Category Archives: Action

James Bond 007: The Sean Connery Era

"Bond. James Bond." And so goes the classic line. Sean Connery was the first actor to play Bond in the long-running film series, and, for many, he's never been bettered. I feel I should offer a caveat: I've been watching James Bond 007 since I was a kid. It's probably my favourite movie franchise. For…Read More

Looper review

Written and directed by Rian JohnsonRemember the question that came up in Dead Zone? The one where Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) asks his doctor friend (Herbert Lom) if he had the power to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler, would he? And his friend says yes, absolutely, or something to that effect. There's…Read More

Lawless review

Directed by John HillcoatWritten by Nick Cave from the Matt Bondurant book The Wettest County in the WorldIf you enjoyed the gritty Australian western The Proposition, also conjured by antipodean twosome Hillcoat and Cave, you'll find a similar blood-splattered tonality here, their adaptation of Bondurant's tale of his grandfather and two great-uncles' exploits as moonshiners…Read More

The Bourne Legacy review

Directed by Tony Gilroy Written by Tony and Dan Gilroy, from a story by Tony, inspired by the Robert Ludlum novels. Tough act this one is following. The first three Bourne movies are that rare popular franchise without a weak link. Each of the films has something to recommend it, the second and third strongly…Read More

Revisiting the Bourne Trilogy

I decided to rewatch the immensely popular and influential Universal Pictures action franchise this weekend in advance of its relaunch August 10 with The Bourne Legacy. I say "relaunch" because it's not just another sequel — the director of the second and third film, Paul Greengrass, chose not to return, as did the lead, Matt…Read More

The Hunger Games review

Directed by Gary Ross Written by Ross, Billy Ray and Suzanne Collins, from Collins' novel Do I need to explain the plot of this movie? As I write I'm seeing the box office totals come in, and it's larger than even the generous predictions made three days ago: $155 million is a lot of samolians.…Read More

John Carter reviewed

Directed by Andrew Stanton Written by Stanton, Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs book, A Princess of Mars In a TED Talk, director Andrew Stanton said that the biggest thing a story needs to do is "make you care." I really wanted to care about John Carter. At times I…Read More

The Help and Warrior reviewed

With the Oscars on Sunday, I thought it worthwhile to catch up with a few of the films with nominations that I missed in the cinema. The Help Written and directed by Tate Taylor, from the Kathryn Stockett novel.Well, it's a bit hard coming at this with all the words written about it so far.…Read More