Reviews by Angus Wolfe Murray

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

  Review preview for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

  The script is clunky and the plot cannot be taken seriously

  Jack Ryan uncovers a plot to wreck the US economy.
• 
  Lone Survivor (2013)

  Review preview for Lone Survivor

  What the war machines of the West have done to Iraq and Afghanistan does not need the John Wayne treatment

  A dramatisation of a failed US assassination mission in Afghanistan.
• 
  The Selfish Giant (2013)

  Review preview for The Selfish Giant

  Something is happening to British cinema. The Girls Are Coming!

  Roughly based on the Oscar Wilde parable, this is a tale of jealousy between two boys vying for the favour of a scrap merchant.
• 
  American Hustle (2013)

  Review preview for American Hustle

  American Hustle blows the cobwebs off every cliche in the crime section of contemporary film

  A con man is forced to work for a rogue FBI agent.
• 
  The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

  Review preview for The Wolf of Wall Street

  The rise and rise, involving drugs on tap, weird sex and a vocab that seldom advances beyond four letters, is an anarchist's wet dream.

  Based on the true story of the rise and fall of a financial high roller.
• 
  The Railway Man (2013)

  Review preview for The Railway Man

  It is a story of courage, redemption and forgiveness. And it's true

  The true story of Eric Lomax, a victim of the Second World War's "Death Railway", who later in life sets out to find the Japanese soldier responsible.
• 
  Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (2013)

  Review preview for Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

  The film touches the corners of the envelope without revealing what is inside.

  Biopic of political prisoner who went on to be the first democratically elected South African president
• 
  47 Ronin (2013)

  Review preview for 47 Ronin

  The plot is layered in fantasy and fiction and yet retains a powerful idealism

  A band of samurai set out to avenge the death of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
• 
  The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)

  Review preview for The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

  He takes the antihero into areas of sad you never knew you wanted to avoid.

  A sad little man who dreams of heroic derring-do goes on a real life adventure in cold countries
• 
  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

  Review preview for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

  Burgundy's ability to survive cockups on an industrial scale is impressive

  San Diego's 70s TV newscaster and his team of idiots take on the graveyard shift on a new 24hour New York channel with surprising (manic) results
• 
  Walking With Dinosaurs 3D (2013)

  Review preview for Walking With Dinosaurs 3D

  The story follows a baby dino and his brother into puberty and beyond as if they were boys from Santa Monica. The only thing missing is prom night.

  Living the life of Alaskan rhinoesque dinos that walk and talk with teenage Californian accents
• 
  Homefront (2013)

  Review preview for Homefront

  The tension leaks interest due to a high cliche content.

  An undercover cop takes cover in Florida to avoid the vengeance of the Mafia drugs cartel he helped put inside.
• 
  The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)

  Review preview for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

  Essentially a Middle Earth road movie with a bunch of dwarfs

  The dwarves and their companions continue their quest to rid their homeland of the dragon, Smaug.
• 
  Frozen (2013)

  Review preview for Frozen

  The animation is breathtaking and the characters are funny, charming and occasionally scary.

  The beauty and danger of ice exposed in an animated musical tale of royal siblings and treachery behind the throne.
• 
  Gloria (2012)

  Review preview for Gloria

  Gloria has the instincts of an eagle and the courage to fly.

  A woman finds late romance at a dance club, but will family intrude?
• 
  Sound It Out (2011)

  Review preview for Sound It Out

  What's so clever about the chattering classes when you've got this?

  Documentary about the last record shop in Stockton.
• 
  Albatross (2010)

  Review preview for Albatross

  Somewhere a story of love and courage lies buried beneath the silt of mediocrity.

  Coming of age comedy drama, with strong central performances from two fast rising British actresses.
• 
  Ghosted (2011)

  Review preview for Ghosted

  If the truth of Her Majesty's Pleasure is a kick in the balls, or a blade in the back, you may be excused for thinking that you have been here before.

  Think Alan Clarke's Scum, updated for 2011.
• 
  Our Day Will Come (2010)

  Review preview for Our Day Will Come

  Anarchic humour morphs into madness, coupled with racist overtones and a disregard for sensibility.

  A bullied youth and a troubled psychiatrist embark on a strange journey together.
• 
  Bleak Night (2010)

  Review preview for Bleak Night

  What's left for those who don't share intimate knowledge of a South Korean schoolboy's mind?

  Winner of the New Current Award at the 2010 Pusan International Film Festival.
• 
  Honeymooner (2010)

  Review preview for Honeymooner

  The plot is punctured from the start.

  A young man is forced to reassess his life when his fiancée dumps him days before their planned wedding.
• 
  Kawasaki's Rose (2009)

  Review preview for Kawasaki's Rose

  If the past is another country, exploring it can be a dangerous endeavour, affecting more people than you know.

  Family drama about decades-old betrayal to the communist secret police.
• 
  Heartbreaker (2010)

  Review preview for Heartbreaker

  The comedy is soft, the story’s predictable and the clichés line up like pretty little dolls.

  A professional gigolo has one week to stop a loving couple tie the knot in Monte Carlo.
• 
  The Mouth Of The Wolf (2009)

  Review preview for The Mouth Of The Wolf

  Very art house.

  Archive and modern footage is a love letter to Genoa.
• 
  C'est déjà l'été (2010)

  Review preview for C'est déjà l'été

  Watching this dysfunctional family implode is sobering, if not suicidal.

