I could have sworn i had seen the original South Korean Oldboy but unless this is completely different i'm pretty sure i would remember something a loopy as this. Josh Brolin is great , as is Samuel L. Jackson but the same can't be said for the principle villain played by District Nine actor Sharlto Copley . This is horrendously violent and utterly ridiculous but i have to say i never saw the twist coming. Not at all the kind of of film i would associated with Spike Lee.
if you remember a guy eating a live octopus, you've seen the original.
I do vaguely But no one eats an octopus in the one .
Then you've seen the original.
I must have watched it after having a skin full ( it has been known) as i just dont remember the storyline or that killer twist ! I made the mistake of watching Fightclub while drunk and i didn't have a clue what was going on. Thankfully my drunk film watching days are very rare nowadays!
I could have sworn i had seen the original South Korean Oldboy but unless this is completely different i'm pretty sure i would remember something a loopy as this. Josh Brolin is great , as is Samuel L. Jackson but the same can't be said for the principle villain played by District Nine actor Sharlto Copley . This is horrendously violent and utterly ridiculous but i have to say i never saw the twist coming. Not at all the kind of of film i would associated with Spike Lee.
if you remember a guy eating a live octopus, you've seen the original.
I do vaguely But no one eats an octopus in the one .
Then you've seen the original.
I must have watched it after having a skin full ( it has been known) as i just dont remember the storyline or that killer twist ! I made the mistake of watching Fightclub while drunk and i didn't have a clue what was going on. Thankfully my drunk film watching days are very rare nowadays!
Fightclub is one of those films you can watch for the 10th time and still see something new.. In my top 10 for sure.
Fascinating documentary of how Lance Armstrong cheated his was to winning seven Tour De France. Not only was he a lair ( They all were) but also a nasty piece of work. This could have been even better if Director Alex Gibney has told the story in some sort of Chronological order.
Predictable " boy became good" drama that has many things wrongs with it. Firstly the casting of Spencer Lofranco in the lead role is just wrong. He looks about 12 and is never believable. The story is dull and the film plods along with only the cameo's from James woods and Ving Rhames to make it bearable. The soundtrack is bloody irritating also.
Not latest but just watched Mud. Matthew Mcconaughey is on top form again as a drifter who befriends two boys to help him find his girlfriend. Well recommended.
An interesting concept poorly executed , which is a shame because it looks good and has a great cast. If i didn't know better i would have said this was a Terry Gilliam film but it's actually directed by south Korean , Joon-ho Bong. I saw this in a private screening but a UK release date has yet to be determined. It's as mad as a box of frogs.
Robocop, not a huge fan of remakes but modern CGI works brilliantly. Peter Weller stamped his name on the character long ago and Joel Kinnaman IMHO lacks charisma but a great supporting cast. Well worth seeing
An interesting concept poorly executed , which is a shame because it looks good and has a great cast. If i didn't know better i would have said this was a Terry Gilliam film but it's actually directed by south Korean , Joon-ho Bong. I saw this in a private screening but a UK release date has yet to be determined. It's as mad as a box of frogs.
Transcendence. Rubbish, avoid it. It's meant to be about artificial intelligence and free will, it ends up a bunch of stupid humans doing nonsensical things because the plot needs them to... and the ending tries for Inception, and fails.
Imagine a dark , gritty crime thriller set in the seventies with some well established British actors and your eyes might light up , then imagine it looking like it has been directed by an 8 year old kid , then you have Harrigan . This film is is so amateurish it's hard to explain. The director should be ashamed of himself. You have to feel for lead actor Stephen Tompkinson because as hard as he tries , and he does , this was always going to be a stinker.
Under the Skin An interesting, if somewhat enigmatic, film from the director who gave us 'Sexy Beast'. This is good and certainly very unusual but I don't understand why a lot of critics have been creaming themselves about it - 7/10.
Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium) An unconventional couple (she a tattoo artist, he a musician) get together and have a daughter. The non-linear narrative opens with their young girl receiving cancer treatment, reverts to the start of their relationship seven years earlier and then proceeds to tell us how they cope with their daughter's illness. I found it a little melodramatic, although it made the shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. I did enjoy the Bluegrass music, though (albeit that one member of the band bore a disconcerting resemblance to an outsized Anthony Worrall Thompson).
A decent enough film - 7/10.
The Deep (Iceland) This is based on the true life 1984 story of an Icelandic fisherman who defied all medical science by somehow surviving six hours in the freezing water after a trawler capsized. It is a tale of endurance and also how a humble man dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy and his extraordinary survival.
A relatively simple tale but a well crafted and powerful film - 8/10.
