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Mandy (2018)
Trippy, Fun and Nicolas Cage.
Had few expectations for Mandy, particularly as I avoided reviews and simply wanted an unbiased view. So happy I did it this way and let the whole crazy experience unravel.
I do think the initial slow start may turn people off, yet I thought the story paced quite well, if not a bit too dark at times, one scene tripped my signal output, but in itself was an amusing event.
This is a unique revenge movie, you don't hear that said (genuinely) very often and with Nick at the helm, he gives another over the top performance - as do the rest of the cast.
Obviously this movie isn't for everbody, I thoroughly enjoyed it and if you enjoys Cages' acting, then this is one for you.
Just don't rip his favourite shirt.
Think I managed to avoid spoilers!
The Lair (2022)
What Did You Expect?
Have seen far, far worse than this and it wasn't mind blowing, but didn't mind sitting through it, to credits.
This is no masterpiece, by all means, the CGI was too low quality for imprinting and it showed in all the scenes. The closing scene was amusing, considering it was supposed to be the great finale and can only imagine budget constraints made this look laughable.
Why do movies of this nature try to emulate the font style of The Thing.
Suspect it's a ruse to make you think it's better than it is, yet this movie does try to take things from other movies in the survival horror genre, shame that.
B Movie at best, watchable if bored, it's not horrendous, yet could have done better with some imagination and more cash.
Acting was somewhat credible, apart from the accents, I'd swear Jamie Bamber struggled with the Texan lilt, sounded off.
If you find this for free, then give it a go, not worth the ticket price, it's stupid, clichéd, yet ok to fill some time with.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Meh, Flag Waving Junk
As much as I enjoy Tom Cruise movies, this franchise has bored me to tears, it's cheesy and romanticises American imperialism. USA good, everybody else bad.... quite the opposite.
Flight sequences aren't bad, yet I can get the same fun in a simulator - without any cheese.
Guessing that maybe my views aren't popular, but they're my opinions and Top Gun Maverick, really isn't great and it's something I'll not bother watching again, only just about made it to the end.
Triumph over adversity, pushing forward the agendas of an unwanted invader, cliché, cliché, cliché. If that floats your boat, then this is for you. But definitely leave your brain in the garage for this, completely dumb.
Vesper (2022)
Have Patience And Enjoy A Thoughtful Movie
This is what Sci-Fi is about, the telling of new ideas. It's not all about spaceships, lasers, cyborgs and aliens... although in this case the aliens are nature. GM organisms that have escaped the lab and taken root, a terrible and credible threat.
Whilst this is set in a dystopian future, the oligarchs have sealed themselves in, to protect themselves, whilst Joe Public has to scrape a living outside.... it is the new dark ages.
A great spin on an environmental apocalypse, yet there's no hench hero(ine) spouting cheesy one liners. Initially, only a thirteen year old girl, her dying father and his hovering bot.
Conceptually, this is an original movie and I think the audience's are divided due to it being European. When most Hollywood sci-fi stories are huge budget ADHDfests, this isn't; it's slow, deliberate, atmospheric, with just enough world building to allow your imagination to run riot - without overcompensating for the lowest, common denominator in the audience.
My experience is that Vesper does what many stories in this genre fail to do, make you think about what's happening, what could happen, if it could and so on.
What I would consider a shame, is that some years on, Hollywood takes this and remakes Vesper into one of its vehicles. You never know, in some years this could become a cult classic, as an oft overlooked entry into the genre.
For now, it certainly won't appeal to everybody who likes sci-fi, but will to those wanting a fresh, slow paced, look into a future, then give it go. Leave your brain switched on for this one.
6 Underground (2019)
Michael Baaaaaay. That's it.
Anybody having any high brow ideas forget it.
You know what to expect from the outset, so why complain and bemoan this movie really is beyond me.
Admittedly it gets a bit jumbled in places, trying to keep the momentum going, it does show, yet we are treated to a big budget Netflix action extravaganza.
It was a fun movie, utterly ridiculous and has Ryan Reynolds being his usual self. Rest of the cast perform just as well and we have explosions, gunplay and car chases. I think this covers it all, so why he disappointed?
