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Reviews
Cold in July (2014)
Not a bad movie, quite disturbing
*contains spoilers, do not read before watching*
A pretty odd movie. Went in a very different direction to that which one expected. Quite disturbing in parts, watchable but very disturbing. The subject matter was not addressed particularly sensitively, rather than focusing on the inhumanity, the script seemed to focus somewhat callously on the sick twisted world of snuff movies in order to justify righteous gun vengeance. American sensibilities are clearly a million miles away from that which I've grown up with.
The performances are brilliant, from everyone involved. An interesting project highlighting how messed up American culture is on many levels. I've rated it 8/10 as whilst I found the plot a callous attempt to set up a big gun totin finali I certainly felt engrossed, disturbed & effected by it. At the end of the day, art is about being effected, which I most certainly was. My hope is that the vision of the writer was corrupted by the studio to satisfy a broader audience but it's impossible to tell.
The English Game (2020)
It's good, but not great. More Downton Abbey than a history of football
It's a good show, not necessarily one for the football fan or someone who enjoys historical documentaries. This is a drama, a fantastic cast, faultless performances, the only area that lets it down is the script which is a little bit twee, seemingly written by somebody that doesn't really understand football which is very disappointing if you expect something true to the game. However, the focus it pays towards social conditions at the time is slightly refreshing albeit somewhat unrealistic, idealistic and perhaps written by somebody who wants to portray the upper classes in a much better light then perhaps is fair to reality. The main problem with The English game is that it doesn't seem to know what market it is targeting, the writing is lazy or uninformed. In terms of the football aspect, it is very much secondary. For example, there doesn't seem to be one decent goalkeeper in the game, the brief football sequences are terribly laid out, not even fit to Grace the same screens as footballing movies such as escape to victory. Seriouss football fans will likely find this series irritating to say the least, it no doubt had a big budget, it's a pity that none of it was spent on getting somebody that understood the game to contribute to the writing. Sadly as well has the writers not understanding football, they also so don't appear to understand the working classes. So in order to enjoy the series the best thing to do is switch your brain off, accept it as a drama, written from the point of view of somebody that doesn't understand the working classes or football. If one can do this, it's not too bad.
Ideal Home (2018)
A sweet heartwarming movie.
I suspect that the overall star rating is due to people wishing to smear this film as they are uncomfortable with the themes for whatever reasons. Hence a very rare 10/10 rating. Although to be fair, it might well be one of the few films worthy of a 10 star rating.
Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan are excellent in this heartwarming portrayal of a gay couple who find themselves parenting a child that circumstance thrusts upon them. One could pick holes in the quick transitions that take place chronologically at points in the picture but it would be unfair to do so. The writing is well rounded and manages to fit all the most important aspects of the story into the movies run-time. A feel good movie with just the right amount of feel good balanced out with an underlying sadness so not to overwhelm the viewer with smultz. Having stumbled across it on netflix I had no expectations as I didn't even know it existed. Very glad I did. Ideal Home might not be everyone's cup of tea but it worked a treat for me. In short, watch it, if you decide you don't like it watch something else.
The Foreigner (2017)
Bad accents, lack of realism. Could have been better.
Summary (contains spoilers)
Jackie Chan plays a man whose daughter is murdered by an IRA splinter group. Determined to avenge the death of his daughter, he elaborately targets senior republicans until eventually finding out the names of the people responsible for her death. He kills all but one of them who is latter assassinated by British security forces then goes back to work in his Chinese restaurant. The end.
As a fictional action movie it's not bad. However, it's based on the troubles in Northern Ireland and fails in many respects to represent anything close to reality.
With a little bit of research and perhaps casting people capable of performing convincing Northern Irish accents or even actors from Northern Ireland it could have been a far better movie.
Liam Hennessy the deputy first minister is played by Pierce Brosnan, it's difficult to tell if he's based on Martin McGuinness or Gerry Adams as his back story appears to be similar to McGuinness but he looks more like Gerry Adams and his accent is terrible. It dips in and out of something similar to a Northern Irish accent, a Scottish accent and a Southern Irish accent.
Near the begging of the film there is a meeting of what I presume is supposed to be Sinn Féin, all of whom are male, this despite there being a several female senior Sinn Féin members in reality. The inaccuracies continue throughout the movie with Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) at one stage personally confronting and shooting a fellow republican (it's extremely unlikely that any senior member of Sinn Féin would get their hands dirty in this way these days).
The inaccuracies continue throughout the movie, there really are too many to mention. It's not a terrible movie nor is it an excellent one. Just another film about the troubles in Northern Ireland written by people who know very little about them. It joins an undistinguished and lengthy list of films that don't appear to place realism at their core but wish to exploit the history of the troubles in order to tell a story. There are a few movies based around the troubles that actually get it right, this is certainly not one of them.
