The Cynical Cinephiles

Director: Shane Black Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Kim Basinger On reflection of the Shane Black buddy-cop movie (Gee, that does sound familiar) as a whole, it can be regarded as genuinely entertaining and worthwhile viewing. However, at any given moment during the first two thirds of the film, one would probably have said otherwise.  Private investigators Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) and Holland March (Ryan Gosling) are both separately drawn into a curious case involving a string of murders connected to an experimental porno movie. One an emotionally disconnected psychopath, the other an alcoholic single father, the two form an unlikely partnership to tackle the case together. (It's bugging me, but I can't quite put my finger on it). The film crescendos in terms of pace, humour and character likeability, from near non-existent at the beginning to relatively impressive at its conclusion. The narrative is promising and could have been enhan...

Director: Bryan Singer Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Rose Byrne. After a trip to the movie theatre to watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi , a young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) declares, "At least we can agree the third one's always the worst." Oh, how true those words ring in relation to X-Men: Apocalypse  as the last instalment in the X-Men franchise for the foreseeable future pales in comparison to the quality of its predecessor. After the world's first mutant, subtly named Apocalypse, literally resurfaces and acquires a quartet of enhanced individuals(including the permanently moody Magneto) to "cleanse" the Earth, Pro X, Mystique and co must form their own tender alliances to put a stop to Apocalypse's dastardly plan. As aforementioned, Apocalypse actively acquires four powerful mutants to serve as his Horsemen - although, the motives behind the four characte...

What happens when a Cynical Cinephile isn't cynical enough? Or when the other is unreasonably so? Dexter Fletcher's Eddie the Eagle  was the film that raised these questions. Evie is a fan; Mia a sceptic. Let's get ready to rumble - ding, ding, ding! Mia: I found the main issue with the movie to be the predictability of the narrative. It ticked every box in the checklist for a 'formulaic underdog story'; a poor man's Cool Runnings. Evie: Woah, woah! Was the plot formulaic? Yes, there's no denying. Did it make the pay-off any less rewarding? Not in the slightest. The film's uplifting climax was fist-pump worthy as Eddie was (SPOILER ALERT) carried home a hero on the shoulders of those who helped him achieve his dreams. Mia: Less uplifting, more embarrassing. Just before completing the deadly 90 metre slope, there is a painfully long sequence in which Eddie hears the voices of all of the naysayers in his career come flooding back; 'you'll nev...

As someone who has only watched the original Ghostbusters  for the first time last year (and admittedly I wasn't enamored with it - sorry 'bout it), the prospect of a re-boot/sequel did not have me demanding the head of whoever was responsible for the decision whilst many others were appalled by the notion of an all-female Ghostbusters team. The film's director Paul Feig seems to have assembled the perfect comedic cast to assume the mantle of Bill Murray and co, including;  Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig, Feig staple Melissa McCarthy and Saturday Night Live! darlings Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Feig has delivered with every film he has directed (most recently Spy ) so he seemed like the natural choice to revive the franchise. Needless to say, my expectations for the first trailer were high. The trailer begins on a more somber and mature note, with a piano lead score and title cards that read, "30 years ago, four scientists saved New York. This summer, a new te...

With tomorrow’s much anticipated release of Hail Caesar, let’s look back on arguably the most popular and certainly the most quotable of their previous works… It’s tough to boil down the colourful narrative of the Co-bros’ 1998 cult comedy; with pornography, kidnapping (a regular for the Coens), bowling, and rug urination all thrown in. The cast is rife with golden nuggets; Goodman’s gun-toting Vietnam veteran, willing to threaten any man who disgraces his adored craft of bowling; Jeffrey Lebowski, the wheelchair-bound over-achieving multimillionaire, with a nymphomaniac trophy wife and brownnoser of a PA – an hilarious turn from the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman. Julianne Moore is the avant-garde feminist, flashing the flesh as per usual…and there’s Donny. Who could forget Steve Buscemi’s pitiable tag along? I often substitute my friends’ names into Goodman’s simple but effective exclamation, ‘Shut the fuck up, Donny!’. Works every time. Push aside the embellishmen...

Think of this introductory blog post as our manifesto. And it is a very simple one. We are Evie Brudenall and Mia Shaw, two hungry Film and Television students in the hunt for some cine-food. So feast with us! We will be serving, on a silver platter: film reviews (old and new), updates, trailer reviews, and any tasty nuggets of filminess that we can fling your way.  So please chow down, and don't forget to chew. (Please don't expect the food-based allegories to persist for the whole blog, we are already exhausted). We will give you unfiltered, honest and lighthearted low-downs of tinsel-town; the good, the bad and the downright repulsive. So sit back, relax, and we'll do the cooking. To amend the words of Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine in Casablanca : 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.' EB & MS