The business of reviewing Film, TV and home releases.
I am a reviewer of films and television at Spryfilm.com and I upload stories to thisissouthtaranaki.com.
International Trailer: “Greyhound” (2020) Sony Pictures has unveiled the international trailer for the Tom Hanks-led “Greyhound”. This adaptation of “Horatio Hornblower” author C. S. Forester’s WW2 naval thriller novel “The Good Shepherd” and the project is helmed by Aaron Schneider who returns a decade after his last film “Get Low”. Hanks plays Ernest Krause, a USN commander who must protect […]
Trailer: “Black Widow” (2020) Marvel Studios has premiered the final trailer for “Black Widow” which is primarily set in the year gap between ‘Civil War’ and ‘Infinity War’ as Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is on the run whilst dealing with some old business from her pre-SHIELD days she was a KGB-trained spy and assassin. The new trailer offers some more […]
“Altered Carbon – Season Two” (2020)) TV Series/Sci-Fi Eight Episodes Created by: Laeta Kalogridis based on ‘Altered Carbon’ by Richard K. Morgan Featuring: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Anthony Mackie, Lela Loren, Simone Missick, Dina Shihabi and Torben Liebrecht Takeshi Kovacs: “This is a ghost story. Told in the age of eternal life. Technology has conquered death, but with endless future comes endless past. […]
“Stuber” (2019) Comedy Running time:93 minutes Written by: Tripper Clancy Directed by: Michael Dowse Featuring: Kumail Nanjiani, Dave Bautista, Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino and Karen Gillan Stu: [jokingly] “Hey, lemme guess, you want me to drive you to all the Sarah Connors in the city?” Released recently on Blu-ray/DVD is a comedy (of sorts) featuring rising star Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista in the […]
Trailer: “Candyman” (2020) The first trailer for the Nia DaCosta-directed and Jordan Peele-produced “Candyman” has arrived. The newest entry in the horror franchise is dubbed a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the original rather than a reboot and returns to Cabrini Green – the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began. Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo and Tony Todd co-star in […]
International Trailer: “The Hunt” (2020) Universal Pictures has premiered an international trailer for their controversial action-thriller “The Hunt,” one with a bunch of new footage and a tonal change that downplays the dark comedy aspect. In the film, twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve […]
“Brigsby Bear” (2017) Comedy/Drama Running Time: 97 minutes Written by: Kyle Mooney & Kevin Costello Directed by: Dave McCary Featuring: Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and Ryan Simpkins It can sometimes be refreshing to watch a comedy that has a real heart but does not compromise on its set up, it characters or its eventual payoff. So many times movies […]
“The Angry Birds Movie 2” (2019) Animation Directed by: Thurop Van Orman Written by: Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell and Jonathon E. Stewart Featuring the voices of: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Tony Hale, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez, JoJo Siwa and Brooklynn Prince Leonard: “We’re going to need a bigger slingshot.” Released recently on Blu-ray/DVD is the animated video game […]
“Anna” (2019) Thriller/Action Running time:118 minutes Written and Directed by: Luc Besson Featuring: Sasha Luss , Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren, and Alexander Petrov Anna: “I work for the KGB, baby.” Recently released on Blu-ray/DVD is the latest action movie from French writer/director Luc Besson in the form of “Anna” (2019), it has to be said something of a let down after the heavily stylised and […]
“Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” (2020) Action Running time:109 minutes Written by: Christina Hodson Directed by: Cathy Yan Featuring: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong and Ewan McGregor Harley Quinn: “Oh hey, you’re that singer no one listens to.” Dinah Lance: “Oh hey, you’re the asshole no one likes.” Released recently in cinemas is the first […]
“Charlies Angels” (2019) Action Running time: 119 minutes Written and Directed by: Elizabeth Banks Featuring: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska , Djimon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo, Nat Faxon and Patrick Stewart Jane Kano: “I need you to exhibit some attention-seeking behavior.” Sabina Wilson: “I have so many ideas.” Released this week is the reboot/sequel, frankly I don’t know what, adaptation of the 1970s television series “Charlies Angels” (2019) that ups […]
“Ford v Ferrari” (2019) Drama Running time: 152 minutes Written by: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller Directed by: James Mangold Featuring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone and Ray McKinnon Carroll Shelby: “We’re lighter, we’re faster, and if that don’t work, we’re nastier.” Released this week is what I consider to be one of the films of the year as well as […]
New Trailer: “Westworld – Season Three” (2020) HBO has released the full trailer for the third season of its science-fiction drama “Westworld” which returns to the network March 15th. The new season sees Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), who broke free from the park confines, trading her world for a new one – ours. Set in the near-future, Jonathan Nolan and […]
“Amazing Grace” (2018) Documentary Running time: 87 minutes Directed by: Sydney Pollack Featuring: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, C. L. Franklin and the Southern California Community Choir “Oh oh Mary Oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mournOh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mournDidn’t Pharaoh’s army get drowned?Oh, Mary, don’t you weep Well, Satan got mad and he knows I’m gladMissed that soul that […]
“Ready or Not” (2019) Horror Running time: 95 minutes Written by: Guy Busick & R. Christopher Murphy Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett Featuring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell Police Officer: “Jesus christ, what happened to you?” Grace: “In-laws.” Released this week on DVD/Blu-ray is the latest success story from the genre that keeps on giving in the form of “Ready or Not” […]
“Britannia II” (2019) Television/Historical Drama Ten Episodes Created by: Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth and James Richardson Featuring: Kelly Reilly, David Morrissey, Zoë Wanamaker, Mackenzie Crook, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Eleanor Worthington Cox “When I look over my shoulder (what happens then?)What do you think I see? (Mm)Some other cat looking over (shadoop, shadoop)Over his shoulder at me” – Season of the Witch, Donovan Released recently on DVD is the second […]
