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n. hoop·la fac·tor (h  p lä f kt r)
degree of entertainment attained irrespective of critical worth |
Mud 15th June
The simple fact is that, when not doing romantic comedy dross, Matthew McConaughey is a fantastic actor. I would have thought that after all this time, people would realise this, but in my experience most are immediately dismissive of the guy.
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Mass Effect: Paragon Lost 15th June
Paragon Lost will only interest diehard fans who can't get enough of the ME universe. For everyone else, it's an underwhelming experience. Above all, people who haven’t played the games definitely shouldn't use this as a benchmark to decide whether or not to dip their toes in the franchise.
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The King of Pigs (Dwae-ji-ui wang) 15th June
The King of Pigs is a brutal tale that is not for the faint-hearted. Whilst the pacing never feels sluggish, there is one subplot that could have easily been excised. The dénouement feels like a bit of a narrative fumble but for the most part this is compelling viewing.
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The Great Gatsby 1st June
DiCaprio is in fine form as Gatsby. He gets the mix of confidence and insecurity just right, and if nothing else, it's good to see him get some scenes where he's happy (something that rarely seems to occur in his roles of late).
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Iron Man 3 19th May
Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) are afforded their moments in the spotlight, and both feel integral to the script. More significantly, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) finally has something useful to do, and gets some of the film's best scenes.
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Broken 15th May
The narrative frequently takes a step backwards, to cover the same short period of time from another character's perspective, and sometimes deliberately withholds information, so that you're not sure of the order of events. This works particularly well in a couple of the film's tenser scenes.
Broken is released 16th May
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Star Trek Into Darkness 12th May
Moral dilemmas are something that Star Trek does well, and Into Darkness certainly features its fair share. It's no coincidence that this is about the same time that Cumberbatch takes centre stage, and his performance is near legendary - managing to be gloriously over the top yet never feeling pantomimic.
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Olympus Has Fallen 3rd May
If the action were spectacular, then this all-round idiocy would be acceptable. It's not. In fact, most of the movie is shot in semi darkness, which means WE CAN'T EVEN SEE when Mike is shooting people in the face.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
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Butler and Eckhart are charismatic enough to make the film watchable, at least, and this is high praise for the performers. Butler is almost perfect as the scorned but heroic action hero, and Eckhart tries hard despite working with his hands tied behind his back for much of the film (both literally and figuratively).
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