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danstevon
Reviews
Prey (2022)
A move in the right direction.
Firstly let's be honest, no matter what they do they will never match the original or even the 1990 sequel. Not that they are"classics", more just the fact they are very much of their time and I'm sure most people view those two films through rose tinted glasses. Especially the original Schwarzenegger film.
Yeah I like Prey, it's a solid action film that holds your attention throughout even if it's a little predictable what the outcome would be. But predictable doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Some great action scenes and the story has a few nice and subtle links to the past movies.
Way better than the two Alien crossovers and ahead of 2018's The Predator, although that may be because setting this 300 years ago gives it a new perspective.
Worth watching, out of the 7 "Predator" movies I'd say this falls smack bang in the middle but films like this are what they are, either you're gonna like it or you don't.
The Black Phone (2021)
Really?
I'm don't know where there high scores are coming from. Apart from a couple of jump scares I found the whole thing pretty tame - I thought the scenes involving the main characters father were more difficult to watch than the scenes with "the grabber".
The little sister adds some foul mouthed comic relief but the story is pretty weak. I'm disappointed really as I first saw the trailer around 12 months ago so my anticipation was high. Maybe my expectations have ultimately left me feeling short changed.
On the plus side, do they do an Oscar for set design? Because it does look incredibly 70's (it's set in 1978) this for me was the highlight. I was surprised to hear Pink Floyd on the soundtrack and it's used perfectly.
Looks good but the film is empty, the grabber isn't particularly frightening which is fundamental to a horror film.
Man of Steel (2013)
Superman but no Clark Kent
It's a Superman movie but not like we know or expect.
I don't think Warner Brothers know what to do with Superman. We just seem to get a different take on his origin story every decade without them actually getting it right or it leading to a sequel or franchise. After 2006's Superman Returns disappointed 7 years later we're inflicted with another attempt, which again despite a huge ensemble cast and possibly even bigger budget just completely misses the mark again.
I'm all for making familiar stories fresh but you have to have the basics in place. I don't understand why the completely did away with Clark Kent so's to speak. Yeah he was in it kind of, but there was no hiding his identity behind the clumsy news reporter of glasses to hide his alter ego. Heck, he doesn't even work at the Daily Planet. He's just, well, Superman.
The story borrows very lightly from both the first and second Christopher Reeve films but the story told here is a mess. As you'd expect the film looks amazing but there's no soul to it. You don't get the sense that hey here's Superman to save us from the bad guys. It's all a bit dark and they seem to have nicked an idea or two from War of the Worlds that Krypton needs to destroy our planet to save its own.
You can see why the Justice League and Batman v Superman that followed pretty much suffers the same fate. Michael Shannon is a great actor and (usually) makes a great villain, but not here. I'm no Nolan fanboy but given the same studio made this and The Dark Knight you wonder how they once again got it so wrong.
Cujo (1983)
Covid 1983...
Dog gets bit by a bat and contract's coronavirus 40 years before we had even heard of it.
An 80's film in every sense of the word, Dee Wallace playing the kids mom doing lots of screaming while looking incredibly glamorous and a story by Stephen King which seemed to be half the movies made during that decade.
It's ok and I'm guessing 40 years ago it was more intense than it is nowadays. If you weren't around in the 80's and like watching the films of the time I'd certainly add it to your watchlist (it's available on Paramount +)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
A genuine disappointment
I genuinely wanted to be proved wrong in my initial opinion after watching the first episode but after just watching the last one unfortunately my fears have become reality.
Obi-Wan should've been great, it had everything you could ask for, Darth Vader, Jedi Knights, all the original actors, a story to follow on from and a story to lead up to.
So what went do wrong? These are my main gripes, maybe they aren't everyone's but here we go. Firstly young Leia & Luke. This is set only 10 years before A New Hope? These actors were way too young to be the characters they become such a relatively short time later. Just didn't work for me.
