Film Review: Avatar

Posted on 15th June 2015 by 5WC in Film

I’m not exactly sure why I never saw Avatar on the big screen. It just obviously wasn’t meant to be and in fact, it was only recently that I watched it at all. The reason being, that as director James Cameron virtually reinvented this modern stereoscopic 3D trend for the film, it seemed wrong to view it in any other format, and that meant waiting for me to get a 3D TV!

It is also the film that you can use to best sum up why I started my films reviews on this blog. Avatar is not actually a film about blue aliens at war with nasty humans who are intent on mining their natural resources, but rather, a social commentary by James Cameron about how the west invades the east because they have something we want. Or to put it another way: it’s America versus The Middle East over the control of oil, plus a few other things woven into the mix. Read more

Film Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Posted on 23rd January 2015 by 5WC in Film

There aren’t many films that run through a franchise for the length of time that Planet of the Apes has, in fact aside from James Bond and a potential nod towards Superman, I’m struggling to really think of any film that has repetitively returned to the big screen over such a lengthy time frame.

Granted, the apes have taken their fair time to evolve, first appearing in 1968 and then only fleeting appearing until the recent surge in activity, but their roots are firmly laid and referenced throughout the cinematic history. I remember though that this latest reincarnation of the story, starting with The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, left me somewhat cold. And sadly, once again I’ve come away from this feeling I’ve been let down. Read more