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Kevin Phillipson (9943 KP) created a post
Apr 30, 2022
Dean (6921 KP) rated You, Me and Him (2017) in Movies
Jun 25, 2019
Odd comedy
Spotted this comedy on Sky cinema and gave it a go as the UK cast were quite well known. Sadly it's just not that funny. Very few laughs at all, a shame given the cast involved from so many other funny films and TV shows. Towards the end it got quite serious which really didn't fit well with the rest of film. One to skip.
Dean (6921 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies
May 20, 2019
The technology on show (1 more)
Good SFX for the budget
A great Upgrade
I saw this the other night after seeing good reviews for it. I'm not sure if it got a cinema release in the UK? It's a great Australian made film. A bit like a sci-fi Deathwish mixing humans with advanced Ai technology and body enhancements. The technology shown in the film, set in the near future, is really good and not far from what is available. This made the film more interesting. Throw in some good action and SFX and you have a great film that went under the radar.
Awix (3310 KP) rated A Clockwork Orange (1971) in Movies
Apr 7, 2019 (Updated Apr 7, 2019)
Kubrick's provocative examination of violence and morality. Young offender Alex (McDowell) leads a carefree life of theft, assault, and rape, until his actions catch up with him and he is sent to prison. There he volunteers for a new therapy which is supposed to remove his capacity for violent wrongdoing...
A massively iconic, much-imitated film, despite being taken out of circulation (in the UK at least) by the director for thirty years. The film's musings on the nature of moral agency are less striking than its baleful, scathing criticism of social attitudes towards crime and punishment, and the extraordinarily vivid opening and still difficult-to-watch opening sequence. A grotesque morality play with many coups de cinema; an extraordinary film by any standard.
A massively iconic, much-imitated film, despite being taken out of circulation (in the UK at least) by the director for thirty years. The film's musings on the nature of moral agency are less striking than its baleful, scathing criticism of social attitudes towards crime and punishment, and the extraordinarily vivid opening and still difficult-to-watch opening sequence. A grotesque morality play with many coups de cinema; an extraordinary film by any standard.
Dean (6921 KP) rated Black and Blue (2019) in Movies
Jan 25, 2021
Decent crime thriller
One of the films I missed as it didn't get a long release at the cinema in the UK. Naomie Harris plays a rookie cop in a rundown area of New Orleans. With corrupt cops and gangs working together in the supply of drugs. Soon she is hunted by both through the neighborhood after capturing a murder by the corrupt cops on her bodycam.
Overall it was an enjoyable watch, a little slow at the start and middle section. It had quite a low budget feel to it despite some big cast names. Worth a watch but far from the better films with a similar plotline. @21 Bridges (2019) is one example that had more action.
Overall it was an enjoyable watch, a little slow at the start and middle section. It had quite a low budget feel to it despite some big cast names. Worth a watch but far from the better films with a similar plotline. @21 Bridges (2019) is one example that had more action.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Apollo 11 (2019) in Movies
Jul 10, 2019
Brilliant documentary footage (1 more)
(Still) nail-biting landing scenes
A giant leap for mankind?
It's the Apollo 11 mission. That's it. No annoying voiceover from Clooney or Gosling spouting truisms (provided you ignore Walter Kronkite's occasional excellent and sonorous TV commentary). Just extraordinary footage from July 1969 of the 8 day mission and the days immediately preceeding (and in the end titles, following) that historic event.
A brilliant documentary that deserves to be seen at the cinema, and on as big a screen as you can manage to find. It only seems to have a limited UK release (I saw it at our local Picturehouse cinema), but it is really worth going out of your way to catch if you can. A film that properly provides you with a view of our blue oasis of a world from afar: and critically what we might be doing to it.
I also thought it should make humanity feel rather ashamed of itself: if man took those great leaps in the 10 years after JFK's famous speech, what has really been achieved in manned space travel in the 50 years since? On Earth's report card it should say "C- .... could do better".
