Reviews

An impressive, given the budget et al., feature film debut from Mr. Nolan!

Not that the aforementioned is a surprise, of course. Still, this is a great watch, no doubt about it for me. I particularly appreciated the score, which is very good. Jeremy Theobald and Alex Haw give strong performances, especially the latter; who kept reminding me of a young Kevin Durand.

As you'd expect, this has many early hallmarks of Nolan's work - the obvious being the non-linear storytelling. I really like how the story is told here, the premise is intriguing and it ends up wrapping up nicely. The 70 minute run time, although not unwelcome, is shorter than I wanted, only because I happily would've watched this flick develop further.

I still gotta tick off 'Memento', 'Insomnia' and 'The Prestige' to complete Christopher Nolan's filmography. 'Following' is now logged and I'd recommend it. On the topic of this director's movies, I'd rank this higher than (the still very good) 'Dunkirk', 'The Dark Knight Rises' and, narrowly, 'Tenet'.

'Atomic Blonde' entertains!

A very stylish action-packed 115 or so minute run time. Loved watching Charlize Theron in the lead role, a great performance from her. The whole cast are very good, though James McAvoy and Sofia Boutella stood out most to me. Some of the dialogue could've been better, while the story does get a bit overly entwined.

Still, there is no doubt that I had fun with this 2017 flick; which was David Leitch's official directorial debut. I've seen all five movies of his now and I've enjoyed all of them, albeit to varying degrees. 'Bullet Train' is definitely my favourite! 🚆

Unconvincingly put together, yet 'Greta' still somehow works.

I felt watching that the film skipped a few steps in regards to the titular character, I wasn't buying how quickly things turned for the worse. The score in particular felt overdone, while Frances' reactions seemed a little overblown; at least based on what Greta had initially done. Then you also have the high convenience of the plot device, as well as a few stupid decisions made by the lead character (why go in the basement?!).

With all that said, I can't help but say I did still enjoy it narrowly enough. Isabelle Huppert plays Greta very nicely, while Chloë Grace Moretz gives one of the best performances i've seen from her (based on 11 flicks) as Frances. Maika Monroe is a good cast member too. The short run time probably helps, as the pacing is relatively solid.

Against the odds, I'd consider this a movie worth watching.

'No Hard Feelings' is one I'd recommend. Amusing viewing!

First time I've seen Jennifer Lawrence in a comedy and she nails it, undoubtedly the star of the movie - as expected. First time I've seen Andrew Barth Feldman in anything and he is pretty good, fits his role perfectly to be fair. Those behind those two are all positive additions too, Scott MacArthur in particular produces a few chuckles.

//// shoutout the cast: Jennifer Lawrence Andrew Barth Feldman Laura Benanti Natalie Morales Matthew Broderick Scott MacArthur Ebon Moss-Bachrach Kyle Mooney Hasan Minhaj Jordan Mendoza Amalia Yoo Alysia Joy Powell Quincy Dunn-Baker Matthew Noszka Zahn McClarnon Madison Odenborg Achi Miller Christian Galvis Matt Walton Christina Catechis Christopher Bailey Eason Rytter Abigail Hupp Jacob Augustin Brendan Kispert Ethan Metz Alaina Surgener Sejal Joshi Victor Verhaeghe Kelley Rae O'Donnell Katie Johantgen Ari Frenkel Luca Padovan John DeMari Grant Harrison Mateo Madison McBride Ben Heineman Julia DeMoura Braine Sophie Tananbaum Melissa Lehman Isabelle Fisher Roman Caposino Brian Calì Leo Easton Kelly Darren Valinotti Alex Tomais Earl Rose.

Quality!

'The Sugarland Express' is Steven Spielberg's first theatrical release as director, which is quite something given the movie seems like it was made by a seasoned vet. On a similar note, the look and feel of the film is absolutely outstanding; it has aged remarkably well visually, almost hard to believe it came out in 1974! I also really enjoyed the score, particularly Toots Thielemans on the harmonica, but that's no surprise - John Williams, duh!

