Reviews

While a touch of Taika's farcical "What We Do In The Shadows" humour was splendid in Ragnorak, there's too much of it in this film. It's a non-stop corn-ball comedy hour full of jokes that could have been funny if I wasn't annoyed that they just didn't stop. All the corniness made it really hard for me to get invested in the characters. I just didn't care what happened to anyone in the film, I looked at my watch at least three times and was happy when it was over. Also, stop shoving the WOKE nonsense down our throats. It's so bloody annoying now. Thor was the best, most powerful and most thrilling marvel character and now he's the butt end of a joke, looking stupid so that everyone around him looks much smarter. Sad.

So far this is the worst episode of the series. It's feeling less like Star Wars and more like a franchise designed to sell merch at the Disney store. The chase scene and bedazzled power ranger bikes with the young cyberpunks was all cringe inducing. I can imagine the Disney marketing execs worrying that Temuera Morrison (who is awesome btw) is too old and not hip enough to sell merchandise so they decided to bring in some younger cyber punks to ride some ridiculous, brightly coloured hover-Vespas in the most boring chase scene in Star Wars history to connect with the younger demographic. Lame.

Hoping that Krrsantan returns to team up with Boba's crew, the cyber punks teleport back to one of Rodriguez's Spy Kids movies and Boba riding his pet Rancor delivers some sweet, sweet vengeance.

Wes Anderson worlds are spectacularly imaginative and French Dispatch is no exception. The set design and art direction allow you to sit back and get lost in the chapters written by each of the French Dispatch's journalists. I think I most loved the messiness and random details that linger in each of the stories, journalism on par with articles you might find in the Monocle magazine but with the style and quirkiness of a Wes Anderson film. Absolutely loved it.

There is so much inclusivity and virtue signaling in this film that I had trouble caring about the plot or anything else.

There are no same-ethnicity, same skin colour couples in the film aside from the mum and dad (apparently the UK has no more single white men available to play the romantic lead according to Wokeflix). The story itself is silly and the casting and virtue signaling feels inspired from an inclusivity checklist used to ensure maximum profits across geographies. Give this a pass and put on Love Actually if you're looking for a great Christmas film based in London.

Smoked a doobie before watching, but we quite enjoyed this movie with its star studded cast and its tongue in cheek warning that we're all effed in this age of politicians and news hosts who are more worried about their polling numbers than taking on an extinction level event. Reminded me of Idiocracy and let's be honest - if human-kind has truly become as stupid and self-serving as this movie suggests - we deserve the asteroid. What's worth saving?

Flashbacks were boring and uninteresting. The action sequences were slow and clumsy. Boba didn't seem like a bad-ass, more like a tired old man still recovering from a past that was tedious to keep coming back to through the flashbacks (in which nothing really happens aside from some fan service and a lot of Tusken Raider grunting... which is cool until it's not and then it's just annoying) - there wasn't a single moment that had me thinking of him with the same respect and intrigue I had in the ROTJ. The biggest disappointment for me was the escape from the Sarlacc pit - this is a fearsome creature that feeds off the pain and suffering of its victims and digests them for "thousands of years" according to C3PO (is he a liar??) and what we got was a weird vagina looking thing, no gruesome spikes, no thorns, no fangs, no tentacles, just some fake looking mucus and membranes and what looked like a toy stormtrooper in its gut culminating in an escape by Boba in less than 5 minutes using his flamethrower and some digging up to the surface. Also, why was the action so soft in this first episode? - the sand people, the ninjas, tired old Boba - they all look like they are play fighting to tone down the violence for all the seven year olds watching. Here's hoping this Bantha turd gets better in the next few episodes.

I can't offer anything new that hasn't already been said in other reviews. Lacey Chabert is lovely as always in this Hallmark original Christmas movie about a woman who gets a glimpse of an alternate path where she sacrifices her career as a TV news reporter to be a full time mom. Nick Cage did it better in Family Man, but there's nothing obnoxious about this remake. It's a by the numbers movie that safely plays the role reversal without adding anything new.

American (and most specifically Netflix) romcoms have become a zombie genre and brainless by-the-books, derivative streaming like this stinker - from its dating tech-driven narrative, overly familiar plotting and thrown together production - epitomizes why they refuse to die.

Christmas Vacation meets Love Actually in this campy Christmas holiday movie that misfires at nearly every level. The trouble with the film is that it's so busy ripping off ideas from other much better Christmas movies that it ends up looking like a Yule Log, and not the one in the fireplace. Watch for proof that Elizabeth Hurley is taking the same youth serum as Rob Lowe, stay for the ridiculous and underwhelming fist fight between Kelsey Grammar and John Cleese.

I enjoyed the first Princess Switch, the second one not so much and the third feels like the trilogy has run it's course. More of a spy kids like action movie than a holiday classic, the plot focuses on the least interesting of the three characters, Fiona, and her ability to steal back a priceless tree topper before the Christmas festival begins. I think the kiddos will like this one more than the adults.

