yellowgixxer750 Reviews

Old Dads (2023)

Wasted opportunity - tired, trite, cliched nonsense

[3/10 · 24 October 2023]

It's funny - the quotes from the film are full of profanities, but if I were to put what I really thought of this then I suspect it would get rejected.

So I'll moderate myself. Something the producers of this film should also have done.

I had high hopes. I'd heard of Bill Burr and his style of humour. I'm a 60 year old former Royal Marine with little patience for the painfully PC wokeness of some elements of society. I figured I'd be able to empathise with some of the characters and have a laugh with (and sometimes at) them.

Oh was I mistaken. I thank God that the only similarity I have with any of the male characters is anatomical. They are without exception stupid, spineless bigoted arses.

Their wives/partners are universally shallow, spiteful and manipulative.

The supporting characters are 2 dimensional caricatures.

The entire plot is ridiculous (forgivable in isolation) and populated by walking, talking cliches. The script is lazy and unimaginative. Worse than that, it simply isn't funny. I actually found one part that made me chuckle briefly, and it was a scene in a car where a younger guy was trying to prove how right-on he is with to one particular older guy. I'll leave it at that.

I'm giving it 3 stars because it was well filmed and I'm feeling kind.

But honestly? It's crap. Don't bother.

The Intouchables (2011)

Better than I could ever have hoped

[10/10 · 17 May 2023]

I watched this film as part of my French degree course. I didn't want to - I'm tired, I have too much work with my day job and I'm not motivated.

Well I am now. It's 0300 and I'm buzzing.

This film is wonderful. The first 30 seconds had me hooked. The dialogue is fantastic, the acting is astonishing, the acting is sublime. The story has exactly the right amount of humour, pathos, conflict and social commentary. Very subtle social commentary - Disney could learn a lot from this film in how to get a message across without resorting to shmaltz.

Oh, the cinematography. That alone deserves an oscar. Not a single duff shot, and a lot of jaw-dropping wonderfulness.

Ultimately this is a love story, but not like that. It's a rite of passage story, but not like that. It's a story of redemption. But, um, not like that. It's a story that you can't help feeling good about at the end.

And isn't that what makes a truly great film?

The Gentlemen (2019)

Rude. Violent. Offensive in many ways. What's not to love?

[10/10 · 14 January 2023]

Guy Ritchie is one of those film makers you either love or hate. That's OK, because this is definitely one of those films - I can't imagine anyone being ambivalent about it.

Now when I first heard about it I saw the two headline stars and thought it would be some sort of rom-com. Somehow I managed tio remain under a rock for a while so I never realised just how wrong I was until I watched it on a flight. Which was unfortunate because it was late and I was laughing. A lot.

So if you were on that flight...sorry.

It's brilliantly acted. The casting is perfect - I love people playing out of character parts, and Hugh Grant most definitely isn't playing the usual, um, Hugh Grant.

The script is fantastic, with even the most offensive dialogue being used in such a way that it doesn't feel gratuitous and somehow becomes less offensive and more funny.

The violence is actually surprisingly low-key and again it's part of the story rather than thrown in to shock.

Yeah. I really enjoyed it. Particularly the scenes with The Coach...and I don't normally like Colin Farrell very much (haven't forgiven him for the truly awful Running Man reboot)

Formula 51 (2001)

Fantastic. Fan-f%^$@*ing-tastic

[9/10 · 14 January 2023]

It's not nice. It's not particularly big. But it is bloody clever.

This is a GREAT film. It's violent, chock full of bad language and worse behaviour and it made me laugh so hard I had to go to the loo.

There is literally nothing that doesn't work.

You will enjoy it. Unless you're easily offended, of course. In which case...you won't. Sacred cows are not safe in this film, but I think it probably works best if you're either a Brit or understand British culture and references.

The casting is inspired. The plot is clever, almost believable and hangs together nicely. The acting is as good as you'd expect with that A-list cast. The music is great.

You may think I enjoyed it. You'd be right...

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Good enough to suspend disbelief...mostly

[10/10 · 5 October 2022]

I'm biased as I was involved in the production of the first Top Gun as a pilot on exchange at Miramar at the time. But I'd waited for this and had high hopes that, if nothing else, it would be entertaining. It's Tom Cruise after all, and he rarely disappoints on that front.

So. There's a plot. It's a little bit cliched, but there's only so many new things they can come up with. There's the disgruntled offspring of the dead best friend. There's the grudging admiration of an old rival. There's the reluctant affection of an old flame. There's the bolshy kid with an attitude. All pretty standard.