I, Frankenstein.....whats to say really other than utter Tosh 3/10
Reasonable Doubt. Good plot, well acted albeit Samuael L Jackson played a typically evil Samuel L Jackson role and altogether a reasonable film 6/10
The Truth about Emanuel. Very odd film, kinda been done before and better. Showed some promise but got more than a little silly. Thriller? Nah 4/10
Bad Country. Pretty good, bad fella comes good under pressure from good cop fighting a wet behind the ears FBI agent hiding behind bureacracy....Defoe was very good in this and well worth a look. 7/10
Phantom. Not even Ed Harris could save this sinking Submarine, the Russian dialogue was straight out of Brooklyn. 4/10
The Armstrong Lie. Whatever your view of 7 times winner of the Tour De France Lance Armstrong, I would still urge you to watch this compelling documentary which didnt hold back any punches. I got a better grasp of the real "tour" for the period from 99-2005 when it would appear that all the teams were drug fuelled with varying degrees of success. If you take the view that "everyone" was at it then you will have to hold your hands up and admit that Armstrong's doctor did a better job that any of the other teams quacks. Draw your own conclusions, Lance was a lieing bastard whatever way you shape it, but I still cant bring myself to hate him. 8/10
The Last days on Mars. Nothing to say as it was just a load of rubbish. 2/10
Saw a few recent-ish ones on a couple of long haul flights recently. Underwhelmed by Gravity and American Hustle. Thought 12 Years A Slave was superb. Anchorman 2 was painful at times but had couple of funny moments. Lego Movie had me giggling like a kid (mainly due to Good Cop/Bad Cop and the fact im a Lego obsessive!)
I could have sworn i had seen the original South Korean Oldboy but unless this is completely different i'm pretty sure i would remember something a loopy as this. Josh Brolin is great , as is Samuel L. Jackson but the same can't be said for the principle villain played by District Nine actor Sharlto Copley . This is horrendously violent and utterly ridiculous but i have to say i never saw the twist coming. Not at all the kind of of film i would associated with Spike Lee.
if you remember a guy eating a live octopus, you've seen the original.
I do vaguely But no one eats an octopus in the one .
Then you've seen the original.
I must have watched it after having a skin full ( it has been known) as i just dont remember the storyline or that killer twist ! I made the mistake of watching Fightclub while drunk and i didn't have a clue what was going on. Thankfully my drunk film watching days are very rare nowadays!
Hi beds.. its a remake of the Korean one sure and some of the scenes are a straight lift. However the ending is changed and without spoiling it, Spike Lee takes the general theme of the original ending and adds to it.
Overall, considering I thought it would be a disaster remake, I`d give it 6/10. Original is a huge 9.5/10 for me.
MUD
Just seen this on DVD. Thought it was really engaging and great performances from the 2 boys. If you like coming of age films, this is one of the better ones.
7/10
Paranoia
Film about Corporate espionage and the temptations of living like the better half. Despite the lead actor being a dead ringer for Gareth Bale, I really enjoyed this. It was slated on release but I thought it was extremely well produced and good performance from Oldman doing an London accent for the first time in ages!
Divergent. Entertaining couple of hours but had echoes of The Hunger games at times. Im not quite sure why we seem to have a plethora of post pubescent female super heroes doing the rounds at the moment, but hey, I guess they cater for an audience. Despite a few very silly moments which Im prepared to overlook it wasnt a terrible film and a rung above the recent run of teenage vampire films, so Im going to be generous and say its a 6/10.
An interesting film about a man with early stages of dementia who befriends a robot and uses him in more ways than one. Frank Langella is very good and i was pleasantly surprised by this film.
Kevin Costner tries to revive his career by going down the Liam Neeson route and doing the all action hero bit. The problem with this is that it has a beginning and end full of action but it sandwiches a dull father/daughter story that completely kills the film. Nice Try Mr Costner.
I always dread being dragged to the cinema by my kids to see ComicBook films and more often than not i end up quite enjoying them. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is no exception. Plus points are that the action is great and Scarlett Johansson is pure eye candy. Minus points are that it's at least half hour too long and the 3D is utter rubbish.
Blue Ruin is an intelligent , provocative , revenge thriller that despite being played out at a pedestrian pace throughout has you gripped from the first minute to the last . Fantastic performance from Macon Blair. Recommended.
Blue Ruin is an intelligent , provocative , revenge thriller that despite being played out at a pedestrian pace throughout has you gripped from the first minute to the last . Fantastic performance from Macon Blair. Recommended.
Blues Brothers apart i really do not like musicals. I think they have a part to play on the stage but spontaneous song in the middle of movies make me cringe. I normally avoid them. Because of some good reviews i decided to watch Sunshine on Leith. A story based around the songs of The Proclaimers. Sadly this did nothing to change my mind. I found it embarrassingly bad but do you know what? my wife absolutely loved it. That says it all really.
Not latest but just finished Alan Partridge Alpha Papa. Very funny from start to finish and some brilliant visual gags like the name of the book Angela is reading were almost missed.
This weeks offering was "The other woman" surprisingly funny film with more than few belly laughs and some well placed school boy humour put in for the boys. Kate Upton supplied the eye candy and Leslie Mann delivered the gags well with Cameron Diaz and Nikolaj Coster-Walder playing the womanizing Mark King very well. Worth a look 6.5/10
An interesting film about a man with early stages of dementia who befriends a robot and uses him in more ways than one. Frank Langella is very good and i was pleasantly surprised by this film.