Personally, I do enjoy Mr. Bay's movies, because I know my brain can be parked in the other room and be treated to seeing millions of dollars going up in smoke and CGI...all in the name of entertainment...awesome!
If you enjoy no brain action movies and Ryan Reynolds, for any reason you choose, then this is well worth the run time of almost two hours and ten mins.
Come on, say it after me........
Michael Baaaaaay.
The Seed (2021)
Why the Hate? Far Better Than Anticipated.
Deciced this was going to form the main screening of my Shudder Halloween double bill, that and Revealer.
Will admit to being quite surprised and satisfied The Seed exseeded my expectations - I know, I know, just had to put that in!
Firstly will say that this movie imitates an American production very well and had me fooled, until I sat through the closing credits, so kudos for that sleight of hand, as you can usually tell right away. The choices of location for outdoor shooting worked very well. I presume good old Pinewood Studios provided the internal stages and the two merged seemlessly.
At first I genuinely disliked the main leads, but that's part of the illusion; two vapid, shallow "Influencers" and their long suffering, doormat friend head out to Daddy's place in the desert, observe a so called meteor shower and even they can just about tell, there's something off with it.
For the first part of the movie, these ladies will grate on your nerves, but it does lead to a far better treat, further on in the story.
I believe the characters were intentionally annoying, for a better way of demonising them without doing anything. This, I thought, was a good ploy to disassociate the viewer from showing any empathy towards the two. Never do you think "Awww, that's a shame, they were great people." Instead, you want horrible things happening to them.
I have seen a lot....and I mean a lot of horror/sci fi/body horror movies and found this to be a worthy entry into this genre, as it really didn't disappoint.
Won't give away too many spoilers here, as others are doing it and feel that this is a much maligned popcorn treat. Bizarrely, I found myself thinking about this, well after the credits had ended, which wasn't the plan!
There is a scene where the alien is lying, propped up, in bed and the only thing lacking is it holding a cigarette. Once you place that thought in your mind, after the previous set piece, it becomes all the more comedic - for me at least.
As far as comedy goes, it does have some moments, but the light heartedness soon gives way to the underlying story and being a contemporary horror, really hit the spot.
If this is Sam Walker's directorial debut, then I want to see more of his work, as the story does meander slightly, at first, then stays on track, for some rather enjoyable twists. Not completely predictable, yet just enough turns to make this a compelling watch.
Can't get this far without mentioning the creature, so I shall. The team behind it did a great job, as you don't really have a clue as to what it becomes and that was a treat in itself. Like all good creatures, it's nasty, unpleasant, yet oddly endearing - for a short while.
Without a doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed this yarn and feel the hate it's gotten on this site is puzzling. Can only presume those that disliked it either do not appreciate this genre or had expectations beyond what was being conveyed. This is one of my favourite genres, but am still critical, when necessary because there's some awful movies, but this really isn't one of them.
I would urge you to watch this, with the lights off, volume up and grit your teeth for the first 20 minutes, because I reckon you'll walk away with a similar view I had, just give it the much deserved love it needs.
The Seed has genuinely made it into decent movie territory and be wary of meteor showers!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Finally, We Get A Spin Off for the Fans!
Having just finished the first season, am very happy that we got a Star Trek spin off, that feels true to form.
STD was a joke (including it's acronym), it catered to be as inclusive as possible, with terrible stories which pushed that agenda even further - right down our throats.
SNW had me by the opening credits of episode 1, it just felt like TOS in every way, which was the intention. Initially, had some trepidation about watching this, thinking it to be another weak story, to push the franchise further into the dirt, but am happy to say how wrong I was.
Anson Mount is the perfect choice for Pike and we see how Kirk picked up his gung ho attitude from his mentor, along with Ethan Peck, who plays Spock, true to form.
The rest of the cast are equally as proficient in making this series enjoyable and the stories are made from the original template of morality and old fashioned story telling.
What I would consider a nod to the fan base, are close ups of the Tricorder and Communicator, as a kid, I always wanted to see how they worked and we get some teasing details in SNW.
Overall, I wanted to have at least one bad thing to say about this series, but can't find any rational reason to, as I loved every minute of this and it's rare for me to say that about Star Trek, of late.
