaker of a CIA safe house, where counts away the minutes and yearns for field work. That boredom is shattered when the world’s most wanted man is brought into his care and the safe house is attacked, forcing them to go on the run.
For: Always happy to see both Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds / good mix of action and drama
Against: The ‘betrayed plot twist’ at the end is painfully obvious / the assault on the safe house is directed strangely, using shots that are meant to invoke sympathy for characters that we only just met 2 seconds ago and don’t get a chance to care about.
Favourite Scene: The entire sports stadium sequence
Rating: 3.5 Lukes
From Hell
Released: 2001
Directed by: Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes
Written by: Alan Moore (original story), Terry Hayes (screenplay)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm
Plot: Troubled Inspector Abberline investigates the Jack The Ripper murders and falls in love with one of the killer’s targets.
For: The original graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell is genius so everything this films steals from that is awesome / Johnny Depp and Ian Holm are always great
Against: Everything else. Instead of supposedly adapting brilliance and failing at almost every step, why not just come up with your own work? Don’t say its an adaption and then ignore most of it.
Favourite Scene: Can’t think of one
Rating: 1 Luke
The Grey
Released: 2011
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Written by: Joe Carnahan & Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney and Frank Grillo
Plot: After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
For: Surprisingly tense drama / most Wolf effects are convincing (uses a mix of real & FX shots) / Liam Neeson is a legend
Against: Death order pretty obvious / Alpha wolf looks fake / pull away shot in flashbacks used way too many times
Favourite Scene: Neeson calmly drinking in bar / first wolf attack
Rating: 3.5 Lukes
