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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Wicker Tree (2012) in Movies
Apr 30, 2019
I had the good fortune to attend a screening of this film in the presence of its writer-director Robin Hardy, back in 2012, and afterwards Hardy took us all off to the cinema bar to talk about it. 'So, what did you think?' he asked, clearly very proud. An awkward silence ensued. 'The songs aren't as good as in The Wicker Man,' was all anyone was prepared to say.
Any follow-up to The Wicker Man has a lot to live up to, and the good fortune of Wicker Tree is that it was preceded by the Nic Cage remake ('a ****-up', according to Hardy). It's better than the remake, but by any other standard this is a blunderingly crass and unsubtle semi-remake of the 1973 film, filled with painfully broad humour, gaping plot holes and a cheery anti-Americanism it's difficult to get on-side with. A huge disappointment in all kinds of ways, but Robin Hardy was a true gent.
Any follow-up to The Wicker Man has a lot to live up to, and the good fortune of Wicker Tree is that it was preceded by the Nic Cage remake ('a ****-up', according to Hardy). It's better than the remake, but by any other standard this is a blunderingly crass and unsubtle semi-remake of the 1973 film, filled with painfully broad humour, gaping plot holes and a cheery anti-Americanism it's difficult to get on-side with. A huge disappointment in all kinds of ways, but Robin Hardy was a true gent.
Jay Wright (4 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Speechless. I am completely and utterly speechless. What a WAY to end a culmination of 22 movies over the span of 11 years! I was blown away by every little detail! The PLOT was amazing, the ACTING was amazing, the SETS were amazing, the GRAPHICS were amazing. Actually, no, amazing is an incredible understatement. I would strongly argue that this is a prime example of what a perfect movie looks like. It didn't feel like I was sitting through a three hour movie, if anything the three hour running time HELPED it achieve it's true potential. There was a perfect combination of wit, humour, sadness, joy, and overall satisfaction. The Russo Brothers have outdone themselves once again and set the bar EXTREMELY high to what a good movie should look like. I've said it once and I'll say it again: Avengers: Endgame is the movie of our generation.
Glen Banyard (13 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) in Movies
May 27, 2019
Harrison Ford (2 more)
It makes kids laugh
Enough subtle humour for adults
More animated antic, good for kids, not amazing
So The Secret Life of Pets was a decent animated movie, with lead voicing being done by Patton Oswalt, while not really requiring a sequel it got one and its really okay, the plots on animated films can not be difficult given the young audience, so adults may find this kind of obvious what will happened from start to end.
The voice talents of Harrison Ford do add to the film, and being honest, is the reason I gave a 6 instead of a 5. The marketing for the film has been quite heavy in recent weeks and was prominent at MCM Comic-Con over the launch weekend.
It is fair to say the film succeeds in its goal, it makes the little humans laugh, and really that is what you want.
The voice talents of Harrison Ford do add to the film, and being honest, is the reason I gave a 6 instead of a 5. The marketing for the film has been quite heavy in recent weeks and was prominent at MCM Comic-Con over the launch weekend.
It is fair to say the film succeeds in its goal, it makes the little humans laugh, and really that is what you want.
Peter Shephard (2822 KP) rated Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season 5 in TV
Jun 3, 2019
So far, so very good!
So far, we (my wife and i) are about to finish Season 3. We have been semi-binge-watching for about a month, but with the episodes only being 20 minutes, its refreshingly easy to get a few episodes in each night, which really helps to keep the laughs!
The characters are great, if (slightly) lacking development - although Peralta is still the wisecracking clown in S3, he has matured just a tiny bit. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some slightly bigger changes would be good - yes Diaz is able to express some emotions, briefly; Holt is more human etc and they feel organic, but sometimes it is a bit forced.
I have really enjoyed the show, so far, and I look forward to seeing any further development - or not! - for the remaining episodes.