SNW has given me hope that we can have a spin off, that is aimed at the die hard fans and not the SJW's amongst us, this I have to applaud. So, if we're lucky, the rest of the seasons will be just as exciting and fresh as the former...fingers crossed eh!
Final words: If like me, you have become tired of gender politics being rammed down our throats, in the form of entertainment, then rejoice as SNW keeps that stuff to tolerable levels and instead gives us some good, old fashioned Star Trek, with a lick of 2022 paint. So again, if like me, you've become tired of how Star Trek has gone downhill recently, you'll be pleased to know that SNW breathes new life into the franchise and this is a series not to be missed!
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
An Underrated Gem
Watched this with my partner who had read the book and explained that it's a difficult story to make a movie from.
Where scenes that use graphical intensity to portray scents are incredibly difficult to translate, I feel this movie tries it's best to do justice to the novel.
It's best to describe this movie as a summary of the key parts of book, as how do you portray scent in a film?
Overall, this is a great rendition and the run time of 2:27:00 is quite justified. I felt there was no filler and every minute was crafted to give justice to this story and anything shorter would be a betrayal of what is being conveyed.
Performances by the cast are exceptional, as should be expected from the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman and Ben Wishaw etc and a film project they should look on as a triumph from a difficult to render book.
All in all, this a surprisingly good movie, that captures the filth of Paris, the obsession and determination of the lead character and a fascinating delve into the power of scent.
Gruesome at times, relentless in trying to keep to the source material and acted well, Perfume is a movie for any fan of the murder genre, which is a surprising hit.
I gave this 9/10 mainly because of not being able to translate the power of scent into graphical portrayal, which had to be very hard, but was taken in an enjoyable direction regardless.
I had very few faults with this movie and that's rare for me, as I usually spend the run time dissecting scenes with credibility and logic and generally trying to find fault. But Perfume far exceeded my expectations and for that I am truly thankful. This is a joy to watch and recommend that all fans of the genre treat themselves to this incredible and enjoyable movie, you won't regret it!
Implanted (2021)
It's Not Upgrade.
Am finding the overly positive reviews here very misleading....and wrong.
This isn't an original theme, but is handled in a so-so manner, I'm not saying I could do better with the budget, but there are other movies that carry the theme better. Take Upgrade for example, that covers the AI to human takeover in a far more dramatic fashion and is well executed.
Implanted is rather pedestrian in its storytelling and I think it could have been made with half of the 01:35:00 runtime. I presume budget constraints were the reason as to why this has such a slow pace.
I'm not going to slate this movie, because it unfolded the tale to a fairly obvious conclusion, so would have gotten a higher score if the ending went the way I wanted it to, but should be rather obvious once you see it for yourself.
The lead carried her role well and her supporting cast did the best they could, given the scripting.
Implanted will not blow you away and does portray our fears of wearable AI's in a half decent way, it just needed faster pacing and tighter scripting to keep the audience engaged.
If you have an hour and half and want a slow story to keep you mildly entertained, this is it, but look elsewhere if you want high octane thrills - in other words it's watchable and I have seen far, far worse than this. We only need to look at some of Bruce Willis' latest movies to demonstrate that point.
After watching this, I really want to revisit Upgrade now!!
The Expanse (2015)
Amazing what you can do with a great story and quality production values.
We know season one was a bit drab, but I found it sets the whole series up, as each season just gets better and better.
As we have now completed season 5, I was initially dubious about how the story would progress. After all, how could you beat the Protomolecule story arc, replete with an alien tech saturated planet in season 4? Simple, we now have a Belter terrorist causing mayhem and uniting The Belter factions.
On paper this sounds bit of a meme, but in reality it's handled well and I'm generalising to avoid spoilers for those of you unlucky enough not to have watched any of this excellent series. It's at this point I urge you to binge watch the whole lot and then tell me it's sub par or boring.
As with any bad guy, Marco Inaros is charismatic, good looking, self absorbed and self righteous, but ultimately a coward and you see hints of this throughout his rise to infamy. Whislt you can emphasise with his cause, what with Earth and Mars doing what Humans do best and treating the Belters as a sub species, he rises up to claim The Belters as a free nation. Let's face it, this is nothing new, when we look at our own history, but I find it's taken on with a veracity that would put many terrorist leaders to shame.