ROTS and ANH have very different looks to them, the prequel trilogy was very clean and slick while the original trilogy looked dirty and worn. They should've aimed for somewhere in the middle here but again it all looked too much like everything was shiny and new.
Most disappointing though was the almost lack of real story, it was incredibly basic, and drawn out. That they chose to make a series rather than a film after the studios disappointment with the Solo box office is almost ironic as Obi-Wan would've been a lot better if they'd packed these 6 episodes into a 140 minute film.
It sometimes felt that the writers should've sat down and at least watched A New Hope again before writing the last episode.
I genuinely hope they make.a second series but I don't think they could include the Luke/Leia characters. They'd have to come up with something new maybe a different story each week with Obi-wan helping someone on a different planet with Vader and the Empire hunting him down. I suppose like The Fugitive but in Star Wars.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
The Weakest Link
Out of the five film ark, you have to be honest and say this is the weakest. Possibly because it's predecessor Casino Royale is arguably the best in the entire series or maybe because they chose to start it exactly where the previous film left off then for some unknown reason seemed to abandon the idea after the first 20 minutes or so.
One thing the Craig era does very well is the pre-credits scene and QOS doesn't disappoint. An exhausting car chase which ends with the reveal that it is in fact set after the events of the first film.
The last ear Bond era seems to really like Italy (4 out of the 5 films use locations around Italy and the best part of this film is set there. It's once it changes location and heads to Haiti that the film does seem to lose its way. The villain just isn't really interesting, his plan not really putting the world in danger.
Originally set up to introduce Quantum as the didn't have the rights to use SPECTRE, by time the follow up SKYFALL arrived the rights were sorted out literally making the whole Quantum of Solace film redundant save the start and the epilogue at the end.
It's a shame really as there are lots to like, Daniel Craig is perfect as 007, the two Bond girls are good and the action is on point. So I guess it's the story itself that lets the movie down.
Worth a watch, but it's the filling between possibly the two best Bonds ever.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Dinosaurs, lots of them!
Where do I start? This will contain spoilers so beware.
Firstly, let's get one think clear. It's Jurassic World, it's about dinosaurs so you have to be open to just switching your brain off and enjoying the fantasy of the movies for 2 hours.
Is it entertaining? Yeah. From the opening news footage it pretty much stays at full throttle save a couple of slow scenes early on. They've definitely recycled a few scenes from the past Jurassic movies. Is that lazy or a cheeky nod to the past knowing fans will love it?
The bringing the old characters back is a nostalgia trip that would be wasted on younger audiences but it was fun to kind of bring things full circle. They've all aged incredibly well too.
The scenes in Malta, pretty much one 15 minute action scene seems to fancy itself as a bit of a Bond rip off, maybe it just looks similar and there's a motorbike chase.
There is no real story as such, something about genetic huge insects wiping out all the crops putting the future of mankind at risk - writing that out it makes me realise they were wise to make it a paper thin storyline.
Let's be honest, you know what you're going to get going into the theatre. You either like this type of thing or you don't. It's CGI monsters lots of running around and slight jump scares. It's been done better but it's been done a lot worse.
Doesn't set itself up for another adventure so could well be the end of the franchise, but 6 films is probably enough.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part IV (2022)
What are people expecting?
Seems to suddenly be so much negativity towards this show after part 4. Why? Because it feels like filler maybe? Well, it's a tv show not a film. They can tell a story in 2 hours by keeping the pace tight or they can make a 6 part show out of it telling the same story. Of course there will be parts that are slow or less exciting. The total show will run about 4.5/5 hours..
Ignore the naysayers, enjoy it for what it is. No matter what Disney do they will never please everyone. By time OWK has run it's 6 episodes it will have delivered an entertaining Star Wars fix for fans.
