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After Earth

July 17, 2013
Film Reviews
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After Earth Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, Isabelle Fuhrman, Zoë Kravitz, David Denman, Kristofer Hivju, Gabriel Caste, Lincoln Lewis, Chris Geere,
After Earth: a spaceship crash-lands on earth thousands of years after it’s been abandoned, and everything has now evolved to kill. To put it simply (and bluntly), Jayden Smith can’t hold a film – doesn’t have the chops/experience to play his part convincingly enough, let alone support an entire film which is 90% green screen / CGI. It’s a boring, empty and mind-meltingly dull sci-fi film – where the only aspect that engaged me was with it’s vision of the future (clothes, structures, fabrics, technology etc, which were all well-thought out). Will is alright, but doesn’t have to do much more than the standard, safe, Will Smith affair. Parts of the film are big, loud and action-packed, but even they feel hollow and predictable. Not a great sci-fi film, and if anything, tangible evidence that you can’t polish a turd – no matter much money of FX you have.

Score: 2/10

The North Face

November 18, 2011
Film Reviews
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The North Face: follows several climbing teams in a 1936 race to tackle the The Eiger’s deadliest ascent (literally nicknamed “murder wall” in German). Even on a TV shots of the Eiger render you speechless – when you see the sheer, menacing vertical monster of a cliff face, and picture anyone trying to climb it, it’s nothing short of madness. The historic setting is done well, and packs an additional punch when you see the basic clothing and equipment climbers used back in the day. With this setting and a ‘proper’ orchestrated soundtrack (+ cabaret piano songs!) it’s got a sorely missed ‘classic film’ vibe that you rarely see these days. The film takes about one hour of average backstory to properly get going, but once the ascent has begun the second hour is nothing short of nail-biting superbity. It would have done well to focus solely on the climbing, and leave the journalism side-story out of the picture – the leading female seems happy to risk two life-long best friends for a minor career advancement… just gives that story a silly vibe. Despite being a tad on the long side, The North Face is a great watch, and a fascinating / unbelievable true story.

Score: 7/10