Reviews by Kyle Ellis

Hotel Rwanda was one of those films I initially put off seeing for reasons I don't really know, but after seeing it that decision is one of those decisions that I've regretted as it turned out to be one of the better films I've seen in a while now. Hotel Rwanda is beautifully shot and the scenery is striking while still being authentic without being too clean. The story is always compelling and powerful, with plenty of gut-wrenching and poignant moments while never feeling preachy. The film is excellently directed and scripted too, while Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Pheonix and particularly Don Cheadle give superb acting performances. Overall, a truly fantastic film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

There have been comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, these comparisons are perhaps inevitable, some say Crouching Tiger is superior, some say this is superior. I am not going to say which I prefer, both are masterpieces in their own way. The story is very gripping and diverting. While there are the underlying themes of love, betrayal and loyalty, there is one big theme that is explored very well even if a tad surprising, the defence of totalitarianism against the chaos and insecurities of freedom. As good as Jet Li is, as thoughtful the script is, as haunting the music is, as intriguing the characters are and as fine the direction is, it is the visuals and choreographed sequences that make the film. The cinematography is ravishingly gorgeous and the scenery is stunning with each scene more beautiful and inventive than the one before it, and in terms of effective scenes the highlights in my view are the battles in the rain-drenched chess arena and autumnal forest and the midair sword fight above a crystal lake. In conclusion, a beautiful and memorable film and one of the best of its kine. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Most of Pixar's films are wonderful (short films too), and while the three films made after Toy Story 3 weren't up to their top standards they were still better than most animation companies at their worst. Inside Out was nothing short of a masterwork, Pixar's best since Toy Story 3 and one of their best overall.

Pixar films can be relied upon to have great animation, and Inside Out certainly does have great animation. No, wonderful animation and some of the company's most ingeniously inventive, with gorgeously vibrant colours, a very imaginatively rendered setting (and the lands even more ingeniously done, the next land more so than the last), very meticulous and beautifully modelled backgrounds and clever character designs that match the emotions more than ideally. Michael Giacchino's sparkling, rousing and very charming score is one of my personal favourite scores of the year so far, and every bit as great as his score for Up.

A superb job was done with the script here too, the comedy is clever and witty without ever being forced and balances subtly with the drama, the drama is some of the most truly poignant of any Pixar film and it doesn't ever feel manipulative or overdone and it's very smartly insightful. The story, not one of THE most innovative concepts but is one of the more imaginative uses of it and is quite original for Pixar actually, goes at a slightly steadier pace than other Disney films, but still captivated. It was very easy to completely connect with Riley and her situation and this was easily the Pixar film since Toy Story 3 that I connected with emotionally the most, also one of Pixar's most moving stories quite easily.

Loved the characters too, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Bing Bong (the imaginary friend and the 'epitome of immaturity', without ever being annoying, his back story did bring a tear to the eye) stole every scene they were in, and even Sadness managed to crack some funny one-liners even in her depressive state. Joy also positively lights up the screen and Riley was easy to connect with and much more than just a stereotypical teen girl. The voice acting is splendid. Amy Poehler is note perfect as Joy with her spirited banter giving the character so much life while also bringing a human element to her as well, Lewis Black gives an explosively barn-storming turn as Anger, Phyllis Smith is amusing and affecting, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling are similarly priceless and in a way that makes the characters of Fear and Disgust endearing rather than annoying, Richard Kind is innocently charming and Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane are appropriately compassionate.

Overall, a masterful return to form for Pixar. It's their best since Toy Story 3 and one of their best overall as well. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I love Rob Reiner and his movies, Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and Misery are classics and I enjoyed The American President and The Bucket List.

North did intrigue me with its idea, message and the cast, however these two things aren't enough to stop it from being Reiner's worst and most disappointing film. I liked the musical number in Texas and the mostly extravagant visuals.

On the other hand, the writing is incredibly forced and stupid, the Hawaai sequence anyone, the story is thin and has no idea what it wants to be and Reiner gives his clumsiest directing job here. The characters are poorly conceived and written, and the acting is lamentable considering how talented the cast is.

Elijah Wood I quite like, but I found him rather obnoxious and over-eager here. Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss are wasted, while Buce Willis' role could best be described as a career killer.

All in all, liked the idea but found the effort very clumsy. It is sad that Reiner stooped as low as this. 2/10 Bethany Cox

I personally do not think this movie the best movie of 2010, I did prefer The King's Speech and The Social Network. But overall, Black Swan is a very, very good film.

