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First Signal (2021)
Cerebral Sci-Fi at its Best
Okay, from the top, this is NOT ray-guns and spaceships and battles - what it is 100% cerebral sci-fi that you need to watch, yes actually watch, not have in the background while you play your Playstation 3.
The acting is underplayed and beautifully realistic, no-one screams and shouts - well okay, not many people and not very often. People talk and discuss and present ideas. The storyline is incredibly clever and will have you guessing as to where it is going and who you can trust. Indeed who, if anyone, is telling the truth!
Direction and Production are first class. I am so glad that 'The Studios' didn't get the script and turn it into a big budget blockbuster - it proabbly wouldn't have worked one tenth as well.
If you liked 'First Contact' (Jodie Foster) you will probably love this. Ignore the naysayers. Who cannot think beyond the next Star Wars movie and enjoy the pure entertainment of acting.
The Creator (2023)
Relies almost entirely on the CGI
Okay, taking the cue from my header the CGI/special effects on this movie are truly state of the art and excellent. The problem is that the writer/director/producer (yes, it is the same person) relies too much on the CGI to cover up a relatively poor script.
The storyline concept is actually quite good and in the hands of a better director/producer could have been a 10 star film. As it is there are so many plot holes, non-sequiturs and 'why on earth would he do that?' points that even the most uncritical cannot avoid seeing them.
The publicity and hype promised a masterpiece - sadly what we were given was a just about watchable movie but one that certainly wouldn't repay a second viewing.
Treason (2022)
Absolutely BRILLIANT!
Absolutely Brilliant!
This is a spy thriller in the same vein as 'Tinker tailor Soldier Spy' so don't expect car chases and gun battles this is almost pure cerebral.
It is beautifully directed and beautifully acted. There are few actual sets and most if the 'action' takes place across well-known London locations. No spoilers but I will say that the writers were not afraid to kill characters that, in almost every similar type of show, would emerge unscathed or with a slight wound that you see them recovering from in a hospital bed.
As I said, this is NOT a fast moving thriller but if you enjoyed the TV version (Alec Guinness) of 'Tinker Tailor' I can guarantee that you will love this.
Must admit that I would love to see a follow-up for the surviving characters - a "what happened next".
Not much that I ever rate with 10 stars but absolutely no hesitation in doing so here.
Athena (2022)
Well Worth Watching
I'm not sure if "enjoyable" is really the right word for this film but it is very well worth watching, albeit that I found absolutely none of the characters sympathetic - strangely the nearest to that description is the drug supplier!
It is beautifully and excellently acted from a first class script. And although there are some HUGE plot holes the storyline moves along fast enough for these to quickly be forgotten (very annoying that they are).
So why not ten stars? For all of its good points the directing is often just plain amateurish and the overuse, even when it really isn't necessary, of a handheld camera is annoying, to say the least. I know that handheld cameras are supposed to add some sort of 'realism' but they rarely do and in most cases, as I suspect here, they are simply a way of keeping costs down to increase profit.
My recommendation is bear with the poor direction and bad camerawork (NB not the cameraman's fault) because overall the film IS worth watching. (Even if I thought Travolta's opening speech in 'Swordfish' was relevant to the police here!)
The Fourth Musketeer (2022)
Oh Dear....
When the opening credits showed a nice engraving of an 18th Century Gentleman I thought we weren't in for a gem - sadly I was right.
The sets and the set dressing are superb and as good as you are going to get but the positives stop there. The script, directing and acting are all so amateur that you would get better from the local 'AmDram'. The armourer was a complete joke, as was the fight director.
Given how many times the 'based on Alexandre Dumas' novel' has been made how is it still possible to get EVERYTHING so very wrong - even, in this case, the timeline!
If you want a musketeers movie you still can't beat the Richard Lester version. But there are other versions that are quite watchable - this is not.
Really, just don't bother, you'll never get that part of your life back. Watch some paint dry, it would be more entertaining...
A Fistful of Lead (2018)
Unsure if this was deliberately or accidentally comedic
Okay, let me admit that I didn't get all the way through this movie - about halfway was all I could take.
Less than ten minutes in and I really wasn't sure if I was supposed to take this movie seriously. The direction is appalling which made the, I suspect adequate, acting come over badly as well.
From the outset both characters and 'extras' make moves and actions that make absolutely no sense in the real world and with script written, I think, by the Director's seven-year-old as a class project the whole thing moved to the point where I simply couldn't "suspend disbelief". The jumpy handheld camera didn't add anything it simply made me feel nauseous. (Always remember that handheld cameras are mainly used because they are far, far cheaper than the use of full trolley and rail cameras. This was so obviously the reason here.)
