The James Marsh film review archive

Short Reviews

  • Jack the Giant Slayer

    Bryan Singer’s big screen update of the classic fairytale proves a surprisingly fun slice of old fashioned escapism. Read my full review here Read More

  • I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK

    I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK

    Following the international success of his “Vengeance Trilogy”, Park Chan-wook shifts gears completely with this good natured, day-glo coloured romantic comedy set in a mental institute. Lim Su-jeong plays a… Read More

  • The Cabin in the Woods

    I still have problems with this film. I really don’t think it takes its premise far enough to be worthy of the praise it has garnered. It might sound curmudgeonly,… Read More

  • Sympathy For Lady Vengeance

    Lee Young-ae stars as a convicted child murderer, released from prison after 13 years, who heads out on a trail of revenge against the man she believes really committed the… Read More

  • Joint Security Area

    When a South Korean soldier (Lee Byung-hun) stationed with the garrison that guards the 38th Parallel on the North/South border staggers back across from the other side with a bullet… Read More

  • Sinister

    Ethan Hawke stars as a struggling true crime writer who moves his family to a new town in order to investigate a series of horrific family murders. You can read… Read More

  • Sudden Death

    From Peter Hyams, the director of Outland, 2010 and the Van Damme actioner Timecop, this is essentially a low-rent Die Hard knock-off set in and around an ice rink, during… Read More

  • Reality

    I was a big fan of Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah and was very encouraged when his follow-up, Reality, also bagged him the Grand Prix at Cannes last year. The film just… Read More

  • Happy Together

    I finally caught up with Wong Kar Wai’s much-lauded 1997 film, starring Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai as tempestuous lovers living in Buenos Aires. To find out what… Read More

  • The Hunt

    So often such a frightening screen presence, it is a refreshing change to see Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen play such a likable and sympathetic character as he does here. The… Read More

  • Sleeper

    Certainly one of Woody Allen’s funniest films, Sleeper sees the comedian play a jazz musician/health food store owner, who reawakens into a bizarre totalitarian state after a routine operation sees… Read More

  • Zombie Flesh Eaters

    A notorious film for any number of reasons, from its numerous titles, spectacularly gruesome effects, ridiculous moments of action or inclusion on the Video Nasties list, Lucio Fulci’s Zombie Flesh… Read More

  • The Man With The Iron Fists

    Wu-Tang Clan frontman and self-confessed Shaw Brothers fanboy RZA makes his directorial debut in this loving but messy homage to the martial arts classics of yesteryear, which he also wrote… Read More

  • An Autumn’s Tale

    Screening as part of the Film Archive’s 100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies, this is a delightful romantic comedy from 1987, starring Chow Yun Fat and Cherie Chung, and filmed in… Read More

  • Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance

    As part of a future (as-yet undisclosed) project, I’m currently re-visiting the films of Korean director Park Chan-wook. I was planning to begin with JSA: Joint Security Area, but neither… Read More

  • Robot & Frank

    This unlikely buddy movie about an elderly ex-con and his robotic domestic helper works fantastically well, thanks to a wonderfully nuanced performance from Frank Langella and deft handling of the… Read More

  • The Raid

    I’ve seen Gareth Evans’ blistering Indonesian action movie a few times before, but on discovering that last night’s dinner guests were in the mood for a movie and unaware of… Read More

  • The Notebook

    This Valentine’s Day I picked a notoriously slushy romance for the girlfriend and I to watch, one that neither of us had seen but I had a copy of lying… Read More