Then there's the flying. Not standard. Not at all. Top Gun was beautifully formed. Maverick takes it up several notches and does it brilliantly. Without CGI. And it shows.

The script is well done, the dialogue is witty in places and cheesy in others. The acting is excellent.

And here's a thing. In the cold light of day my experience tells me that a major part of the main mission planning is nonsense. I'll not go into details because I don't want to put a spoiler. But sat there in the cinema, engrossed in the film, I didn't care. Disbelief was sufficiently suspended so that, even when I knew something wasn't right, I didn't care.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the mark of a great film.

No Time to Die (2021)

A fitting swansong for a great Bond

[9/10 · 7 October 2021]

So I'll admit it - I didn't like Daniel Craig as Bond when he was announced. He's too big, too conspicuous, too memorable to be convincing, I thought.

Then I saw Casino Royale and realised that I was mistaken - he may not look right but the character he played was *exactly* right.

So fast forward to 2021 and No Time to Die. Bit of a rubbish title and the theme was, um, yeah. It really is the last Daniel Craig Bond, and with Spectre (and, crucially, Skyfall) it had very big shoes to fill. Very big indeed.

As a man of a certain age I very much appreciated the musical and dialogue nods to OHMSS, which also sets the viewer on a completely wrong track as to the fate of one of the stars . (Trying not to put too many spoilers but I've set the flag anyway).

It did take a while to get going, sort of. But only sort of - there was some truly excellent scene setting which added to the film immensely. And, of course, when it did get going...it really did get going.

If I were to be completely honest, I suppose the film is a bit PC. But the world moves on. What was seen as acceptable for behaviour for Bond the hero in the 60s or 70s would have been utterly unreasonable by the 90s, even before MeToo. And that's OK - they were films of the time and so are the later ones. I'm not terribly PC but I didn't have a problem with Bond not being an arse/borderline sex pest. Nor do I have a problem with female characters being more than window (un)dressing. But if you're looking for a traditional old-school Bond flick...this isn't it.

There is humour. It's a bit more subtle than in earlier films, but it's there. There are beautiful women. There are gadgets. There are car chases, fights and sinister villains. The cinematography is breathtaking. And, and this is where Daniel Craig's Bond differs from most of the other films, there is a complex, nuanced plot. These are all Good Things.

The baddy wasn't especially impressive, but then again does he need to be? He was brutally, ruthlessly effective and didn't do histrionics. Like another reviewer, I don't quite understand why he wouldn't complete his perfectly reasonable goal and then vanish back into obscurity - he clearly didn't need the cash. But that's OK I guess. Bond villains can just be a bit unhinged and it's still true to form.

It's long. But not too long, and for me it didn't drag.

The end is not what I expected. Not at all. I'll leave it at that. Though (Spoiler) again like another reviewer commented, why couldn't he solve his problem with the EMP watch?

Overall it was a cracking good film which I enjoyed a lot. Not the best ever but, strangely, probably the most believable. Oh, and no helicopters doing impossible things (which as a helicopter pilot took the edge off Skyfall for me)...

Suicide Squad (2016)

Amusing in parts, but so many missed opportunities...

[4/10 · 5 August 2016]

Saw this at a preview last night. If I'd paid to see it I would probably have been more disappointed than I was.

Let's get the good bits out of the way.

Jared Leto as Joker. He's not Heath Ledger, but he didn't play the part like Heath Ledger did. He was...different. And quite disturbingly so. Yeah, he did alright.

Margot Robbie. Her character was just about the only one with any back story whatsoever, and consequently (aside from her being gorgeous and having the best lines) she was the only character about whom I cared.

Spoiler: Diablo. Great character, some back story, some actual depth (even if he was a walking cliché). But he's not going to be in the inevitable sequel, unless he has some other special power we don't know about. And how the hell did he suddenly become what he did at the end?

Deadshot. Jesus, Mr Smith. Are you that skint that you have to take whatever is offered, and that arrogant that you then just phone your performance in? You were out-acted by a headless corpse hanging from a climbing rig.

The rest of the characters, including the main not-really-good-woman and the main not- really-bad-villain were utterly two dimensional. Y'know, like they were drawn in a comic.

This could have been a great movie. It had a great cast and a really good premise. But DC really need to watch a few Marvel films and learn how it's done...

The Jungle Book (2016)

A dark and scary place...and that's just the cinema.

[7/10 · 18 April 2016]

OK, so if you're looking for a modernisation of the 1966 cartoon, move along - nothing to see here.

This is far closer in spirit, if not in story, to Kipling's original tales. The jungle is NOT full of cuddly, amusing, tuneful creatures all living hand in hand (paw in paw?) - far from it. It's got factions and villains. And the villains are really quite villainous.

