Film

DOA: Dead or Alive Review

David HoganLeave a comment

DOA Dead or Alive

I went into this film knowing its reputation, hell the posters and DVD/Blu-Ray covers show you what the main “draw” of the film was, but man… it’s pretty awful. I mean by the time this film was released, DOA the game series’ reputation was breast jiggling physics and a volley ball game spin-off, so in reality this film probably did the franchise more justice than a lot of these adaptations, but it was so hard to get through due to the sheer amount of cringe. Let’s get it out of the way and never talk about it again, shall we?

Continue reading →

Doom (2005) Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Doom

I remember watching the Doom film on TV about a year after it came out and thinking “well, it was generic, but still a good laugh”.15 years later and I feel half the same, in that it’s generic, but not really a good laugh any more. Now if you look at the original game you’ll see there isn’t much to go on, but that doesn’t mean they had to create the most cliché group of Space Marines ever conceived and remove all the demons! Ah well… let’s take a look!

Continue reading →

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Tomb Raider Cradle of Life

We reach the first “Bonus Movie” of this marathon, basically that means there is no game to review alongside it. As I said in the previous entry, I never really played the game series, but I can still review this movie as not only am I familiar enough with the source material but it’s a sequel to a film I’ve already reviewed! So, how does “The Cradle of Life” hold up against the first film, which to be fair, wasn’t that great? Well, it holds up pretty much the same, if I’m honest…

Continue reading →

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Lara Croft Tomb Raider

Given the runaway success that was the original game, and the fact that not only was it set in an easily-realised-on-screen modern world but its main protagonist was an attractive female, this was a no brainer. Just hire a top actress who attractive and can do a half decent English accent (or not?) and there you go! But is Lara Croft: Tomb Raider actually good, or was it just like the Resident Evil films that came after it and just about the female hero looking cool?

Continue reading →

Die Another Day Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Die Another Day

Ah yes, Die Another Day. Pierce Brosnan’s swan song and a really good film… for about half of its runtime. Then it suddenly nosedives and becomes nearly unbearable. I think it’s still the most clear-cut “half good, half bad” film I’ve ever seen, making it like two different writers / directors took turns without consulting each other over tone. Well, does the good outweigh the bad? Let’s act like Sigmund Freud and “An-an-an-analyse this!”.

Continue reading →

The World is Not Enough Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The World is Not Enough

The World is Not Enough might be the ultimate mixed bag as there are some bits I really genuinely like, but there are also some real poor parts as well. Every time I think I’m going to give this a 4, I remember something bad and it drops down again. Then I focus on the bad and think of dropping it to a 2, before I remember some of the good! Well, now I’ve spoiled the score in the opening paragraph, let’s take a deeper look anyway!

Continue reading →

Tomorrow Never Dies Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies is oddly a movie that may have become more relevant as it aged, featuring a villain that’s the head of a media empire manipulating politics by using misinformation and grabby headlines, plus a heavy focus on China as a force of good to get that sweet Chinese cinema money. Sounds far more 2017 than 1997! Key point though: is it any good? Let’s find out!

Continue reading →

GoldenEye Review

David HoganLeave a comment

GoldenEye

Ah yes, Goldeneye, the film that’s really hard to review without making constant references to a teenhood-defining N64 game. I’ll try my best! Anyway, it’s also the debut on Pierce Bronsnan as Bond and has a great villain in Sean Bean’s Alec Trevelyan, among other fun cast members. Let’s take a look, and see how, much like his successor, Bronsnan’s best film was his first…

Continue reading →

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Review

David Hogan1 Comment

The Rise of Skywalker

So I’m a little late with this review, it’s been really hard to find the time, but with copious amounts of notes from the night I watched it combined with a couple of weeks to let everything settle means this will probably be a bit more calm and gathered than my immediately post-cinema review of Episode VIII from two years ago. Episode IX was, well, exactly what I feared: more JJ Abrams sticking far too rigidly to the original trilogy. It wasn’t without good moments, but it wasn’t a great follow up to the interesting ground work done beforehand… let’s take a closer look!

Continue reading →