For the full review, see here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2019/07/10/one-manns-movies-film-review-apollo-11-2019/
A brilliant documentary that deserves to be seen at the cinema, and on as big a screen as you can manage to find. It only seems to have a limited UK release (I saw it at our local Picturehouse cinema), but it is really worth going out of your way to catch if you can. A film that properly provides you with a view of our blue oasis of a world from afar: and critically what we might be doing to it.
I also thought it should make humanity feel rather ashamed of itself: if man took those great leaps in the 10 years after JFK's famous speech, what has really been achieved in manned space travel in the 50 years since? On Earth's report card it should say "C- .... could do better".
For the full review, see here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2019/07/10/one-manns-movies-film-review-apollo-11-2019/
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) created a post
Sep 29, 2019
David McK (3185 KP) rated Onward (2020) in Movies
Nov 6, 2020
Late 2019, early 2020.
I rsaw a lot of ads in the cinema for this film. Then (in the UK) Covid-19 hit.
As a result, I'm not honestly sure whether this got a big screen release or not: I actually watched it via Disney+, not really knowing what to expect.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Set in a mystical realm where magic had all but died out (Unicorns as garbage rats? Genius!) due to the advent of technology, this follows two elf brothers who are able to partially bring their deceased dad briefly back to life, after the younger of the 2 opens his birthday present from said dad of a wizards staff. Only enough magic to 'bring back' his legs, so off they go on a quest for a power source to enable them to bring back the rest of his body.
What really follows is a story about familial bonding, that pulls in the heartstrings as well as made me laugh out loud on a few occasions!
I rsaw a lot of ads in the cinema for this film. Then (in the UK) Covid-19 hit.
As a result, I'm not honestly sure whether this got a big screen release or not: I actually watched it via Disney+, not really knowing what to expect.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Set in a mystical realm where magic had all but died out (Unicorns as garbage rats? Genius!) due to the advent of technology, this follows two elf brothers who are able to partially bring their deceased dad briefly back to life, after the younger of the 2 opens his birthday present from said dad of a wizards staff. Only enough magic to 'bring back' his legs, so off they go on a quest for a power source to enable them to bring back the rest of his body.
What really follows is a story about familial bonding, that pulls in the heartstrings as well as made me laugh out loud on a few occasions!
Lee (2222 KP) rated Blair Witch (2016) in Movies
Aug 14, 2017
Yeah, I preferred this to the original...
The original Blair Witch movie came out in 1999 (wow, where has the time gone?!) in the good old days when you could get hold of a US DVD import in the UK before a movie was even released on UK cinema screens. I remember The Blair Witch Project being released in the UK on Halloween, the same day that the US DVD was delivered to my house! I excitedly sat down to watch it that evening with my family while everyone else had to go out in the cold rainy weather to watch it at the cinema, and I remember at the end of the movie we all kind of looked at each other as if to say “is that it…?!” All the hype, all the usual crap about it being absolutely terrifying and the scariest movie ever made and it was just a bunch of people getting spooked in the woods! To be fair, it wasn’t that bad, but it just wasn’t as scary or as fantastic as we’d been led to believe. The movie spawned a forgettable sequel and since then, despite being done to death, far superior found footage movies have come along and done it all a hell of a lot better. Then, out of the blue in July last year, a movie which had been previously marketed as ‘The Woods’ was revealed to actually be ‘Blair Witch’. The trailer looked OK, not great but interesting enough. But, once again we’re being subjected to all the usual marketing crap about it being terrifying and the scariest thing you’ve ever seen… blah, blah, blah…
James Donahue is the brother of Heather, who was one of the central characters in the first film. We join him 22 years after the original, as he prepares to lead a new bunch of characters into the Burkittsville woods. They meet up with a couple of young locals, who offer to be their guide, and off they head, into the woods where their video footage will later be discovered. This time round, the array of cameras capturing the footage has vastly improved. As well as the standard handhelds, we’ve got ear piece cams, drone cams, night cams. All offering new and interesting ways to capture the action.
