Reviews

Great acting, great scenery, great cast. But lousy, lousy, overbearing music and kitchy unnecessary special effects of atoms whizzing and exploding. Many scenes you could not hear what had been said as the music drowned it out. Obviously Oppenheimer had some mental issues but did it really need to be interpreted by a million stamping feet. Special effects are a tool to aid a movie not to become the movie. Acting on the other hand was spot on, who'd a thunk Robert Downie jr could play such a mean nasty guy so well. The Ciaran guy was good too. Many know him from Peaky Blinders which I never watched so I wasnt quite so enamoured. Loved Mat Damon and the nasty lawyer going after Oppenheimer was amazing. Mid 20th century backdrops captured well. Worth seeing but not again.

Not exactly 15 minutes of fame but I won a berth in the cathedral at Richard's reinterment. As a result I was very excited about this film and it really was a wonderful movie with Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan portraying these recent events with sensitivity and class. I liked the use of Richard's ghost to enhance the storytelling and the use of poetic licence did not damage the integrity of what happened. Visually, the sets were accurate and all the main characters are represented. Although I would liked to have seen the addition of Michael Ibsen who provided the DNA proof. But as a film about a topical story, it was a lovely satisfying movie.

It's hard to rate a show that has such an expansive agenda, after only three episodes. To bring to life Tolkein's complete historical background to his well loved books, is a huge undertaking. I'll be honest, I struggled with the Silmarillion and never read any further into the backfill books. So these movies meant that someone has done that for me and produced a visual feast that I can enjoy. To be truthful The Rings of Power is so far missing the fun that is such an essential part of Peter Jackson's trilogy. Although Peter did lose that sense of fun in the later movies of The Hobbit. Then again, battles to fight evil are often humourless, sadly hours of drudgery and battle scenes does not make good TV watching.

So my opinion so far is the scenes are breathtaking, the characters are being developed fairly well especially Nori and her friends. Galadriel's character is visually stunning. But many of the characters, at this point are a bit two dimensional, take everything too seriously and probably need time to flesh themselves out. If Galadriel learns to smile and laugh a bit, it will help enormously.

Still I am caught up in the show, getting a handle on the characters and quite like the orcs even. Still cannot see where the billion dollars was spent but I expect that Numenor city was pretty pricey. Overall a good job by Amazon and look forward to more episodes.

This will be my shortest review ever. What has become of the oscars that such a piece of rubbish would be even nominated. Dark, dull, slow, long almost unending. I only managed to get through it by reading the plot on wikipedia at the same time to know how soon it would end. Kirsten Dunst in her flattest portrayal to date. Benedict should be ashamed of himself. There must be something in 21st century water that allows something like this to be called a movie. Another case of "emperor's new clothes" I fear.

To be fair, deep meaning, well loved sci fi stories are notoriously difficult to bring to the big screen and Dune is no exception. While the 1984 version was ridiculed, at least the actors tried to bring some light relief to the story. This new effort by comparison is dark, dull and plodding. The lead character, Paul Atreides, spends a lot of time naval gazing. Various actors come forth with potions, poisons, fancy daggers for us all to marvel at. The Emperor and the Harkonnens are a particularly vile lot sitting around on thrones or brooding. And the destruction scenes are so clearly special effects its like we've gone back to the 80s. The city Arakeen is like a morgue even when at peace. My interest was peeked when the action picks up near the end, but after 3 hours of nothing, it was too late to save the movie I fear.

Now I am a huge fan of Vera, a superbly crafted series of murder mysteries set in the north east, but with likeable characters, most of whom have a sense of humour. So based on that I decided to watch Ann Cleeves' the Long Call and boy do I wish I hadn't. The drama is long alright, drawn out, dull and boring with not a glimmer of hope to redeem any of the characters. I don't know why Ann felt she needed to be more miserable, even one of the more likeable characters, DC Jen Rafferty, just mumbles all her incoherent dialogue. I think I'll go back to Vera reruns and wait for the next series. Sad, really because Ann is such a good writer.

If this wasn't the Marvel universe, the word I would use for this movie is 'far fetched'. But as a marvel movie it's a good romp. Someone told me Scarlet Johansson carries every scene. Yes she does but the support from Florence Pugh is excellent and I love her sarcastic sense of humour. The movie is exciting and the story keeps going even if the 'world dominating megalomaniac' bad guy theme is a little overworn these days. Don't forget to wait for the short clip after the credits have finished.