At first I thought that with the crew of Rocinante being split up and having their own individual story arcs, it would be a huge disappointment, I was worng. We could consider season 5 as character studies, which hasn't been dealt with in previous seasons and their characters become more likeable, human in fact, as we get to the series finale.
When mentioning Science Fiction to non fans, their first impressions are button pressing (lots of) laser guns, incoherent gibberish and ludcrous physics/space battles. The Expanse is pretty unique in its approach and it's what I call "Credible Sci-Fi." Even though it's set in the future, technology has advanced certainly, but not to Star Trek proportions. Copper cables are still used, fusion propulsion uses catalyst pellets and adheres to our known physics, gravity in space is treated how it should be, by centrifugal force and Mag Boots for zero gravity. Space battles are with conventional torpedoes, Rail Guns and Gatling style guns. There is no FTL drive and High G acceleration is mixed with injections to stop the body from haemorraging, Even Hard Vacuum exposure is dealt with in a logical way. All of these attentions to detail and more, make this series a must wacth for fans of the genre - non fans too, because it's credible and doesn't stretch your cynicism too far.
Can't wait for season 6 and I'm very happy that Amazon picked this up from Syfy, after they dropped it. A series like this needs love, finance and great production values to bring it to life and I applaud Amazon and the whole crew for making this an incredible and enjoyable show.
The only reason why I never gave this a 10/10 is because season one was bit of a trial to watch and in hindsight I can see why, but I stand by my decision!!
Books of Blood (2020)
Poor old BoB, what happened to you?
A lifetime of horror movies and books, amongst other genres has probably made me somewhat cynical/jaded when it comes to wanting originality or even to be shocked, so I had some hopes for BoB. I did enjoy reading these stories so much, many years ago and found the 2009 version superior to this drivel, but it also has Anna Friel in it, so that's a death knell in itself.
This offering is shot in TVMovierama and is so lacklustre in its presentation and execution that I lost interest 15 minutes into the first story, so by the time it was Friel's turn I'd started writing my review, because it's just dross but will see it through to the end, because I'd specifically set aside the time in the hope it was going to live up to my memories of Clive Barker and his great storytelling.
I would have preferred a few more shorter tales that were interlinked, that'd certainly show more flair, but that's probably asking for too much. Then again sitting all through this was was a bit too much also, which is why I gave it 3/10 as that was more a slap on the back for my own personal endurance than anything else.
Seeing the end credits explained in part why it was so crappy, Brannon Braga and Seth MacFarlane had their hands in this and "Horror" really isn't their bag, so should really leave this genre alone...for all of our sakes!
Lovecraft Country (2020)
Big Disappointment
Really wanted to like this and I have the views of many people here, how epidoses 1-3 start off great, then tapers off into tedium. Too many stories that were broached but finished off in a rushed way, making the series drag on and on, to the point of becoming a trial to watch.
The effects are top notch, so is the acting, monsters and magic you gotta love that, but then it just wallows in its own smugness and I doubt whether I'll be sticking it out for series 2 and that's a real shame.
Tme to find another series that will get me hooked, because this left me flat.
Polar (2019)
Urrrgh, have you never watched a graphic novel adaptation?
It amuses me how people miss the point of movies that are adapted from graphic novels, they're meant to be over the top, gratuitous, silly, far-fetched etc, because this is the style!
Polar is about a retiring hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) who, along with others in his (retiring/retired) trade are marked for extinction by their low life, ever so camp and crazy boss Blut (Matt Lucas) who doesn't want to pay their pension...cue comical hits and over the top violence as the "A-Team" are sent to retire our anti-hero.
Polar is a brightly lit eyegasm of colours that seared my retinas, after watching it on my monitor and fits in with the graphic novel style of story telling. Blood and snot galore, this will amuse those of you that understand how good graphic novels should be portrayed.
Don't expect scintillating dialogue or dialogue that makes you question yourself, or your place in the universe, this is violence, bright colours, dark humour and fun cinema rolled into one..and did I say it has Mads Mikkelsen in it?