Albeit one with cracks. While the film succeeds as a character study, with a compelling lead character, there are some occasional logic and originality lapses, not in the script though as the script is very original that still holds the level of intensity in the slower parts, and with exception of Nina and perhaps Lily some of the characters could have done with more depth.

Those flaws aside, I loved it. But I can understand why people mayn't like it, I especially have a good friend who found it ham-fisted and found it left a bad taste in her mouth, it is often very adult and graphic with some sexual content. Anyone expecting Swan Lake are better off finding a video production or buying a ticket to somewhere like the Royal Ballet, this is not Swan Lake but a melodramatic and psychological character study revolving around a ballerina and the production of that particular ballet.

I remember reading that Darcy Bussell(who I respect) criticised the movie for an inaccurate portrayal of ballerinas or somewhat. I am not saying she is wrong, but I think it depends on the ballerina.

Even with any problems the film has, it is beautiful, tragic, haunting and nightmarish not to mention somewhat thought-provoking. The camera work with its contrasting black and whites to create contrasting moods is great, complete with stunning costumes, scenery and sets. The choreography is good and you do feel the sweat that the performers exude when performing, but I would have liked more close-ups of it perhaps.

The music is haunting and melancholic and the snippets of the Tchaikovsky ballet that you hear throughout are a delight to hear, but again it could have been more, and the finale is dark and exhilarating. The acting is mostly very good. Vincent Cassel is appropriately slimy, Barbara Hershey is terrific as the controlling mother and Mila Kunis is surprisingly wonderful in her meatiest role yet. But what made Black Swan are Darren Aranofsky's bravura direction and the mesmerising titular performance of Natalie Portman.

In conclusion, a very good film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I liked this movie. Yes, the plot is predictable and weak, and in some cases over-familiar. Yes, the script is a bit weak in places. Yes, it is a little lacklustre, and doesn't quite capture the feel good nature of the show. But it is far from the worst movie ever. I really don't know what people were thinking when they gave this film such a low rating. Some of the worst movies I've ever seen, are Home Alone 4, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Cat in the Hat, Disaster Movie, Epic Movie, Pokemon the First Movie and Batman and Robin, but this film doesn't deserve to belong to this category. On the most part, due to the enthusiastic performances of the cast, it was quite entertaining. John Goodman was born to play Fred. He looks the part, and put a lot of much-needed enthusiasm into the role. Rick Moranis is fine as Barney, very like what I imagine him. The prequel is probably better, but Mark Addy and Stephen Baldwin don't quite fit the bill as Goodman and Moranis. I also liked Elizabeth Perkins and Rosie O'Donnell as Wilma and Betty. As the villains, Kyle McLachan and Halle Berry play their clichéd characters more than adequately. I do miss Elizabeth Taylor when she was pretty, but she was game as Wilma's mother, though not quite in the same league as Joan Collins in the prequel. The sets and costumes are spot on, and the design of Dino was superb. All in all, I liked this movie, it's not perfect, but it is far from the worst movie I have ever seen. 6/10 Bethany Cox.

I don't think the film is as bad as the rating suggests, but it does pale in comparison to the first two films, which are holiday classics to me! There were some bits I liked, but some bits where improvements would have been appreciated.

The positives are that Alex D Linz makes a cute and charming lead, though Macaulay Culkin is definitely better. The film does look lovely, and there is evidence of some detailed direction. And the parrot was awesome. Believe me, this film is much better than the vomitous Home Alone 4.

The negatives are that some of the violence, that was classic in the first two films, seemed to have been reduced to cartoon slapstick. Another problem was that I didn't recognise any of the characters, and the uneven script didn't allow them to develop properly. Also, I do miss the antics of the Wet Bandits, the new villains weren't as effective.

All in all, a perfectly adequate, but uneven film, that is much better than its abysmal follow up. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Despite 'Slender Man' being one of the year's most poorly received films, more than once cited as one of the worst films of 2018, the premise was actually really intriguing and did have potential to work. So this is not coming from someone who wanted 'Slender Man' to fail, far from it. Also have an appreciation for horror and saw it with an open mind, just want to make all of that clear before somebody else tries to invalidate and criticise the opinions of those who disliked it.

