Archive for Liam Neeson

Film Review – Cold Storage

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on March 11, 2026 by Reel Review Roundup

Cold Storage (MA)

Directed by: Jonny Campbell

Starring: Joe Keery, Liam Neeson, Georgina Campbell

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Review by: Julian Wright

A deadly fungus, exploding bodies, vomiting animals, tongue in cheek humour – all the right ingredients for a fun, schlocky B-grade ride.

But the storage is not the only thing that is chilly with this comedy/horror.

When a section of a space station crashes back to Earth in an isolated Western Australian town, the deadly green fungus it is carrying escapes and wreaks havoc on the handful of residents, turning them into blood-spewing zombie-like creatures that explode.

The spread is contained by Pentagon bioterror operatives Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville), and a sample of the fungus is locked up in an underground government storage facility in Kansas – which is years later decommissioned and turned into a private self storage facility that is open 24 hours.

The night the fungus becomes active again (something about weather changes over the years re-activates it) and begins spreading via a cockroach, rat, cat and deer, two young staff Teacake (Joe Keery) and Naomi (Georgina Campbell) are on shift.

Teacake, desperate to keep his job (a parole requirement) and single mum Naomi have to survive the night of an infected ex, animals and looters – with the help of injured retiree Quinn.

Cold Storage opens with a promising and snappy prologue that suggests that we will be treated to the suspense, ick-factor and consistent giggles of Tremors, Slither or Drag Me To Hell, but it only partially delivers.

There is definitely all the ooey gooey bits that will make you squirm and the occasional chuckle, but they become fewer and further between as the plot becomes unnecessarily complicated for what is essentially mindless entertainment.

Additionally, once we get to the storage facility, we very rarely leave and it is not exactly the most thrilling environment to spend a schlocky B-grade ride – at least, director Jonny Campbell is limited in his ability to make it the nutty funhouse that it should be.

This isn’t to say that Cold Storage is a terrible film – there are things to like about it, it certainly has entertainment value and is never boring – it just doesn’t hit the spot like the previously mentioned schlockathons.

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Film Review – A Million Ways To Die In The West

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on May 29, 2014 by Reel Review Roundup

A Million Ways To Die In The West (MA)

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane

Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson

Three and a half stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane shows little signs of expanding his comedic horizons with his second film as a director A Million Ways To Die In The West as he trots out a two-hour barrage of envelope pushing poo, fart, penis and sex jokes. But amid the smut is some great pop-culture nods, cameos and light-weight digs at religion and the almost forgotten western genre.

When sheep farmer Albert (Seth MacFarlane) is dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) because she wants “to find herself” he tries desperately to win her back. His efforts are supported by the new hottie in town Anna (Charlize Thereon) with whom he strikes up a friendship. The sassy scorcher poses as his new girlfriend to make Louise see what she is missing out on. Little does Albert know is that Anna is the wife of the most dangerous man in the region, Clinch (Liam Neeson) who is hell-bent on bringing his posse to town.

MacFarlane builds the majority of his film on his juvenile sense of humour, so if you are after high brow laughs, you may want to steer clear. His film works better when he isn’t showing sheep peeing in his face or a proper, moustached man (Neil Patrick Harris) pooping into a man’s hat. There are some comedic low points, but this western spoof of sorts also has some huge belly laughs. Banter between the meek Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) and his chirpy prostitute girlfriend Ruth (Sarah Silverman) are major highlights – her job requires her to have sex with a minimum of 10 men per day but she wont sleep with him because they are Christians and are not married yet.

Theron gets a rare chance for broad comedy and although she is mainly eye candy next to the riffing MacFarlane, has a few bright spots with some choice zingers. Seyfried pales in comparison to the rest of the cast, but is a good sport to allow constant jabs at her large eyes. MacFarlane scrapes by as a watchable screen presence but his rapid fire riffing comes off as imitative of Vince Vaughn. A string of blink and you miss them cameos range from hilarious to hilariously nonsensical.

If you can stomach the bodily fluids, A Million Ways To Die In The West will satisfy with a considerable number of chuckles and chortles.

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