Fight choreography is well done, silly, but well done and in some cases made me smile, at how absurd the situations can be and after watching Polar have added this to my watch again selection, because it's just good, solid fun for a little under 2 hours run time.
This movie pulls no surprises and you know what you're letting yourself in for within the opening few minutes, which is why Polar gets an 8/10 from me, because it's everything I want from this genre of movie!!
Darc (2018)
An Entertaining Revenge Flick
Stumbled across Darc from an online review and I'm glad I watched this, knowing that it was going to be a John Wick lite. This is a surprisingly decent movie, with lots of action to keep everybody happy.
Went into Darc with very few expectations, switched my brain off to avoid over thinking and I was rewarded. Had never heard of Tony Schiena before, so was expecting muscle guy, acting like a plank of wood, I was wrong! This guy can hold his own, not only in the fight scenes, but also as the leading man and I'll be looking out for more of his movies knowing this, I do love being surprised when I think a movie is going to be utter rubbish....and isn't.
Anyway, this is one to enjoy, don't overthink it, just put your feet up and see if you can count how many bad guys get shot, beaten, decapitated and otherwise mangled, it's a rip roaring revenge movie (but on a budget) that will keep you smiling all the way through!!
7/10 because I never expected it to be this much fun.
Underwater (2020)
Why So Much Negativity, This was Epic?
I'm a big boy now, I wear big boy pants and haven't been scared by a movie since I was a kid, at best a movie will make me feel uncomfortable and if I'm not paying attention and predicting the next sequence, I might jump every now and again.
Underwater made me feel uncomfortable, almost as much as Alien did, all those years ago.....or The Thing, but they were masterpieces of cinema, this was a close contender and did it come close! Admittedly I did jump, reacting to the intended jump scare, even though i knew what was coming..that's a good thing, it shows I was enjoying the movie.
What's normally offputting in movies of this type are the incredibly moronic decisions made by the characters and it was pleasing to see a certain awareness of this by not doing stupid things. I found that a very stand out point of the movie....the characters weren't idiots and their decisions, for the most part, were sensible and within reason under the circumstances..unusual or what!!!
I was a bit let down by the order of on screen deaths, but that's a minor and I suspect more of a personal choice as to whom should be done away with first, but for me that is a small gripe for what is otherwise a really great yarn.
Nods to Alien and Lofcraftian horror, namely Cthulhu are apparent and as I'm a fan of both made this even more of a treasure that I shall definately watch again, might even add it to my physical collection, as a rare treat that it is....a decent, well shot, claustrophobic, itch inducing and well paced sci-fi horror .
I do hope we see more movies like this, because this touched on themes that I totally enjoy and make me feel phobic at the same time. This isn't Leviathan or Abyss, which in my opinion were completely tame, this is true creature feature and I recommend turning the lights off, cranking up the volume and enjoy this 1 hour, 40 odd minute bundle of joy.
For all I've said, that's why Underwater gets a solid 9/10 for me, as I deducted a star for the order of deaths and making me jump once, just so I could say something negative.
Looking at the some of the reviews here, I can understand, to a degree why some people didn't like it, but I guess this is a movie that appeals to fans of the genre. This said, it never lets up on the action, yes a couple of the characters are a bit stiff, but it's just not worthy of hate.
I loved every second of this!!
Bloodshot (2020)
A Good, Solid Action Movie
This is an out an out action movie, nothing high brow, just an hour an forty odd minutes of stunts, explosions, gun play and punch ups...do not expect this to tax your brain, because that's never its intention.
Vin Diesel does what he does best and plays the croaky, muscle bound hero out for a misguided justice, Eiza Gonzalez is the obligatory eye candy and Guy Pearce is the mandatory bad guy, all straightforward and fun.
If we overlook a lot of glaring errors in the movie and just focus on what's being portrayed, then this will not disappoint. It didn't disappoint me, as I went in knowing exactly what was going to be served on my screen, so came away happy and content that Bloodshot is fun, silly and a very good action movie.
This got an 8/10 because I would have preferred this to be a Mature movie, it deserved to be, as the content would be ripe for adults, but as usual greed took hold, just so it could reach a wider audience.