Well worth a watch, as a bit of lightweight humour
The characters are great, if (slightly) lacking development - although Peralta is still the wisecracking clown in S3, he has matured just a tiny bit. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some slightly bigger changes would be good - yes Diaz is able to express some emotions, briefly; Holt is more human etc and they feel organic, but sometimes it is a bit forced.
I have really enjoyed the show, so far, and I look forward to seeing any further development - or not! - for the remaining episodes.
Well worth a watch, as a bit of lightweight humour
RebelFleur (1 KP) rated Lust, Lies and Lemon Cakes Too in Books
Jan 30, 2018
I'll be completely honest with you, I didn't have high hopes for this book due to having read the first one in the series. However, it turned out to be a welcome surprise. Not only was the sequel better written than the first but I feel that it was also funnier and easier to read. Adding to this, I was actually dissapointed to find I had come to the end of the book as I was looking forward to learning more about the protagonists funny life.
The books light-hearted nature was definitely helped by the fact that a lot of the humour is revolved about the male protagonist going 'viral' on the internet. I feel this helps the reader to identify with him due to the fact that technology is slowly becoming more and more prevalent in our society.
I would definitely reccommend this book to people who are looking for a light read, due to its funny nature.
The books light-hearted nature was definitely helped by the fact that a lot of the humour is revolved about the male protagonist going 'viral' on the internet. I feel this helps the reader to identify with him due to the fact that technology is slowly becoming more and more prevalent in our society.
I would definitely reccommend this book to people who are looking for a light read, due to its funny nature.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Asymmetry in Books
Jan 17, 2018
Asymmetrical stories
Lisa Halliday's novel of three parts charts the relationship between an eccentric older writer Ezra Blazer, his young lover Alice, and then moves quickly to the story of an American Iraqi attempting to find his roots.
Individually, each story is captivating, Halliday's ability to bring humour with subtle behaviour is remarkable. Similarly, her research into Iraq is interesting - though at one point I did get confused as she mentions the Clinton administration's foreign policy role during the second Gulf War when it should be under George Bush. I'm unsure whether this is a typo or a genuine mistake or I'm wrong altogether.
While each part is well-written, and the first story is completed in the third part when Ezra's character becomes a guest on BBC's Desert Island Discs, it all feels rather disjointed. Perhaps this is why the novel is named Asymmetry as a result? We may never know.
Individually, each story is captivating, Halliday's ability to bring humour with subtle behaviour is remarkable. Similarly, her research into Iraq is interesting - though at one point I did get confused as she mentions the Clinton administration's foreign policy role during the second Gulf War when it should be under George Bush. I'm unsure whether this is a typo or a genuine mistake or I'm wrong altogether.
While each part is well-written, and the first story is completed in the third part when Ezra's character becomes a guest on BBC's Desert Island Discs, it all feels rather disjointed. Perhaps this is why the novel is named Asymmetry as a result? We may never know.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Darkest Hour (2017) in Movies
Jan 23, 2018 (Updated Jan 23, 2018)
Fantastic turn from Gary Oldham
This is a very fascinating story about Churchill and a hugely interesting film. Gary Oldman's performance deserves all of the hype, he's almost unrecognisable and he really convinces both with the serious, vulnerable and numerous sides to Churchill. Indeed the film itself shows a different vulnerable side to Churchill that I never knew existed and it was nice to see. My knowledge on this part of history is lacking, so I found the wartime politics really interesting. The supporting cast do well and the dialogue is brilliant.
But the dialogue is the problem with this film too as it's far too dialogue heavy. They throw in a few bits of action and humour, but it doesn't quite break the dialogue heavy scenes. Which I found made the film drag a little and I think they could've cut parts out without being of a detriment to the story.
Worth seeing for Oldman's performance alone, although not one I'd necessarily rush to see again.
But the dialogue is the problem with this film too as it's far too dialogue heavy. They throw in a few bits of action and humour, but it doesn't quite break the dialogue heavy scenes. Which I found made the film drag a little and I think they could've cut parts out without being of a detriment to the story.