I'm not going to deliver any spoilers. There are some brilliant characterisations, the production is magnificent and the casting inspired. But when I watched an early evening screening, there were a couple of times when the auditorium was full of the sound of whimpering children and adults trying to calm them. It's dark and violent, just like the jungle.

There is humour in there but it's unusually muted for a Disney film. And if there's some right-on trendy message...I missed it.

It's far from the best film I've seen, and it's not as captivating or entertaining as the cartoon. But it's definitely worth seeing, and it is beautiful to watch.

One thing I will say. Stay for the end credits. Even the kids will like them.

Spectre (I) (2015)

*Nearly* as good as Skyfall, certainly a worthy successor

[9/10 · 11 November 2015]

**OCCASIONAL POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILERS**

I sometimes read reviews of films and wonder if the reviewer saw the same film i did, or whether there's some alternate universe out there which occasionally touches here in IMDb reviews.

Spectre has provoked that thought. There are reviewers who hate it - that's fair enough, it's a subjective thing - but there are also reviewers who criticise things that I simply didn't see wrong.

Let me explain. One of the biggest criticisms is that Daniel Craig is obviously fed up and disinterested. I think that's nonsense - he's playing a character who is fed up and disenfranchised from his department, and he plays it very well. It's been said that Christopher Waltz's character is a bit flat. Maybe - he's clearly a psychopath and therefore emotionally detached (as well as clearly unhinged), so why wouldn't he seem a little flat?

There are faults. In one of the pivotal scenes, the Spectre equivalent of Bond being on Goldfinger's laser cutting table, I found myself wondering what the point of this complicated arrangement actually was. And, indeed, why it would have been built in the first place - it seemed to be a particularly single-minded device we'd not seen anywhere else. There's also the question of why the young lady was seen suddenly walking faster and purposefully before ending up embroiled in the final climax.

But it's a Bond film, and sometimes things don't need to add up. The point is that it is an extremely good Bond film. The opening sequence was brilliant, and as a helicopter pilot I have to say it's nice to see helicopters getting a better (and far more realistic) role. The plot is excellent, established characters continue to grow while new ones are (generally) given space to develop and the whole thing carries on very nicely where Skyfall left off. The thing I like the most is that this series of Bond films has managed to be a very subtle reboot without actually being a reboot at all. That's a trick of which the Q branch would be proud...

Spy (2015)

Very entertaining, but not for the easily offended

[9/10 · 21 June 2015]

Let me be honest. I love films which cleverly parody a genre. It almost doesn't matter what the genre is, I just love them.

This is one of those films. Yes, it's not especially subtle. But it's bloody funny. It's rude, it's violent, it has its tongue very firmly in its cheek and it really doesn't care who it offends.

Is it Oscar material? No. Not even nearly. But it's clever, it has a plot which, while not particularly sophisticated still works and it has some great comedy from some unlikely actors. Particularly Jason Statham, who is so ridiculously over the top that he stole the show for me.

I've never been a great Melissa McCarthy fan (sorry) but in this she was excellent.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

A fine way to spend an evening.

[9/10 · 10 June 2015]

Look. It's not going to win any Oscars. Unless they're for special effects, because they were actually pretty good. But it's an action movie and it ties in well with the others so far.

Characters have already been developed over the earlier films (and some of the TV shows as well) in general, though the few new ones who get introduced are a tiny bit shallow. Particularly Ultron, who could have been so much more sinister. I rather hoped he'd have that subtle menace of HAL...but this is Marvel and Stan Lee doesn't do subtle. Neither, it would seem, does Joss Whedon. Which is fair enough.

I agree with one of the other reviewers that the vaguely romantic back story doesn't work without having a lot more attention, and I also agree that some of the peripheral characters were either wasted of a distraction.

But you know what? I sat down at the beginning and then it was over. It certainly didn't drag and I certainly didn't feel as though I'd been ripped off. A damn' fine way to spend an evening, in fact.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

It had big shoes to fill...

[9/10 · 2 March 2015]

...but managed pretty well.

There's a terrible risk with producing a sequel to a unique, quirky and successful movie. For want of a better cliché, it's flogging a dead horse.

This film confronted that risk and trounced it soundly. I was wondering how the heck the producers would manage it, and went to the cinema expecting to be disappointed at best and mildly annoyed at worst. But no. I left uplifted, happy and feeling as though I had wasted neither the time nor the ticket price.

The characters continue to develop. New characters are introduced but are generally given the chance to have their own back stories as well. The film genuinely manages to give the impression of being a candid look at the lives of a disparate bunch of people - their interactions, hopes, fears, prejudices and so on are all laid bare for us, as before, yet somehow it still manages to feel fresh.