As for plot, it is very entertaining. I like how silly everything plays out for the first chunk and the film knows it, but events gradually rise up a notch throughout the 110 minutes. The more serious conclusion would've felt quite sudden and out of place, though it is portrayed and paced perfectly. Cast-wise, Goldie Hawn, William Atherton and Michael Sacks are excellent, though Ben Johnson is probably the one I'd rate highest.

I was into it early on, but 'Who's That Knocking at My Door' lost me the longer it went on to be honest.

This 1967 movie is notable for being Martin Scorsese's feature directorial debut and Harvey Keitel's film acting bow. For me, that's where the interest stops sadly. I did like Keitel and Zina Bethune across the opening portion of the 85 or so minutes, for example their chemistry and dialogue works well.

However, by the end the way Scorsese decided to play didn't really work for me personally. I don't actually mind how the story literally ends, imperfectly as it is, it just more so how events get to that point, the whole vibe just felt different and I didn't find it as watchable as what preceded.

'The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires' is fairly fun.

A relatively quick watch at just under 90 minutes, this movie smashes together martial arts and vampires. It's cool that it was filmed entirely on location in Hong Kong! Peter Cushing leads the cast strongly, with the likes of David Chiang, Julie Ege and Robin Stewart doing well behind him.

I found the whole run time to be decently entertaining, nothing that blew my socks off or anything but I did suitably enjoy it - the ending scenes are particularly positive. The martial art parts seemed well done to me, though I am admittedly no expert when it comes to that. All in all, it's worth a watch in my opinion.

Side-note, this is the second time in consecutive days that I'm ending my day with a movie featuring Dracula! Unintentionally so, I picked 'Renfield' due its short run time and this (having known nothing about it) because of the eye-catching title; I didn't even acknowledge the vampire bit. Yet, I've still not seen the Christopher Lee original, gotta get to that!

'Race for the Yankee Zephyr' is alright viewing, though its extremely uneven nature makes it difficult to get into.

Donald Pleasence gives a rather wacky performance as Barney, it looks like he was having fun acting in this - but, as a viewer, he only adds to the chaotic feel of this movie, which is kinda all over the place. Ken Wahl and Lesley Ann Warren are good, though George Peppard's antagonist isn't the best; Peppard himself is OK.

The plot moves at a real meh pace, as it doesn't really leave you a lot to latch on to. It is objectively a quite drawn out way of telling the story, which could've been wrapped up in short film form to be honest! There are worse movies out there no doubt, but this 1981 picture is very much a forgettable one!

Not bad, but I didn't really click with it enough.

Nicolas Cage is a nice piece of casting and delivers in the role of Dracula, as I'd expect to be honest... feels like a Cage sorta character! Nicholas Hoult and Awkwafina are decent, I've seen better from the latter elsewhere but her performance improves as this one progresses. Honestly, I would've reworked the film to revolve around Cage, rather than Hoult.

The story didn't really connect with me, as in I didn't get the required entertainment from it. It's alright, I just didn't really care for what I was watching - more like just acknowledging its existence, rather than actually sinking my teeth into what was happening onscreen. The humour could've been a bit stronger, too.

I appreciate the attempt. 'Renfield' just didn't work for me.

Bloody awful movie, that final scene with Doug is focking funny though!

'Strays' is still a terrible film, though. Reminiscent it is of 'Sausage Party', in that it uses lazy sexually rude shock value to try and entertain. At least that 2016 flick is animated and is about food, so works more than it should (if still not good). This, given what it's about (dogs) and how it's portrayed (live-action), is just disturbing. Even beyond that, it's all just so stupid and uninteresting.

Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx try to salvage this with their voice work, though the rest of the cast are all quite lousy unfortunately. I dunno how they got Brett Gelman to agree to his scene, by the way!£! Off-screen, surprising to see the names of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller attached as producers... expect much more from them, heck even from Louis Leterrier too!

I really disliked this, I can't lie. That earlier mentioned scene, one or two (literally) other 'OK' bits as well as how, in fairness, good the effects are for the dogs is what stops me rating this lower - I'm probably being too generous, mind. These sorta wacky movies for adults can work, but you gotta get more creative than this; sex and poop jokes only get you so far.

There are things to like about 'Porcelain Horse', yet all in all I can't really say I enjoyed viewing it.

