andymclennan's Reviews

Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)

5/10

4 July 2022

Starts out promisingly, (though the very first scene is unnecessary nonsense), as we hear O'Bannon's story, how the script evolved and how we almost ended up with a Corman movie. Then we move on to Ridley Scott and how he salvaged Giger's input.

Then it goes totally off track with some pseudo-intellectuals over-thinking things and making utterly ridiculous allegations about the film's intent.

If you like watching pretentious twaddle, stick around for the second half, otherwise do yourself a favour and just enjoy the first half.

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The Beatles: Get Back: Part 1: Days 1-7 (2021)

Season 1, Episode 1

10/10

Stunning

25 November 2021

The mini series kicks off with The Beatles preparing to put on a gig which is also being recorded for an album. At the same time a film crew documents the process.

Watching songs you've known and loved for decades taking shape for the very first time is a real privilege, this is a superb documentary.

Seeing Paul randomly strum his bass and hearing it gradually turn into an all-time classic is incredible.

The lack of a commentary adds to the "fly on the wall" feeling and it's all so natural.

The footage itself is astonishingly good quality, it feels like it was shot last week.

As for "The Boys", they're fascinating, entertaining and frequently funny to watch.

Jackson has created a masterpiece here, I can't wait for part two.

Brilliant stuff.

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The Ninth Configuration (1980)

1/10

Deep and meaningless

26 August 2021

I'll start by admitting that I didn't make it to the end... it wore me down until I was utterly bored.

I was drawn in by reviews mentioning "the true Exorcist sequel" What? Apart from Blatty there's no connection whatsoever.

Nothing makes sense. There's no real story, just hundreds of pretentious moments, one after another... and another... mumbling meaningless dialogue.

With so much talent in the cast and behind the camera I expected it to at least hold my attention, but it comes across as a drama student's attempt to show how edgy they are.

I don't mind arty and odd as long as it takes me somewhere. Sadly, this didn't.

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Coming 2 America (2021)

7/10

Great sequel

5 March 2021

This film is loaded with something that so many movies lack these days; a sense of fun.

Murphy and Hall are on form and the newest cast additions fit in really well... and the return of some old favourites.

Ignore the bad reviews, sit back and enjoy it. If nothing else you'll love all the excellent (and surprising) cameos and a great soundtrack.

It's hard to recreate the originality of the first film but it's a solid effort with a lot of heart and a whole lot of fun.

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Midsommar (2019)

2/10

Very disappointing.

3 December 2020

I can't believe that this is the same director that did Hereditary, this is a massive let down. Unbearably slow - which I could forgive if the characters and story were more interesting - and leads towards an obvious predictable conclusion. I really really wanted to like this but I couldn't, it's bad on every level.

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1917 (2019)

5/10

Technically brilliant

19 January 2020

There's no disputing that this film is a technical masterpiece and a brave piece of film making... but it's also tediously slow and dull.

Sam Mendes spent so long working out how he could that he forgot to ask if he should.

It's unique and will sweep up at the awards but it takes more than originality to make a film interesting.

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The War of the Worlds (2019)

4/10

Oh dear.

1 December 2019

This had so much potential, I was really looking forward to seeing this in its period setting.

Unfortunately the BBC treated it as one of their usual costume dramas and threw in some sub-standard vfx that Dr. Who would have rejected.

The screenplay must have been written by one of the Brontes.

What a wasted opportunity.

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Creed II (2018)

4/10

So predictable

13 February 2019

I really enjoyed the first film, but this one is so predictable and derivative, they've clearly run out of ideas.

The training and fight sequences (which make a Rocky movie a Rocky movie) only make up a short percentage of the running time. In between those sequences is where this really suffers - "Mr and Mrs Creed" are no Rocky and Adrian.

The fights are decent enough but it's all too predictable. Time to let this franchise die with dignity.

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Toast of London (2012–2020)

10/10

Yes, I can hear you Clem Fandango

30 March 2018

Everything about this show is brilliant, one of the best comedies in years.

I particularly love the studio segments where Toast records voiceovers for a bunch of idiots. Having worked in a Soho studio for decades, I can confidently state that those scenes aren't much of an exaggeration.

There's a great csst, but the star is obviously Matt Berry, who produces another eccentric character to join the list of odd people he's portrayed.

I'm not sure if there'll be another series- it's been a couple of years now... but I really hope so.

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

5/10

Not awful, but pretty pointless.

18 January 2018

I'm not averse to a remake if it's done well, but there has to be a reason for it. For example:

*If the original wasn't much good (definitely not the case).

*The original is really old and needed updating (a remake after just two years is ridiculous quite frankly).

*The remake offers a new take on a story (nope, it's pretty much a scene for scene copy).

I really can't see the necessity for this film, the original is superior in every way - there;s even an English (dubbed) version on the Blu ray for those people that are allergic to subtitles.

Craig and Mara are fine actors, but they pale in comparison to the original cast in this story. Noomi Rapace in particular portrays Lisbeth Salander as gritty, troubled and above all interesting and (in my opinion) is a lot closer to the character in the book.

