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Judge & Jury: December 2014

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Tuesday, December 30, 2014. The Case for Nightcrawling. Jake Gyllenhaal plays creepy disturbingly well. When he gets thin, his big eyes look hollow, his wide mouth looks sinister, his intense stare looks… well, intense. And all of these physical attributes, along side his robotic like delivery and focussed attention means he plays the amoral and psychotic Lou Bloom, a Nightcrawler. Fingers crossed it keeps its head above water. But enough of that. Sunday, December 21, 2014. To stretch out the movie reven...

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Judge & Jury: February 2015

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Saturday, February 28, 2015. The Case for a Brief History. In my lead up to the Academy Awards, I had to see The Theory of Everything. The well regarded tale of the life and times of Stephen Hawking, as seen through the eyes (and the memoirs) of his ex-wife Jane. Verdict: The actors in The Theory of Everything. Raise the film above the average to the extraordinary. It didn’t blow my mind, but it definitely made me think and kept me entertained throughout – and what more can one ask? 8 theories out of 10.

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Judge & Jury: August 2014

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Wednesday, August 6, 2014. The Case for Herculean Efforts. The reason to go to a Dwayne Johnson film is because the man himself oozes charm and watchability out of very muscular pore. The second film about the Greek demi-god released this year, only really works because of his incredible charisma. But the story is fairly predictable (and occasionally a bit nonsensical; where did all the armour and weapons come from again? As with all these sorts of tales, there is a dark back story as well, with Hercules...

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Judge & Jury: January 2015

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Friday, January 30, 2015. The Case for Imitation. That name evokes a lot of imagery. Intensity, aloofness, clipped vowels. That name has come to mean a lot more in the years since WW2, knowing as we do now his pivotal role in creating a calculating engine, a computer, to crack the Nazi Enigma code and assist the Allies in wining the war. What happened to the policemen who were investigating him? Why was Turing honoured only just before the film was made? A film that sheds such light on such an incredible...

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Judge & Jury: March 2015

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Monday, March 23, 2015. The Case for Going Wild. I have to admit, I was rather blown away by Wild. Reese Witherspoon wandering around in the bush at first did not hold that appeal. I have seen Into the Wild. And remembered that film depressed me quite a bit. Still, the Oscar buzz around this film and a dearth of other material got to me, and as I hadn’t visited the Paramount for a while, I thought it was a good opportunity to go. And, aforementioned, I was not disappointed. The one off note is an incredi...

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Judge & Jury: The Case for Jurassicity

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Thursday, July 2, 2015. The Case for Jurassicity. Back bigger and better than ever as Jurassic World. A huge budget, mammoth monsters, Chris Pratt – this film is wheeling out the big guns (especially in Pratt’s case) and showing them off to the crowd (I was going to say “firing into the crowd”, but that would be taking the metaphor a bit far). They want teeth and daring and action and monsters chomping on action people! In anticipation of the coming slaughter. While she and Pratt are off with the main st...

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Judge & Jury: August 2015

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Monday, August 17, 2015. The Case for Antics. Another Marvel superhero movie? We all know how it goes: connections to the other films in the Marvel/Disney universe will abound; the lead actor will have at least one shirtless scene where he gets to show off his ripped abs; there will be special effects and cheesy jokes galore; and it will be about two hours long. Lives up to all of these Marvel staples. And it is great. But the real star is the special effects. Not since Land of the Giants. Apparently thi...

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Judge & Jury: May 2015

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Wednesday, May 27, 2015. The Case for Pitch Imperfect. Last week, I saw the first Pitch Perfect. It's a funny movie where Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson save a bunch of women and a capella enthusiasts from an otherwise bland, boring fate. Is kind of more of the same. Kendick and Wilson are back, but the heavy lifting is given all to Wilson, while Kendrick goes off and ignores her boyfriend and tries to break into the "real" music industry. Meanwhile, a retreat to a camp for the Bellas to find their mojo ...

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Judge & Jury: July 2015

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Thursday, July 2, 2015. The Case for Jurassicity. Back bigger and better than ever as Jurassic World. A huge budget, mammoth monsters, Chris Pratt – this film is wheeling out the big guns (especially in Pratt’s case) and showing them off to the crowd (I was going to say “firing into the crowd”, but that would be taking the metaphor a bit far). They want teeth and daring and action and monsters chomping on action people! In anticipation of the coming slaughter. While she and Pratt are off with the main st...

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Judge & Jury: October 2014

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Sunday, October 19, 2014. The Case for Being Gone. I have to admit, I was a little unsure about going to Gone Girl. The preview just made it look like it revealed everything, and if it didn’t, I was going to be mightily annoyed if it all ended up being a dream or some other twee twist. But based on a glowing review on one of my favourite podcasts, Kermode and Mayo’s film Review show. On BBC Radio 5 (or is that BBC Radio 5 Live? Cast I laughed, I was angry, I was deceived… I enjoyed it immensely&#46...