Isaac's Film Reviews

I’m probably going to sound like a hypocrite for saying this, but that won’t stop me: the world of film critics is a corrupt one. So many professionals feel obligated to critique the film medium to such an extent that positive values are lost in the process. Contrary to seemingly popular belief, narrative hiccups do not overpower technical brilliance. Plot holes and unnecessary story elements take back seats to the successful implementation of what is inarguably the most important part of any movie: pure, untampered-with entertainment. Nothing about Cowboys & Aliens is going to win an Oscar, and there’s nothing wrong with that, because when it comes to an outstandingly good time at the movies, Cowboys & Aliens absolutely delivers. It’s 1875, and a small New Mexican community is struggling to get by in the aftermath of a small gold rush. The town is only kept afloat by the ruthless former Colnel Dollarhyde (Harrison Ford) and his dim-witted, cruel son. When an outlaw by...

It’s been quite the superhero summer. Within the space of a few months, both Marvel and DC have offered up a total of four big-screen adaptations of some of their biggest heroes. Now here we are approaching the end of the blockbuster July month, and Marvel has released their final offering of the season in the form of Captain America: The First Avenger . The studio has taken us to mythical civilizations in the sky, giant modern metropolises, middle eastern deserts and to the height of the Cuban Missile crisis, so where to explore next? The answer comes simply and obviously within minutes of Cap’s big screen debut: World War II. With The Avengers just around the corner, expectations run high for the patriotic hero. Though his big-budget chance comes lacking in some areas, it also provides some very fast, very entertaining comic-style action, and finally gives Cap a worthy cinema treatment. Picking up in 1942, Captain finds strong-hearted but scrawny Steve Rogers, played by Chris ...

Franchises like Harry Potter just don’t come around every day. Having garnered hundreds upon hundreds of millions of readers and watchers worldwide, it would not be a stretch to call the tale of The Boy Who Lived the most famous and financially successful in literary history. A few years back J.K. Rowling ended her flagship series with The Deathly Hallows , and just last November we were treated to Hollywood’s well received adaption of the first half of this final chapter (I myself awarded the film a hefty 8.0/10). Now here we are in July, and the saga that so many have fallen in love (and, in many cases, grown up) with has come to a cinematic close. But can the most anticipated grand finale in recent memory possibly manage to please the troves of dedicated fans begging for a suitable sendoff? In a word, yes. In fact so much of what the filmmakers have done here does such incredible justice to the source material that it is extremely difficult to judge the film in any manner but a bri...