The James Marsh film review archive

Short Reviews

  • Drinking Buddies

    It was only while watching this film that I came to the realisation that I had never seen a film directed by Joe Swanberg before now. I was familiar with… Read More

  • The Canyons

    Paul Schader make a rocky return to filmmaking, bringing a script by Bret Easton Ellis to the screen with the help of porn star James Deen and the loose canon… Read More

  • Possession

    A pinnacle of sorts in the world of bizarro Euro-horror that manages to stand alone as a singular work of such courage, confidence and baffling derangement that once seen it… Read More

  • Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

    I always enjoy checking out these animated DC/Marvel movies, just because I realise how little I know about the wider superhero universe and see them as a nice, handy crash… Read More

  • The Lone Ranger

    While there’s no denying the Disney/Depp relationship went stale a long time ago and his clownish buffoonery has entirely consumed the once-great screen actor, there is still plenty to appreciate… Read More

  • The Heat

    Overlong but consistently funny, Paul Feig follows up the hugely successful Bridesmaids with another female-centric comedy, this time turning Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy into action heroines. The plot is… Read More

  • Unbeatable

    Dante Lam follows up his action spectacular The Viral Factor with this far more character focused and melodramatic story of two MMA fighters in Macau. Nick Cheung goes even further… Read More

  • Wake in Fright

    Quintessentially Australian, yet wholly unique, Wake in Fright was directed by Canadian Ted Kotcheff (First Blood) and stars British actors Donald Pleasence and Gary Bond, as the school teacher with… Read More

  • The Canterbury Tales

    Pasolini’s films are challenging but I like to challenge myself from time to time, and his body of work has become one of my go-to selections when I’m looking to… Read More

  • Only God Forgives

    It seems to have taken me a very long time to see Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest effort, and researching a lengthy interview I had with the man, I was forced… Read More

  • Sparrow

    While a somewhat minor entry in Johnnie To’s prolific canon of work, there is no denying this lighthearted tale of pickpockets has become something of a fan favourite. The cast… Read More

  • The Birth Of A Nation

    I had never made the effort to sit down and explore D.W. Griffith’s 3-hour silent Civil War epic before I recently had to review the new Blu-ray release from Masters… Read More

  • Pacific Rim

    On second viewing it must be conceded that Guillermo del Toro’s film is far more of a disappointment than many wee willing to admit – but still manages to be… Read More

  • Spring Breakers

    Still very enjoyable on second viewing, with James Franco in particular continuing to impress as the ridiculously charicatured drug dealer, Alien, who bails out a group of college girls looking… Read More

  • Runaway Train

    Settling in for a solid slice of 80s Cannon Film fare, nothing could have prepared me for the quality, intensity or profundity of Andrei Konchalovsky’s Runaway Train. Jon Voight, in… Read More

  • Harold And Maude

    One of the most eccentric and distinctive voices of the New Hollywood movement, Hal Ashby created some of the most interesting and unique American films of the period. None more… Read More

  • On Tender Hooks

    While first-time documentarian Kate Shenton clearly has the best interests of her subjects at heart, this documentary into the underground world of human suspension shows plenty of piercings, torn flesh… Read More

  • The Wolverine

    Hugh Jackman reprises his signature role yet again, this time employing James Mangold to take Logan to Japan and embrace one of the character’s best-loved comic book story arcs. While… Read More