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snoopygirl
Reviews
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
It's utterly absurd and joyous and you must watch it.
But it is not "good". Best watched with friends. 10/10 for humour. 4/10 for editing.
Venom (2018)
with so many reviews you hardly need this one ...
Unless you do.
I had seen one or two previews prior to release which made this look absolutely terrible and as a not HUGE superhero genre fan (but then again, I watch them all) I somehow thought Venom was "bad Spiderman".
Boy was I wrong. The effects are 100% on brand for the loveable annoyance that is Venom. Tom Hardy is wonderful and in a sea of superhero movies Venom is almost like a Judge Dredd lower budget character driven film mixed with Guardians style humour. Definitely a worthwhile sofa watch but I confess I am already sure I will go to see Venom 2 in the theatre.
Caretakers (2019)
Slow burn. Great payoff
I'm not even sure how this movie ended up in my watch list but I'm glad it did.
I don't want to give anything away but I can tell you this is a story which doesn't go where you expect. Jones, as played by writer - director George Loomis is a character who is looking for a meaning in his work. A medical student working his hours and he is the real star here. He's surrounded by a cast of competent B and C list faces you've seen before. His character is both earnest and a little lost.
The whole movie feels like it occupies a territory in between thriller, indie and medical drama and, although clearly done on a fairly low budget , manages into occupy the space well.
I see that other reviews are split between 10 stars and very low ... I'm giving it 8. It is a worthy first feature. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what Mr Loomis writes next.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
NOT what it was marketed to be
I'm baffled by the advertising campaign. So much so, in fact, that after getting home from the cinema I watched the TV commercials again. It seems like Warner Brothers put Guy Ritchie at the helm but then, even with the success of Sherlock Holmes decided to market it as a big screen Game of Thrones style swords and magic epic. A huge mistake because what it is is Guy Ritchie at his finest. Filled with action, with and the right kind of over the top fun kids of all ages will enjoy. Charlie Hunnam is likable, even charming in this iteration of the Arthurian legend and doesn't seem to take himself any more seriously than he needs to. There were literally 5 people in the theatre including me and my partner but we all loved it. Funnier and sillier than you expect it to be but the action is still very satisfying if you came for swords and swashbuckling.
Doctor Who: The Doctor Dances (2005)
This episode is most frightening of the new series
Although I've enjoyed most of the new series of Dr. Who it is this episode alone which brought me back to the days of my childhood when I could be genuinely frightened by Dr. Who.
The eerie child beckoning the innocents to zombification on the streets of WWII London will have you checking your doors and window to be sure they are locked. The entire episode seems to take place at night adding even more of a sinister atmosphere.
I was amazed to see this episode was written by Stephen Moffat who's work on Coupling is some of the funniest "brit com" humour of recent years.
The Puffy Chair (2005)
Existential comedy for out of work actors
I'd love to sit down and write an intelligent, well thought out review however, I feel I'd be spending more time in the writing process than the filmmakers did. I live in Los Angeles and I'm sorry to say that the characters seemed just SO much like underemployed and overly ego inflated ACTORS. There was not one moment in the film when I could escape the feeling I was watching the drivel ridden conversation of unemployed actors at a hipster LA coffee shop. One of the worst "indie" films I've ever seem with so little to recommend it that hearing it won at Sundance has effectively removed any prior interest I may have had in attending, much less considering a postitive Sundance review to be meaningful. Watch at your own risk.
Maguma taishi (1966)
Magma Taishi AKA Space Giants AKA Ambassador Magma
A wacky fun TV series which beat Ultraman to the air as the first color tokusatsu (special effects) series. Osamu Tezuka is more famous for Astroboy but I grew up watching Space Giants every day after school as a kid. The series featured a family of three living robots: Magma, the title character, his wife Mol and son Gam. They were probably the first ever "transformers". They befriend a boy named Mamoru Murakami and gifted him with a supersonic whistle with which he could summon them if there was any trouble. As you can imagine, he seemed to find a lot of trouble.
In the US version the character names were changed to DIFFERENT Japanese names. Magma became Goldar, Mol was Silvar and Mamoru was Miko. Each of the characters had different powers. Goldar could shoot rockets from his chest and become giant to battle the monsters when needed.
The series was called "Monsters from Space" (or the Spanish equivalent) and I vividly remember watching it on Spanish television as a child.
Van Helsing (2004)
Don't write the DVD version off!
How the director / writer conceived Kate Beckinsale's character so badly is curious enough. How she could have read the part and agreed to do it that much worse. What stuns the viewer, however, is the fact the entire crew from costume designer to camera operator could have collaborated! This could have been a great campy fun horror movie along the lines of a classic Hammer film (but with really great sfx) instead we groan when Kate Beckinsale first walks into a shot, suede high heels and all. Not that I am against a sexy character or two. The brides (especially Elena Anaya) are fantastic! So much so you forgive the fact their outfits appear to somehow be as impervious as their vampiric selves.
Despite a poor performance from Ms. Beckinsale I did enjoy this in an odd sort of way. The effects are so brilliant you wonder how movies like the Hulk still get made, the costumes (apart from the aforementioned Kate's) are cool in a "I wanna be _____ for Halloween" sorta way. The DVD extras are fun, particularly the bloopers real. The side characters all put in great performances, I want to say especially ... but they were ALL brilliant. Hugh Jackman IS a super hero, better cast here than as Wolverine though the comparisons were inevitable. Rent or buy the DVD and be happy you saved your $10 you would have spent seeing it in the cinema.