Paranormal Activity 2; Easy A; Africa United; Due Date; Travellers
Oren Peli's (surprisingly un)original frightener Paranormal Activity was made for a reported $15,000 and scared hundreds of millions of dollars out of audiences who had presumably never seen The Blair Witch Project. Tod Williams's fatuous prequel, Paranormal Activity 2 (2010, Sony, 15), cost nearly 200 times as much and will surely bore the pants off even the most wide-eyed horror dilettante with its dreary, repetitive rehashing of an already derivative formula. Following an apparent burglary, a young family (including the diehard hackneyed horror triumvirate of teenage daughter, baby and dog) have their house fitted with security cameras which promptly start recording things going bump in the night. Or not.
Long periods of unbelievable boredom ensue, interspersed with sudden, loud, banging noises and the sight of kitchenware moving in a mysterious way, a tedious trope which repeats ad infinitum. Whereas Peli managed...
Oren Peli's (surprisingly un)original frightener Paranormal Activity was made for a reported $15,000 and scared hundreds of millions of dollars out of audiences who had presumably never seen The Blair Witch Project. Tod Williams's fatuous prequel, Paranormal Activity 2 (2010, Sony, 15), cost nearly 200 times as much and will surely bore the pants off even the most wide-eyed horror dilettante with its dreary, repetitive rehashing of an already derivative formula. Following an apparent burglary, a young family (including the diehard hackneyed horror triumvirate of teenage daughter, baby and dog) have their house fitted with security cameras which promptly start recording things going bump in the night. Or not.
Long periods of unbelievable boredom ensue, interspersed with sudden, loud, banging noises and the sight of kitchenware moving in a mysterious way, a tedious trope which repeats ad infinitum. Whereas Peli managed...
- 2/27/2011
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Travellers
Stars: Dean Jagger, Shane Sweeney, Tom Geoffrey, Celia Muir | Written and Directed by Kris McMaus
Usually when things go wrong on holiday, it’s because your flight was cancelled or the luxurious five-star resort you were promised in the brochure turns out to be a building site. Travellers sees four friends confronting horrors greater than those of a budget airline as they embark upon a motorcycle break in the country and things take a turn for the worse when they anger a group of Irish nomads.
After stumbling into a pub where they’re greeted with all the joy and cheer of the locals from An American Werewolf In London, they ask a farmer (Charley Boorman) if they can spend the night on his land. Hiking into the countryside, they pitch up, only for one of their group to deface a nearby caravan. Caught in the act by the owners,...
Stars: Dean Jagger, Shane Sweeney, Tom Geoffrey, Celia Muir | Written and Directed by Kris McMaus
Usually when things go wrong on holiday, it’s because your flight was cancelled or the luxurious five-star resort you were promised in the brochure turns out to be a building site. Travellers sees four friends confronting horrors greater than those of a budget airline as they embark upon a motorcycle break in the country and things take a turn for the worse when they anger a group of Irish nomads.
After stumbling into a pub where they’re greeted with all the joy and cheer of the locals from An American Werewolf In London, they ask a farmer (Charley Boorman) if they can spend the night on his land. Hiking into the countryside, they pitch up, only for one of their group to deface a nearby caravan. Caught in the act by the owners,...
- 2/18/2011
- by Jez Sands
- Nerdly
The Green Hornet (12A)
(Michel Gondry, 2011, Us) Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson. 119 mins
It's not going to give the Dark Knight a run for his money, but this unfancied vigilante movie is at least unpretentious, fun and well-lit – more like the light knight. Rogen's questionable charm and uneven writing skills just about power the shambolic "spoilt slacker turns crusader for justice" yarn (Waltz is another show-stealing baddie); Gondry provides some great action scenes (relying on Jay Chou's Kato rather than Rogen), a few of his trademark flourishes, and a very nice car …
Blue Valentine (15)
(Derek Cianfrance, 2010, Us) Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel. 112 mins
After so many gimmicky romcoms over the years, it's refreshing to see a straightforward look at relationships. It switches between the happy beginnings and miserable ending of a damaged, hard-up couple, and leaves us to work out what went wrong in between.
(Michel Gondry, 2011, Us) Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson. 119 mins
It's not going to give the Dark Knight a run for his money, but this unfancied vigilante movie is at least unpretentious, fun and well-lit – more like the light knight. Rogen's questionable charm and uneven writing skills just about power the shambolic "spoilt slacker turns crusader for justice" yarn (Waltz is another show-stealing baddie); Gondry provides some great action scenes (relying on Jay Chou's Kato rather than Rogen), a few of his trademark flourishes, and a very nice car …
Blue Valentine (15)
(Derek Cianfrance, 2010, Us) Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel. 112 mins
After so many gimmicky romcoms over the years, it's refreshing to see a straightforward look at relationships. It switches between the happy beginnings and miserable ending of a damaged, hard-up couple, and leaves us to work out what went wrong in between.
