Oliver Battershall

Sin City (2005) 3.5/5
The noir homages/gimmicks, from the distinct visual style to the excessive narration, are all compelling and charming to a point but start to lose their sheen by the end of the somewhat overlong runtime. Dreadful CGI which luckily only tends to rear its head during any shot of a moving car, but that’s just part and parcel of any bit of 2000’s pulpy fun.

Think Like a Man (2012) 2/5
So the guy that does Yank Family Fortunes also does dating advice and wrote a book about it for women that manages to be sexist to both men and women and this movie is an adaptation of that book complete with clips of him reading his tips and characters all saying how great he is??? Quite baffling but some of the jokes were alright.

John Wick (2014) 4/5
The kind of movie everyone likes when it’s done right. Well choreographed fight scenes in some cool environments with good atmospheric lighting. A lot of the music was a little too dad-rock for me to take key moments seriously but other than that a very reliable good time.

Con-Air (1997) 3.5/5
Completely mental. Full of turns, with drama exacerbated by nauseating rapid cuts. Cage’s hair looks like it absolutely stinks. I prefer his roles where it’s part of his character that he’s mental, rather than just something he naturally adds to it, but he’s still very fun here. Malkovich gets a belter of a one-liner in there. Overall probably a bit too long but I don’t really care, good naff fun.

The Dirties (2013) 4.5/5
Full of the same well written genre-bending film within a film goodness I liked about Operation Avalanche. The range of emotions this put me through on such a tight budget and small cast is really impressive. Speaks to the lonely kid in all of us.

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) 4.5/5
One of those films I’m so glad I went into completely blind. Absolutely magical, brimming with charm and emotion. Farrow and Daniels are impeccable. Quotable in that Woody Allen way. Whimsical Depression-era women loved their cloche hats didn’t they, they couldn’t get enough of them.

Spies (1928) 3/5
This was far, far too long, I often felt unengaged or confused at the plot. There’s some good facial acting from a few characters, plus some occasionally great set design and a solid ending, but for an espionage thriller I was expecting something more gripping.