Awaydays (2009)
A coming of age tale
Awaydays is a very misunderstood film in some respects. Had it been made in a time when we weren't already saturated with "football hooligan" films I genuinely believe it would've been much better received. Like Alan Clarke's 1988 "The Firm" which also uses football violence as a backdrop, Awaydays is much deeper than the likes of Football Factory. It's a story about two young lads both in that gap between being at school and entering the grown up real world if you like.
The two main characters are (I'm guessing) aged about 19 and both have dreams but neither has direction. What they have in common is they both want one another's life. It's almost tragic, because neither is going anywhere really.
After initially forming a close bond (and it's suggested that Elvis has romantic feelings towards Carty) their friendship soon starts to fall apart when the underlying reality that they are nothing alike surfaces. Neither are particularly likeable character's albeit in different ways. Elvis is probably the worse of the pair but has a very likeable side to him, he's the cool one of The Pack if you like, and the hooligan side of him is only one of a few personalities he seems to live.
Awaydays is gritty, and it's northern setting fits the story perfectly. I've read a lot of other reviews commenting on how fake the scouse accents are, but the film isn't set in Liverpool it's set on the Wirral, Birkenhead to be exact and I suppose given it's location it is a little like a Liverpool accent but slightly off if that makes sense?
Anyway, if you're expecting a football hooligan film you could be sorely disappointed. If you want to watch a decent coming of age drama with a great story I would highly recommend Awaydays.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
No idea what that was all about...
As I write IMDB has this scored at 7.4, how that's possible is beyond me. Can't be anything other than Marvel fanboys (and girls) hitting it up. I love a good superhero film but unfortunately for me this wasn't. It seems like a bit of a misstep in the Marvel universe. Don't get me wrong, it looks AMAZING, and the cast all do a great job, especially Elisabeth Olsen who brings genuine menace to the role of the scarlet witch. The story however is either directionless or so convoluted that your left scratching your head. The introduction of certain characters seems completely shoehorned in because after all look at the buzz the multiverse Spider-men caused so let's do it again. There's probably a good movie in there somewhere but I struggled to see it.
Escape from New York (1981)
I heard you were dead...
From 1978's "Halloween" through to 1986's "Big Trouble in Little China" John Carpenter made a faultless run of classic cinema.
Depending on what type of genre you prefer will determine where you rank this in his repertoire. This is probably Carpenter's closest go at a straight up action film, after usually making more horror based pictures (in fact he made two "horror" films either side of this)
As I said, Carpenter was faultless in the period of filmmaking and this is a classic. It managed to dodge feeling dated because it feels like a 70's picture, set in the 90's but filmed in the 80's so somehow stays fresh.
An excellent cast, and if you're a movie buff it's cool being able to spot all the little treats like Jamie Lee Curtis being the voice heard on computer screens and tannoy announcements. As per usual the film is laced with actors so familiar in Carpenters world of film making.
I won't go into the story, it's 40 years old and either you've seen it a dozen times or you don't want it spoiling.
A solid 9 for me, even if I view a lot of these films through rose tinted glasses because they take me straight back to my early teen years watching them on old VHS tapes.
The Warriors (1979)
Spread the word...
Firstly I've never read Sol Yurick's original novel but I'm aware the film is very loosely based on it. The story of the film is admittedly very simple. But the beauty of the film lies in more than the story.
Could The Warriors be made now in 2022? Not like this no. There would be over the top violence and profanity, both of which given the subject matter of Hill's film are both pretty mild. So how do you make a film about rival gangs at war without these two things? In a word, style. Walter Hill's film oozes style. The costumes, the score, and obviously the era the film was made all make The Warriors more than its story.
There are no big actors, most faces you'll recognise are familiar because after this film they went on to other bigger or more successful films.
It's testament to the film that so much of it has now, over 40 years later entered modern pop culture. The clips of the DJ putting word on the streets that the Warriors are being hunted have been sampled in literally hundreds of records, from hip hop right through to rock. The fashion has certainly dated the film heavily for newer generations of viewers, with the titular gang probably the worst offenders. The film does however boast arguably the coolest gang ever in the form of The Baseball Furies.