- 1/15/2011
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
Travellers go head to head with City boys in this cruddy British thriller, which might shift units on DVD, says Peter Bradshaw
A potentially interesting idea for a lo-fi British Deliverance-style thriller is badly let down by very slack acting and dialogue, topped off with humourless sentimentalism. A bunch of arrogant city boys are zooming around the countryside on their motorbikes and (improbably) decide to camp in a field, in which they find a caravan belonging to Irish travellers. One scrawls bigoted graffiti all over it, and then they find themselves in a terrifying confrontation with its owners. Basically, writer-director Kris McManus is hamstrung by his evident need to make the Travellers the scary bad guys but then make them the sympathetic good guys; and there is a bit of dodgy Guy Ritchie-style hero-worship of their skills at bareknuckle boxing. There may well be more than enough fans of...
A potentially interesting idea for a lo-fi British Deliverance-style thriller is badly let down by very slack acting and dialogue, topped off with humourless sentimentalism. A bunch of arrogant city boys are zooming around the countryside on their motorbikes and (improbably) decide to camp in a field, in which they find a caravan belonging to Irish travellers. One scrawls bigoted graffiti all over it, and then they find themselves in a terrifying confrontation with its owners. Basically, writer-director Kris McManus is hamstrung by his evident need to make the Travellers the scary bad guys but then make them the sympathetic good guys; and there is a bit of dodgy Guy Ritchie-style hero-worship of their skills at bareknuckle boxing. There may well be more than enough fans of...
- 1/14/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Travellers *½
Stars: Dean Jagger, Shane Sweeney, Tom Geoffrey, Celia Muir | Written and Directed by Kris McMaus
Usually when things go wrong on holiday, it’s because your flight was cancelled or the luxurious five-star resort you were promised in the brochure turns out to be a building site. Travellers sees four friends confronting horrors greater than those of a budget airline as they embark upon a motorcycle break in the country and things take a turn for the worse when they anger a group of Irish nomads.
After stumbling into a pub where they’re greeted with all the joy and cheer of the locals from An American Werewolf In London, they ask a farmer (Charley Boorman) if they can spend the night on his land. Hiking into the countryside, they pitch up, only for one of their group to deface a nearby caravan. Caught in the act by the owners,...
Stars: Dean Jagger, Shane Sweeney, Tom Geoffrey, Celia Muir | Written and Directed by Kris McMaus
Usually when things go wrong on holiday, it’s because your flight was cancelled or the luxurious five-star resort you were promised in the brochure turns out to be a building site. Travellers sees four friends confronting horrors greater than those of a budget airline as they embark upon a motorcycle break in the country and things take a turn for the worse when they anger a group of Irish nomads.
After stumbling into a pub where they’re greeted with all the joy and cheer of the locals from An American Werewolf In London, they ask a farmer (Charley Boorman) if they can spend the night on his land. Hiking into the countryside, they pitch up, only for one of their group to deface a nearby caravan. Caught in the act by the owners,...
- 1/11/2011
- by Jez Sands
- Nerdly
Pretty sure it was Guy Ritchie who alerted the world to what exactly a "Pikey" was when he hired Brad Pitt to play one in Snatch. Essentially I think they are like hillbillies here in the States. Just simple country folk... who'll slit your throat at a sideways glance.
On the surface, Travellers appears to be your typical city-folk-in-peril thrillers, but after watching the trailer and reading an early review over at one of my new favourite sites, ionlywatch18s, I think it could be a well shot British shocker.
Synopsis:
Four friends set out on a motorcycle adventure weekend, clocking up miles in an attempt to outrun their age and urban lifestyles. After bartering with a local land owner for a place to set up camp, they spend the night reminiscing over their wasted youth. The following morning they spot an ominous looking caravan, and decide to investigate. Within minutes,...
On the surface, Travellers appears to be your typical city-folk-in-peril thrillers, but after watching the trailer and reading an early review over at one of my new favourite sites, ionlywatch18s, I think it could be a well shot British shocker.
Synopsis:
Four friends set out on a motorcycle adventure weekend, clocking up miles in an attempt to outrun their age and urban lifestyles. After bartering with a local land owner for a place to set up camp, they spend the night reminiscing over their wasted youth. The following morning they spot an ominous looking caravan, and decide to investigate. Within minutes,...
- 1/6/2011
- QuietEarth.us
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.