Film Review: Thunderball

Thunderball is everything one would expect from classic James Bond as there are enough beautiful women, gadgets, and action for everyone. However, the film as it stands today is a bit drawn out and lacks the intensity of some other Bond films, such as Goldfinger or Dr. No.

While these points are certainly the heart and soul of any classic James Bond adventure there are holes in this particular boat which sometimes make it feel a but dead in the water.

The film was one of Sean Connery's favorite Bond films to work on as well as being a critical success, with Thunderball easily overtaking the worldwide cinema totals of the first two James Bond films.

Film Review: Casino Royale (2006)

“Is America ready for a British James Bond?”

So spoke the wise and learned critic, Homer Simpson, at about the time that Daniel Craig was announced as the actor to replace Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Ironic post modern humor aside, this quote demonstrates the impact that Craig had on Bond fans when he donned the iconic tuxedo. Brosnan had been a popular choice for the role* and so the newcomer, then a relative unknown with naught but a few Guy Ritchie films under his belt, had a lot to live up to.

Renegades: Reqium Review

A while back there was a crowdfund call for money to create a new Star Trek series. Called Star Trek: Renegades it had a number of big, familiar names associated with it and plans to make a darker, grittier version of Trek than previously seen.

Unfortunately, there were issues with IP. Paramount were not keen on allowing the producers to use the name Star Trek. This was probably because they were already developing Star Trek: Discovery which looks set to involve its own gritty reinvention. The project, therefore, mutated, removing many of the familiar concepts and dropping the Star Trek from the title. Renamed Renegades the first two episodes, which combine to form the pilot 'Reqium', have now been completed and the first part released to backers.


As a backer of this project, I got access to the first episode on February 2nd, though did not have a chance to watch it until recently due to issues with building work in the house. What follows is my review.


The plot revolves around a crew of 'deniable assets' working for an interplanetary organization called the Confederation. They report to an elderly Admiral (played by Walter Koenig) who is working against a hidden cabal within the Confederation and realizes he cannot trust anyone within his own command structure. So, he calls on a mercenary crew of criminals led by Lexxa Singh to perform missions.

Film Review: Siren (2010)

Modern horror films and thrillers have always lacked something in my eyes, they are stale copies of what was for me the golden era of the two genres, from the late sixties through most of the eighties.

Most of the gore filled plot less drivel that is churned out today doesn't hold a candle to such better produced models such as a majority of the Hammer Horror catalog or such groundbreaking American works such as The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror.

There also is something missing in the thriller department since the age of Hitchcock, with the modern counterparts to such classics as Rear Window and The Birds lacking the tone and feel that made them so easy to immerse yourself in their fictional worlds as well as making them instant classics.

Siren takes a step back that is also quite a step forward in this regard, it is a film that although it dabbles in the modern horror cinema's blood and sex driven scenes it does so with a regard for the fact that it is putting a very simple story to the cameras as well as harking back to the days when a good horrific thriller was more about what was implied then what was seen.

Movie Review: Ted 2

Sequels are always a daunting task in the world of motion pictures, lest a potential franchise become victim to the dreaded sophomore jinx phenomenon. A sequel has the difficult task of building on an established world and the characters that inhabit them. Usually for a film to even have a chance at making a sequel it means that the first film did it's job well and become moderately popular at the very least.

Ted 2 is definitely one of those films that you can see being a hit or a bust, based on the original films interesting premise of a talking teddy bear that comes alive. Although that kind of magical tale of toys come to life might have been in our heads since we were kids, when mixed in with the sometimes brilliant and slightly over the top comedy writing of Seth MacFarlane, it became something more.

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

                                    Thomas Spychalski

It almost seems like the movie world has gone insane with remakes.

Things from the eighties and nineties have been harvested of their most special product, to be reworked and redone. Robocop, Total Recall and of course a new Spider-Man film just five years after the last Sam Raimi directed film, Spider-Man 3, in 2007.