Posts Tagged ‘thriller’

13 Feb

Movie Review: Kingsman – The Secret Service

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Back into the swing of things with a nice tame film review! JK Matthew Vaughn.

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Starring: Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Caine
Director: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class)
Rating: MA15+
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As far as spy movie send-ups go (and there are many), Kingsman: The Secret Service is not the kind of straightforward spoof you might expect going into the cinema. Yes, it’s got fine suits and fancy James Bond gadgets and a larger-than-life villain, and it certainly pokes fun at those things, while also kind of doing them really well. But it’s also a Matthew Vaughn film through and through, which means if you didn’t enjoy his irreverent, stylishly ultraviolent, occasionally uncomfortable 2010 film Kick-Ass, it’s unlikely you’ll fall for Kingsman. However, if that movie was your cup of tea, you can expect a good time with the Brit’s latest.

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26 Oct

Movie Review: Gone Girl

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The marathon action blockbuster season may have taken a lengthy break (for now) but my goodness, the incredible movies just keep coming in 2014.

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Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
Rating: MA15+
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When you go to a David Fincher movie, there are a number of things you can usually expect to find. Plenty of stylish shots, for one. A tightly wound script, for another. Perhaps also a grim tone with occasional moments of comic relief to balance things out. Then there are the plotlines, twisting and turning and keeping you guessing long into the film’s run time. Well, suffice to say that the man’s latest, Gone Girl, is no aberration. It delivers everything audiences have come to expect from the director of Fight Club and Seven, ESPECIALLY that last thing. The plot of Gone Girl is so twisty that talking about anything outside the film’s official synopsis is probably going to be a spoiler. If you haven’t read its source material, the bestselling Gillian Flynn novel of the same name, you’d best go into the cinema knowing as little as possible. I won’t be talking about anything particularly plot-sensitive in this review, but you have been warned nonetheless.

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19 Aug

Movie Review: Cold Eyes

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Some friends and I checked out the Korean Film Festival in Sydney on the weekend and saw this. I have no idea how or when it will resurface for viewing here, but keep an eye out for it.

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Starring: Han Hyo-Ju, Jung Woo-San, Seol Kyung-Gu
Directors: Kim Byung-Seo, Jo Ui-Seok (The World of Silence, Make it Big)
Rating: MA15+
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My experience with South Korean cinema is extremely limited – In fact before this film I had only seen the original Oldboy and managed to get through only one K-Drama (2009’s Iris) – but I’ve been told multiple times that a lot of cool things are happening nowadays in the world of celluloid south of the DMZ and I should supposedly be paying more attention to what comes out of it. Indeed I eagerly await news of a blu-ray release of the Chris Evans-led sci-fi hit Snowpiercer, which has been causing quite a stir overseas, and after my curiosity led me to check out Cold Eyes at this year’s Korean Film Festival in Sydney, best believe I’m going to track down a fair few more. Cold Eyes is a slick. intense and very entertaining crime thriller that I wish was easier to access.

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