Dan Hall Reviews Archive 
News from Dan Hall
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Confetti - DVD review
REVIEW
Is this the next Four Weddings?
27 September 2006 11:00 GMT
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Determined to rescue bridal magazine “Confetti” from a recent slump in sales, publisher Antoni (Carr) runs a “Most Original Wedding of the Year” competition with a £500,000 dream home first prize. The grand finalists are old-fashioned romantics Matt (Freeman)...
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When a Stranger Calls - DVD review
REVIEW
Yet another horror remake from the 70s, but can this one scare?
25 September 2006 0:00 GMT TweetYet another remake of a “classic” 70s horror (surely there can’t be many left now?) that no-one has ever heard of. After racking up a hefty $500 mobile phone bill talking to her dimwit boyfriend, high school student Camilla (Belle) is forced into taking...
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Brick - DVD review
REVIEW
Can film noir work in an LA high school?
22 September 2006 11:00 GMT
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“The OC” meets “The Maltese Falcon” in this modern day film noir. Gordon-Levitt is Brendan, a quick-witted loner who turns gumshoe detective when his ex-girlfriend Emily (“Lost’s" de Ravin) disappears in mysterious circumstances. With the help of his...
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The Dark - DVD review
REVIEW
Sean Bean ditches the English villain role, but is this a horror that scares?
20 September 2006 11:00 GMT
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Sean Bean takes a break from playing posh English villains to star in this bonkers horror about Celtic myths in Wales. When 8-year-old Sarah (Stuckey) drowns in a freak accident Adelle (Bello) becomes plagued by visions that make her believe her daughter...
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Silent Hill - DVD review
REVIEW
Hollywood has once again turned to videogames for inspiration. We get ready to hide behind the sofa
8 September 2006 13:38 GMT
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Okay, we all probably remember getting scared playing the first episode of this horror game, but like so many before it, Hollywood has once again turned to videogames for inspiration, so does Silent Hill work as a movie? We get ready to hide behind the...
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Freedomland - DVD review
REVIEW
Samuel L Jackson stars as tough, but is it enough to save the movie?
7 September 2006 13:25 GMT
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Brenda (Moore) used to love injecting herself with hard drugs but now, after a remarkable mid-life transformation, she only loves her 4-year-old son Cody.
When the little brat gets kidnapped in a bungled carjacking Brenda goes a bit loopy... -
The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada - DVD review
REVIEW
Can Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut impress?
30 August 2006 13:19 GMT
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Tommy Lee Jones’ directorial debut is a modern day Western set on the Tex-Mex border that revolves around the shooting of Mexican immigrant Melquiades Estrada (Cedillo).
Incensed by the lack of interest in his mate’s death – the local Sheriff... -
Three - DVD review
REVIEW
Washed up on an island is this Swept Away part deux?
30 August 2006 11:54 GMT
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Brook puts in an unintentionally hilarious turn as “bikini-clad babe getting drilled on a beach” in this “Swept Away”-style stinker from Stewart “Mannequin 2: On the Move” Raffill.
Loud-mouthed Texas businessman Jack (Zane) and his trophy... -
Junebug - DVD review
REVIEW
Director Phil Morrison's debut tries to make its mark on the tale of two families colliding
23 August 2006 13:40 GMT
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When David (Nivola) brings sophisticated Chicago new wife Madeleine (Davidtz) home to stay with his family in rural North Carolina, everyone is uncomfortable except David’s innocent and extrovert sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams).
OK so it is... -
16 Blocks - DVD review
REVIEW
Bruce Willis returns to his roots with this latest action movie
23 August 2006 0:23 GMT
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Bruce Willis “does a Clooney” in Richard “Lethal Weapon” Donner’s latest action thriller, piling on 40lbs and growing some dubious facial hair for his role as burnt out New York detective Jack Mosley.
At the end of a hard night shift, spent... -
Hostel - DVD review
REVIEW
Can this really be the sickest film ever legally made?
16 August 2006 12:17 GMT
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Hostel is a Sado-horror chiller directed by Eli "Cabin Fever" Roth and executive produced by gore aficionado Quentin Tarantino.
