Dan Hall Reviews Archive 
News from Dan Hall
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The Prestige - DVD review
REVIEW
Magic trick or one to watch?
23 March 2007 11:00 GMT
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Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan reunites with Christian Bale and Michael Caine for a twisted murder mystery set in the world of Victorian-era magicians. Bale plays Alfred Borden, a conjuror accused of murdering his rival, Robert Angier (Jackman),...
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The Queen - DVD review
REVIEW
Is it worth all the review its been showed with?
22 March 2007 9:00 GMT
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Director / writer team Stephen Frears and Peter Morgan reunite for a follow-up to their critically-lauded Channel 4 film “The Deal”, which imagined Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s strained relationship before Labour’s 1997 election win.
This... -
Casino Royale - DVD review
REVIEW
Bond is back, but is it any good?
21 March 2007 22:53 GMT
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Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel finally hits the big screen - forget the appalling 1967 spoof - with Daniel "Layer Cake" Craig playing a younger, less polished version of the 007 portrayed by his predecessors.
After a gritty black-and-white... -
Down in the Valley - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Norton save this modern day Brokeback Mountain?
15 March 2007 9:00 GMT
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Following the recent trend for modern-day westerns (think "Brokeback Mountain" and "Three Burials") Ed Norton’s latest is a cowboy drama set in the suburban sprawl of today’s San Fernando Valley.
When high school student Tobe (Wood) meets... -
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - DVD review
REVIEW
Hilariously funny or gringe worthy watching?
13 March 2007 9:00 GMT
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Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedy creation - Kazakhstani gypsy catcher turned journalist Borat Sagdiyev – makes his big screen debut in a scathing satirical attack on bigotry, misogyny and racism in the western world.
Shot on... -
Marie Antoinette - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Dunst and Coppola pull off history for the MTV generation?
7 March 2007 11:00 GMT
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Sofia “Lost in Translation” Coppola presents a revisionist version of the life of Marie Antoinette (Dunst), whose disastrous reign kick-started the French Revolution in the late eighteenth century.
We begin in 1769 when Antoinette, as a... -
Saw 3 - DVD review
REVIEW
Back for a third instalment but should we bother?
3 March 2007 9:00 GMT
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Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the mastermind behind a series of life and death games, has escaped from the police. But he's now dying so his punk sidekick Amanda kidnaps brilliant surgeon, Dr Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soometh) to keep him alive until one last game is...
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Clerks 2 - DVD review
REVIEW
Smith's back but is Clerks a second stroke of genius or a poor trip down memory lane?
22 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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So Dante and Randall are back – great news for all lovers of the original (and it was definitely original) movie.
OK, so fans of Clerks will be disappointed that the new film is in colour, has a bigger budget and is a lot slicker than the... -
The Departed - DVD review
REVIEW
Best Scorsese film of the decade?
21 February 2007 13:00 GMT
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So is this Scorsese’s great film for this decade? It has most of the ingredients of his finest work – the violent world of gangsters, cops and assorted American low life on that narrow line that separates the good guys from the bad ones.
Adapted... -
Volver - DVD review
REVIEW
Is the Oscar nominated film worth a watch?
15 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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Sexy village girl Raimunda (Cruz) keeps the food on the table in their small Madrid apartment without much help from her drunken husband (Antonio de Torre) or teenage daughter (Yohana Cobo).
Things go from bad to worse by way of a dead body... -
Accepted - DVD review
REVIEW
1st class honours or a Desmond?
13 February 2007 14:00 GMT
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Directorial debut from Grosse Point Blank writer Steve Pink (not to be confused with wacky radio wind-up merchant Steve Penk) that sees a group of high-school drop-outs setting up their own university because no-one else will take them.
Dodgeball... -
Havoc - DVD review
REVIEW
Anne Hathaway shows her dark side
8 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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After cornering the market in family fairytales such as The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted, some viewers were shocked to see Anne “goody-two-shoes” Hathaway getting her kit off in last year’s Brokeback Mountain.
But that was nothing... -
Click - DVD review
REVIEW
Comic gem or complete turn off?
7 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is an over worked architect who is spending too much time at the office with his monster of a boss (David Hasselhoff) and not enough with his family.
A spooky salesman called Morty (Christopher Walken) gives... -
A Scanner Darkly - DVD review
REVIEW
Another Philip Dick classic?
5 February 2007 13:00 GMT
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A Scanner Darkly is a faithful adaptation of visionary author / drug-hound Philip K. Dick’s 1977 novel of the same name. The year is 2013 and the US government has finally lost its war on drugs, with 20% of the population now addicted to “Substance D”...
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The Wicker Man - DVD review
REVIEW
Ghastly remake or worthwhile movie?
4 February 2007 13:00 GMT
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Edward Woodward starred in the original 1973 B-movie horror classic about a copper who falls foul of a group of weird religious fanatics on a remote Scottish island.
This time round Californian cop Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) gets a letter... -
World Trade Center - DVD review
REVIEW
Too soon, or a cracking political drama?
3 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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After the critical disaster that was Alexander, director Oliver Stone returns to the safety of home soil for a personal story of bravery and brotherhood in the aftermath of 9/11 with Word Trade Center.
