TheRetroCritic

I should start by confessing that I tend to miss Steven Spielberg's more serious efforts and instead usually wait patiently for his next sci-fi epic. I missed War Horse but flocked to Minority Report three times upon its release, to give you an idea. Maybe I'm an idiot but... Tom Cruise riding a jetpack! Come on! Lincoln is the type of film you don't need to watch to see, if you catch my drift. It's typical Oscar bait with loads of talking, loads of courtroom "action", loads of safe lighter-hearted moments, big performances and smoky rooms. You've seen the trailer: you've pretty much seen the movie. That said, I am happy I saw the whole thing. All in all, it's hardly unpredictable, especially if you know what historically happened, but it keeps your interest until the end mostly thanks to terrific performances and a sharp script. Daniel Day-Lewis is as good as you'd expect, as is Tommy Lee Jones and although Lincoln is pretty darn l

Yes it's Golden Globes time again and the results are in! As ever, it's a mixed bag but hey, when are awards ceremonies ever completely right? Let's begin with: BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA Ben Affleck sure has come a long way since Daredevil.  His film Argo winning Best Motion Picture over the favourite, Steven Spielberg's  Lincoln , Kathryn Bigelow's other intense war-themed flick  Zero Dark Thirty , Ang Lee's visual treat Life Of PI and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is definitely confirmation that Affleck is finally getting recognised as not only being a good actor but a fine director as well. Argo, to be perfectly honest, wasn't the best film I'd seen all year and I don't think it's one I'll remember years from now. That said, I can't deny that I enjoyed watching it and that it was, indeed, very well made. The more light-hearted parts of the film I didn't find quite as sharp as they should have been but oth