Love that Disney has brought a light hearted, action packed Hawkeye story to Disney+ just before the holidays. Hailie Stanfield is awesome as Kate Bishop and Jeremy Renner's charismatic intensity as Clint Barton is a welcome return as the two team up to take down a bunch of low-level track suit wearing thugs. There are a lot of interesting story arcs that seem to be heading toward a big reveal and some exciting guest appearances. It's a super fun series. Bonus points for the Christmas setting! Im looking forward to watching this series as we countdown to the holidays.

My wife and I enjoyed the series for the most part. There are several outstanding scenes, especially when Michael Shannon is on screen. The self help micro-dosing concept is interesting, the Nicole stalker not so much... we also were horrified to discover that Nicole seems to have gotten a boob job and her face never moves, she's like a robot in almost every scene and that in and of itself was super distracting from the overall concept.

I've seen this before... It had Hanks stranded on a deserted Island in the company of a volleyball named Wilson. Hanks is always entertaining and the cinematography is great in this film - but it just felt way too similar to Castaway, which I enjoyed exponentially more and actually watched again after seeing this low key imitator.

Masterfully acted by Ferrell and Rudd and that in and of itself makes the series worth watching, however it's tedious and cringe inducing to see the manipulation unfold and it feels like real work while watching - even knowing this happened in real life doesn't elevate viewing satisfaction.

I had hoped to low key chill and just have some fun watching these two - this isn't it.

Despite what other reviewers have said, Peter and Vandy is a well made indie romcom that explores young men and women's underdeveloped EQ in our late 20s/ early 30s and how it can lead to a less than desirable relationship. The movie is cut into non-linear vignettes, some where the two share incredible chemistry and others that reveal troublesome incompatibilities. As the story unfolds, it explores insecurity, immaturity and lack of skill in communicating - there are times where Peter even comes across as an abuser. Ultimately it ends hopeful, suggesting, perhaps foolishly so, that if we commit to one another, we can grow and strengthen the bond we have with the partners we choose to love.

What a surprise! What started out as awkward and a bit cringey ended up as a hilarious rom com road trip movie with Jack and Samantha, an odd couple with some real chemistry who travel to a wedding while trying to figure each other out while both growing as individuals and exploring the possibility of being a couple. It was both laugh out loud funny and endearingly sweet. A lovely film about figuring out yourself and making the best of "interesting travel partners."

I went in with low expectations. The reviews had me thinking this was going to be a terrible movie, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was honestly quite entertaining. The problems with the film are directly related to casting and story. Now I'm sure the book this film is based on must be quite good, many people have read it and rave about it, the screenplay for this film, on the other hand, felt simplistic and bland - I saw opportunities where there could have been so much more texture and adventure and it was all wasted on ninety minutes of what felt like a Western chase on horseback and with a plot to lynch a couple of innocent kids - but without the Western gravitas. I would have enjoyed more back story and narrative with the indigenous species on the New World and more conflict between the men and their noisy thoughts. Secondly, while I love both Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland; they are both truly A-list talent, the two of them together in this film just didn't work. There was no chemistry, none, and because of the lack of romance - the boy meets girl part of the film falls completely flat. You just end up caring less. Had they paired Daisy with a beefier, more dangerous lead like Dacre Montgomery or Ansel Elgort, or practically any young male who's not Tom Holland, I'm sure there would have been fireworks and the notched up romantic tension would have helped overcome the soft, boring story. I'm giving this a 6.5/10 for very competent acting, great special effects and a passable amount of entertainment from a one trick pony of a story about silly men with noisy thoughts and a girl with yellow hair.

Noel Wells stars in this by the numbers road trip movie about a couple who decide to get married after only dating for a day or so. The premise is cute but the chemistry is lacking which impacted my ability to connect with the couple. Noel Wells continues to be one of my favourite indie hipster actresses who brings a lot of charm and quirkiness to her movies.

KK had zero talent, she looked like a deer caught in headlights while reading her cue cards. After the 20 years I've been watching this show, I can honestly say this might be the worst episode in SNL history and I lost some respect for them - cowtowing to a world who wouldn't give SNL the time of day if it didn't feature a Kardashian or equivalent. If you watch carefully, you can see how pained the cast was working along with this hack and her entourage. Halsey and weekend update were the only redeeming segments. It's hard to believe the same crew did Owen Wilson and Rami Malek's shows - but I guess that's what happens when they work with actual talent.

The movie could have been great but Sienna Miller's character is so unlikable I just couldn't get into it or care about anything going on in the film. The script needed to create a love connection between the leads in order for me to invest emotionally into the story and the trauma they suffered.

If you put some A-list actors and a decent screen writer on board this would have been a great film. Novel concept but the acting wasn't great and there were plenty of plot holes that were too much to suspend disbelief. If I had to hear her scream "Jackson" one more time I was sure I was going to spontaneously combust. However I enjoyed the idea of a couple of non-pilots trying to navigate a lost plane across the gigantic Indian Ocean. 6/10.

Blown away at how fun and creative this episode was! The ending was unexpected but also heart warming and I got the feels watching these uber-nerds rejoice in their LARPing.