There are so many good movies out there, western and other genres, don't waste your time - watch a good movie.
So why not one star instead of two? The costumes were quite good...
The Peacemaker (1997)
Fun if Predictable
An enjoyable, if as I said, predictable movie. Well directed, scripted and acted. Definately a worthwhile two hours entertainment. The only downside is the intrusive and far too loud music which is far too 'gung ho' when it isn't needed and 'moody' when it certainly isn't needed.
Well worth the watching though even if you do know the end ten minutes into the movie.
Fight Club (1999)
Classic Movie NOT about what you may think
By ten minutes into this movie I was seriously wondering why I was bothering, twenty minutes in and I was considering that maybe it WAS worth sticking with but expecting nothing great. 40 minutes in and I knew that I was watching that rare thing in a modern movie - a storyline that was not hackneyed, predictable and simply a vehicle for the Hollywood Star whose name appeared above the title. The pace, after the first 20 minutes, was good and you soon realise WHY those early, slow scenes are so very necessary. Other reviews here seem to happily concentrate on telling you the storyline and the plot and (in at least one case) even the plot twists (yeah, thanks a lot for that !), I will simply say that if you like your movies cerebral and with enough story that you will be thinking about it well after the movie is over then this one is for you.
The Weekend Away (2022)
A First Class Movie
Ignore the naysayers this is a beautifully filmed, well acted drama with enough twists, turns misleading endings and dead ends to keep any enthusiast of the genre interested and guessing. Hitchcock could not have done better (and that's from a Hitchcock fan).
Superb!
Last Man Down (2021)
A Fun Movie but really, why?
This is a really fun (if incredibly unrealistic) movie, with a good basic storyline. The direction is good, as is the overall production but the set dressing and props buying were, I think, done by someone's eleven-year old!
The acting is, however, universally some of the worst that I think I have EVER seen! There is a fairly poor script but that is exaggerated by a total lack of any emotion from any of the actors. Even the one-line extras manage to deliver their one attempt at fame without any feeling. The worst is, undoubtedly, the 'big bad' who really has the very worst lines and also manages to be the very worst of a really bad bunch of actors - I can't think of any nice way of saying it, but he completely unable to act!
There is one major storyline problem when the 'bad guys' are repeatedly told not to harm the package under any circumstances and then spend the next thirty minutes of the movie shooting at her with automatic weapon.... What ????
As I said this IS a fun movie but it would have been so much better with a professional scriptwriter and professional actors. Watch it but don't expect too much. It is set-up for a sequel but all I can say is please, NO - one is enough!
All the Devil's Men (2018)
Enjoyable but far from the Best of its Genre
A fairly run of the mill and enjoyable 'action movie' but with so many careless and slapdash plot holes and goofs that you will run against them even when you AREN'T watching closely.
It is a worthwhile watch but with a little better direction and care it could have been a really good movie, albeit that the basic premise was never going to be beyond 'far fetched'.
Not the worst of its genre I have seen but very far from the best.
The Voyeurs (2021)
A Genuine Masterpiece
I'm not sure what movie some of the reviewers here watched - or perhaps they were simply expecting some sort of soft-porn movie and felt cheated?
Whilst having some influence from "Rear Window" this is a beautiful take on voyeurism and, perhaps, its dangers. As a piece of moviemaking it is pure genius. The direction, acting, lighting, production, script are enough on their own to justify 'masterpiece' - I don't think I have ever seen better (and yes, I DO watch an awful lot of films of all genres).
The story genre and the storyline are most definitely not going to be in everyone's taste but I don't think you will be disappointed if you watch this movie and simply look for good entertainment.
I would unreservedly recommend it - if you can get yourself past the subject matter. I headed this "A Genuine Masterpiece" and I would completely stand behind that opinion.
Black Lightning (2018)
Not 'Flash' or 'Arrow' but worth Watching
This is NOT as bas as some reviewers have made out - it is fairly entertaining and does have some nice plot twists.
The acting is generally good albeit that, probably because of direction (see below), it is more than occasionally melodramatic in the style of a 1910 silent.
The two places that this series truly fails is in terrible direction with constant switches of camera angle and shot - sometimes quite literally every time a character speaks in a conversation we switch (not pan, switch) to a new camera and the constant 'jumping' this creates actually serves to destroy the narrative.
The second fail, whether direction or production I don't know, is in the constant, irritating and intrusive music. Sometimes the music track is so loud it is actually louder than the conversation or action that it is supposedly underlaying and not dominating! Do we need the constant, loud drone of rap music throughout every fight?