Seeing it, 'Slender Man' turned out to be that bad, for me it is one of the year's worst along with 'The First Purge' (have seen a lot of 2018 films so this is hardly coming someone hopefully with a sheltered life) and deserving of the panning it's gotten. Not quite worst of SyFy or The Asylum bad, it's not as amateurish, intelligence-insulting or non-trying-ish. It is however difficult to believe that it got a cinema release when it could easily pass for direct to video.

The only halfway decent things with 'Slender Man' are the spooky setting and the atmospheric and moody lighting.

Both not shining as much as they should have done, thanks to camera work that's at times chaotic and at other times self-indulgent, sloppy editing that made me physically ill and nausea-inducing use of flashing images. The sound is over-bearing and too obvious that it affects the horror.

It is also very cheesy and awkward-sounding in the dialogue. The direction is pedestrian and while the cast try gamely their performances are thin and ill-served by having little to work with, clunky script-writing and poorly developed and bland characters doing them in.

Worst of all is the story and the atmosphere. On top of not being "fun", 'Slender Man' fails badly at its two main objectives, being scary and being interesting. There is no tension, suspense or sense of dread for the horror to work, the reactions are too indifferent, the pacing is deadly dull and there is far too much of an over-reliance on jump scares, all without build up and incredibly predictable.

From start to finish, 'Slender Man' feels like a short film over-stretched to lifeless breaking point. As said there are real issues with pacing and that there is far too little in the storytelling to sustain the length. The content is not substantial enough and too much of it is nothing new and sometimes pointless, with the horror elements failing badly the paper thin story and the predictable, disinterested way it's told makes for a real slog of a film.

Overall, lifeless, very bland and poorly made. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Have an appreciation for horror and there are a fair share of good to classic ones in the genre as well as a fair share of not so good and even downright bad ones. Really liked both 'The Conjuring' films so watched 'Annabelle', which has garnered a lot of comparisons to especially the first film (having been released before the second, though saw 'Annabelle' after seeing the 'Conjuring' films) hoping it would be in similar vein, purposefully not reading too many reviews (those read disappointingly indicating otherwise).

'Annabelle' unfortunately turned out to be a disappointment. Have definitely seen far worse films, horror and overall (it's not even one of the worst of 2014), 'Annabelle' is not irredeemable. It sadly has a lot of faults that makes it a very lacklustre film, and if briefly comparing it to 'The Conjuring' it is nowhere near being in the same ball park.

It is a shame because it does start off very well. It is creepy to start with and the Manson-esque attack is unsettling and staged very well. It looks good too, nicely shot and the set design and late 60s setting are both beautiful and atmospheric to look at.

Similarly well done is the score, which does have many haunting moments. The titular character has moments of creepiness.

Unfortunately, there are times where she could have done with more expression. 'Annabelle's' biggest problems though is that when it goes downhill, which it does do rapidly far too early, it is not scary, nor is it particularly interesting. Tension and suspense is nowhere near enough and the too infrequent scares are obvious and going-through-the-motions like. Didn't feel much palm-sweating or heart-stopping here. Much of it is basically formulaic storytelling, that is also on the dull side, and a constant ticking off of predictable shocks and familiar genre tropes, the type of scares the film is over-reliant on having no build up or suspense.

Furthermore, 'Annabelle' has a banal script that has no flow or substance and direction that suggests their heart was not in it or at ease with the material. The pacing on the most part is perfunctory and the acting has little distinction, not amateurish but nobody stands out. The characters are not easy to engage with with so little development or much personality, while the ending is one big rushed anti-climax and things do get ridiculous and silly as the film progresses to an increasingly intensifying degree.

Concluding, lacklustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Girl with a Pearl Earring seemed like a very interesting film, a great cast, a strong film composer such as Alexandre Desplat and of course a film that uses paintings. Maybe because of the sometimes meditative pacing or the subject matter Girl with a Pearl Earring won't appeal to all. However it did to me, what I saw was a very well made, beautifully scored and directed and well acted film. I am all for visually stunning movies. Stunning isn't enough for me, the whole film right down to the cinematography to the evocative costumes, sets and scenery looks exquisite. And need I mention the wonderful paintings? Add to that strong direction, Desplat's most haunting and most beautifully-used score, a script that doesn't feel at all stilted and a moving story and you have a great film. But I cannot mention the cast, Colin Firth and Tom Wilkinson are splendid as always, and Scarlett Johanssen is at her loveliest. In conclusion, may seem like a cliché, but this film is like the paintings featured, a work of art. 9/10 Bethany Cox