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tonybedford
Reviews
Christmas Inheritance (2017)
Corny but...
There are many failings of this move. The character development is shallow, the action is lacklustre, the plot is fairly unbelievable, and yet this movie has a certain charm to it. I think the heroine is quite charming, and one can not help but notice her "voluptuous curves" which are front and centre in many scenes. If you've got it flaunt it I say...
So with so many failings what gives this movie its charm? I think it is the sets and the lighting which I thought were very atmospheric. The charming Cafe, the wonderful guest house, the snowy streets were all very evocative of Christmas time.
It was a pleasure to see Andie MacDowell - I'd not seen her in anything since Four Weddings and a Funeral and that was a looonngg time ago. Yes she has aged but then haven't we all!
If you are wondering whether to watch this or not - go for it - just for the heartwarming Christmas atmosphere.
All of You (2017)
What was the point? So depressing...
What a depressing film!
So the basic plot line is Gabby (played by supersweet Jennylyn Mercado) has a falling out with her b/f who goes on to marry another woman. OK so this whole part of the film was superfluous, but funnily enough it was the only part of the movie that packed any real punch!
Gabby goes to Taiwan, where boredom and loneliness and the prodding of a "friend" goad her into hitting up a filipino guy on a dating app - he appears three minutes later as if by magic. Wow - who knew there was an app for that! Anyway this slimeball Gab (played by Derek Ramsey) not only has no manners but has the corniest chat up lines ever (I love the view, if I was an artist I'd paint you) - really? Girls - if you are falling for that nonsense stop it right now!
Of course, despite this guy being an obvious player and a pig to boot, Gabby falls instantly in love with him and the inevitable happens (which was so badly done I could write a review on that alone).
Eventually Gabby moves in with Gab and that's where things get depressing and I would say even disturbing. You now get to witness the transformation of a sweet, intelligent, hardworking girl (typical filipina really) into the plaything of a muppet, and she becomes a depressed, chain smoking, "her indoors". Get out girl, get out, you will be screaming at the screen!
Things go from bad to worse at this point...
You can't say she wasn't warned - the bakla in the flower shop was the only voice of reason in the whole movie - a very much needed and refreshing change from the stereotypical filipino movie where the bakla is only the figure of fun, and light relief. This was one good point about the film and got an extra star for that.
Things meltdown at this point, with the inevitable breakup. But then after dating one guy Gabby realizes she really loves the douchebag and makes the fateful call. Gab comes to her rescue - late as usual, and from a cramped position offers the fabled ring. She closes his hand on it and returns it and that would have been a great ending for the movie. But no, as the rejected Gab walks away she jumps out of the car and chases after him...
There should have been redemption for the character Gab, but if there was you didn't see it. You just know that life for Gabby, despite the ring, will be back to chain-smoking depression, cleaning up after Gab, and cooking meals for him that he will never arrive in time for...
If there is a real point to this movie, I think it's to warn you think carefully about what you want in life (and brutal honesty is required here), have self-confidence, and go with someone where you are a true partner - they don't need to look like Derek Ramsey or Jennylyn Mercado. If they care about you, they will always put you first. The only thing Gab seemed to care about was his smoking and his beer buddies.
If you are looking for a feel-good movie this is not it!
Bushwick (2017)
An idea with potential
What a strange film!
I actually really liked the start, where you don't really know what's going on apart from some military activity of unknown origin. You do have a feeling of being right there in the action, and that feeling is progressed through to the end. This is an idea with legs - and it looks like it will run and run but...
There were a few things that ruined this movie:
1) The characters seem to get quickly bogged down. Not only in terms of location but in terms of where their characters are going. There seems to be poor motivation for the characters.
2) The acting from Brittany Snow was terrible. Is this the actresses fault or do we blame the director for this? Whatever - it just felt really off in places - for example when the Gran died and when the priest killed himself. The poor acting just jolted me out of the moment. Funnily enough I thought the acting from Bautista was very good and I found his character very believable!
