[Spoiler Alert] Film reviews and ratings

ballad of buster Scruggs.

6 comic short storys,the coen brothers ode to the west.8/10

 

Agree that this was pretty good, especially for being a Netfllx film. In all honesty, the format fitted it perfectly, and further, the way they did this was what they should have done with Hail Caesar!

 

'Dirty Grandpa' (2016) - stupid and OTT but got a few good laughs.

 

Holmes and Watson

Oh dear. 2018 has not been a good year for comedies, and the trend was continued here. It's pretty much the same couple of jokes played upon repeatedly throughout, such as reflecting on Victorian attitudes etc compared with the modern world, sexual attitudes, etc, which just grew more eye rolling as it went on. Not good. Obvbviously attention to historical detail in a comedy does not need to be all that, here it just completely jumps the shark, especially in relation to the inclusion of the Titanic, is not just dumb, it's insultingly moronic. The sort of thing that can get away with if the film were aimed at families and kids, but it's clearly not. It's just bad. Will Ferrell has made some stinkers... this has to rank as one of the worst.

There was a chance to do something quite clever with the source material and characters - such as what Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley did in Wihout a Clue with these characters - but this was just... to say it is mediocre is to give it too much credibility.

When Blockers emerges from the year as probably the best out and out comedy (and that was only... OK - certainly not by any stretch a classic) you know there are issues. Teen Titans Go to the Movies was good, and have seen Stan and Ollie, which was very good also. But neither of those were written as out and out comedies, yet both were far more clever, more amusing and entertaining than any of tthe films that were made with the intent of being comedies.

Let's hope 2019 has better in store.

 

Watching 'Attack The Block' just now (Netflix) I * love it so far.

 

^ 10/10

 

Black Panther - reallly enjoyed it.

 

Searching.

Really enjoyed it. It's about a Father trying to find his missing Daughter and it's all shot at the view of his/her laptop, or phone.

 

Watched Bird Box last night. It was a lot of * but the acting was spot on. The bit were the big fat wummin tossed hersel oot the window after being forced to look was funny

A stupid story but well presented 7/10



PS The ending made me want to gouge my eyes out and join them in there wee sanctuary.

 

The Night Comes For Us. 9.5/10.

* brilliant action film. Like The Raid on steroids.

If anyone’s a fan of the Raid films then give this a watch. A lot of the same cast with a bigger budget and better overall production.

Imo Uwais and Julie Estelle must be ready for a big break in Hollywood.

 

Welcome to Marwen

Steve Carell and Robert Zemeckis... what could go wrong? Answer: Pretty much everything. It's dull, lacks charm and near impossible to relate or emote with. Essentially a guy engages a doll fixated singular Walter Mitty-esque complex as a coping mechanism. Why anyone was convinced that this true story would make for a captivating, or in any way entertaining, tale to get this greenlit is beyond me. All the way through you keep waiting for that moment when it would come together or that when, why this story deserved to be told is revealed, but it never is. Uf this was supposed to be award bait, wow did it fail! There was a semi-steady one way traffic of those that walked out and didn't bother to return... and in hindsight don't blame them. Waste of talent and get the impression even half way through that the talent themselves felt they were wasting their time on this. Avoid.

The Favourite

It's that time of year again, when the films likely to feature at the awards season are rolled out, and this is a perfect example. The 3 leads (Rachael Weiss, Emma Stone & Olivia Coleman) are all in fine form, the script is sharp and darkly comic in places, the score (which is clunky, annoying and irritible) underlines the story and tenious dynamic at the heart of the story. A few liberties are taken with historical accuracy but overall, it does the drain and strain, the fake, the absurd and the trivialities, eccentricities and frustrations of those around Anne, and indeed of Anne herself, both with those around her and herself.

Aquaman

Went into this with lowered expectations, given DC's previous poor efforts with Justice League, Batman v Superman etc, but this definitely is one of their better efforts, along with Wonder Woman. Admittedly not a superhero that ever really captured my imagination, and although would not say I was blown away and not really able to comment about the effects etc, was able to get into the story enough, especially with the world building and appropriation of the Arthur legend into this also. The criticism would have would be that the 2 chief antogonists are both pretty one dimensional but as this is a tale about the protagonist's arch it served the purpos and left the door open for the future also.

 

'Kicks' (2016) - wee guy gets his shoes stolen,quality movie.

 

Bumblebee

Took the kids to the cinema to see this not expecting much.
Actually really enjoyed this. Transformers are based off the cartoon version we all remember from the 80s and you can actually tell them all apart unlike the Bay films.
Cracking soundtrack and some proper lol moments as well.
Miles better than any of the Bay films.


Solo : A Star Wars Story

Doesn’t feel like Star Wars even though there’s Empire everywhere and it has the Millenium Falcon and Chewie.
It was still entertaining in places but I’m still not sure about it. Will have to give it a second watch.

