Category: writing

Film review: Aquaman

Okay, I’m going to start straight off by saying that Aquaman was a pleasant surprise. If you’ve read any of my other reviews then you’ll know I’m not a huge fan of the DC’s big screen efforts so far. Biggest complaint? They lack a sense of fun. I get that superhero movies don’t have to be a laugh a minute, but there’s just something in everything they’ve done so far; it’s not just humour – it’s heart. Character and heart.

Aquaman is still lacking in character development (and a little in the script), but on the whole, the film works … just about.

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Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse

Yes, it’s a cartoon, and yes, I’m going to review it. I got a cheap Wednesday seat at the local multiplex, and I thought, why the hell not.

So what’s the deal here? Okay, the story is set in an alternative dimension where Spider-man is … different. Following the obligatory lab accident in a facility owned by the obligatory billionaire super-villain, the walls between dimensions are punctured, and Spider-folk from other realities start pouring through. The home-team Spider-man has to stop the villain and get his counterparts home … and that’s all I can say.

So what’s it like? Well, as I said, it’s a cartoon, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away; but you know what? I think it was …

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Film review: Mortal Engines

I started reading Philip Reeve’s Predator City series last year, on the strength of the Mortal Engines trailer that was making the rounds at the time. The books are absolutely brilliant, and almost a year later, we have the first movie  delivered by Peter Jackson protege, Christian Rivers.

When you wait so long for a film to appear, you start to worry if it can be possibly as good as you want it to be; if the movie is based on a favourite book then the sense of apprehension doubles. Things get worse if you can only make the 3D showing …

So what was it like? Well, as you’d expect, it was a bit like The Hobbit for Steampunk fans …

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