Despite the fact that people may find the film tame and old fashioned by todays comparisons it's still essential viewing and every male teen should watch it as a coming of age tale.
No Time to Die (2021)
Hard act to follow.
So here we are, at the end of another chapter in the ongoing cinematic experience of James Bond. There is no "best" 007, because for the most part each actor has taken the part in a different direction in a different era. Everyone will have their favourite Bond and their opinion will probably be based on who they first saw as Bond, for me it was Roger Moore even though now looking back the films varied from the extremely good to cringeworthy and I'll always have a soft spot for them. Having said that, it's very hard to see how anyone cannot admire what Daniel Craig has brought to the role.
DC has created a 007 to which every other actor is, and will be compared to. He has formed a Bond that is whole - he's not invincible, he's human. It's been a benefit to his tenure that over 5 films we've had a start and an end. Whether that was from day one the plan who knows, but the films are very well woven together. Skyfall being the only one you could argue was a stand alone film, albeit one that seamlessly joins the two either side together.
No Time To Die brings the journey to a close. Bittersweet yes, because we've waited so long for this film that the ending they've gone with seems almost unbelievable. But what 3 hours (almost) we had. The opening, which is about 20 minutes long is possibly the greatest opening to a Bond movie yet and by time the opening titles start to roll you're thinking Bond must be exhausted.
The story is, how can I put this... unexpected. Although there's a lot of action and the usual 007 story about saving the world from an eccentric maniac it's a film about Bond himself, family, loyalty and (spoilers ahead) the film takes a twist to the point Bond isn't doing things for Queen and country he's doing them for the people he loves.
I feel as though NTTD has a heart about it, it's almost tragic. Orphaned as a child as he enters the end of his life he's given a family - albeit one he ultimately has to sacrifice himself to save. Of all the villain's he's faced, in the end it love that defeats him.
From Casino Royale through to No Time To Die is a journey, it's one story, and even if you dislike certain films in the journey there's no doubt Daniel Craig has become the benchmark for 007, whoever they choose to reinvent James Bond they've got one hell of a task.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
This is my offer... Nothing.
Being born in 1971 I never had to wait for the "sequel" to arrive, so I've always enjoyed The Godfather and Part II as one entity.
I find it hard to see the first film as better than the second. Part II is for me, superior in every way. More story, more scope, more everything. Pacino is even better in this, the whole cast in the 1958 setting are.
What sets this apart for me, is De Niro. He's not regarded as one of the best actors of all time for nothing. His performance as a younger Vito is nothing short of flawless. How did an up and coming young actor out do Marlon Brando? It's a remarkable turn and at over 3 hours long feels much shorter as every scene is perfect.
I love this film.
The Godfather (1972)
A film about family, not gangsters
It's 2022, is it even worth writing a review of a film 50 years old that's already acknowledged as one of, if not the greatest film ever made?
I'm here because although I've had the vhs, then the dvd and now the restored blu-ray I've just been lucky enough to watch this masterpiece at the cinema, it's currently being shown to mark the 50TH anniversary.
I'm 50 myself so I've grown up with the film, so it's slow pace seems normal to me. Whether younger generations will adjust to it who knows. The wedding at the beginning is probably too long but perseverance for the first 25 minutes pays off later.
The Godfather has many iconic scenes, so much so that a lot of them are known to people even if they've never seen this film and they've been parodied heavily over the decades.
Although this was originally made as a stand alone film the beauty of the trilogy is that they tie the films together so well, although the third film arrived many years later so feels weaker than the first two it's still essential. Part ll jumps back and forth between events set before and after The Godfather which makes the whole story enriched and for the better.
Set yourself a weekend aside, turn your phone off. Make yourself some pasta, pour yourself a glass of wine and sit back and enjoy.
The Batman (2022)
Batman goes Goth
Will contain spoilers!