The level of acting is good, Victor Arauz, Leovanna Orlandini and Francisco Savinovich are all plus points for this 2012 flick. I generally approve of how the story is portrayed. However, I never truly cared for the characters and was never all that invested in them - like 'that scene' is done well, but simply didn't hit in any sort of real way.

The characters aren't exactly likeable, which probably doesn't help things. Though I am totally cool with watching troubled characters, the problem is when they aren't all that interesting or there is no reason to root for them - which is pretty much the case here.

All things considered, not a good or bad film. Just extremely average, for me anyway.

I was hooked!

'Woodpeckers' is a terrific prison flick. I do tend to like movies in such locations, you can create some good drama within such confines. This one is no different, it doesn't necessarily do anything spectacularly unique but it executes the storyline supremely well. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, made so thanks to some interesting subplots.

The acting is very good too. Jean Jean leads strongly, he is supported more than ably by Ramón Emilio Candelario and Judith Rodriguez Perez. The rest of the cast play their parts well too. The way the characters communicate for large periods is expertly portrayed, super well done. Their story comes up big at the end, I like the way they decided to go with the conclusion.

Quality viewing, in my opinion. Merits more eyes on it.

Weaker, but still suitably watchable.

'Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver' is a more action-packed entry to the franchise, despite that I didn't hold as much interest in this as I did for the previous installment. I did, mind, like seeing the battles commence, both in terms of action and effects.

Sofia Boutella is enjoyable once more, but Ed Skrein isn't as interesting this time around; I would've preferred a new villain for this one, to be honest. Djimon Hounsou does have more to work with on this occasion though, which is only a positive thing. Bae Doo-na has a few nice moments, even if she is underused for the majority.

These movies work for me, what can I say? Kinda mad, however, that they're seemingly planning to make six of these in total... a bit much, even for someone that likes these opening two. I'll be there tho.

'Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire' is an enjoyable ride!

I will say that I wasn't ever totally engrossed into the story, though at every moment I was still very interested in what I was watching unfold - and for a movie that has a run time of around 134 minutes, that's a big plus. I particularly liked the world building, as well as the special effects.

Sofia Boutella is a great choice to lead the ensemble, her performance is one that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout. Ed Skrein is solid in a, shock horror, antagonistic role (does that geezer ever play a good guy?), I've found him quite meh in other movies but here he is very much a positive. None of the others onscreen stand out on their onesies, though as an collective they are a fairly strong cast.

I genuinely had a good time with this, can't ask for more than that. I'm fairly lukewarm on Zack Snyder movies, this is the seventh of his work that I've watched and 'Man of Steel' and this are the only ones that I'd actually class as exceptional. Unlike many others, it appears, I look forward to checking out the sequel.

Super dumb, yet it somehow kinda worked for me.

'Arthur's Whisky' is a very low budget picture, I mean just look at that unintentionally hilarious attempt at portraying a visit to Las Vegas (!!). The plot is very silly and, obviously, nonsensical but in the end I kinda dug it, to be honest. The film does plateau at around the hour mark, though the heartfelt conclusion brought it back to win me over.

I guessed the general vibe (slow paced story of oldies being oldies) of this movie based on the poster and I was mostly correct, though the opening minutes of this made it look like a proper adventure/fantasy was on the way - it evidently wasn't, so quite the jarring beginning!

Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and Lulu lead onscreen events and the trio do well enough, as a three they worked better than they did individually. What actually probably helped this for me was the three that played their youngers. Genevieve Gaunt, Esme Lonsdale and Hannah Howland are good. Adil Ray's whole subplot with Lulu/Howland is very cringe, mind you.

Looking around, this has not been received all that positively - though a deeper look around does suggest a more even split of opinion, it does work for some. Just look at that expired tomato website - 80%/14% for critics/audience! Fascinating, really.

Undoubtedly fun, even if I did want a touch more from 'The Fall Guy'.

The cast are great, definitely the film's strongest part in my opinion. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are an all-star pair and I enjoyed them both, they worked well together. Hannah Waddingham and Aaron Taylor-Johnson add good showings too. Stephanie Hsu and Winston Duke are involved as well.

