Reviews

Beautifully photographed but ultimately unsatisfying. It might be too sophisticated for the likes of me but it just feels like it has at it's heart a less than hopeful premise and it does a good job of proving it. I think of my Polish friend telling me 'hope is fools mother' and this (Polish-made) film will forever be linked to that notion in my mind.

Whoever did the trailer deserves a medal because the trailer is way more interesting and compelling than the film itself. It's bleak. We live in bleak times. Perhaps it's a metaphor to us all to wake the f' up? I hope so. It's genius if it succeeds but I suspect it's all too subtle. But hey, what do I know? I'm too busy staring at that light at the end of a tunnel...

I found this a touching story despite the salacious history around it. The lead actress is convincing and evokes sympathy for her plight despite the fast way her life choices happen early on.

I don't think the way the film repeats early events with more info works as well as it should. It's a little disorientating to me.

Don't watch it for the cheap thrills - it's not that kind of a movie. It's a coming of age tale with a dose of parenting issues to season it. A serving of capitalism's exploitation of the vulnerable rounds off the issues covered.

It's not Boogie Nights: it feels a little undercooked in comparison. But it is a hopeful picture in comparison.

It's starts a little clunky and feels a little under cooked budget wise but the story grows on you and you can't help but feel happy for the team as they transform from the easy beats to become world beaters.

I'm no rugby fan but I never once felt like I wasn't interested in the outcome.

The message is the thing here and while it feels a little preachy and lacking a touch of comic relief, I found it a moving and believable portrayal of sporting life and achievement in general.

The way the film cuts between the real people interviews and the recreation scenes works better than I would have imagined they could.

The title doesn't lie. It just doesn't tell you what happens when you have "everything everywhere all at once"...you have a mess on your hands!

I can see it lighting up the eyes of a jaded script reader. I'm sure there are not many scripts like it.

But on-screen? It's overwhelming. It's ambitious. It has promise. A heart. But it's all too much for my lil brain to take in and digest at once. We may live in a multi verse but I'm no multi-tasker and this film demands me to be.

Michelle Yeoh is great. There's a lot of messed up stuff going on around her that I don't think was needed to tell the story it ultimately delivers.

Hold the hot chilli sauce a little next time I say.

Not sure why it has such a low score from the critics compared to the popcorn audience. I enjoyed it. Found it believable. Maybe it's too real. Making a champion is simple. But the simplest things can be difficult. And boring to watch perhaps. Perhaps it's just a little too British? Especially the ending. If you love sports biographies, it's worth a watch.

Hard to imagine a better sequel. It makes the 36 year gap between the two films feel like a brief intermission. (Remember when they used to have that at the movies?). If you loved the original - and who didn't back when it came out - this is like coming back for seconds with extra gravy.

It's hypnotic but ultimately baffling to me what this movie is about. I must be too naive or ignorant. Emily Browning as the Sleeping Beauty is stunning and believable to me. The rest of it is over my head. From a movie making point of view, there's no 'smoking the pipe' at least. It is stylishly shot in a comparatively low budget 'eyes wide shut' kind of way. The ending is as unsatisfying as the service offered must have been. The story has so many threads left where they lay. There are no hints, no clues clear enough for the vulgar or uninitiated like myself perhaps. Maybe that's it's point. It's as messed up as real life can be. There is no meaning.

All depression without any real transition as to the why? You just kind of have to accept that's just how it is once high school is over and feel their pain without any inkling of hope. Leave the knife and sleeping pills at home when you watch this one.

I'm sure it makes sense to the writer and everyone who put this together. I can tell it's meticulous. And clever. But I walked out at the end of this movie with no clue about what I just saw and little inclination to see it again just so I could TRY and work it all out. I was one of a group of 6 who all kinda felt the same. I'm calling it 'too hard'.

This story looks and moves poetically. Despite the gore of war, this movie has a beauty about it. The lead actress carries the film well. Yes, it's a predictable arc in many ways but the film drew me in and held my attention.

Stories like this make my blood boil. An overly conscientious guy who sticks by the rules gets the wrong end of the stick from the authorities he craves respect from. All for face, money or laziness. Clint does a good job of letting the story unfold in its ordinariness, yet compelling outcome. Clint, as director, fleshes out another beauty.

I found this film fascinating from beginning to end and very moving. It's themes are profound and it's subject surprisingly engrossing and meaningful. I have no idea if the antagonists are real or inserted for dramatic purposes: they feel a little too cartoony, but don't let that put you off seeing this movie. It is about things that really matter and it's well told.

I wanted to love this movie. The synopsis hooked me but the movie bored me. I fell asleep half way through the 3hr25min run time inc'g trailers. It's stunningly beautiful. The acting is moving. The story is worth telling. It's just a little too personal perhaps for the filmmaker. If this was a book, the editor would be saying 'murder your darlings'. It's a big theme. It's obviously meaningful to the movies creator and to anyone else who has wrestled with existential angst, God, or an examined life. I just believe it could have had more impact if it was half as long. Apparently the filmmaker has form here. It's a thing. I knew nothing of him or his previous work before buying my ticket off the back of a highish 7.4 score on the app. I'm glad I saw it and have now been introduced to his work but probably would go for a matinee session if I was you. I could hear the same 'too long' chatter from others on the way out.