Not an awful remake, but just so unnecessary.

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Lucifer (2016–2021)

3/10

Such a wasted opportunity

17 November 2017

I really wanted to like this show, it's such a great idea - The Devil on vacation in L.A... it could have been so much fun.

Unfortunately the idea is ruined by weak writing and a truly awful lead.

I thought at first (not having heard of Ellis) that it was an American actor trying to do a "Briddish" accent and failing miserably... I was astounded to discover that he is a Brit.

His voice is whiny, and he is smug. You could forgive a bit of smugness, Lucifer would no doubt be quite proud of himself, but he's also boring.

He's The Prince of Darkness! Shouldn't he have a bit more fun with his powers? They should have Taken a leaf out of Supernatural's book, Mark Pellegrino has much more fun with a similar role.

Very disappointing.

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Magellan (2017)

1/10

Awful.

23 June 2017

It's rare that I abandon a film halfway through, but that was the case with this.

I spotted this on SyFy the other night and after reading a few good reviews on here, decided to record it.

Right from the first scene something wasn't right. It looked "cheap".

I put that down to the first scene being in a spaceship environment, shot from the on-board cameras, but that wasn't the case. Everything looked terrible.

A decade ago I'd have said it looked like it was shot on video rather than film, but in the digital age I'm not sure what the equivalent is. Whatever it is it looked amateur and "budget".

The Magellan itself was a joke, the interior was a small white room with a couple of screens added to make it look techy.

I wonder what the budget was for this film. $50? $100? Looks like most of it went to Commander Nelson's hairdresser.

I could have stuck with it hoping that it improved, but I really couldn't bear to watch any more after enduring the first 30 minutes.

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Banshee Chapter (2013)

7/10

An unexpected treat

22 June 2014

I'd never heard of this film, (and only recognised two of the cast) but found it while channel hopping last night.

The blurb sounded promising so I thought I'd give it a go and I was glad I did.

The film felt very "indie", a simple (if somewhat odd) idea nicely executed. Other reviews have described it as "Lovecraftian", and that description works well (there is even mention of Lovecraft at one point).

The mood is one of hidden lurking menace, never fully seen, only glimpsed. There were several excellent "jump out of your seat" scares, but even those were tastefully done. The acting is low key and the roles well cast.

I'm not going to say much more as I'd love people to discover this underrated little gem for themselves.

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After Earth (2013)

1/10

Woeful

15 February 2014

The trailer looked good, the blurb looked good, and I love sci-fi. Despite his critics, I also (usually) enjoy Shyamalan's work.

Not so in this case.

The plot was dull, the art direction was just weird (and not in a good way), but the worst thing by far was the acting.

If you're going to cast someone as quiet, introverted and enigmatic, don't cast Will Smith! He's great when doing his usual wise-cracking cool Men In Black thing, but mumbled his way through the whole film with an expressionless face.

Then of course we have to mention Son Of Smith. Talented parents do not guarantee talented kids, and that's definitely the case here. Jaden Smith simply cannot act; if it wasn't for his father he wouldn't be in the business.

Avoid this film, it's awful.

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Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

4/10

So much wasted potential

25 November 2013

Warning: Spoilers

I really wanted to like this film.

Actually, I wanted to love it - I'm a big horror fan and a sound engineer, so I was really looking forward to seeing Berberian Sound Studio.

It started off so promisingly, it was an excellent premise, looked beautiful and obviously (as you would expect) the sound design was superb.

*Warning, spoilers after this point*

Around half way through I started to wonder when something was going to happen. Don't get me wrong, I'd really been enjoying things up to this point, revelling in the period setting and use of traditional foley methods being demonstrated... but nothing happened.

Sure, there were lots of "incidents", but lots of incidents can only entertain you for so long. They need to lead somewhere, and sadly, they just didn't.

Three quarters of the way through and things took a turn for the bizarre (normally a good thing, but not in this case).

Gilderoy could suddenly speak Italian, where before his mastery of the language was pretty much non-existent.

Why? How? Nothing was explained. Was the film he was working on actually the film we were watching? If that was the intent, it could have been explored and explained more fully.

As for the ending, total let down. I've seen some films that "just stopped" to good effect, but doing it here merely added to the frustration.

To summarise: If you like films that look great and sound amazing (and especially if you are "in the business" you will get some enjoyment out of this film, but ultimately, it's very unsatisfying.

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Southland Tales (2006)

1/10

What a mess!

2 November 2008

I was looking forward to this film; good cast and an interesting premise.

After 5 minutes I was confused, after ten I was disappointed, after twenty I gave up.

Before anyone accuses me of being dumb or a lightweight, I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent and film-literate, but this was just a mess.

I've enjoyed confusion at the hands of David Lynch, so I don;t mind a bit of disjointedness.

I really can't remember the last time I gave up on a film, I can usually stick with anything until the end, but this just made my head hurt and gave nothing in return.

Donnie Darko was confusing, yes, but at least it was interesting. The only thing that intrigued me about Southland Tales was how such a decent cast was lured into this shambles. Did any of them understand a word of what they were saying?

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