There are some sins that are simply unforgivable, and wasting Cate Blanchett is one of them. Yet, that is precisely what BORDERLANDS, based on the video game, has done. This sub-par fantasy/sci-fi adventure features lackluster effects, static action sequences, and a rambling plot that manages to be both moribund and irksome at the same time. … Read More »
GRAN TURISMO
You have to wade through a great deal of treacle in GRAN TURISMO before you get to part of the film that really works. Based (very loosely) on the true story of the gamer who became a race car driver, the first act plays like a very well executed cliché, albeit with a superbly edited… Read More »
MORTAL KOMBAT
It’s all very silly, but to its credit, MORTAL KOMBAT doesn’t take itself any more seriously than it expects us to. Based on the inordinately popular video game, it delivers everything you want in a video game, and declines to burden its audience with much in the way of a storyline. Instead, it’s a series… Read More »
HITMAN: AGENT 47 A Swing and A Miss
This is not the first time that someone has attempted to bring the video game upon which HITMAN: AGENT 47 is based to the big screen. The last one, HITMAN starring a pre-Justified Timothy Olyphant went down in flames, and this one joins its still-smoldering carcass. It’s not that making a film out of a video… Read More »
HITMAN
Sometimes all it takes is one great image. From there the fertile imaginings of a visionary filmmaker can build a story that is a compelling, even wondrous, cinematic experience. Alas, that is not the case with HITMAN. The image is of a striking bald guy (Timothy Olyphant) in a well-tailored black suit striding about with… Read More »