The Batman is a very interesting film for many reasons. It has very big boots to follow after the Nolan trilogy (we won't count the embarrassment of the Affleck movies), Robert Pattison was a choice that many laughed at in the same way people laughed when Daniel Craig was chosen as Bond, and we all know how that worked out, and after such a delay the hype was off the scale. Could The Batman deliver when it arrived?
Well, yes. And no. You have to remember that when it comes down to it Batman is a comic book superhero, and The Batman is far too serious. I don't think there was even one single funny line or joke. It's absolutely deadly serious. The main villain "The Riddler" has zero quirks he's pretty much a serial killer in the vein of Michael Myers (without the scares) and credit to Paul Dano he's a whole lot better once his mask comes off.
Patterson is a surprise as Batman as in he's actually really good, but as Bruce Wayne he's only slightly removed from Edward from his Twilight movies.
Right, it's 3 hours long but where most films that are over long and out stay their welcome by dragging on The Batman has a unique problem - it's the first hour that was too long. The second half of the film is undoubtedly the better half. Although I struggled with it being dark the entire movie and I don't think it stopped raining either.
They obviously have at least one sequel lined up as they mention right through the movie a bad guy who doesn't actually appear in any scenes and they clearly introduced The Joker, however it's disappointing that it isn't Joaquin Phoenix as that would've completely raised the bar for the next film.
Oh, and if you're asking yourself will it be better than "The Dark Knight" then, for me, the answer is no. Purely because the 2008 film did what The Batman has done, made a serious film that steps away from the comic books but Heath Ledger's Joker was simply the best villain ever put to screen. It would be interesting to see if the filmmakers let Paul Dano build on his Riddler given the exceptional performance in the latter half of this film.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Piss Poor
By far the worst of the franchise, some of the fan made Halloween movies on YouTube genuinely put this to shame. It's ridiculous, Michael Myers hair changes in virtually every shot, but most of the time they've given him what I presume was a "modern" make over, he has a haircut like he's the singer from Green Day! The film isn't scary, it isn't anything remotely like the previous films. Watch this then immediately watch Rob Zombie's remake (which was the next instalment) and it actually makes you understand why the 2007 film was so violent.
Trigger Point (2022)
Tedious and painfully predictable.
I've given it 3 stars for Vicky McClure, she's a brilliant British talent who, has to her credit, made this watchable. The end of the first episode was the biggest twist and after that it went down hill for 5 further episodes. You'd be hard pushed to deny this show has been given more kudos than it deserves based on the fact that McClure is heading it, but it's nowhere near the level of some of the great TV out there now. I'd put this somewhere along the lines of London's Burning or The Bill it's that weak.
The villain is all too obvious - there was absolutely no other reason for him to be in the story other than for this purpose and his motive turned out to be very cliché and one we've seen a hundred times before.
Skip it.
The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor (2022)
Season 2...
Is it even possible? The show seems to have divided people, there was massive potential but they seemed to squander the opportunity to build something.
Over 7 episodes the plot was paper thin and could've been played out over 2 or 3 episodes. And why kill off Cad Bane??? Jeez, he was probably the best villain since Star Wars came back after the original trilogy.
The whole series for me feels like it could've been chopped up and the best bits used to extend season 3 of Mando. All in all, Boba comes across as a bit of a wimp doesn't he? For me, keep the damn helmet on, less talk and he needs to be a bit more ruthless.
I can't wait for Obi Wan to start and Mando S3, but if we don't get another season of Boba Fett I'm not that bothered. Daft the characters into other shows instead.
Batman (1989)
A Retrospective Review
I remember going to see Batman at the cinema all those years ago and I probably enjoyed it then more than I did after watching it today. It hasn't, for me, aged well. There's actually not much of a story, there's about as much of a plot as an episode of the 60's TV show but whether that was deliberate or not I don't know. Maybe we were spoilt by how good The Dark Knight was so watching this now it seems lacking. Nicholson is good but I remember when The Dark Knight was about to be released people didn't think it would be possible to beat his performance...