The Bad Batch (2016)
Strange movie, has it's moments. A few tweaks to story-line would improve it.
This appears to be a movie about a future where members of the prison population are cast out into a apocalyptic desert wasteland. There are two settlements in the movie, a set of cannibals who I guess are the bad guys (sort of) and a settlement of non-cannibals who appear to have a more moral stance in terms of not eating people, offering a bit of help to those in need and not casting people out for being extremely odd. There are a few nods to what actually transpired/is transpiring but nothing concrete. **spoiler alert** At the end of the film the main character appears to opt to choose to live with a cannibal who ate some of her limbs rather than staying in the relatively safe haven apparently controlled by cultish leader "The Dream". Not really sure how much logical sense this makes as in the non cannibal settlement they have have Uzis's and other weapons along with an heir of civility and certainly no one brutally sawing limbs off living human beings which are then cooked and eaten. But each to their own I guess.
There are certainly areas of this story which could have been explained better, there are sections of the film that drag on a little whereas there are sections that simply skip large time periods in which more light could have been shed on what is actually going on. This may well be deliberate and certainly gives scope for the viewer to use their own imagination to construct large areas of the plot in their own mind, it's debatable whether or not this is a good thing.
In summary - This is not a terrible film nor is it a finished masterpiece. If one can get through some horrific scenes and isn't expecting too much it's probably worth a watch, it has it's moments of brilliance and no shortage of sections that will one would expect to draw a large amount of criticism.
Office Space (1999)
Another Gem from Mike Judge.
There is little Mike Judge does that isn't brilliant and Office Space is no exception. Taking the mundane and frustrating environment of a corporate office and bringing humour to it takes true craft, something Judge has in abundance. The cast is faultless with every character having a genuine warmth and depth to them.
Stephen Root is outstanding as Milton Waddams, the put upon office oddball who seems way to attached to his old school stapler. Gary Cole excels as irritating office boss Bill Lumbergh, a role he truly makes his own.
John C. McGinley and Paul Willson are brilliant as the two Bobs, a pair of clueless corporate trouble shooters sent to whip the office in to shape/sack people to save the company money and allegedly make it more efficient.
In Truth there are scores of cast members in this movie one could single out for special praise due to the rounded depth they give to their characters.
In summary, Office Space is a brilliantly cast and scripted comedy. A must see movie for anyone who appreciates film craft at its peak.
Inception (2010)
A great idea for a film that unfortunately disappears up it's own backside.
A film that starts with much promise and for the first half hour or so works well before descending into farce. The idea of being sent into someone's subconscious or dream state is fascinating but when it comes to the point that someone is sent into a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream it just becomes ridiculous and on this occasion it does not work. Christopher Nolan is a fine Director/screen writer with a tremendous back catalogue of movies and will no doubt add to this back catalogue with more gems as his career continues but Inception is not one of them.
Not a terrible movie but not a good one either. If you want to waste an hour and forty odd minutes of your time then go ahead and watch it but there are far better movies that exist.
The Losers (2010)
A pointless poorly written movie...
A movie that starts promisingly, the cast are perfectly capable actors but the script is woeful and scenes which are supposed to evoke tension are both devoid of any and utterly predictable. Zoe Saldana plays Aisha of whom it is claimed "...the CIA has a standing kill order on her, as does Hamas, Sinn Féin, pretty much everyone with the exception of PETA wants this chick amscrayed". Whilst it may be possible that the CIA and the military wing of Hamas want this lady dead, Sinn Féin is a political party who do not have outstanding kill orders on anyone. They are affiliated with the Provisional IRA who might engage in such activities.
In short, the script is idiotic and at times makes no sense. There are some decent special effects that are completely wasted on a movie so poorly thought out and the same goes for the cast who do an amazing job of making this turd of a movie seem vaguely palatable. Unfortunately this picture isn't even so bad it's good. It is just awful.
Utterly forgettable.
One Eight Seven (1997)
Definitely worth a watch...
Samuel L Jackson excels in this movie as do all the cast. The script is well penned setting the scene perfectly.
Some of the cinematography is excellent displaying some fantastic views of the streets of Los-Angeles neatly inter-spliced with subtle atmospheric music.
In fairness seven out of ten is a touch conservative as I don't think there is any area where this movie could have been improved. Certainly one of Samuel L Jacksons finest underrated gems.
I would definitely watch 187 again if for no other reason then to see some of those sumptuous camera angles once more.