Tom's Reviews

How do you write a review for a film that has totally and completely flabbergasted you that you're left with a huge grin on your face, but with few words to say. I guess like this. Animal World by director Yan Han (great name) is the most entertaining film I've seen in a while. It's a Chinese blockbuster through and through based on a Japanese manga series, starring the very American Michael Douglas. And I'll be honest, all of those combined is probably what makes this film so great and approachable. The teaser footage shown on Netflix is only a taste of the overall film, and really isn't all that representative. Nevertheless, what is on offer here is great. Zheng Kaisi (Yi Feng Li) is a man down on his luck who gets in way over his head and ends up having to gamble his life in several games of rock paper scissors on a boat ran by Michael Douglas. When the film started my response was "Who comes up with these plots" and by the end of it I had a pretty...

A few years ago a smaller, spottier, more ambitious version of myself thought aloud "I'm going to make a movie entirely in first person!" Then Hardcore Henry came out, crushing my dreams. But, dreams crushed, I saw the movie anyway, and learnt two things. It's an incredible concept, not such a great movie. Director Ilya Naishuller (say that 5 times fast) has done a pretty good job of making Hardcore Henry a 1 hour 40 odd minute film entertaining. And you'd think that a first person, action thriller (supernatural?) sci-fi adventure romp would be entertaining as is. But really it's not. It's intrigue and entertainment are delivered by two separate things. Concept and a bloke called Sharlto Copley. (District 9) Visually, this film is a bit iffy. I don't mean the stunts, explosions, almost game-like cinematography. No, I mean the fact it was shot on two low-resolution GoPros attached to the cameraman's head by a strap. The film often looks out of ...