Dan Hall Reviews Archive 
News from Dan Hall
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Blades of Glory - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Ferrell bring Talladega Nights to the ice?
15 August 2007 11:00 GMT
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Such is his popularity at present that only four words - Will Ferrell does NASCAR – were required to convince Sony to commission his last project, the $150 million making Taladega Nights.
And so, treading a similar path, we now have "Will... -
Gone - DVD review
REVIEW
Can the Brits make a decent thriller out of Gone?
2 August 2007 0:00 GMT
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Gone is a low budget Brit thriller that sees a post university backpacking holiday turn into “Dead Calm in the desert” for two 20-something love birds.
Evans (best known for his work in series two of Teachers) plays Alex, a ginger Scouser... -
Catch a Fire - DVD review
REVIEW
Political masterpiece or not worth the bother?
31 July 2007 9:00 GMT
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Catch a Fire is the true story of political activist Patrick Chamusso who was sentenced to 24 years in prison after attempting to blow up a South African oil refinery in 1980.
Derek “Antwone Fisher” Luke plays Chamusso, a loving husband... -
The Illusionist - DVD review
REVIEW
Two magician-based stories in as many months? Which one should you watch?
18 July 2007 11:00 GMT
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You wait years for a movie about early nineteenth century magicians to come along and then, hey presto, two turn up at once. Hot on the heels of Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" comes the big screen adaptation of Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim...
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Ghost Rider - DVD review
REVIEW
Comic book great or just comic?
7 July 2007 11:00 GMT
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After hearing that his chain-smoking old man is about to die from lung cancer (someone really should warn people that these things aren’t good for them!) motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Cage) makes a deal with Mephistopheles (Fonda) to save his pop’s...
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The Good Shepherd - DVD review
REVIEW
Can De Niro impress with his latest directed offering
29 June 2007 9:00 GMT
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Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is a high flyer at Yale University in 1939 when he is recruited to join the American secret service.
His hidden life gives him first hand experience of the Second World War and the Soviet expansion into Eastern... -
Blood Diamond - DVD review
REVIEW
Can DiCaprio and Hounsou impress?
23 June 2007 11:00 GMT
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Set amid the carnage of the Sierra Leone civil war of the late-1990s, Blood Diamond tells the story of Solomon Vandy (Hounsou), a Mende fisherman forced into slavery after his village is decimated by rebel guerrillas.
Put to work in the... -
The Fountain - DVD review
REVIEW
Does this film flow with appeal, or was the studio right to try and bury it?
21 June 2007 9:00 GMT
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Loved by some and hated by a whole lot of others, Darren Aronofsky’s latest movie is every bit as weird and, some would say, wonderful, as his previous highly original movies, Pi and Requiem for a Dream.
Tom (Hugh Jackman) is a scientist... -
Hot Fuzz - DVD review
REVIEW
I fought the law and the law one - has it with this movie?
18 June 2007 11:00 GMT
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Three years on from their big screen “Rom-Zom-Com” debut, Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are back for another slice of genre busting action in Hot Fuzz, but does it match up to its predecessor? We get watching to find out.
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Apocalypto - DVD review
REVIEW
Worth a gander or more gruesome tales from Gibson?
16 June 2007 11:00 GMT
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Three years on from The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson returns to the director’s chair for a brutal action thriller set against the backdrop of the fall of the Mayan empire.
When a savage tribe decimates a peaceful village, Jaguar Paw... -
Infamous - DVD review
REVIEW
Deja vu or worth a look?
14 June 2007 11:00 GMT
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Following directly in the footsteps of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar winning turn in 2006, Toby Jones now takes on the role of Truman Capote - the famously eccentric American novelist, playwright and screenwriter - in Infamous.
The story... -
Bobby - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Estevez pull off a drama?
12 June 2007 0:00 GMT
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Bobby follows the stories of 22 fictional characters in Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel on the night of June 4th 1968, when Presidential hopeful Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated moments after claiming victory in the crucial California primary....
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Rocky Balboa - DVD review
REVIEW
Can the sixth installment be crown Rocky's glory years?
28 May 2007 9:00 GMT
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Despite looking more like his mum than the Italian Stallion we remember from his Oscar-winning 1976 debut, Sly Stallone is back for his sixth, and final, outing as Rocky Balboa.
Having hung up his gloves in the early-90s, Rock now spends... -
Babel - DVD review
REVIEW
One to watch or just one the critics enjoyed?
25 May 2007 9:00 GMT
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The third collaboration between Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams) is a multi-stranded epic, spanning three continents.
A rifle shot in the African desert sparks a chain of events linking... -
The Last King of Scotland - DVD review
REVIEW
Does it justify the hype?
23 May 2007 0:00 GMT
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Based on Giles Foden’s best selling novel, The Last King of Scotland is an enthralling political thriller set amid the destruction of Idi Amin’s (Whitaker) murderous reign as Ugandan president during the 1970s.
A mixture of fact and fiction,... -
London to Brighton - DVD review
REVIEW
Dark and moody, but is it any good?
17 May 2007 13:00 GMT
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Kelly (Lorraine Stanley) is a prostitute, forced by Derek (Johnnie Harris) her bullying pimp to find a child to satisfy a ruthless gangland boss’ sexual appetite.
When things turn nasty, Kelly escapes with 11-year-old Joanne (Georgia Groome)... -
Smokin' Aces - DVD review
REVIEW
A great follow up to Narc or one to avoid?
