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Mamma Mia! (2008)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
2008 | Comedy, Musical, Romance
8
7.9 (35 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cheesy to the very end but immensely successful and spawning a sequel, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again this very summer. 2008’s Mamma Mia was one of the most profitable musicals of all time with an all-star cast including Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. With the entire wedding-themed movie set on an idyllic Greek island, it was inevitable that the ceremony itself would be absolutely stunning. It was, with a church perched high on a hill and a lovely reception in which Amanda Seyfriend’s Sophie could relish in the love of her friends, mum and (spoiler alert), her three dads.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/05/19/the-best-movie-weddings-top-5/
  
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David McK (3207 KP) rated The World Is Not Enough (1999) in Movies

Aug 21, 2022 (Updated Aug 19, 2023)  
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
1999 | Action, Mystery
Brosnan's best Bond movie?
For me, the Pierce Brosnan era was the last time we had a 'proper' Bond movie - the Daniel Craig movies, for my tastes, are just too dour (even if they are probably closer to Flemings original creation)

Of the four Bond movies that Brosnan starred in - Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day - this is, generally, my pick for the best (although I keep see-sawing between this one and Goldeneye).

I'll freely admit that the fact that we're supposed to believe Denise Richards is a nuclear physicist is ludicrous (to say the least), but Sophie Marceau's Elektra King more than makes up for it, as does the presence of Robert Carlyle, and even Judi Dench's 'M' who seems somewhat softer, more matriarchal - but still with a backbone of steel - than her later appearances in the Daniel Craig era.

This is the one that also sees Desmond Llewelyn's Q finally bow out of the picture, handing over to John Cleese's 'R' and - for my money - is also the last time Bond was allowed to be, well, fun!
  
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Music, Romance
Will ferrell (1 more)
Rachel mcadams
Never been a total fan of eurovision song contest over the years due to absurdity and the campness of it all and why after 60 years why do we still need to hold this contest every year anymore the UK entrant hasn't won 1997 24 wasted years of trying why don't we just give up.
Anyway the movie I laughed so much at the movie that was send up of eurovision and its campness even an apprentice from Grahame Norton sending up himself. Will ferrell is brilliant as the lead with Rachel mcadams as his support not forgetting pierce brosnan and Dan Stevens in support. Overall best euro song contest I've seen in years doest mean I will be watching tomorrow night
  
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Drama, Family
Mrs Doubtfire is a classic comedy about a child at heart father whose antics continuously irritate his wife until it becomes too much, ending in divorce.
Struggling with post marriage life and keeping to an agreement to see his kids, results in Daniel (Williams) going to drastic measures to make amends (unknown by the ex).
With obstacles including an awkward job interview, a social worker and the ex's new fella, this man must learn to be a woman, with the creation of the brilliant and hilariously unpredictable mrs Doubtfire.
Mrs Doubtfire is an hilarious take on a father's over the top attempt of being a part of his children's lives. With great comedy and non stop laughs this movie will pull at your heartstrings.
Starring Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan and the late great comedy legend, Robin Williams. It is a heart warming family film for all ages.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated No Escape (2015) in Movies

Mar 26, 2018 (Updated Mar 26, 2018)  
No Escape (2015)
No Escape (2015)
2015 | Drama, Thriller
5
6.9 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Technically competent suspense-thriller can't help coming across as a little bit suspect in the signals it's sending (also, title may not be strictly accurate). Nice American family go to a country which looks like Thailand but definitely isn't, dearie me no, and find themselves imperilled by a native uprising triggered by the Prime Minister's new water works. Can they escape before Pierce Brosnan starts singing again?

As I say, solidly put together, and if nothing else Lake Bell's performance is pretty much immaculate - but you have to wonder if the film's depiction of Asian countries isn't defamatory, or at least scare-mongering. It's not surprising this film was banned in some parts of Asia. There's a lot of bafflegab about the hordes of machete-wielding psychos being locals upset about globalisation, but c'mon, guys, this is clearly a film inspired by fears of radical Islamist terrorism, and as such it seems to be presenting every person in Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, etc, as a potential psychopathic killer. For something which is basically second-cousin to a zombie movie, it takes itself terribly seriously; a bit too seriously given how implausible the plot rapidly becomes. Perks up a bit when Brosnan is on screen (not often enough), but is this kind of subject matter really the stuff of such broad entertainment? As a thriller this is okay, but a point knocked off for the dubious subtext.
  
The Foreigner (2017)
The Foreigner (2017)
2017 | Action, Thriller
Boooo
If you're expecting me to say something nice about The Foreigner, please do us both a favor and click out of this review right now. On paper, it appears to be right up Jackie Chan's alley. After his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack, Quan (Jackie) is trying to hunt down the men that did it. He is willing to stop at nothing to get his revenge.

