Luke Buckmaster has one word to describe the second installment of the Twilight films: lame. New Moon is a cheesy soap opera jazzed up by a half-assed supernatural twist.
Film reviews
Film review: Paranormal Activity — no frills fear
Paranormal Activity is a no frills camcorder-shot thriller that cost around US$11,000 to make. So far it’s pocketed more than US$100 million, with much more business to come. But is it any good? Luke Buckmaster checks it out.
Film review: 2012 — die-hard disaster porn
The plot may be clunky and the science very sketchy, but in strictly visual terms, 2012 is simply the most spectacular disaster picture ever made, says Luke Buckmaster. Full-blown cinematic sadism.
Film review: A Christmas Carol
Luke Buckmaster looks at the latest retelling of Dickins’ classic A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey (aided by a thick sheen of CGI profiling): one of the best big-screen versions yet, and easily one of the best-looking features of the year.
Film review: This Is It
The documentary of Michael Jackson’s concert-that-never-was, This Is It might be smashing box office records around the world, but the film’s lack of commentary, insight and context will make it a struggle for most to sit through, says Luke Buckmaster. One for the fans.
Film review: Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story
Capitalism: A Love Story is not Michael Moore’s best film, says Luke Buckmaster, but it’s a solid addition to his body of work, and a vintage Moore exposé that fits his battlin’-for-the-small-guys shtick like a glove.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It: the reviews are in…
With the release of the much (over?) hyped doco of Michael Jackson’s final concert, This Is It, MTV has a roundup of some of the world’s most critical reviews. Is it a Thriller, or just plain Bad?
Film review: Into the Shadows
Luke Buckmaster reviews Into the Shadows: a dense and compelling documentary about the beleaguered state of the Australian film industry. Required viewing for those interested in the business side of Australian cinema.
Film review: The Box
Luke Buckmaster reviews the latest flick from director Richard Kelly (Donny Darko), The Box: an experience simultaneously compelling, befuddling, audacious and frustratingly disjointed.
Film review: Astro Boy: new-fangled retro fun
Astro Boy defies the unbelievably low standards set by the cinematic forays of his retro toon colleagues in this new-fangled big screen reboot, says Luke Buckmaster.
Film review: The Final Destination
Luke Buckmaster reviews new 3D horror/slasher flick, The Final Destination: a diabolically fun no-brainer that makes for fast, lean and mean trashy entertainment.
Where the Wild Things Are: what the critics say
Film critics reactions to the highly anticipated film adaption of classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are have been mixed. Luke Buckmaster wraps the reactions.
Film review: Julie and Julia
New Meryl Streep-fronted flick Julie and Julia centres around two unprepossessing chefs who write about cooking. There’s potential for a tasty dish, says Luke Buckmaster, but the film is under-cooked, lacks flavour, and has lacklustre ingredients.
Film review: Mao’s Last Dancer
Luke Buckmaster reviews Bruce Beresford’s new flick Mao’s Last Dancer: an uplifting biopic that left him feeling so lazy, he went to the gym for a workout afterwards.
The 100 worst movies of the last 10 years
Another decade is almost over, and Rotten Tomatoes is looking back at the films that really stunk up the silver screen throughout the naughties, based on critics’ reviews.
Up and away in Pixar’s beautiful new film
Like the best all-ages animation, Up mingles serious concepts into whimsical situations. It’s consistently entertaining from first frame to last but it’s also worthy of cinema studies-style analysis, says Luke Buckmaster.
Woodstock minus the music = great film
Here’s a good idea: take a watershed moment in contemporary music history and recreate it for the big screen, minus the music! That’ll work, right? Actually yes, it works a treat in Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock.
Film review: Inglorious Basterds — gimmicky bastardry
Luke Buckmaster reviews Quentin Tarantino’s much-hyped new flick, Inglorious Basterds, but is not as impressed as many other critics. The film has its compelling moments, he says, but is a strange and inconsistent beast.
Vogue and the chill of Wintour
Culture Mulcher reviews new film The September Issue a documentary about Vogue magazine and its notoriously icy editor, Anna Wintour.
Twitter cuts through Hollywood hype
Twitter speeds up word of mouth so quickly, it is out-pacing Hollywood’s PR machine, reports Michael Sragow: if a movie stinks, everybody knows within hours of the premiere.
Film review: The 10 Conditions of Love
Luke Buckmaster reviews the new film about the life, career and advocacy work of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, that has caused so much controversy for the government and Melbourne International Film Festival. Whilst highly topical, he says, it’s a listless and un-enticing documentary.
Inglorious Basterds: unendurably, unbelievably tedious
Quentin Tarantino’s new flick Inglorious Basterds has been receiving accolades from all over — but not from The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, who calls it a “transcendentally disappointing dud”.
Film review: District 9
District 9 is a pulse-pounding, convention-bending sci-fi romp, that proves there is much extraterrestrial life left in the well-worn genre of aliens-on-earth movies, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Film review: Food Inc.
Food Inc. carves its way into the cinematic cavities of the 100% Prime Beef guilt trip genre, offering a shocking exposé about the stuff we put in our mouths. An engaging, important and entertaining documentary, says Luke Buckmaster.
Film review: Public Enemies
Director Michael Mann re-enters the biopic genre post-Ali with all tommy guns blazing in Public Enemies, says Luke Buckmaster.