Nicholas Cage stars as John McLoughlin,... -
Little Miss Sunshine - DVD review
REVIEW
Is this a film worthy of its Oscar nominations?
2 February 2007 11:00 GMT
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Little Miss Sunshine is a family road trip comedy that sees the dysfunctional Hoover clan embarking on a cross-country journey to California when 7-year-old Olive (Breslin) reaches the final of the prestigious “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant.
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Severance - DVD review
REVIEW
The Office meets Deliverance or Hostel meets Shaun of the Dead?
24 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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Billed as “The Office meets Deliverance” - although more like Hostel crossed with Shaun of the Dead for our money - Severance is a surprisingly entertaining British comedy-horror.
Seven colleagues (led by Danny Dyer’s “Steve” who boasts... -
11.14 - DVD review
REVIEW
Twisted black comedy or poor man's Crash?
20 January 2007 9:00 GMT
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Deliciously twisted black comedy from first time writer / director Greg Marcks that, in the style of Guillermo Arriaga’s “Amores Perros”, explores a fatal car crash from multiple perspectives.
Set during the half hour preceding the accident... -
Crank - DVD review
REVIEW
Luckily nothing to do with the Crankies but is it worth your time?
19 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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Jason Statham cranks up the body count in an enjoyably ludicrous comedy thriller that is best described as a cross between “Speed” and 50s film noir “D.O.A.”
Statham plays the brilliantly named Chev Chelios, an LA hit man who has recently... -
DOA: Dead or Alive - DVD review
REVIEW
Dead on arrival or actually not that bad?
17 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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DOA: Dead or Alive is a bizarrely enjoyable soft porn martial arts flick that plays out like a cross between “Charlie’s Angels” and “Enter the Dragon” and of course based on the video game of the same name.
The story sees 16 of the world’s... -
Sonic The Hedgehog - Xbox 360 review
REVIEW
Sonic's back? But should we welcome home the spikey character?
16 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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Once upon a time, the latest Sonic was as welcome as a Scarlet Johansson nude scene. We can but dream, eh? But since the series’ transformation to 3D, we’ve approached each new release with ever increasing caution.
Gameboy and DS users have... -
Children of Men - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Harry Potter director Alfonso Cuaron go from wizardry to sci-fi bleak?
16 January 2007 2:21 GMT
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Last seen directing the big-screen adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s “Prisoner of Azkaban”, Mexican Alfonso Cuaron now turns his attention to P. D. James’ dystopian sci-fi thriller (a marked change of direction from her usual crime fiction) “Children of Men”....
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Adrift - DVD review
REVIEW
Open Water 2 or one to avoid?
10 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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A high-school reunion aboard a luxury yacht goes horribly wrong in this big screen debut from German director Hans Horn.
After cutting Zach’s (Lange) 30th birthday cake and sinking a few celebratory cocktails, four of the group decide to... -
An Inconvenient Truth - DVD review
REVIEW
Can watching a 100-minute slide show from a former politician with the charisma of Sven-Goran Eriksson be that good?
5 January 2007 11:00 GMT
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Al Gore warns of an impending global apocalypse in this horrifying, yet surprisingly enthralling, environmental documentary.
After his controversial defeat to George “Dubbya” in the 2000 presidential elections, Gore reinvented himself and...
Acer CloudMobile Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone set for MWC launch 4.3-inch award winner
Best iPhone utilities apps Resistance is futilities?
Samsung not worried by Apple iTV threat EXCLUSIVE: AV boss not concerned
HTC PlayStation certification devices coming 2012, time to get your Crash Bandicoot skills up to scratch EXCLUSIVE: Game on
Samsung Galaxy S III: Review of rumours, features, pictures and specs Thinner, faster, better
New HTC Ice Cream Sandwich device pictures leak Another one for the rumour pile...
Samsung O table is for the kitchen of the future Flexible hob
Nokia 700 Sleek and desirable Nokia
LG Miracle picture and details leak Update: More pictures from the wild
More leaked iPad 3 parts help form bigger picture - including Sharp Retina display iPad 3, in kit form
Google home entertainment device detailed WSJ solves device mystery
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) pictures and hands-on Up close with the ICS tablet
Tesla Model X SUV goes back to the future DeLorean lookalike announced
APP OF THE DAY: Tweetbot review (iPad) Should a Twitter app cost?
New Apple TV leaked in software update? iOS 5.1 says so
Panasonic Lumix GX1 review
The one?
Sony PlayStation Vita review
Curriculum Vita
Nokia Lumia 710 review
WP7 on a budget
GoPro HD Hero2 review
Amazing things come in small packages
HTC Explorer review
A phone for people who make calls
BlackBerry Torch 9810 review
Middle of the road
Sony Alpha A65 review
Affordable SLT. But is it a DSLR-beater?
BlackBerry Bold 9790 review
To boldly go where we've already been before
Fiat 500 TwinAir Plus review
Two-cylinder beast
Motorola MotoACTV review
Just add exercise
Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition review
Mini Xoom
BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 review
For the fast lane
Sennheiser IE80 review
Tune that bass
Kingston Wi-Drive review
Expand your storage
Huawei Ideos X3 review
Cheap but imperfect