The formulaic aspect of the film ruins the entire experience. Here's the rundown: Jackie walks into Pierce Brosnan's office demanding names (Who did this????). When Brosnan is not forthcoming with the names, Jackie storms off usually doing something crazy in his departure. Brosnan sends men to take Jackie down. Jackie beats the crap out of them. When the men return, Brosnan asks, "How the hell did you get your ass kicked by this old man?"

Rinse and repeat.

I'm serious, it's so ridiculous at times it becomes almost comical. You would think with this straight-arrow formula, the film would be easy to follow, but there are a lot of moving parts and I mean A LOT. I found myself saying, "Say what now?" too many times to count. I don't know, maybe it was more of a lack of interest than confusion on my part. Blade Runner 2049 had a number of things going on throughout and it's one of the best films I've seen all year.

The Foreigner is one of those films where you think of all the other things you could be doing instead of watching it. Folding clothes. Grocery shopping. Picking boogers. Screaming at your dog to get out of the trash. I mean, ANYTHING else. Could a few solid action sequences have saved the film? Probably. Did it?

Nope.

I honestly don't know how this passed the smell test on Rotten Tomatoes. In the words of the wonderful Jay Sherman: It stinks. I give it a 42.
  
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018)
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Musical
More semi-demented glam-rock-inflected goings-on amongst the Greek islands, distinguished this time by an actual sense of self-awareness of how absurd the whole thing is, an increased focus on younger and more attractive versions of the main characters, and an advertising campaign built around a massive piece of deception (Meryl Streep is only in the film for about two minutes).

I don't know, it's jolly enough I suppose, but one of the things that made the first one so distinctive was the fact it was about randy middle-aged people murdering classic pop songs, which you don't see much of in the cinema. This one is more about randy young people, which is much more commonplace and rather less fun. Also, when I watch a Mamma Mia film I want to see Pierce Brosnan murdering a song, not just being reduced to contributing the odd chorus and standing around in the background. Fairly inoffensive all in all, and quite entertaining.
  
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David McK (3207 KP) rated GoldenEye (1995) in Movies

Feb 22, 2021 (Updated Aug 5, 2023)  
GoldenEye (1995)
GoldenEye (1995)
1995 | Action, Mystery
The first of Pierce Brosnan's outing as 'secret' agent (not the air quotes) James Bond aka 007, and also - I believe - Judi Dench's first outing as his boss M.

Back when the Bond films were actually good.

I realise that might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually preferred Brosnan over Craig as Bind, and (much) preferred all the clichés of the genre - guns, gadgets, secret bases and all - over the overly dour and serious Daniel Craig outings.

Anyway, this is also the one with Famke Janssen and her, shall we say, unusual methods of dispatching her foes, and also with Sean Bean (bonus points straight away, there, in my book) as Bond's once friend Alec Trevelyan.

Maybe slightly dated now - look at all those 'top of the range' computers. Complete with CRT screens, modems and all... - but that was always going to be the case for a Bond film.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated GoldenEye (1995) in Movies

Mar 16, 2019 (Updated Mar 16, 2019)  
GoldenEye (1995)
GoldenEye (1995)
1995 | Action, Mystery
Probably the best action thriller named after a duck ever. There was a time when a long gap between Bond films was highly unusual, and the six year absence of the commander from the big screen led some to suggest that maybe the series had had its day. The main achievement of GoldenEye is to take all the classic elements of a Bond film, spruce them up a bit, and produce a film which is fresh and entertaining.

Everyone is clearly working very hard to make this film a success, particularly Pierce Brosnan (even if his hair isn't quite right yet). Makes the obligatory attempt at updating Bond for the 'modern world' but doesn't get dogmatic about it and mostly just worries about entertaining the audience, which is surely as it should be. The tank chase surely features on anyone's list of great Bond sequences; director Martin Campbell would go on to make the hard-edged Casino Royale, which is probably a better film, but this is much more fun.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Hammer House of Horror in TV

Mar 15, 2018 (Updated Mar 15, 2018)  
Hammer House of Horror
Hammer House of Horror
1980 | Horror
6
8.0 (24 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Last-gasp attempt by the famous film studio to stay solvent is a fairly decent stab at a horror anthology show, featuring some of Hammer's regular personnel (though not Christopher Lee, as he was in the States at the time).

The fact the show was made for a commercial British network inevitably means the horror content is somewhat constrained, and the low budget means the episodes have a contemporary setting quite unlike the archetypal Hammer films (then again, Amicus House of Horror wouldn't have been as catchy a title). This being an anthology show, the quality and tone of the episodes is inevitably all over the place: some of them are rather subtle and inventive, others are predictable nonsense. Some good performances, though, including many from the before-they-were-famous file - a 27-year-old Pierce Brosnan gets one of his first speaking roles as 'Last Victim' in the Carpathian Eagle episode. As a whole, the series is probably more of a curiosity for Hammer completists than anything else.