Category Archives: Film

Independence Day: Resurgence, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher, Bill Pulman, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, William Fichtner, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner, Patrick St. Esprit, Vivica A. Fox, Angelababy, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Deobia Oparei, Nicolas Wright, Travis Tope, Jenna Purdy, Ryan Cartwright.

Inevitable when you think about it, of course there would be a sequel to the glossy and fun Independence Day, the story line was just too enjoyable and fairly bonkers to not have left a film child behind somewhere in the dark, salivating over the prospect of taking a cinema audience on the road to yet another round with creatures from beyond our universe.

Independence Day: Resurgence, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(448 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

The Secret Life Of Pets, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Eric Stonestreet, Louis C.K., Steve Coogan, Tara Strong, Dana Carvey, Jim Cummings, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Lori Alan, Laraine Newman, Carlos Alazraqui, John Kassir, Brian T. Delaney, Bill Farmer, Bob Bergen, Mona Marshall, John Cygan, Michael Beattie, Sasha Lester, Jan Rabson.

If only pets could talk, if all animals were able to tell us exactly what they want and why they want it, perhaps the world would be a hell of a lot nicer place to live; till that becomes a possibilty outside of science fiction, there will always be the strain of human misguidance and misjudgement when it comes to The Secret Life of Pets.

The Secret Life Of Pets, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(508 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Elvis & Nixon, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters, Tate Donavon, Ashley Benson, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Joey Sagal, Dylan Penn.

When a President meets a King it is with the possibility of diplomacy in mind, that deals are to be struck and offers of friendship talked over, normally with the idea of business in mind. When a President meets a King it is to smooth over mutual issues and create a shared and common goal, an interest that is beneficial to their respective countries. When a President meets the King, who knows what will happen inside the grandeur of the Oval Office.

Elvis & Nixon, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Learning To Drive, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley, Jake Weber, Sarita Choudhury, Grace Gummer, Samantha Bee, Avi Nash, Matt Salinger, Michael Mantell, Daniela Lavender, Rajika Puri, John Hodgman, Randy Graff, Nora Hummel.

In times of trouble it takes faith to keep calm, to see the world beyond the mirror that has been put in front of you and look past the person you once were, to not give in under the pressure to the thought of the future; in times of trouble it takes faith to be who you are.

Learning To Drive, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Tale Of Tales, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Hayley Carmichael, Bebe Cave, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Laura Pizzirani, Franco Pistoni, Guillaume Delaunay.

Be careful what you wish for, what lays in your deepest part of your heart, for inside the beating crevice where love may sit, instead comes bile and control, bitterness and bewilderment. By listening to the demons inside the head instead of the truth that you know, you condemn others to rebel and undermine your authority.

Tale Of Tales, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

The Nice Guys, Film Review. Picturehouse, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Gil Gerard, Margaret Qualley, Yaya Dacosta, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Lois Smith, Murielle Teilo, Daisy Tahan, Kim Bassinger, Jack Kilmer, Lance Valentine, Ty Simpkins.

Occasionally in life cinema offers you the perfect picture, the moment when the genre of your choice comes out of the gloom and shoves perfection up close to your face. You expect perfection when it comes to some films and performances, it is the reason the film was made in the first place but when it comes to the unexpected, when it comes to films such as Mad Max, the first Lethal Weapon or The Nice Guys, such a hit is to be more than applauded, it is to be seen as genuine and highly praised.

The Nice Guys, Film Review. Picturehouse, Liverpool. full post

(411 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 5/10

Cast: Seth Rogan, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ike Barinholtz, Kiersey Clemons,Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jerrod Carmichael, Beanie Feldstein, Selena Gomez, Lisa Kudrow, Kelsey Grammer, Liz Cackowski, Carla Gallo.

There seems to be no shame in a sequel, in many cases the story demands that the character’s lives are further resolved or they are at least interesting enough to wonder what would happen next in their lives, that the demand for the story will always ensure a franchise. The first one though, the first part, that is where the demands starts and if the first film goes down in flames then the second one should never be attempted upon pain of death in the audience.

Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising. Film Review. full post

(448 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Love & Friendship, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Morfydd Clark, Tom Bennett, Jenn Murray, Lochlann O’ Mearáin, Sophie Radermacher, Chloë Sevigny, Stephen Fry, Xavier Samuel, Emma Greenwell, Justin Edwards, Kelly Campbell, Jemma Redgrave, James Fleet.

Playing the action hero for so long can lead to unexpected issues within cinema. For many the sight of an actor in anything other than the expected, the fight scenes, the tense muscles quivering under the spandex or leather a precursor to the belief that in anything else you would not get the merit you deserve. It happens to so many and yet the trend does occasionally get bucked, it does bend and snap and what emerges is nothing short of fantastic.

Love & Friendship, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(413 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Alice Through The Looking Glass, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathway, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rhys Ifans, Matt Lucas, Lindsay Duncan, Leo Bill, Geraldine James, Andrew Scott, Richard Armitage, Ed Speleers, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Barbara Windsor, Michael Sheen, Paul Hunter, Siobhan Redmond, Paul Whitehouse.

Alice Through The Looking Glass, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(427 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

A Hologram For The King, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Tom Hanks, Alexander Black, Sarita Choudhury, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tracey Fairaway, Tom Skerritt, Jane Perry, Michael Baral, Lewis Rainer, David Menkin, Christie Meyer, Megan Maczko, Ben Whishaw, Kahalid Laith.

A mid-life crisis is to be expected, perhaps in many cases looked forward to as a chance to wreck havoc on the world around you and take apart your own life one carefully stacked brick at a time.

A Hologram For The King, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(426 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)