Things mostly follow a similar path to the original – strange noises, weird stuff happening with time, thinking you’re heading in one direction when you’re going around in circles, juddery camera movements where it’s difficult to tell what the hell is going on. But… you do actually see things this time, the noises that you hear are terrifying, the characters are far more interesting and believable than those in the original. And the final act when we find ourselves back in the house from the first movie is seriously the stuff of nightmares.
Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, both have an excellent recent track record (see You’re Next and The Guest) and their influence on this movie has taken this story to another level. This is a far superior movie to the original and yes, it is truly terrifying.
James Donahue is the brother of Heather, who was one of the central characters in the first film. We join him 22 years after the original, as he prepares to lead a new bunch of characters into the Burkittsville woods. They meet up with a couple of young locals, who offer to be their guide, and off they head, into the woods where their video footage will later be discovered. This time round, the array of cameras capturing the footage has vastly improved. As well as the standard handhelds, we’ve got ear piece cams, drone cams, night cams. All offering new and interesting ways to capture the action.
Things mostly follow a similar path to the original – strange noises, weird stuff happening with time, thinking you’re heading in one direction when you’re going around in circles, juddery camera movements where it’s difficult to tell what the hell is going on. But… you do actually see things this time, the noises that you hear are terrifying, the characters are far more interesting and believable than those in the original. And the final act when we find ourselves back in the house from the first movie is seriously the stuff of nightmares.
Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, both have an excellent recent track record (see You’re Next and The Guest) and their influence on this movie has taken this story to another level. This is a far superior movie to the original and yes, it is truly terrifying.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Hotel Artemis (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2018 (Updated Sep 28, 2018)
Brilliant ensemble cast (2 more)
Cool setting
Great score
You can check out anytime you like, but probably won't want to leave
This was one of those movies that had a really weird release. After seeing the trailer, I was really looking forward to going and seeing this at the cinema. Then, America got it a month before the UK did and when it did drop in Britain, it was a very limited release and was only showing in one cinema in my area. At around the same time, I went on holiday for a fortnight and it is only now, a full 2 months after the movie's initial release that I finally got to get to a screening.
Thankfully, it was worth the wait.
Hotel Artemis is the directorial debut of Drew Pearce and he does a fantastic job as a first-time director. The beautiful cinematography adds a great deal of style and flair to the film and the brilliant score by Cliff Martinez also provides an atmosphere that is an awesome mix of ambient and intense in all of the right moments.
The cast is also great and is made up of an eclectic mix of talented actors. Sterling K Brown does an incredible job of tying the whole thing together and being the anchor that the audience can relate to. Dave Bautista is brilliant as the orderly Everest. Charlie Day is really good at being a totally obnoxious asshole. Jeff Goldblum and Zachary Quinto are great as always and Jodie Foster is also fantastic as the Nurse who runs the hotel. Sofia Boutella is here too, but she doesn't do a great amount any different to what we have already seen from her in past movies.
Overall, this is a stylish, well-acted, exciting action/thriller with great direction and a fantastic score to boot. It is reminiscent of other movies in places, such as Smokin' Aces, but it is still a brilliantly written, well made, fairly original movie well worth seeking out.
Thankfully, it was worth the wait.
Hotel Artemis is the directorial debut of Drew Pearce and he does a fantastic job as a first-time director. The beautiful cinematography adds a great deal of style and flair to the film and the brilliant score by Cliff Martinez also provides an atmosphere that is an awesome mix of ambient and intense in all of the right moments.
The cast is also great and is made up of an eclectic mix of talented actors. Sterling K Brown does an incredible job of tying the whole thing together and being the anchor that the audience can relate to. Dave Bautista is brilliant as the orderly Everest. Charlie Day is really good at being a totally obnoxious asshole. Jeff Goldblum and Zachary Quinto are great as always and Jodie Foster is also fantastic as the Nurse who runs the hotel. Sofia Boutella is here too, but she doesn't do a great amount any different to what we have already seen from her in past movies.
Overall, this is a stylish, well-acted, exciting action/thriller with great direction and a fantastic score to boot. It is reminiscent of other movies in places, such as Smokin' Aces, but it is still a brilliantly written, well made, fairly original movie well worth seeking out.