It’s the usual horror fest story; College jocks Paxton (Hernandez) and Josh (Richardson) team up with wacky Icelander... -
Scary Movie 4 - DVD review
REVIEW
Is the fourth and final instalment worth a watch?
16 August 2006 9:23 GMT
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The “Scary Movie” team, led by David “Airplane!” Zucker, return for the fourth and final chapter of the trilogy [Shouldn't that be fourilogy? - Ed].
Following their extra terrestrial battles in episode three Cindy (Faris) and Brenda (Hall)... -
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction - DVD review
REVIEW
Sharon Stone returns, but can she woo you into buying the DVD?
9 August 2006 13:00 GMT
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Thirteen years, and a lot of plastic surgery, on from her last murderous outing Sharon Stone returns as beaver-flashing psychopath Catherine Trammel. After fucking/butchering half of San Francisco she now satisfies her homicidal tendencies in London,...
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The Squid and the Whale - DVD review
REVIEW
It was shot in just 23 days so does the film cut corners?
9 August 2006 10:53 GMT
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The strangely named The Squid and the Whale is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story that tells the tale of two young boys dealing with their parents divorce in 1980s New York.
Daniels plays Bernard Berkman, a pompous would-be novelist... -
Shooting Dogs - DVD review
REVIEW
John Hurt stars in this heartfelt retelling of the Rwandan genocide
2 August 2006 11:46 GMT
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Based on a true story, “Shooting Dogs” looks at the 1994 Rwandan genocide - when 800,000 Tutsis were butchered by Hutu extremists - from the viewpoint of a Catholic priest (Hurt) and an idealistic young teacher (Dancy) working in Kigali.
Protected... -
V For Vendetta - DVD review
REVIEW
Sci-fi comic book remake genius or one to avoid?
2 August 2006 11:06 GMT
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Adapted by the Wachowski brothers (creators of "The Matrix") from Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel, V For Vendetta is a piece of dystopian science fiction set in London in the not-too-distant future. V (Hugo Weaving) is a mysterious masked avenger fed...
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Firewall - DVD review
REVIEW
Harrison Ford comes out of retirement for one last action movie
25 July 2006 21:18 GMT
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Ford ditches his Zimmer frame for one final crack at action hero stardom in this hi-tech crime thriller from Brit director Richard Loncraine. He plays computer security specialist Jack Stanfield, the man responsible for stopping Internet hackers from...
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Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price - DVD review
REVIEW
Documentary maker turns on supermarket
25 July 2006 21:09 GMT
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After exposés on the Iraq War and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel, director Robert Greenwald turns his attention to US supermarket giants Wal-Mart in this scathing “Super Size Me”-style documentary. Founded in 1962 by the Walton family (no not that...
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Syriana - DVD review
REVIEW
George Clooney's latest netted him an Oscar but is it any good?
17 July 2006 3:44 GMT
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"Gorgeous" George Clooney grows a beard and piles on 35lbs of flab to play undercover CIA operative Bob Barnes in this intricate study of America's world-wide involvement in the oil industry. When asked to explain the situation in the Middle East Barnes...
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The Proposition - DVD review
REVIEW
Guy Peace, hot, sweaty and trapped in a tight corner
17 July 2006 3:23 GMT
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Million dollar pay packets, red carpet luxury, loose-knickered fans, actors have got it easy right? Wrong. Just ask Guy “LA Confidential” Pearce who waived his usual seven-figure fee to star in this brutal Australian Western from slightly bonkers writer/musician...
Acer CloudMobile Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone set for MWC launch 4.3-inch award winner
Best iPhone utilities apps Resistance is futilities?
HTC PlayStation certification devices coming 2012, time to get your Crash Bandicoot skills up to scratch EXCLUSIVE: Game on
Samsung not worried by Apple iTV threat EXCLUSIVE: AV boss not concerned
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
HTC dates Ice Cream Sandwich update, Sensation models get it first End of March
Google home entertainment device detailed WSJ solves device mystery
More leaked iPad 3 parts help form bigger picture - including Sharp Retina display iPad 3, in kit form
Tesla Model X SUV goes back to the future DeLorean lookalike announced
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) pictures and hands-on Up close with the ICS tablet
APP OF THE DAY: Tweetbot review (iPad) Should a Twitter app cost?
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