I should start with what is good. Emma Stone is a delight to watch, the relationship with her 2 henchmen is quite engaging. The costumes and scenery aren't bad. The story is mildly interesting and keeps moving. But sadly this is over bloated Disney milking a story. The idea itself is good, exploring the origins of Cruella but Disney doesn't know how to give meaning or put meat on the bones, its all about show, spectacle and over acting., Emma Thompson case in point, just an overacting and non redeemable bad character with nothing more than superficial attempts at any depth. The story itself is engaging but too long by at least half an hour and very contrived verging on repetitive. Sorry Disney, like my own school class reports: must try harder.

The scenery is lovely, the costumes are fantastic and the acting is excellent. But the storyline just wasn't interesting enough. Mostly about the main protagonists drooling over various men, then one chooses the solid marriage route and the other wild abandon to chasing love around the UK then in Europe. Yet somehow they still remain devoted friends. Not exactly a gripping yarn.

Excellent film about how Wilberforce stopped the slave trade throughout the British empire. The cast reads like a list of all the great British actors then working. The story runs well while it does not shy away from the brutality of the subject matter. Well worth the two hours to watch.

The thing about a film that is most important to me is the satisfaction of time well spent. The middle part of this film delivers this in spades but it is sadly hamstrung by a slow start and an ending that is both complicated and completely over the top. Sad really to see such good actors working with a good script that does not start or end well. The premise of a swindler getting his come uppance is fairly common and here it is done generally well. Except towards the end they lose sight of how to deliver a solid ending and it just gets more tangled up and nastier. It is important that both sad and happy movies need a good ending, this one's ending is just awful.

It seems the main criticism of this movie is the weak chase scenes. Certainly a fit Eddie Izzard does a lot of running and many of the chases appear staged or incredulous. For me it is what happens when a chase is over, a lot of gun display by German undercover agents but given the vicious nature of that regime, the guns are almost handled with tom foolery. Indeed if there is any violence, it is quickly followed by an unbelievable escape. I feel sure Eddie would be dead many times given the various predicaments he gets into. All that being said, I enjoyed the movie, the characters are good, the continuity keeps you engaged and the ending is satisfactory.

I honestly never imagined that I would enjoy this series half as much as I did. I have no interest in online gaming which should have stopped me watching from the outset. The setting is a modern flat, Alison lives in the real world while Meg and Nicky spend most of their time plaing a random online gaming quest. What makes the show great is the superb acting of Alexa Davies with excellent support from Charlotte Ritchie and Will Merrick. The speed at which Alexa can deliver her lines is amazing. The real story is how these two views on life manage to live together in one small flat. The conflicts and the compromises. Worthy mention also to the other two gamers both if whom add colour to the story, Usman and Russell.

Updating the classics has always been a double edged sword. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In this adaptation Dicken's novel is transported to modern London with street smart kids working for an irrascible Fagin played by Michael Caine. Large chunks are missed out of the original and characters are adjusted. Sykes is a woman and Nancy is the same age as Oliver. Taken as a stand alone this movie is not a bad effort. Some of the running over London's rooftops is good fun. Where the movie suffers is in continuity. Where are we in Dickens script.....or otherwise. But the only real problem is the portrayal of Sykes. Playing him as a Lesbian woman is quite a good idea but she is just not nasty enough. Mean in spirit, action and words but really just another thug with a gun. Sykes in the book or portrayed by Reed was a vicious bully but also a very complicated charactacter. This new Sykes tries to be nasty but comes across as flat and one dimentional. I enjoyed the movie, especially the portrayal of a modern street gang, but all seriously lacking the guts of the original.

The circumstances of the Sutton Hoo discovery at the start of WW2 brings out the stark contrast of ordinary british prople leading their regular lives whilst the country marshalls itself for war. The action of the main characters discovering the buried ship in contrast to airplanes passing overhead is well portrayed. What is more disconcerting is the snobbish buffoonery of the museum elitists once they realise this gentle man from Ipswich has made the discovery of the century and they didn't. It shines a bright light on British snobbery at its worst. I was so happy to learn that today, the names of the true discoverers is displayed at the museum and that the truth is known.

I saw this movie when it first came out and a few years later. But while I remembered the basic story, I realised how important it is to listen to the dialogue, which I had not to date. The movie studies a rock group on the road and the relationship with its groupies and a member of the press. But there are so many other dynamics, the mother with her son and daughter, the son with the groupies, the band members between themselves and their management. Yet rather than becoming overly complex, the stories play out well and complement each other. The ending resolves satisfactorily but you do need to sit back and go.......Wow! Recomended and has stood the test of time.