Overall a good series, it IS entertaining even if the writers have made Black Lightning into a "woe is me" wimp without the conviction of his principles or the inner strength to be the hero. Lightning and Thunder, the two daughters, are much better heroes.
Give it a chance but 'The Flash' or 'Arrow' it isn't, which is a shame.
Eleven (2018)
One for Effort
With absolutely appalling acting and direction that is little better this film had great ambition with "one for effort" is probably being generous. Even the costuming is poor with chinstraps not worn (which totally negates the point of the helmet in WW1) and bright brass buttons - there to provide a good target for snipers I suppose.... Overall this film has nothing to recommend it.
Robin Hood (2018)
Don't Waste your Time - No, REALLY DON'T!
From the trailers and the stills I was suspicious if this movie but being a sucker for historical epics I had to try (after all some of the trailers for Gladiator did not bode well and that was magnificent). Sadly it was even worse than I feared in even my most pessimistic moments.
From the moment that Marian turns up as a thief in an outfit laced down her cleavage to show her charms (and not at all tightly laced I might add) to her nylon face mask the costuming was farcical. And by the time Robin is serving in the Holy Land and everyone has a very distinct uniform which includes a t-shirt, any attempt at any medieval period attire has been totally discarded.
So far as the storyline is concerned the whole is not much better - a letter drafting Robin for the Third Crusade (yes, it does say "Third Crusade"). A Draft Letter - REALLY? And does no-one seem to understand that Robin id a LORD - this is not a cowboy film, or at least it isn't supposed to be.
The whole feels as though it was written, costumed, directed and produced without any knowledge of the historical period and only the very slightest knowledge of the legend of Robin Hood.
I accept that Robin Hood is a legend -and it is therefore easy to play fast and loose with the story but this movie goes far beyond that and bears little or resemblance to the legend, beyond some character's' names, and absolutely none to history.
If you want a good Robin Hood film then there are plenty out there from Errol Flynn to Kevin Costner. It is to be hoped that this appalling movie disappears before it damages the joy of Robin and Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John et al for a generation of children.
Avoid it and just watch "Prince of Thieves".
Spring 1941 (2007)
So Disappointing
The basic storyline for the movie is actually quite emotional (no spoilers, I'm not going to give it away) and teh acting is good, as you might expect from the strong cast.
HOWEVER the direction is absolutely amateurish! There are so many ploy holes that you really have to be asleep not to ask "how did that happen" or "how de he/she know that, or see that?" You could say that most of these are due to a bad script but they all seem to be just a case of poor direction and directorial almost contempt for his audience. You could, I suppose, still enjoy teh movie but the plot holes make so much of the storyline not make sense that I don't see how.
Definitely not one that I could recommend and, by teh way, the Germans invaded Poland in Autumn 1939 and the Russian part of Poland in Summer 1941....
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019)
Every Bit a Worthwhile Addition to the Series
Not sure why some reviewers hate this movie since it is every bit as funny, wacky and irreverent as the pair's other outings. Unlike some reviewers I thought Harley Quinn Smith was an excellent actor and Kevin Smith's line about nepotism is wonderful. The "in jokes" are so frequent that you'll need to watch the movie twice to catch all of them and the cynicism around "reboots and remakes" appear closer to the truth than many would like to admit.
Ignore the naysayers - if you loved the other movies then you will love this one - it is just BRILLIANT!
She (1935)
Fun but so VERY dated
Very (and I do mean VERY) loosely based on Rifer Haggard's book of the same name, although inexplicably moved from Africa to Russia, this is a fairly enjoyable if terribly dated, movie.
The "overacting", but even more particularly, the direction and the sets hark back to the age of the silent movies and overall this movie would not have been out of place a decade earlier than its 1937 date. Gahagan ("She") was reputedly so embarrassed by her acting that she vowed never to do another movie - which, indeed, she didn't (becoming a politician). The casting of Gustav von Seyffertitz with his strong German accent as Billali is distinctly odd, most particularly as no-one else has a similar accent and one can only assume that he was on contract and available - and neither of those comments is intended as a criticism of his acting, which is certainly no worse than anyone else's!
It is strange that whilst this is from the 'King Kong' Producer (Meriam Cooper) and two years later it feels so much more 'amateur' in every respect, but that may have been beyond Cooper's control. But the attempt at 'The Spectacular' in the 'Ceremony of the Flame' scene goes on so long it just becomes boring - and that is down entirely to Cooper.
There are some great 'sound bite' lines in the script, many of which have been quoted as headings by other reviewers here, but overall these are few and far between and much, most, of the script is stilted or simply melodramatic.
And as for changing the Haggard's story to give the movie a Happy Ending.... that is Hollywood at its very worst.