The film has got some nice gothic touches, and it's got some great and very quotable lines. The Prince soundtrack actually holds up better than the film itself. Keaton is good as Bruce Wayne but not so much as Batman. The film feels small to me, I never got the sense Gotham was a huge sprawling city. Worth watching for nostalgia and we probably wouldn't have the superhero cinematic bonanza we've had over the past 30 years without it.
The Responder (2022)
Needs another series
So many questions left unanswered, which overall dragged the series down for me. The main character witnessed a murder, absolutely no way the criminals involved would let him just walk away because he got the guy in prison a way out of being murdered himself. They would have still wanted the drugs back too. We needed more background on why the main character along with his wife's lover were both demoted and lucky to still be officers - hopefully this will be the basis of a second series. For me lots of holes but Martin Freeman was brilliant as usual, and I thought his "scouse" accent was pretty accurate (I live on the Wirral). Good support actors, especially the young lad who kept running off with the bag. The potential of the show is massive though and many a highly regarded show has had a first series like this. More next year if we're lucky.
The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm (2022)
They've run out of time...
2 episodes left and where's it going? It needed to be more linear but it's spent far too much time showing flashbacks. On a personal note, I think they've shown Boba without his helmet too much, there's not been any Boba Fett in action so far really, considering he's the (supposed) biggest and coolest badass bounty Hunter across 100 galaxies. Definitely one of those shows where the last episode will be excellent, they'll thrown in a huge Star Wars character then it'll end on a cliff hanger.., then probably get cancelled after 1 season because overall the season is full and slow. Yeah the Star Wars super fans will defend it but sadly that doesn't make it any good.
Scream (2022)
Scremake
*SPOILERS*
For me it started off well, but if I'm honest it was obvious who one of the killers were. They tried to be clever by telling you who it was then relying on audiences thinking oh it can't be because they've made it too obvious - but the double bluff didn't work.
There's a MAJOR plot hole that they tell you the main character left 5 years earlier when she was 18. This makes her 23 - so how is she the daughter of someone who died 25 years ago? Oops...
They did a good job of hiding where the party was, until they revealed the twist which I think was a nice idea but ultimately one that they didn't really use as well as they could have, in the final showdown one character just disappeared for no reason without explanation (I actually thought they were going to be the killer).
There are some good jump scares, although I have just sat in a completely empty theatre except for me.
Worth watching? Yeah, if you're a fan. But I was expecting more.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Total disaster
Kong. Godzilla.
You'd think they'd be able to make fantastic movies wouldn't you? But this along with the previous films of the past 10 years are just garbage. The Godzilla from 1998 is hands down better than any of these, and I don't think any of the Kong movies are better than the 1976 one. Personal opinion obviously.
One of my main complaints about Godzilla vs Kong is how the scale of Kong was so off, constantly changing from size to size. Did I miss a plot point about him growing when he's angry or something?
The last hour with the spaceships etc... convoluted nonsense. I know it's fantasy but keep it as grounded as possible. It's definitely time to shelf both these characters for a long time if this is the best filmmaker's can come up with.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Thank you Jason Reitman!!!
Ghostbusters Afterlife has achieved something nearly every other "reboot/sequel" of the past 20 years has failed to do - it made us feel like we were watching something we'll still be rewatching in another 35 years! It's genuinely up there with the original Ghostbusters, Gremlins, and all those 80's classic films. I loved every second of it. This isn't just a cash grab like the 2016 reboot, this is the real deal. You can tell Jason Reitman truly put his heart into this and he's done his father proud. I left the cinema with a huge smile on my face, it was like watching the original for the first time. Everything was right, the special fx, the score, the story, the actors. The film has got a massive heart and although there is a lot of fan service it doesn't rely on it to be a good film. The end credit scene leaves you wanting whatever is coming next, Afterlife is genuinely worthy of the Ghostbusters name.