The story produces entertainment, even if it could've had more flavour added to it. I felt watching that in a few parts it does overstay its welcome ever so slightly, not for a negative impact but enough that I couldn't rate it any higher. All the stunt stuff is fantastic though, as it ought to be given the subject matter. It's solid humour-wise, my favourite bits were actually the background actor interactions; s/o wife's sister guy.

Overall, I liked this one. Improvements were possible, though what's there is good enough - an easy watch, to be honest.

It's good. Coulda been better, but still good.

'I. S. S.' gave me enough. I do think it could've been paced better and had a bit more intrigue put in there, though what's produced is satisfying. The titular set looks nice and the zero gravity comes across as convincing, while the sound design et al. Is all positive.

For me, the cast are very solid. It perhaps could've done with a true star performer as no-one stands far and above their co-stars. Ariana DeBose is more than solid, she is the best of those onscreen; albeit narrowly so. Masha Mashkova and Pilou Asbæk are decent, as also are Chris Messina and Costa Ronin.

Nothing spectacular evidently, though this release is a perfectly watchable sci-fi flick. I'd recommend it.

I'm not convinced by this one.

'Find Me Guilty' works more than it probably should and I wasn't actually ever bored by any of the events onscreen, but I can't really shake the feeling that it isn't a good movie. Seeing Vin Diesel in the lead role felt off, I adore him in 'Fast & Furious' but he doesn't fit this role all that much. The accent, the mob boss-esque acting, the hair...

The vibe of the film is also felt quite ill-fitting. I don't know anything about the real life case that this depicts, but based on a quick look online I can see why the film portrays Diesel's lead character in the way it does. Though I feel like it ignores too much and wants you to root for characters without giving suitable reasons as to why you should; aside from shaking fists in the air at authority figures.

It's not necessarily strictly bad, it is just not one I can personally describe as being good; a standard 6/10 for me. I did like Peter Dinklage and Alex Rocco in this, though.

A lot of fun, is 'Challengers'.

First of all, I gotta say, that poster is so good! Thankfully, the movie matches. I enjoyed my time watching this one, I do have some (very) minor issues with the pacing and music (that blaring club track is a bit much) but in truth they evaporate given how high quality the rest of the film is.

The cast are great. Zendaya is the obvious star of the 131 minutes, she is top notch throughout. Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist are just as impressive though, they more than hold their own alongside Zendaya. I've seen O'Connor before in TV's 'The Crown' so I'm not all that surprised or anything, though this is the first time I've see Faist act.

Aside from the earlier noted track, the music is overall excellent though. I also like how the tennis is portrayed, I'm only a casual viewer of the sport but it all felt believable in that regard. I think the run time could've been trimmed a tad, while the amount of different timelines is perhaps a little excessive. Again, mind, these are not major concerns of mine, just worthy of noting.

A terrific flick, no doubt!

A moving picture!

I pretty much went into the cinema with 'That They May Face the Rising Sun' totally blind in terms of what to expect, just the way I like it mind you. All I knew was that it was outta Ireland and based on a book, which I evidently hadn't heard of. I'm pleased to say what greeted my eyes was a very splended movie.

The story is simple, one that holds no bells and whistles. I don't mean that in a negative way whatsoever, as it is the film's greatest element. It's all very grounded, which allows the acting talent to shine. Though, the cinematography is exquisite. It is also paced to perfection, in that regard I was kinda caught off guard when the credits appeared!

Barry Ward and Anna Bederke are the cover stars and are worthy in their roles of Joe and Kate, I enjoyed them both. However, those behind them are the standouts for me. Lalor Roddy is fantastic as Patrick, so much emotion (and humour!) delivered from him throughout. Brendan Conroy does a lot with relatively little, similarly (first time actor, so I read?!) Phillip Dolan and Sean McGinley (esp. At the end).

It's all extremely touching. Safe to say, I'd highly recommend this!

Passable.

I think I wanted more from 'Immaculate', though what's provided is fairly watchable to be honest. Visually it looks neat, too. Sydney Sweeney's performance is as good as expected, the rest of the cast are all competent; Álvaro Morte the standout of them.