  Life without hope in a polluted Belgian town.
• 
  The Good Heart (2009)

  Review preview for The Good Heart

  Apart from Cox giving it large, there is nothing to this film except sentimentality in disguise.

  A barman tries to help a young homeless man by teaching him to be tougher, but finds his own nature changing in the process.
• 
  Henry of Navarre (2010)

  Review preview for Henry of Navarre

  The film is as rich in imagery as it is diverse in character.

  French historical epic about the ascent of King Henry IV
• 
  The Crab (2010)

  Review preview for The Crab

  As a portrait of 21st century man, with his obsession for porn sites, casual blow jobs and dysfunctional relationships, the film is contemporary.

  The fall and fall of an academic wannabe.
• 
  Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould (2009)

  Review preview for Genius Within: The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould

  A pristine biographical film about a brilliantly difficult man.

  Portrait of the pianist as an unusual man.
• 
  A Small Act (2010)

  Review preview for A Small Act

  What gives the film an edge is its immediacy and emotional impact.

  Giving poor children in Kenya a chance of further education and offering them hope for a better life.
• 
  Nénette (2009)

  Review preview for Nénette

  The simplicity of the concept is sublime

  A look at the life of the eponymous orangutan, imprisoned in a zoo.
• 
  Kick Off (2009)

  Review preview for Kick Off

  The photography is stunning and many of the set pieces are visually exciting.

  Organising a football match amongst the ruins of broken lives in Kirkuk, Iraq.
• 
  Freetime Machos (2009)

  Review preview for Freetime Machos

  Bad rugby and fantasy sex fail to win the thrill-a-minute prize for originality.

  A season of piss poor rugby in Finland and what the players think about sex.
• 
  Mundane History (2009)

  Review preview for Mundane History

  Is this the end of life, energy’s car crash?

  A male nurse cares for a paralysed patient in Bangkok and waits for something to happen.
• 
  Huge (2010)

  Review preview for Huge

  This should have been an insider’s guide to laughter. It isn’t.

  The long, low road to failure on the stand-up comedy circuit.
• 
  The Dam Busters (1955)

  Review preview for The Dam Busters

  As a reconstruction of one of the great moments of a long and bloody war, this could hardly be bettered.

  The daring raid on the Ruhr dams by a squadron of Lancaster bombers in 1943
• 
  Eyes Wide Open (2009)

  Review preview for Eyes Wide Open

  A controversial subject that is tackled as full on as is possible within the constraints of Israeli sensibility.

  A married butcher in ultra-orthodox Jerusalem has a passionate gay love affair with an itinerant student.
• 
  Mugabe And The White African (2009)

  Review preview for Mugabe And The White African

  For those who think they know what is going on in this once stable and prosperous country, to be faced with the Campbells’ story is a stark reminder that reading opinion pieces in newspapers is like witnessing a massacre from behind a wall.

  Documentary charting a white family's solidarity against the Mugabe regime.
• 
  Erasing David (2009)

  Review preview for Erasing David

  The subject matter is serious and the filmmakers have attempted to illustrated it with a man on the run, rather than investigate clinically.

  A man is pursued by private investigators in an attempt to prove that privacy has been completely lost in modern surveillance society.
• 
  Sherlock Holmes (2010)

  Review preview for Sherlock Holmes

  The plot hits a high note of absurdity early on when a sailing boat is sunk by a Fifties special effect.

  An improbable case for the Victorian detective that has nothing to do with Guy Ritchie's entertaining extravaganza.
• 
  Vampires (2009)

  Review preview for Vampires

  The privilege of having a human film crew witness some of the more repulsive vampiric habits is treated with respect.

  Mockumentary about a family of vampires.
• 
  Earthling (2010)

  Review preview for Earthling

  In the real world of coincidence and logic there has to be meaning in order to contain the terror that naturally arises from unnatural occurances.

  A group of people on Earth discover they aren't who they thought they were.
• 
  The Blacks (2009)

  Review preview for The Blacks

  The Blacks is observational, not judgemental. It catches your breath.

  A Balkans war era army unit disintegrates in the woods.
• 
  Snow White And Russian Red (2009)

  Review preview for Snow White And Russian Red

  Deciphering a storyline would require the assistance of a code breaker.

  Sex, drugs and confusion.
• 
  Bank Robbery (2009)

  Review preview for Bank Robbery

  This is an odd, often charming road movie, in which sentimentality is held in check.

  Ex-con and nephew take a road trip in search of a bride.
• 
  My Flesh My Blood (2009)

  Review preview for My Flesh My Blood

  The plot line is not original, but the combination of a shy Vietnamese flower and an angry, unpredictable war horse may well be.

  A brain damaged boxer searches for love.
• 
  Cedar Boys (2009)

  Review preview for Cedar Boys

  The scale is smaller and more personal, which adds to it credibility.

  Crime is an irresistible temptation for first generation Lebanese Australians who want to rise above social racist barriers.
• 
  Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010)

  Review preview for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

  As the film progresses through bouts of selfishness and success, you learn to dislike him more.

  The life and wild times of Ian Dury - pop singer, artist, hell raiser.
• 
  Contact (2009)

  Review preview for Contact

  The concept is flawed. The aboriginals have been exploited, not in a bad way, but in order to make a film.

  The story of the indigenous Martu tribe, cleared from their land in 1964 to make way for rocket testing.
• 
  Kakera (2009)

  Review preview for Kakera

  The lesbian tag need not restrict heterosexual aficionados of human relationships.

  One love, two girls, Japanese-style.