Harry Potter and the angry lawyer

The Gamechangers (2015)

Directed by Owen Harris this film based on a true story stars Daniel Radcliffe and Bill Paxton. While Rockstar games aim to revolutionise gaming with the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series a lawyer attempts to see the game company over their violent games.

This film takes a sledgehammer like approach to the discussion of mature content in video games and seems to have little understanding of how games are made. Most gamers will probably be wary of any film on this subject and as this film proves they probably have a right to be. Most of the performances are decent and there is some nice special effects but this film is not as mature as the games it is about.

2/5

An average Murray

St. Vincent (2014)

Written & directed by Theodore Melfi this film stars Bill Murray, Jaeden Lieberher, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts. A down and out old man with a grumpy attitude end up baby sitting the son of the woman next door for money.

Nearly anything with Bill Murray in it is good and this is a pleasant enough watch but it is fairly predictable right from the get go. There are funny moments but at times towards the end the film does threaten to go a little overly sentimental. As much as I enjoy watching Billy Murray in anything I would question slightly his performance in the later parts when his character is unwell.

3/5

Not so deep

Lovelace (2013)

Directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman this biopic stars Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria and Sharon Stone. We follow the true story of the young woman who stared in the porn film that was everywhere in the 1970s in America.

What I really liked about this film was how it almost plays the same story twice, first the one the public initially saw and then the much darker private story. While there maybe some disagreement over accuracy of parts of Lovelace's own accounts it is a good watch even if not as in depth as I would have liked. Sharon Stone is unrecognisable in her role and watching the film I had no idea she was in it.

3/5

Greed and that sinking feeling

Black Sea (2014)

Directed by Kevin Macdonald this film stars Jude Law, Konstantin Khanbensky, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn. A joint British-Russian submarine crew heads to find missing Nazi gold on a lost u-boat in the Black Sea.

While the plot for this film runs through a number of the usual clichés for submarine films it is decently made and tense through out. At times the plot hints at but never fully explores the effect of greed on men and I would have liked to have seen this explored a bit more deeply but it is still a decent addition to the story. Most of the special effects are good and the claustrophobic nature of the situation is well captured.

4/5

Frankly everyone should die

All Cheerleaders Die (2013)

Written and directed by Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson this film stars Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee and Brooke Butler. A high school student infiltrates the school cheerleader squad to get revenge after the death of her friend on the team.

There is actually a fair amount of potential in this film but it takes forever to get going and then is all over the shop. Sometimes it's fine to have a film where all the characters are morally ambiguous but here it's becomes impossible to find anyone to root for. The special effects get a little ropey when it comes to crystals and glowing lights too.

2/5

An 80s Cinderella disaster

Flashdance (1983)

Directed by Adrian Lyne this film stars Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri and Lilia Skala. An 18 year old woman works as a welder, dances at a club at night and dreams of joining a ballet company.

Some how this film was a smash hit despite it's paper thin plot which has a suspect romance story involving a much older man harassing an employee into dating him. At times the film seems like little more than a series of music videos which are very loosely connected together. Some of the dance sequences are nice but the way they are edited together always suggests the use of body doubles.

2/5

Horses, Iceland, Death and Love

Of Horses and Men (2013)

Written and directed by Benedikt Erlingsson this film stars Helgi Bjornsson, Charlotte Bovig, Sigriour Maria Eglisdottir and Maria Ellingsen. We see six connected stories about people and their horses from the same rural community in Iceland.

No doubt there is something enjoyable about this look into the slightly bizarre nature of a community still so reliant on their horses. The interactions between the characters are often strange and hint at the similarities that still exist between man and beast. There is some great landscape photography that really captures the look of Iceland too.

4/5