Worth seeing for Oldman's performance alone, although not one I'd necessarily rush to see again.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Early Man (2018) in Movies
Jan 29, 2018
Like Wallace & Gromit meets Mean Machine meets the Flintstones
As a massive Wallace & Gromit fan, I was really looking forward to this being released. I had no idea it revolved around football, but this didn't dominate too much.
The stone age tribe are merrily going about their bunny-hunting business when their happy little valley is invaded by bronze age man looking for a new source of their beloved metals. But unlike the Bad Religion song "We're All Gonna Die", early man didn't walk away when modern man took control, early man stood up to the challenge. This ultimately leads to the throwing down of a football challenge where the brutes will take on Real Bronzio in a football match.
The plot was nothing new, but there was enough humour injected throughout the film to make it an entertaining watch, and the cast of voices really add a lot (Rob Brydon in particular).
The stone age tribe are merrily going about their bunny-hunting business when their happy little valley is invaded by bronze age man looking for a new source of their beloved metals. But unlike the Bad Religion song "We're All Gonna Die", early man didn't walk away when modern man took control, early man stood up to the challenge. This ultimately leads to the throwing down of a football challenge where the brutes will take on Real Bronzio in a football match.
The plot was nothing new, but there was enough humour injected throughout the film to make it an entertaining watch, and the cast of voices really add a lot (Rob Brydon in particular).
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018
(The other) Young Frankenstein
At the start of the 1970s Hammer tried to relaunch both their main series with new leading men (Ralph Bates replacing Christopher Lee in this case); this was the only reboot which eventually happened. The basics of the Frankenstein story are (just about) retold; young Victor decides to make a man, if not of himself, then from some body parts.
There's no doubt that Ralph Bates could have been a brilliant Frankenstein, but not in a film with a script like this one's. The film attempts to appeal to a hip young audience by including cleavage by the yard and lots of sub-Carry On film humour; script is also thick-headed and repetitive. The moment Frankenstein's experiments included resurrecting a tortoise everyone involved should have realised there was a serious problem here. Not funny, not scary, not interesting, barely worth watching except for Hammer fans. They got Peter Cushing back for the next one.
There's no doubt that Ralph Bates could have been a brilliant Frankenstein, but not in a film with a script like this one's. The film attempts to appeal to a hip young audience by including cleavage by the yard and lots of sub-Carry On film humour; script is also thick-headed and repetitive. The moment Frankenstein's experiments included resurrecting a tortoise everyone involved should have realised there was a serious problem here. Not funny, not scary, not interesting, barely worth watching except for Hammer fans. They got Peter Cushing back for the next one.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dredd (2012) in Movies
Feb 25, 2018 (Updated Feb 25, 2018)
Stripped-down, intensely violent adaptation of the classic British comic strip. More faithful in many ways than the reviled 1995 version with Stallone. Ruthless lawman Judge Dredd and trainee Judge Anderson find themselves trapped inside a vast tower block with a bunch of bad guys; community policing ensues.
Still doesn't quite achieve the humour, satire, or general SF weirdness of the comic strip at its best, and to be honest the sheer brutality of the film is a little off-putting in places, but Urban is about as good as Dredd as you can imagine a major film star being, and everyone else does serviceable work (Thirlby's character is essentially Judge Anderson in only the broadest possible sense). Stylish and well-made, even if it struggles with the facts that a) the best Judge Dredd film ever made is still Robocop and b) it has (coincidentally) exactly the same premise as The Raid, which came out the same year.
Still doesn't quite achieve the humour, satire, or general SF weirdness of the comic strip at its best, and to be honest the sheer brutality of the film is a little off-putting in places, but Urban is about as good as Dredd as you can imagine a major film star being, and everyone else does serviceable work (Thirlby's character is essentially Judge Anderson in only the broadest possible sense). Stylish and well-made, even if it struggles with the facts that a) the best Judge Dredd film ever made is still Robocop and b) it has (coincidentally) exactly the same premise as The Raid, which came out the same year.