While the topic of AI/nanite infused soldiers/humans etc is nothing new, this isn't a patch on Upgrade, which covered the topic amusingly and viscerally, so if I was to choose between the two, even though Bloodshot had a bigger budget, more famous actors and lots more techy bits - Upgrade wins, hands down.
I'm not putting this movie down, I enjoyed every minute of it, but this is becoming a regular topic and is becoming tiresome, but do not let these words put you off from viewing this, because this is one of those movies that's great with some buddies/partner/beer/popcorn...or all four together!
Just relax, enjoy the fun and don't think about the major errors in the shooting and dialogue!!
Sputnik (2020)
Enjoyable Sci Fi Creature Feature
Watched this as an original with subtitles and throughly enjoyed this title, granted the the subplot was a bit weak, but I guess part of this was a clumsy telling of who's the bigger monster, the Human or creature?
With just under a 2 hour run time, sputnik disn't bore me, nor did I have th eurge to do something inbetween, as the intertia of the tale kept me interested all the way through, even though as in all movies some stupid decisions were made, but if everybody thought properly, then we wouldn't have these stories I guess.
If you enjoy Sci fi creature movies, then this is for you and it makes a refreshing change to see something other than the cliched Hollywood efforts that get churned out at an alarming rate.
Creature effects are very good and the 80's post cold war setting adds to the bleak atmosphere of this film.
This movie got an 8/10 from me, as it's great to see Russian cinema provide us with some valid alternatives to the normal diet of run of the mill junk we're bombarded with and I'm hoping that more Russian Sci fi hits our screens soon...can't wait!!
Westworld (2016)
A Sliding Scale From Good to Bad
As the title suggests Westworld started off as a hghly enjoyable remake with season one being higly rated, big budget fun. There was plenty to keep you hooked in S1, with a great insight into how the rich would enjoy their murderous and debauched playtime.
With season two, the cracks were starting to show and my enjoyment of this show was just about kept in check, but it just couldn't keep up with the initial pace of its previous season, so when we get to season three I was utterly dismayed.
To me, season three seemed like it was rushed and had lost its way, especially as there was no need for eight episodes, it could have been wrapped up in five, as it all just seemed like filler.
So we get to episode eight (the finale) and oh my life was it a complete let down! I feel that the story had long since run out of steam and the producers were desperately trying to cobble the story together with duct tape, because nothing was new or exciting and I spent a lot of time playing my mobile game, which was far more interesting. Yes, I did get the plot, but it was cliched, predictable and an unworthy ending to what was an enjoyable series and I pray to the gods of TV that season four isn't made, because some things should just end and I hope Westworld isn't dragged out of the bin for another series...because what's left to tell, it's all been done?
If we take The Strain, which went on for four seasons, had a great cast, compulsive storyline and an excellent conclusion, then compare it to Westworld, which probably had a bigger budget, ran for a season less and was nothing but a meme in the end and we can see that great screenwriting is critical in the success of a show. Westworld could have had it all, but was let down by sloppy writing constraints and that's a real shame.
Some people might say this was "Predicitive Programming" showing us what could possibly happen in our near future and yes, I might agree to a degree and given the probable way our technology will fit into the criteria of Westworld it's a faint prossibility, but an android rebellion would be far more decisive, bloody and unpredictable than how Westworld portrayed it...we just wouldn't see it coming and this is one of the many holes this series created in its credibility. Consider how the recent experiment with Facebook's AI's that had its masters pull the plug because they communicated in their own language, yet in Westworld we see them chatting in human speak and modem signals, not exactly realistic, yet I could go on and on about the holes in this story...I won't though.
To sum this up, Westworld was a complete disappointment, a great opening season which deteriorated as time went on, great potential lost and a weak, ending to a show that could have been memorable and a scary insight into our not too distant future.
My score of 6/10 is lower than it should be, because if the last two seasons had kept up with the first, then it would have been an easy 10/10, but lazy screenwriting, pathetic finale and wasted potential have led to this lower score...if only those in TV land paid attention to the reviews!!!
Ulysses: A Dark Odyssey (2018)
Awful, Really, Really Awful.
Firstly, all of the so-called positive reviews have to be fake, either that or they've been reviewing the wrong movie.
