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JT (287 KP) rated Hereafter (2010) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020

Hereafter (2010)

2010 | Drama, Mystery

5.0

(4 Ratings)

Movie Rating

It’s an interesting film that will leave you asking yourself one question, “did Clint Eastwood really direct it?” And the answer, yes, he did. It’s not that the film is particularly bad but then it’s not really that good either, and you wonder if while his latest film J. Edgar was in pre-production he got bored and decided to fill the void.

Having worked with Damon on Invictus Eastwood brought him in for this, as George Lonegan a man with the gift of being able to talk to people that have passed to the other side. The opening half an hour is an intense watch as we watch De France’s reporter get caught up in a terrible Tsunami while holidaying with her boyfriend. It’s a well shot natural disaster which Roland Emmerich himself would have been proud.

Damon himself battling not to use his ‘gift’ despite the ongoing pressures from his brother, chooses of all things a cooking class as a method of escapism. There he meets Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) and the two form a bond, to which George ruins by accepting to perfrom a reading which doesn’t go as well as hoped.

I wanted to see her come back at some point during the film, but alas she doesn’t which was a disappointment as Howard was one of the few shining lights. The third part of the story, all of which interlock into each other, follow British twins Marcus and Jason. Two of the worst child actors I think I have ever seen, one can imagine that is from lack of experience.

With one of the boys dying in a freak accident the lone brother goes on a journey of his own, of which brings him closer to eventual contact with George. The film tries to be deep and meaningful about what happens to people who suffer death experiences, but its way off Eastwood’s sharp and cool direction – a shame when it started so brightly.

Kudos

Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Brahms: The Boy II (2020) in Movies

Mar 14, 2020

401. Brahms: The Boy II. What little kid doesn't want a creepy doll? Mom, Liza, and son, Jude are hanging out at home one night and they get attacked and robbed in their home in a very PG undramatic scene. Jude suffers from PTSD and doesn't say a word afterwards, and Liza gets the nightmares, so hubby Sean and Liza decide the best thing to do is get away from it all and vacation at a completely secluded guesthouse of a completely empty creepy mansion! Fun! Oh, and there's a creepy groundskeeper walking around with a shotgun and a big ol mean dog! Nice! Out of the many activities that they can do on this vacation like, looking at the woods, admiring the woods, or exploring the woods, they decide to take a walk in the woods. And this is when Jude discovers a hand sticking up out of the dirt, and he uncovers...a dirty old extremely creepy looking doll, and he obvi falls in love, and names it Brahms, well, that is the name Brahms told him to call him. Mom and Dad are like, eww gross, but it makes him happy, let's take it home clean it up! Within a short time, Jude starts turning around, while Liza thinks the doll is alive causing mischief, cause it can't be Jude doing these things. What to do, what to do... Internet investigation montage scene to recap Part I, give a little more backstory of course. It's not a great movie, honestly it felt they were going to go one way with it, felt rushed then went with a different route, it wasn't a terrible way to go, just felt they changed gears all of sudden. I liked it, i do like bad horror movies, add a creepy doll, makes it better. I personally now want a Chucky Vs. Chucky movie! Filmbufftim on FB

Kudos

Sarah (7799 KP) rated Dolittle (2020) in Movies

Feb 26, 2020 (Updated Feb 26, 2020)

Dolittle (2020)

2020 | Adventure

6.2

(32 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Perfect... for kids

The trailer for this didn't fill me with much confidence, and I was even more concerned after hearing about the troubles even getting it to the screen, and I'm afraid to say it lived up to my rather low expectations.

Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.

The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.

The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.