Category Archives: Film

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

These days I strictly ration my visits to the cinema, with the exception of two franchises that will immediately override the austerity lockout: one is the James Bond series, and the other consists of the Star Trek films. Currently the … Continue reading →

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Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

With the sad news that film special effects trailblazer Ray Harryhausen had died last week at the age of 92 at his home in London, I thought it was appropriate to pay a small tribute to the man by watching … Continue reading →

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ArchiveView: Star Trek (2009)

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

Ahead of seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, here’s a review of the first JJ Abrams that I wrote on its original release in May 2009 and reproduced from the general topic blog that I had at the time … The … Continue reading →

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Lockout (2012)

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

Back in the heyday of the video rental shop, a certain strand of derivative mass-market B-movie films suddenly found their niche and became hugely popular, becoming staples of film nights in university common rooms or the easy choice for a … Continue reading →

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The Mist (2007) [Blu-ray]

Posted on March 30, 2013 by

The Mist is probably one of the best little low-budget horror movies that you’ve never heard of. And you really should have: it’s written and directed by Frank Darabont (who also brought The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile to … Continue reading →

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A brave new (media) world

Posted on March 22, 2013 by

In a special post published both here on Taking The Short View and also on Generation Star Wars, bloggers Andrew Lewin and John Hood discuss some of the new developments in media consumption – from binge viewing to 3D, Blu-ray … Continue reading →

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Die Hard 4.0 (2007)

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

I am a huge fan of the original Die Hard movie starring Bruce Willis, which came out while I was at university and with which I was pretty obsessed at the time as it was a whole new, different type … Continue reading →

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The Ten Commandments (1956)

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

This isn’t related to the previous review of Angels and Demons and should in no way be taken as an outbreak of religious mania on my part. It just so happened that the 1956 version of Cecil B DeMille’s biblical … Continue reading →

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Angels and Demons (2009)

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

The shock news that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning (the first pope to do so in almost six hundred years) left me with a strange hankering to rewatch Angels and Demons, the 2009 thriller based on Dan Brown’s novel of … Continue reading →

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Manhunter (1986) [Blu-ray]

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

Before there was The Silence of the Lambs with its Oscar-winning turn for Anthony Hopkins as urbane psychiatrist turned cannibalistic serial killer Dr Hannibal Lector, there was Manhunter, Michael Mann’s film adaptation of Thomas Harris’ original 1981 book Red Dragon. … Continue reading →

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Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (2012)

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

A bit of an oddity, this feels rather more like it should be an extended meta-extra to the Bond Blu-Ray boxset or else a special made-for-TV anniversary documentary, rather than a stand-alone film that made it into cinemas in its … Continue reading →

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Les Misérables (2012)

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

Long-term die hard fans of the enduring musical phenomenon need not worry or put off seeing Les Misérables in fear of disappointment or betrayal. This is the most perfect film adaptation of a stage production that it’s possible to imagine, … Continue reading →

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

Or an unexpectedly long journey, as the wags have had it ever since the film premiered back in mid-December. It seems slightly superfluous to post something about a film that’s already been reviewed by everyone in the known universe already, … Continue reading →

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Ted (2012)

Posted on December 28, 2012 by

As soon as you hear that Ted is an R-rated film about a living, walking and foul-mouthed talking teddy bear, and that the movie is written and directed by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (who also provides the voice and … Continue reading →

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Disney’s A Christmas Carol (2009)

Posted on December 25, 2012 by

It’s that time of year when you can’t turn on the television without falling over another adaptation of Charles Dickens’ seminal Christmas classic. It seems that every single channel has yet another different version of if for each day of … Continue reading →

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