Shot in Amateurvision (tm) acted out by whoever applied for the roles, without any auditioning, this movie has nothing at all to grab your attention. Even though we all know Udo Kier only appears in terrible movies, even this is beneath his stature and as for Danny Glover, he must have been desperate to "Star" in this hideous offering, but he looked so bored too, woodenly delivering his dialogue thinking of his pay cheque - presuming he got one.
There are no redeeming features to this immense waste of time and I'm usually the sort of person who will sit through a movie, just to see its completion...not a chance with this, got 34 minutes into the 2 hour run time before pulling the plug.
Seeing the opening "Action" scene sealed the fate of this movie for me, tracer fire was terrible CGI as was the explosion that must have been a stock effect, as it was laughable.
My suggestion would be to avoid this title like the plague and look elsewhere for your entertainment, because if you watch this movie to the end, you will be sorely disappointed and wishing you could get 2 hours of your life back.
My score was based on the simple reality that you cannot have a zero figure, so got the bare minimum, if I had an Amateurvision (tm) camera and some buddies from the pub, throw in a few extras from the chip shop, then even I could produce something far better than this drivel, avoid at all costs - you have been warned!!
Intersect (2020)
High Hopes, Deflated
After watching the trailer, reading the reviews, thought to myself "Go on give it a try." That was a monumental error!
The first 15 seconds sealed the fate of this movie for me, terrible acting, hammy lines and well, it's just bad all round. The potential for this movie was grossly mismanaged.
I do enjoy Lovecraftian themed stories, but this tried and was let down by budget, ego (of the director - should have outsourced) and screenwriting.
In itself, the story had a lot of possibilities, but is ruined by backstory and the awful mid to end segment of our "Hero" told in the most tedious of ways, which broke the flow even more. In truth, the biggest surprise for me was how this segment actually destroyed the story and fast forwarded it, saving a few minutes of my life on this junk.
CGI wasn't bad given how low the budget was, so kudos for that and I'm guessing the rendering costs is where most of the budget went. If this had the AAA treatment, I reckon Intersect would be pretty decent and I understand this was one man's vision.
My score is based on CGI alone, because otherwise without it, the score would be zero as nothing was worthy of being marked.
Banshee (2013)
One Show You Really souldn't Miss!!
Considerably late to the party on this one, watched the first series when it was aired and then got sidetracked..for a few years!
Having just spent the weekend binge watching the whole show, it's refreshing to see such a quality story told to completion, none of this having the the plug pulled mid season, what we get here is a story in its entirety.
Performances by all of the actors are enjoyable, the storytelling is solid..if not incredible, action scenes, which there's a lot of are visceral, high octane and just so captivating...this story has it all.
Very few stories come along that are as engaging, ridiculous and outright enjoyable as this and if you like your TV mature with a capital M, then Banshee is the treat you've been missing out on and you really should set some time aside to invest in such an epic piece of televisual insanity.
I gave Banshee a 10/10 because it so rightly deserves to receive as many accolades as possible. Far too many stories are watered down for general consumption, but this caters for the real adults who enjoy their stories having guns, men and women knocking seven bells of....out of each other, sex, drugs and anything else I might have missed.
I won't give any spoilers about the story, as it would be a shame to give away any plot details to an unsuspecting viewer, who themselves should enjoy what unfolds onscreen, but I will say that I suspect Calvin won't be getting a wage rise this year.
Watch Banshee, you really will love it and be thankful that not every show is politically correct rubbish...this is far from it!!
The Twilight Zone (2019)
This show is hated, apparently.....
Well, would you believe it, nobody likes this show!
Ever the optimist I watched this, first season, then second and yes, some of the stories weren't all that and I found that "Blurryman" was utter drivel and a kind of up yourself homage to The Late Mr. Serling, such an unfortunate tribute I feel the screenwriters thought they were being clever but it failed...totally.
Now for some controversy, on the whole I enjoyed this..why? Because I wasn't looking over my shoulder at yesteryear, which I feel is why so many people are getting triggered and there's a reason or two why you shouldn't.