 

Sounds interesting. I like the idea of the Digital Age being embraced by writers', not just culturally but the way we communicate too, there's surely loads of original material there. Won't be long before the first serious film shot with a smartphone is released with the next generation cameras about to get really serious.

@Taz I know what you mean about good comedies being very rare, I almost put it up there with Horrors, a genre that seems only effective if you're under 12. Mind you, I was one of the rare folk that Blair Witch put the fear into, I was giving it 5/10 before the ending. I think that is the last film that made me scared after I seen Halloween aged 10. I couldn't believe Paranormal Activity was so popular cause it was like, really, this is serious film making? They're just making arbitrary noises that our base instinct will react to. You ever seen an advert for that ghost hunter show? It's hilarious, all night light camera and folk shouting 'what was that!? Did you hear that? Hear what?' Then someone throws something on the floor, 'aaaarrrrggghhhh!!!!' Tune in tonight to see what the team found in 'the basement'. Their careers. I'm going to pitch the Paranormal producers, the next big comedy will be all smilies, a picture says soo much more than words, look at my review of your movies

I think the Laurel and Hardy film is on BBC4? Must record it next time.

Although I admit the genre is strange, it's a very fine line from bad to good, for instance I thought Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber were excellent but every comedy I've bothered to look at since seems to be trying to mine the same material and they've all got the same * actors who are not character actors playing the same characters, themselves. I think we're supposed to like the personalities so much we think anything they do and say is hilarious. It's been a long time since I've suffered more than 15 minutes of the latest hit comedy.

I must check out that Coen brothers film you mentioned. Have they ever made an even mediocre film? Everything seems to be the highest form of the art in a way normal punters like myself can enjoy without having to understand references/style etc. That guy who does movie reviews for the BBC is some laugh when he gets into his stride fecking Doestoyevski and Trauffaut and of course Sartre are going to get mentioned at one point, just give it a 1 out of 10 ffs I would love to understand it at that level though.

It lost a complete fortune but I liked Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, don't know why it was so poorly received. I mean it's a really silly film but it's a roller coaster of style and wit. 5th Element is quite similar vibe wise yet was very popular although Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman probably helped. Besson is great at making action movies in the Cinema du look style. The best in that genre is Betty Blue by Benoix, stunning.

Talking of high art, I watched Mudbound recently and that reminded me of what an incredibly high art acting is. So much power from so much subtlety.

 

Phonebooth is one of my favourite films ever, all filmed in one place essentially. Been trying to find a good psychological thriller to compete with it the past few days.


The Belko Experiment
6.5/10

I love this type of film. 80 employees are suddenly locked into their work place and given deadly instructions over the speaker. Keeps you on edge.

Unknown (2006)
3.5/10

5 guys wake up locked in a warehouse with no memory of who they are or why they're there. Tries to be too shocking too often with the twists and flashbacks. I lost interest

The Loft (2014)
7/10

5 guys go splits on a room where they can each cheat on their wives in peace. They find a woman dead on the bed and have to decipher who the culprit is. I really enjoyed it.

Geralds Game
4/10

All a bit too much for me with the hallucinations. Based on a Steven King novel. Didn't do it for me.


I don't hand out 8s, 9s and 10s too easily

 

Watched The Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump over the last few days. Not much to say other than the fact they are both fantastic. Both were released in 1994, with Forrest Gump winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. Personally think Shawshank is a superior film but what a year for films that was with those two.

Also watched Mystic River last night. Top notch acting from the main 3 actors and an interesting story. Such a grim and sad ending.

 

Two out of three of these I would agree with. Shawshank and Mystic River are both great.

There was some fantastic films around 1994 (though Mystic River was around the turn of the millennium), with Shawshank and Pulp Fiction especially vivid in the memory, and in my opinion, both are vastly superior to Gump. Was never as big a fan of Forrest Gump, for various reasons, not least of which because it is an insincere and saccarine homage to the baby boomer generation, but am aware that I'm in the minority on that one.

However there was so much crap on at the time as well. I remember going to the cinema with my GF at the time and the cinema was not some huge multiplex, but only had the 3 screens which was pretty standard at the time. We elected to go to see Shawshank Redemption, not knowing anything about it, simply because it wasn't based on an arcade game (Streetfighter) or a sequel (Sister Act 2 or Beethoven's 2nd) that were the alternative options. As the only film that wasnt those things we went to it by default, and it was a fantastic movie. Ironically, Shawshank which is now regarded as one of the best movies ever, was not particularly successful at the time, and it was only through word of mouth that those that did see it spread the word, so that it found it's audience when it was released on video. It's ironic but true, one of the best movies of all time was far from being a success and grew ever since. Same with something like It's a Wonderful Life.

 

The main issue with Forrest Gump is that it sends out the message that any idiot can achieve anything, as long as you work hard and do what you're told, while if you fight the system then you'll end up with AIDS and die, but it's still quite an enjoyable watch. Given how far fetched Gump's fake achievements are in the film, I think most people would take the story with a pinch of salt.