16 May 2007 11:00 GMT
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From the creator of gritty undercover cop thriller Narc, comes a furiously bloody action flick set in the murky underworld of the Las Vegas mafia. When Buddy “Aces” Israel (Piven), a magician and small-time crook, decides to turn state’s evidence against...
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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - DVD review
REVIEW
Has this film got its sense of smell?
11 May 2007 11:00 GMT
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Deemed “unfilmable” since its release in 1985, Patrick Süskind’s best-selling novel finally makes its big-screen debut after a decade in development hell that saw both Ridley Scott and Tim Burton pass on the project after showing early interest.
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Black Book - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Verhoeven return to form with this movie?
7 May 2007 13:00 GMT
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Dutch director Paul Verhoeven's oddball career has given us classics such as Robocop and Basic Instinct, but also howlers like Showgirls. We're happy to say that Black Book is in the first camp.
A beautiful Jewish singer, Rachel (Carice... -
Miss Potter - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Zellweger pull of playing the storyteller?
25 April 2007 12:00 GMT
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Just the sight of the name in the title may have some people clicking quickly to another review but, thankfully, this Potter film has nothing to do with the four-eyed dope that has blighted our Christmas schedules for the last 6 years.
Miss... -
Eragon - DVD review
REVIEW
Is this the next Lord of the Rings?
19 April 2007 11:19 GMT
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Eragon is a lifeless fantasy adventure based on 15-year-old Christopher Paolini’s phenomenally successful novel, the first book in his epic “Inheritance Trilogy”.
Newcomer Ed Speleers plays the titular character, a young farm boy from the... -
Flushed Away - DVD review
REVIEW
Can the move to CGI improve on previous efforts?
11 April 2007 11:00 GMT
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Aardman, the Bristol-based team behind Wallace and Gromit, join up with animation giants DreamWorks (Shrek) for their third big-screen adventure. Leading a strong list of A-List stars Hugh Jackman plays Roddy, a pet rat from a luxurious Kensington apartment...
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Tenacious D: In The Pick Of Destiny - DVD review
REVIEW
Is this the greatest rock film in the world?
6 April 2007 9:00 GMT
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Tenacious D - the folk-rock band created by Jack Black and Kyle Gass on HBO’s comedy sketch programme “The Mr. Show” - make a premature leap to the big screen in this meandering comedy written by the film’s stars.
Rebelling against his puritanical... -
Jackass number two - DVD review
REVIEW
Worthy second instalment or cash-in?
2 April 2007 13:00 GMT
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Four years on from their first big screen outing, the Jackass crew are back for another 95 minutes of bone crunching, testicle crushing mayhem. Dispensing with any pretence of a plot the gung-ho gang launch themselves into a string of uproarious skits...
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The Heart of the Game - DVD review
REVIEW
Is this the female version of Hoop Dreams?
28 March 2007 13:00 GMT
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Acclaimed documentary from first time director Ward Serrill that follows a high school girls basketball team and their unconventional coach Bill Resler over a seven-year period.
The story begins with Resler’s first season in charge of the...
APP OF THE DAY: The Weather Channel review (iPhone / iPod touch) Tonight for the first time, just about half-past ten...
Mazda CX5 2.2 TDI AWD A very zoomy SUV
WIN: Tickets to Ibiza Rocks to see Maverick Sabre and Labrinth live Epic prize courtesy of Sony
Apple testing 3.95-inch iPhone 5, with 16:9 display 1136 x 640 resolution revolution
Pentax K-30: 16-megapixel weather-proofed mid-level DSLR 81 seals makes this one tough cam
APP OF THE DAY: WhatsApp review (Android) Instant message, cross platform
3G FaceTime coming in iOS 6? Warning in 5.1.1 seems to point that way
Skyfall trailer hits YouTube: Bond 23 could be best one yet (video) New 007 flick for UK in October
Panasonic H-HS12035 Lumix G X lens announced, hints at weather-proofed GH3 Premium MFT lens
Panasonic Lumix GF5 Micro Four Thirds' mighty mini
Running blind: How Simon Wheatcroft uses his iPhone to see Runkeeper and more let this man run solo
What is So.cl? Should you be signing up?
WEBSITE OF THE DAY: Your iPlayer TV, your way
Bungie Destiny contract reveals Xbox 720 will arrive in 2013 - E3 announcement? Commissioned for Xbox 360 and "next Xbox"
British Gas turns Team GB swimming stars into superheroes Aquanauts assemble
Olympus OM-D E-M5 review
The compact system camera to beat all others?
Nokia Lumia 900 review
Is big beautiful?
HTC One V review
V for victory?
Huawei Ascend G300 review
Big bang for your hundred quid
FIFA 12: UEFA Euro 2012 review
Lacks polish, if not the Polish
Asus Transformer Pad TF300T review
Transforms your money in to a great tablet
BlackBerry Mini Keyboard for PlayBook review
Will this make working on the go easier?
Fujifilm X-Pro1 review
Like a Leica
Nikon Coolpix P510 review
Does the P510 zoom beyond expectations?
Volkswagen Beetle Design 1.2TSi DSG review
The bug is back. Again.
The Walking Dead: The Game review
Fleshed out zombie bonanza
HP Envy 14 Spectre review
The Ultrabook that isn't an Ultrabook
Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR review
Can Fujifilm’s latest put the ‘super’ in superzoom?
Nikon Coolpix S6300 review
Point, shoot and scoot