The run time does fly by, I kinda felt watching that there wasn't really a middle - just one long build-up to the main event at the end. Speaking of which, 'the' scene at the conclusion made me smirk, the problem is that it most certainly was not supposed to; Cecilia's screams immediately sounded like that "best cry ever" meme* to me, I couldn't help but smile, I'm sorry.

*never knew the backstory to that clip until searching for it here, it's not quite so amusing now to be honest. Awks.

All in all, I'd narrowly class this as a film worth watching. I almost got to see it by myself in an empty cinema, though a group of two inexplicably arrived like 30-45 minutes into the 90 minutes! That's gotta hurt.

'Back to Black' is not the best.

The opening chunk of the movie, say the first 30-45 minutes, is not good, a very rocky beginning. The introduction to the characters felt unnatural, the spontaneous moments of the lead character (who they make a tiny bit unlikeable at around that point) singing... borderline cringe. I will say, though, from after that the film does improve, funnily enough once the titular track plays I enjoyed this more.

Now for the cast. Marisa Abela is, acting-wise, decent enough, I'm not sold on her likeness to Amy Winehouse but I only really know of the musician minimally in her later years so I could very likely be wrong to question it to be fair. Her accent seemed forced as well, though that could be a similar case as to what I just mentioned with the resemblance.

I did feel like I was watching Abela acting like Winehouse, rather than Winehouse portrayed by Abela. What I mean by that is in the best biopics I feel like I'm watching the person depicted, almost documentary-esque, but here it felt more obvious that I was watching someone act as someone, if that makes sense. Same can be said for Jack O'Connell, I know zero about Blake Fielder-Civil but still felt like O'Connell was overtly imitating someone.

There are positives, though. Lesley Manville puts in a good performance, her scenes with Abela are the film at its strongest. Eddie Marsan is solid too. It also does what's needed to make you care for the main character, even if that isn't all that difficult. Winehouse's big songs, at least all the ones I know of, are featured well; I most liked 'Valerie' years back, but that eponymous track really is outstanding.

No doubt super sad how Winehouse's life played out, I knew she died fairly young but when the epilogue details that she passed at just 27 it really does hit hard... such a waste. As for this movie in itself, mind, it's not all that unfortunately.

So very dumb, yet kinda, actually, good... one to file under 'better than it has any right to be'.

I'm not entirely sure how, but 'Fired Up!' suffices. Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen make it work enough, they have decent chemistry and fit their respective roles - and that was needed, different casting and events would've flopped.

The humour is silly yet mildly amusing, don't get me wrong I wasn't laughing or even chuckling but I wasn't cringed out for the most part and I smirked a few times to be fair. There are some solid music choices in there, tracks from the likes of Akon and Avril Lavigne somehow fit.

I was expecting the story to play out a little differently (worse), it actually portrays the development of the two main characters fairly well. It is quite funny how many of these 00s movies exist that involve the same sorta plot, almost a signature of the era.

I decided to watch this as I noticed it was the only one of Will Gluck's movies that I had yet to see. 'Annie' aside, he is a very reliable director. 'Friends with Benefits' is his best thus far, I'd say.

As uncomfortable as it is, I think it's a good movie.

'The Intruder' is basically your standard story of how dangerous mob mentality can be, especially when coupled with ready-made white supremacy. It is a bit white saviour-y, though I did like how Charles Barnes' Joey had his own moment in the face of adversity.

I enjoyed (from an acting viewpoint, of course) the performances onscreen of Frank Maxwell and Leo Gordon, Robert Emhardt plays a bad guy well too. The most eye-catching member of the cast is obviously William Shatner, in one of his earliest film roles. He puts in a positive showing, the character is certainly, erm, interesting and I'll remember him.

I had a fun time with this one!

'The Thirty Nine Steps' gave me a lot of entertainment. Robert Powell puts in a top performance, as does John Mills; the whole cast are good, in fairness. Pacing is on point and the music is stellar. There are some nice set pieces too, namely on the railway and at Big Ben. I also really enjoyed the adventure feel.

One of many adaptations of John Buchan's novel, I see. This is my first experience of it in any form, I evidently chose a good one to start with. I ought to check out the other three (!) pictures at some point, especially the first that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock; I am still yet watch a movie of his, poor from me!