It's slick, well done and not overly sensationalized. It's sad that this went on and probably still goes on. Is a slow burner of a movie, deliberately upping the stakes in a calculated almost documentary style fashion at times. Sadly this true story needs Margot Robbies fabricated character to really emphasise It's premise.

At first this felt surreal. The pace. The model setting. The hokey pokeyness of it all. But the more Tom Hanks' Mr Rogers spoke, the more depth this movie proved to have. It spoke to children and the child in all of us. But it's not a kids movie per se. Some lessons can take a lifetime to learn and this film was a reminder of the good that can come from simply being kind and decent. It didn't feel preachy - more like chicken soup for the soul. I wondered if over time this movie would one day be held in the same regard as that old time Hollywood classic, 'it's a wonderful life'. Both Jimmy Stewart and Tom Hanks have that kind of feel-good aura about them as people and not just actors. And to my mind, both films deal with the importance of unqualified love, family and community. I know die hard cynics will find fault with it, but I think it's a beautifully crafted movie and just what we need in this day and age of social media shouting and physical isolation. Don't hesitate to see it with an open heart.

Went in with zero expectations and came out happy to have seen it. Sure there's all the predictable generation gap gags and getting older plays but this thing has an interesting arc and a plot twist or two that surprised. There seems an ok balance between the fights, stunts etc and the story itself. It takes the mickey out of itself along the way too.

It's a little formulaic and Pc even but it gets the job done and is a nice break from doom and gloom and constant super hero and fantasy movies. There's not many surprises in store but the story is told with good talent and I never got bored. I had difficulty settling on whether this movie was set in the present or in the past. I lived in Busselton WA for a while in the eighties and the cars and homes used in the movie would have been old back then even. Even the computer games shown seem from way back. But smartphones and the 'net seem to exist so I guess it's just a grungy version of the present we're being thrown into. I liked the two young leads a lot and I reckon we can expect to see more of them. It's like old school Disney family entertainment. And it unashamedly owes a lot to 'karate kid', not that the kids this was made for would even know what that was anymore?

I didn't go I to this movie with any expectations and I came away happy with an increased understanding of Jazz in general and blue notes role in its growth. The founders story was inspiring for anyone who has ever wanted to follow their interest in business.

A brilliant film that captures the futility and absurdity of modern day bureaucracy for those who have fallen off the tracks and into their orbit. It doesn't gloss over it. It doesn't pretend there's a silver lining and it kind of lets you feel the slow grind it is. It's sobering.

Hilarious and so prescient. Full of classic scenes that forever bring a smile and illuminate history from a unique perspective. From a time when political correctness didn't get in the way of a giggle. Genius.

A convincing saga on the threads that bound American gangsters, politics and unions in post-war U S of A. It's not as dramatic as say the godfather, but rather highlights the banality of it all as it builds tension. It's long. Over 3 hours but I never got bored. DeNiro, Pacino and Pesci all deliver. It takes a stab at some long standing Jimmy Hoffa and Kennedy conspiracy theories and pins them proudly. If you reckon the world's corrupt and It's kill or be killed out there, this won't dissuade you.

Watching cars race around a track hasn't meant much to me since I grew out of scalextric, but this film's trailer brought some of those memories back and I jumped at a chance to see it. Fortunately this movie is so much more than cars racing around a track, as central as that is to the whole story. Bale and Damon are terrific. The whole cast were great actually. The story is gripping. The cinematography is awesome. The tale is bitter sweet. Just like any good dish should be. You don't have to be a petrol head to enjoy it, but if you are, there's very few car movies as good as this one. I never thought I'd see the day I'd be cheering for a Ford win, but this film took me there. Imagine a modern day take on 'Grand Prix' with James Garner but with Le Mans, not f1. And Ford not Honda. It's a winner for me.

Carl is the smallest of 11 children in a Jewish German family who leaves Germany for the USA and goes on to found universal studios, establish Hollywood as the movie capital of the world, and rescue many family and friends from the rise of nazi-ism. The trailer intrigued me and the film didn't disappoint. It's rags to riches. It's about family, fighting bullies, about backing people. It's about backing yourself. I found it fascinating. You know what they say about the truth in Hollywood: don't let it get in the way of a good story. I can't say how sanitized this is. I hesitated to see it but I am glad I bought my ticket. It was definitely worth the admission.

Enjoyed this a lot. Sure, there are moments where it feels a little too 'hit the marks' needed for the PC viewers.. Kind to the homeless, tick. Misunderstood refugees, tick. Cycling hero? Tick. Preachy. But hey, it is Christmas, 'tis the season to be jolly and all. It drew me in. It held my interest. It surprised me. It made me laugh. It made me tear up a little. The leads are great. The guy is a fair-dinkum modern-day version of an old fashioned hollywood star if you ask me. Smooth as. Well done to all.