3) Very odd plot moments such as the church, the laundromat, and the gang house. Felt surreal in places.
4) Terrible ending. This is just bad script-writing in my opinion. The ending had a very unfinished feel to it. Events must have some logical purpose to them and a story without a conclusive ending will always fall flat. At least, the ending fell flat for me. I was almost surprised when the end credits rolled. Sure, I understand they had a message to get across on the futility and waste of violence, but the laws of screen-writing still apply - you need a compelling ending with RESOLUTION!
On the whole a good idea, with good action moments and well shot so you feel like you are in the action. Let down by some bad directing/acting and a poor ending.
Extinction (2018)
Ignore the 1/10 reviews here
I did my usual OCD thing...saw Extinction pop up on Netflix and immediately checked out the reviews on IMDB... So many 1/10 reviews! I steered clear, but after chatting with a few friends who had watched it I thought I would give it a go. All I can say is ignore the 1/10 reviews here. There's no way this film is 1/10. I don't want to spoil things for you, but the film has a very interesting spin on things. The acting is decent, there's plenty of action, and the special effects are pretty amazing in places and...ok...not so good in others. I would probably have given this a 7/10 but wanted to boost it up a little as this really is not a bad a film as some of the reviews would indicate. Well worth watching!
Wind River (2017)
Good, but too much mumbling
This was a good film, spoilt somewhat by sound issues. I was not sure what the problem was - were the actors just mumbling? It almost felt like the sound guy was standing too far away - the music and sound effects were fine, but even with the sound turned up to 75/100 I had a hard time hearing what the characters said - that was very hard going. I don't think I got more than a couple of words of the Native American policeman said. Much of the (important?) dialog appeared to be mumbled. Perhaps because I'm English I was not completely "dialled in" to the accents - but I can't remember having an issue with American accents before. I think because I missed quite a bit of the dialog there were a few loose ends left hanging for me.
For example, the snow mobile trail that led up to Matt. Did he try to escape, or was he taken there by the "baddies"? If taken there by the baddies, why was the trail only in one direction? And where did they go after? I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, but it was perhaps missed in the poor sound quality of the dialog.
Having said all that it was an interesting movie and very well done otherwise.
Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)
Comedy Gold
So, as a horror movie this is a 2/10. But as a comedy I'd rate it 8/10. There are some really funny highlights:
- Tubbs as a crack marksman. The scene when he's hanging out the car window trying to shoot out the tyres of the Creeper's van - not only are his hands shaking like he's got the DTs but he is holding the gun in a very dubious manner.
- The Creeper's shuriken hits Tubb's shotgun square on the barrel, bending the metal like a peeled banana. I have only seen such things before in cartoons. I was literally shaking with laughter for about ten minutes.
- The moment when Tubbs attempts to "run away", although one can only use the term "run" in the very loosest of fashions. I'll admit it, I nearly soiled myself I was laughing so much.
- Creeper wardrobe malfunction - or should I say wing malfunction. OMG, one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a movie.
- The moment when the Creeper loses an eye. When he then attempts to sight the spear at the girl running away and realizes he has to sight on the other side because of the missing eye is where things descended into the deepest farce. That was SO funny I was barely able to breathe.
- When the girl realizes the Creeper's spear just grazed her and she is feeling around on top of her head for the missing hair. Just priceless.
- Why are Tubbs and Tashtego always shouting at eachother? I suspect it was a desperate attempt to inject some much needed drama into the proceedings.
- The Creeper's severed hand in a flowerpot. The B movie moments just keep on coming.
I could go on, and on, and on...
On the acting front it was a disaster.
- Gabrielle Haugh was a waste of oxygen - I mean, there was just...nothing.
- Meg Foster was the scariest thing in the movie.
On the plus side. I think Stan Shaw and Brandon Smith did their best with their script.
Was this movie one big spoof?