Based on the fantastic Inception I was looking forward to Tenet and was left feeling disappointed. The initial excitement about the premise of ordinance being sent back from the future, the film degenerated into a lot of mindless running around to stop the end of the world. Dialogue very complicated and many of the violent scenes gratuitous and made no sense. Lead actors were all doing their best with an awkward plot but none of them were able to make you care whether they lived or died. This was the main reason why this movie failed along with plot that was equally dull.

I really struggled with this movie. It is beautifully filmed, has great fight scenes and some very gorgeous scenery. But the characters were 2 dimensional and for me the storyline was weak or almost non existant. Suggests it was written just to show off the fight scenes. Being a 4 time oscar winner, I won't over-criticise but it was a bit of a let down for me.

While this movie has many elements to it, sci-fi, religion, drama, chase scenes, more than anything else at its heart, it is a love story. Mat is an upcoming politician, Emily is a dancer choreographer, the premise is that by them falling in love, neither will fulfill their ambitions. Hence the continual interference by the god-like adjustment bureau to keep them apart and on track for their separate destinies. Needless to say they keep meeting up despite the bureau's best efforts. The movie has some interesting sci-fi elements and Terence Stamp is great as the head bad guy. The plot does not take itself too seriously or become preachy so an enjoyable watch.

I enjoyed this movie when it first came out in 2002 despite the slow plot line and the equally slow way Jack Nicholson moves through his scenes. But watching a second time, catching the nuances in his face and the subtleties of the dialogue, I now rate it as one of my favourites. Jack plays an insurance broker Warren Schmidr, who reluctantly retires from his job and soon after loses his wife to a brain hemmorage. All kinds of issues raise their ugly heads from this double whammy and he then starts to run into further issues with his daughter and her marriage to a man he deems unsuitable. As a counterbalance, Warren is writing to a child in Africa whom he is sponsoring, a kind if outpouring of his soul that might be more than what the charity intended when they said "write to your sponsored child". It is the interplay of all these factors along with many others, which makes this film so appealing without being moribund. Jack does a great job in typical Jack style.

One of the best films I have seen in a long time. Keira Knightley is outstanding but what really makes this movie great is all the stellar support performances from the likes of Railph Fiennes. Even the relative cameo roles of Jeremy Northrom and Tamsin Greig are riveting in their understatement. I won't get political or spoil this movie but certain high profile politicians and lawyers will be squirming and wishing this movie fades quickly from the screens. Fantastic 2 hours and £10 well spent.

Great writing makes the tensions between this closely knit group into great watching. Eric and Beth remain the rocks on to which all the other characters crash with all their different foibles. Amazing to see the tensions between Cathy and Michelle, Ian and Gordon, Christine with everyone, swirling around in madness. Bodes well for this fourth series building on the success of the previous series.

Doesn't matter how you look at it, this movie is darn good fun. I loved it from opening credits to the close. So what if the acting is a bit over the top, so what if there are probably too many explosions and bullets and bombs. The end result is a thoroughly entertaining 2 hours at the movies with popcorn and Pearl and Dean ads. Moriarty is sufficiently creepy and played with restraint, Holmes is completely over the top but for me if its Robert Downey Jr there are no complaints. The story keeps moving and the action is terrific. The story is loosely based on the last book of the Conan Doyle's first series of Holmes stories ending with the famous Reisenbach Falls in Switzerland. It also gives a great image of early 20th century on the brink of the first world war. If you want to enjoy a good story with great imagery and costume then you will enjoy this, if you are looking for Sherlock ( wonderfully called Shirley by Mycroft ) as Conan Doyle intended then you may be disappointed.

This is a wonderful story about a boy, Hugo, who fixes and maintains the clocks in a Paris railway station after his father dies and leaves him an orphan. With the help of a young girl, Isabelle, they set about finding out the story of an old toymaker, Georges Melies, the young girl's father. In actual fact there are many story lines in this movie, many threads that are followed, and the way Scorsese ties them all together is wonderful. If I had any criticism it is that the actual story takes a while to get moving. In fact until about half way I wasn't sure where the story was going, which story was the main thread. If this was Scorsese's intention then the second half made it all worthwhile and I will certainly enjoy the whole movie on a second viewing. But I was a little bewildered for the first hour. I again commend the director for producing a wonderful movie without bad language, sex or gratuitous violence.