Fast & Furious 6 Review

Plot: Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and their crew have retired after their Rio heist left them millionaires. Growing homesick however, they are drawn back behind the wheels when former foe CIA agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) offers them a pardon in return for their assistance to stop a team of mercenaries with a nefarious plan.

The Fast & Furious franchise is an oddity. After some inconspicuous beginnings, it has actually grown from strength to strength. The first film, The Fast & The Furious was just a teenager wet dream, with fast cars and loose women, a very uninvolving proposition outside of its limited target audience. And after 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift which did not fare much better, there was a slight improvement with Fast & Furious, before Fast 5 changed the game completely, garnering some unexpectedly great reviews and boasting the higher box office return to date.

Viva Pedro Almodóvar! Pepi, Luci, Bom Y Otras Chicas Del Montón (1980)

Viva Pedro Almodóvar indeed. You might have read my introduction about my Viva Pedro Almodóvar project, however I have decided to slightly amend the way I'm going to do this. Rather than posting weekly posts of three capsule reviews, I will just publish a middle sized review for each of his films as I watch (or mostly, rewatch!) them along, hopefully weekly. I just love the idea of going through the full filmography of a director I admire so much in full chronological order and seeing his style and talent progress over the films. So first off his first film, or, as it turned out, not quite his first film.

My Top 10 Film Directors

Much like picking your favourite films (which I did last year), selecting your favourite directors is a difficult task. On what criteria do you base yourself, consistency, talent (whatever that might mean!), personal connection? What if one makes a few masterpieces and a flew clunkers too? What if one has only made three films? The best way is not to actually take any criteria in consideration and just follow your heart (that sounds so self-help!). I am no professional critic, just a film lover, and that list is about the directors I love, not those who I feel should be on the list.

Our Children Review

The latest film from French director Joachim Lafosse deals with the topic of emigration and the obligations imposed upon and felt by those beholden to the apparent benevolent nature of an older father figure. Having fallen in love, Mounir (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet), and Murielle (Emilie Dequenne, Rosetta), a French native, marry and share the Moroccan home owned by Mounir and his benefactor, Doctor André Pinget (Niels Arestrup). Co-written by A Prophet and Rust and Bone screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, the film's episodic structure leads you to the heart of the tragedy that begins the film.

Vanishing Waves: The Cell Remade By Tarkovsky

I went from one extreme to another at the Sci-Fi film festival in London this year. A few days ago it was lo-fi self-reflective crayon birds joyfest Birdemic 2. Then I moved on to the cold and cerebral Lithuanian sci-fi Vanishing Waves by Kristina Buozyte, at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

Exclusive Interview With Peter Chan, Director Of Dragon

Peter Chan at the Cannes Film Festival 2011

Dragon (Wu Xia), after its Cannes presentation a couple of years ago, is finally out in the UK today, you can read our 5 stars review here. I was lucky enough to be able to speak to its director, Peter Chan, who was so fantastic to interview, giving some very insightful answers and paying attention to each questions. You can read it in full below

Birdemic 2 - Mulholland Drive Meets The Birds

I was lucky enough to attend the UK premiere of the eagerly anticipated Birdemic 2, The Resurrection, at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival with the cast & crew attending. And as I am writing this, I still cannot decide whether to give it minus 15 stars or 5 stars. It probably deserves both.


The cult of "so good it's bad" films is nothing new, however it has been growing and growing over the years. Its point is to celebrate some films, usually from the 70's and especially the 80's, and usually sci-fi/horrors (but not always) who, thanks to an ultra low budget way, terrible acting, inept script and atrocious direction, or sometimes, all of the above, are so excruciatingly bad that they become hilarious, almost endearing in some cases, with some of them garnering a real fan following. That sort of films that is best enjoyed with mates after a few beers, and some cinemas have caught up on this. For example, the Prince Charles in London, with its established The Good Mad Movie monthly film club, whose screening of Masters Of The Universe I shall never forget for many reasons.