An interesting and fun waste of two hours but not a movie to search for. Sorry to say but the 1965 Ursula Andress version is not only closer to Rider Haggard's book but also a so much better movie.
Jane and the Lost City (1987)
The Comic Strip Meets Rider Haggard
The Comic Strip meets Rider Haggard meets (to a lesser extent) Monty Python.
The movie has the same cheesiness (and level of excuses for Jane to lose her clothes) as the long-gone 'Daily Mirror' cartoon strip with a similar level of improbability as many similar strips and of the Saturday Morning serials of the same period.
Don't expect serious dialogue or anything less than real ham acting - but that is not because the cast are poor actors (just look at their credits on IMDB), it truly is deliberate. And there are enough fun references to make you pay attention - I am only surprised that Toombs wasn't playing "As Time Goes By" when he is on the piano.
Witty, silly, humorous and GREAT FUN. Thoroughly loved it as a piece of pure entertainment.
Sommersby (1993)
A fairly poor remake
I am fascinated by the constant comments about this story being "unbelievable" considering it is solidly based on a true story and the basic premise is accurate to that story.
Having said that this is a VERY poor remake of the original movie (the Return of Martin Guerre, with Gerard Depardieu in the title role). Unlike some critics I don't have a real problem with Richard Gere although he is totally out-acted by Jodie Foster. My main problem is why relocate the movie to the US and the Civil War in the first place? Does Hollywood really still believe that its audiences will only watch movies set in the US?.
Overall the movie is nowhere near as good as the original - especially in the trial scenes and in the relationship between the two main characters.
It's a passable waste of time but for entertainment and emotional involvement, watch the original.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020)
Star Trek, but not as we know it....
This was just so much fun and so enjoyable - yes I know the humourless so-called hardcore fans dislike it but if you have any sense of humour AND are a TRUE Star Trek fan I guarantee you will love this. There are numerous little asides and references to the rest of the Trek Universe (especially the "The Enterprise seems to run into a new adventure every week!" - loved that one) but this is Star Fleet seen through a different lens. The "lower decks" have to exist on all Star Fleet ships and this is their view of the world.
Wonderful, wonderful. started with one episode and just binged the whole series. Desperately awaiting series 2.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
An Emotionally Entrancing Gem
If you have any soul at all it would be impossible not to be emotionally entrapped and enchanted by this movie. No car chases, no violent scenes, no superheros, just pure wonderful acting with superb direction and production. Undoubtedly a classic in the making, I cannot recommend this movie high enough if you appreciate these things coupled with an excellent script and a heartrending storyline. It is a beautiful movie - enjoy.
Angel of the Skies (2013)
Appalling Acting, Appalling Research, Weak Storyline
Not sure where to start with this one - it is obvious that the writer/director wanted to honour the South African volunteers who served, very capably in the RAF during the WWII. Unfortunately this load of rubbish does them no honour at all.
The research, if indeed there actually was any, is slapdash in the extreme (a medic carrying a rifle? the "hero" in tropical brown in place of RAF blue? etc. etc.). The uniforms and background ideas (RAF daylight bombing???) are just ridiculous and even the ranks are incorrect (how hard is it to get those right?). To list all of the obvious errors would probably take more text than the full wooden script.
I could go on about this but all could have been tolerable if the acting had been even competent but, to be honest, I have seen better at the local 'AmDram'. There is little attempt, so it appears, to actually do more than "read the lines" from a script that shows zero knowledge of WWII or the RAF with a crew that purports to be veteran but is so undisciplined that most wouldn't have managed more than a couple of months without a court martial.
Sadly I cannot see any saving grace in this movie - it really is a case of can I have the two hours of my life back please?
Don't waste your time.
Winter War (2017)
Appalling Direction Poor Acting Hackneyed Storyline
With a storyline that owes more than a little to "The Big Red One" this is predictable and, to be honest, boring.
The direction is amateurish and the overuse of a single hand-held camera detracts from whatever is happening as well as giving the movie the feeling of being incredibly low budget.
The action/battle sequences suggest that the director had absolutely no idea of how men react in battle and (again the mini-budget?) there was no advisor to tell him, but (just to stress one point out of very many) it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that men tend to go for cover when someone is trying to kill them.
All in all a terrible movie which fails on every level and in which you don't even care about the protagonists.
(PS I saw the French Language version with subtitles, which often read as absolute gibberish!)
Enola Holmes (2020)
Pure Enjoyment
What a wonderful enjoyable romp - its everything you want for pure entertainment. Great acting, excellent direction and (as I said) a wonderful storyline. The characterization of all three siblings is first class. I could rave for ages on this but let me cut it short and just say "When does the sequel get released?"