There are real, proper laughs, some fantastic one-liners and some very well done moments of pathos. It's beautifully filmed and the big set-pieces are a delight.

In short it steps into the large boots of its predecessor, and fills them nicely. Go and see it.

Skyfall (2012)

Best Bond film ever?

[9/10 · 26 October 2012]

Shockingly, because I don't actually think Daniel Craig is right for the role, yes. This is the best Bond film ever made.

I should probably qualify that. I believe that Daniel Craig brings an intensity and a simple nastiness to the character of Bond that is absolutely spot on. He doesn't milk the one liners, though they are there in abundance. He doesn't play for laughs or camp it up. He makes it very plain that, basically, James Bond is a killer. A sophisticated and disciplined killer, but a killer nonetheless. And that's important. The trouble is that he's just too damn' conspicuous. If Daniel Craig walked into a room you'd notice and you'd remember. And that's no good at all - you want anonymity for that job.

Back to the film. The plot is excellent, the script perfect and the acting generally very good indeed, as you might expect. Special effects are nicely done and strike a good balance. Not once did I sit back and scoff "Well that's nonsense" or something along those lines. Nor did I ever have certain knowledge of what was coming next. In fact there were more surprises than usual.

I'll be going to see it again. Maybe more than once. Because it really was that good. Certainly in my top few films ever made, and way ahead in the Bond stakes...

Iron Sky (2012)

A marmite movie - you'll either love it or hate it

[8/10 · 13 June 2012]

As you can see from my score, I really enjoyed this film for what it is - a highly unrealistic, tongue firmly in cheek dig at, well at quite a few things, actually.

There's actually some pretty good science fiction in here, particularly with regard to technology developing in isolation. Or, um, not, as the case may be. Think about it logically and you'll see what I mean (not going to go into details if you haven't seen the film). Obviously, there's also a vast amount of utter nonsense, but overall it's hugely entertaining with several subtle (or not so subtle) references to other movies along the way. The Nazis are suitably wicked, the good guys are suitably noble (though I'm afraid the James Washington character had the same effect on me as Ja-Ja Binks) and the President is, well, she made me smile. Oh, and the ladies are really rather attractive. I'm reliably informed by a friend in the audience that the male lead is quite good looking as well, though he did nothing for me.

So in short, if you're looking for highbrow sophisticated comedy, good taste or a rom-com of any sort, go elsewhere. If you're looking to be entertained by some fairly clever humour, some pretty good special effects and a stupid story that works anyway then this could be your bag, baby.

One criticism though. For me, the last two or three minutes spoilt the film. Worthy messages do not belong in movies like this, I feel. But maybe I'm just a philistine.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011)

Not just for bikers

[8/10 · 20 April 2011]

I have to declare an interest here. I've raced the TT myself, for real, in the mid eighties. I didn't enjoy it very much, in fact I was scared and miserable just about the whole time I was there, and never went back.

Some people get the TT. Some people don't. There is definitely a particular type of character that gels with the Island, though, and this film is more about the characters than the bikes. As such, you could take someone who doesn't ride, put them in front of the screen and they would probably find plenty to enjoy.

It's beautifully shot, the people featured are real and unaffected (as well as being genuinely funny at times) and tension, drama and pathos are all there in spades. The music is appropriate and the 3D is just enough to add something without it being in your face.

To be honest, the only thing I didn't get was the choice of narrator. But he says so little that his rather wooden "I'm reading this and trying not to sound too American" delivery doesn't really detract from it.

No, this is a good film that takes probably the best try yet at telling the world what the TT is actually all about, and what makes people go and risk everything for a cup. A pretty big, impressive cup, it true, but a cup nonetheless. It's also a good example of what can be done when someone takes the time to film things carefully, because some of the footage is truly stunning.

I'm glad I saw it.

The Karate Kid (2010)

It's not a remake...but that's a Good Thing

[8/10 · 28 August 2010]

I didn't want to go see this film. I saw, and enjoyed, the original, and I have an almost pathological dislike of remakes of perfectly good films. Because they invariably suck.

I was wrong on at least two counts.

First, and perhaps most important, this is a remake in title only. There is essentially nothing in common with the earlier film of the same name.

And second, it's actually a very good film. It combines laughs with pathos, action with some astoundingly beautiful landscapes, a serious message with genuine entertainment. If you're looking for "The English Patient" or "Enter the Dragon" then you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a film that will involve you, engross you and entertain you without a single dull moment then yes, step right in and sit down. You've come to the right place.