When the first and second iteration of The Twilight Zone was written and aired, people had longer attention spans, were used to great stories and TV was tame back in the day. Yes there has been some groundbreaking series, because nothing had been done like *name series here* before, so yes it fit into that mould.
We live in a world of snowflakes who have made it so that anything cutting, incisive, witty or totally offensive can't be aired without some kind of outcry and threats to destroy X or Y's career for even thinking about writing something original.
So, this is what happens, we get watered down, unintelliglle rubbish that masquerades as being edgy...etc, because a lot of people haven't got the IQ or backbone to handle something truly creative, so you've brought it on yourselves.
Creativity in entertainment relies on being able to make you think to scare or shock the audience, make them feel uneasy..upset, offended..thats where groundbreaking material lies and until the weak little pansies who need the "Safe Spaces" because something made them think or rocked them to their core are put in their nurseries and not allowed to comment on big boys..and girls subjects, then this is what will be rolled out, for our delight and delectation.
Consider this if you may, perhaps this is a media experiment designed to nudge you into getting all upset at something that should have been thought provoking..and groundbreaking, but wasn't, as a demonstration against the watering down of our TV shows. Perhaps it might have gone over your heads and the writers are having a laugh at your expense, after all, anything can happen in The Twilight Zone.
And as for Jordan Peele, never heard of him (until I'd checked him out), but I like his narration, a tic here or a raised eyebrow there, for me I'm happy with his role on that basis alone. Don't know what you was expecting from a narrator, but it worked for me.
So, a healthy 8/10 for me because I didn't fall into any of the above traps and took the stories as they came, cast aside the junk, but enjoyed the series for what it was...some stories with a slight, but predictable twist, because anything too highbrow for the target audience would see their heads explode and we can't have that.....can we?
Gemini Man (2019)
It's a Will Smith Movie!!
This is my first ever review and it's ironic that out of all the inspirational, great, scary, mediocre, abysmal and just plain old why?? movies I've watched...it was this one.
Let's be honest, I'm not a WS fan, his earlier movies may have had one or two half decent attempts and he's probably a nice guy, but I'm just not a fan, could be the hype machine around him and his earlier "I'm Will Smith" persona. But, as the years have gone on and he's aged, I'm finding myself tolerating him, to the point of not minding his movies. Out of them all, I do prefer the action type...like this one, because he's not a bad action "Hero" and give me WS over Bruce Willis any day, at least there's some credibility with this guy and no I'm not going to dish out the hate, perhaps in my maturing days I'm finding him more agreeable as time goes on...maybe.
Anyways, for those that think this is a 90's movie, guess what? You're right, because the script has been doing the rounds for a considerable time, but when it was written the technology just wasn't there to make the hero appear young...until now. In fairness, the deaging of WS is well done and I did find myself pausing and scrutinising the effects, which was a bit distracting, but if Ian Mckellen, Patrick Stewart, Lloyd Bridges, Carrie Fisher etc can be successfully (if not creepily) deaged, then so can WS and it works well, as he hasn't aged too badly for this process to look too weird.
As for the movie, it's a by the numbers "Classic" (90's) action movie, given the present day treatment and as you can expect it's no brain teaser, but what did you expect? Scripting is a bit clunky and the set pieces are well choreographed, with the motorbike chase scene raising a chuckle at it's silliness.
The story....well, Will Smith has become an enemy of the state (yes, intended) and has to be taken out.......by himself. That's it, no need for any spoilers because if you've seen the trailer, then you know exactly how this movie will go minute by minute, but you knew this, didn't you?
This movie delivers eactly as you'd expect, silly story, excuses to play with guns, any reason to cause explosions and some fist fights, standard fare. It's fun and makes its 2 hour run time pass quite quickly, I didn't yawn once or play my mobile game, so that's a positive sign. This is why it got a generous 5/10 for me, because I wasn't disappointed and it seemed like a perfect WS vehicle, a middle of the road score, for a middle of the road movie.
Grab some popcorn. get a few mates around or your better half, switch your brains off, forget about the outside world for a couple of hours and you've got a decent night in. Oh and apart from the excruciating closing few minutes, I actually enjoyed the performance of WS and am not ashamed to air this publicly.
For whatever reason I just cannot hate the guy...he is after all.......Will Smith!!