It Was a Movie with Colin and Niall | Weekly Movie Reviews and Film Analysis

This week, we review Harakiri (1962), Masaki Kobayashi's samurai drama about honour, hypocrisy, and the brutal cost of the bushidō code. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as Hanshirō Tsugumo, a masterless samurai, opposite Rentarō Mikuni as the stern clan counsellor Kageyu Saitō, in a story about one man's quiet revenge against the rigid institutions that destroyed his family. When Tsugumo arrives at the Iyi clan's estate in 1630 asking to com...

This week, we review Street Fighter (1994), Steven E. de Souza's over-the-top action-adventure adaptation of the legendary arcade fighting game. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Colonel William F. Guile, with Raul Julia as the scenery-chewing dictator M. Bison, Kylie Minogue as Cammy, Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li, and Byron Mann as Ryu, in a story that explores the clash between military heroism and megalomaniacal tyranny. With a warlord h...

This week, we review The Warriors (1979), Walter Hill's gritty action-thriller set against the backdrop of New York City's gang warfare. Michael Beck stars as Swan, leading a battle-scarred crew who must survive a brutal night, fighting their way across the city after being wrongly blamed for the murder of a rival gang leader. With every borough turned into hostile territory and countless rival gangs hunting them down, this film ra...

This week, we review Terrifier (2016), Damien Leone's blood-soaked slasher that revives old-school practical-effects horror with a nasty sense of humor. David Howard Thornton stars as Art the Clown in a story that explores what happens when pure, silent evil picks two ordinary women as its Halloween night prey. With Jenna Kanell and Catherine Corcoran fighting to survive till dawn, this film raises intriguing questions about just h...

This week, we review Platoon (1986), Oliver Stone's gritty and unflinching war drama exploring the moral chaos of the Vietnam War. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris Taylor, a young, idealistic recruit caught between two hardened sergeants — Willem Dafoe's principled Elias and Tom Berenger's ruthless Barnes — in a story that explores the battle for a soldier's soul as much as the battle for survival. With its raw, semi-autobi...

This week, we review Resident Evil (2002), Paul W.S. Anderson's sci-fi horror thriller based on the hit video game franchise. Milla Jovovich stars as Alice in a story that explores a mysterious viral outbreak trapping a team of commandos inside the underground facility known as "The Hive." With a rogue AI, a deadly T-virus, and zombies lurking around every corner, this film raises intriguing questions about corporate greed and the ...

This week, we review Leprechaun (1993), Mark Jones's gleefully gory horror-comedy about greed, folklore gone wrong, and a curse you really don't want to mess with. Warwick Davis stars as the vengeful title creature, with Jennifer Aniston as Tory, a city girl stuck in a farmhouse nightmare after her dad accidentally pockets the Leprechaun's stolen gold. With a rubber chicken, a pogo stick, and one seriously ticked-off little guy hun...

This week, we review Jurassic Park (1993), Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking sci-fi thriller blending wonder and terror in equal measure. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum star as Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Dr. Ian Malcolm in a story that explores the perilous line between scientific ambition and playing god. With a billionaire's dream theme park brought to life through cloned dinosaurs — and quickly spiral...

This week, we review Midnight Cowboy (1969), John Schlesinger's gritty drama exploring loneliness, disillusionment, and survival on the fringes of society. Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman star as Joe Buck and "Ratso" Rizzo in a story that explores an unlikely friendship forged amid poverty and desperation in the seedy underbelly of New York City. With a naive Texan hustler chasing the American Dream only to find broken promises and h...

This week, we review Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), George Lucas's epic sci-fi tragedy that closes out the prequel trilogy with fire, betrayal, and heartbreak. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen star as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in a story that explores how fear, ambition, and loss can turn a hero into a villain. With the Clone Wars raging, the Jedi Order crumbling, and Anakin's descent into Darth ...

This week, we review Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), George Lucas's epic space opera sci-fi adventure set in the heart of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman star as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Amidala in a story that explores forbidden love, political betrayal, and the galaxy's descent into all-out war. With a secret clone army, a sinister...

This week, we review Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), George Lucas's long-awaited return to the director's chair and the epic sci-fi space opera prequel that launched the Skywalker Saga's origin story. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor star as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi in a story that explores destiny, political corruption, and the seductive pull of the dark side. With a young slave boy n...

This week, we review Supergirl (1984), Jeannot Szwarc’s fantasy-tinged superhero spin-off from the Superman saga. Helen Slater stars as Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin from Krypton, who journeys to Earth in search of a powerful lost artifact—and ends up battling an ambitious witch, played by Faye Dunaway, in a clash of cosmic and campy proportions. With a mix of magical showdowns, high school hijinks, and earnest a...

This week, we review Masters of the Universe (1987), Gary Goddard’s sci-fi fantasy cult classic that blasts He-Man from Eternia straight into suburban Earth. Dolph Lundgren stars as the mighty He-Man, squaring off against Frank Langella’s gloriously theatrical Skeletor in a battle for the cosmic key — and the fate of the universe. With its wild mix of swords, lasers, synth scores, and fish-out-of-water hijinks, th...

This week, we review Mortal Kombat (1995), Paul W.S. Anderson's action-packed martial arts fantasy based on the iconic Midway video game franchise. Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, and Bridgette Wilson star as Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade — three warriors chosen to fight in an ancient interdimensional tournament to save Earth from the clutches of the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung, played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. With Christoph...

This week, we review Snatch (2000), Guy Ritchie's frenetic British crime comedy set deep in the London criminal underworld. Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro, and Vinnie Jones star as a chaotic ensemble of boxing promoters, gangsters, and small-time crooks in a story that explores greed, chaos, and the butterfly effect of criminality. With two intertwining plots — a priceless stolen 84-carat diamond and a bare-knuckl...

This week, we review Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993), Michael Schroeder's cyberpunk sci-fi action B-movie set in a future dominated by corporate warfare and synthetic humans. Angelina Jolie and Elias Koteas star as Cash Reese and Colt Ricks — a cyborg assassin and her combat trainer — in a story that explores identity, autonomy, and what it means to be human. With Cash literally packed with a liquid explosive called "Glas...

This week, we review Isle of Dogs (2018), Wes Anderson's gloriously quirky stop-motion animated sci-fi comedy-drama set in a dystopian near-future Japan. Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Balaban star as a ragtag pack of exiled dogs in a story that explores loyalty, rebellion, and political corruption. With all of Megasaki City's canines banished to a garbage-dump called Trash Island following a gov...

This week, we review Phone Booth (2002), Joel Schumacher’s razor-tight psychological thriller about guilt, vanity, and public exposure. Colin Farrell stars as slick publicist Stu Shepard, with Kiefer Sutherland as the chilling unseen Caller and Forest Whitaker as the police captain caught in the chaos, in a story that explores morality under pressure. With one man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper who knows all his secrets...