I also really enjoyed this film. The robot steals the show, I became geuinely attached to him which shows good scripting.
Id give this film a generous 8.5/10 due to the empathy building characterization of Robot. Mainly writers and directors have failed before with this task.
Reasonable Doubt
legal "Thriller" with samuel L and Dominic Cooper.
I know it would be rubbish and it was. I dont get Cooper playing front man Hollywood, he has no presence in that role and looks awkward. He is a lucky boy to be getting these gigs but needs to stop churning out shite.
I cant remember what annoyed me so much about this film but I was bored sheetless.
2.5/10
Enough Said
This film puzzled me. Gandolfini in a rom com? Dodgy ground surely. However, he was excellent
However, despite a lively opening, the absence of any themes to the story disappointed. Not much comedy in it either...didnt laugh once.
Fascinating documentary film about the build up to the Mr Olympia competition in Vegas. If you think tennis players and footballers dedicate their life to their sports , think again. The guys that this film follow take dedication to a new high. I knew nothing about Mr Olympia before this and i found it eye opening. The one thing that struck me most is that they were all fairly introverted and quite miserable. Well worth a look.
Fascinating documentary film about the build up to the Mr Olympia competition in Vegas. If you think tennis players and footballers dedicate their life to their sports , think again. The guys that this film follow take dedication to a new high. I knew nothing about Mr Olympia before this and i found it eye opening. The one thing that struck me most is that they were all fairly introverted and quite miserable. Well worth a look.
Comments
Thankfully my drunk film watching days are very rare nowadays!
Fascinating documentary of how Lance Armstrong cheated his was to winning seven Tour De France. Not only was he a lair ( They all were) but also a nasty piece of work.
This could have been even better if Director Alex Gibney has told the story in some sort of Chronological order.
8 out of 10
Predictable " boy became good" drama that has many things wrongs with it. Firstly the casting of Spencer Lofranco in the lead role is just wrong. He looks about 12 and is never believable. The story is dull and the film plods along with only the cameo's from James woods and Ving Rhames to make it bearable. The soundtrack is bloody irritating also.
4 out of 10
An interesting concept poorly executed , which is a shame because it looks good and has a great cast. If i didn't know better i would have said this was a Terry Gilliam film but it's actually directed by south Korean , Joon-ho Bong.
I saw this in a private screening but a UK release date has yet to be determined.
It's as mad as a box of frogs.
5 out of 10
I watched it last week and was pretty disappointed in the end.
Imagine a dark , gritty crime thriller set in the seventies with some well established British actors and your eyes might light up , then imagine it looking like it has been directed by an 8 year old kid , then you have Harrigan .
This film is is so amateurish it's hard to explain. The director should be ashamed of himself.
You have to feel for lead actor Stephen Tompkinson because as hard as he tries , and he does , this was always going to be a stinker.
3 out of 10
An interesting, if somewhat enigmatic, film from the director who gave us 'Sexy Beast'. This is good and certainly very unusual but I don't understand why a lot of critics have been creaming themselves about it - 7/10.
Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
An unconventional couple (she a tattoo artist, he a musician) get together and have a daughter. The non-linear narrative opens with their young girl receiving cancer treatment, reverts to the start of their relationship seven years earlier and then proceeds to tell us how they cope with their daughter's illness. I found it a little melodramatic, although it made the shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. I did enjoy the Bluegrass music, though (albeit that one member of the band bore a disconcerting resemblance to an outsized Anthony Worrall Thompson).
A decent enough film - 7/10.
The Deep (Iceland)
This is based on the true life 1984 story of an Icelandic fisherman who defied all medical science by somehow surviving six hours in the freezing water after a trawler capsized. It is a tale of endurance and also how a humble man dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy and his extraordinary survival.
A relatively simple tale but a well crafted and powerful film - 8/10.
Reasonable Doubt. Good plot, well acted albeit Samuael L Jackson played a typically evil Samuel L Jackson role and altogether a reasonable film 6/10
The Truth about Emanuel. Very odd film, kinda been done before and better. Showed some promise but got more than a little silly. Thriller? Nah 4/10
Bad Country. Pretty good, bad fella comes good under pressure from good cop fighting a wet behind the ears FBI agent hiding behind bureacracy....Defoe was very good in this and well worth a look. 7/10
Phantom. Not even Ed Harris could save this sinking Submarine, the Russian dialogue was straight out of Brooklyn. 4/10
The Armstrong Lie. Whatever your view of 7 times winner of the Tour De France Lance Armstrong, I would still urge you to watch this compelling documentary which didnt hold back any punches. I got a better grasp of the real "tour" for the period from 99-2005 when it would appear that all the teams were drug fuelled with varying degrees of success. If you take the view that "everyone" was at it then you will have to hold your hands up and admit that Armstrong's doctor did a better job that any of the other teams quacks. Draw your own conclusions, Lance was a lieing bastard whatever way you shape it, but I still cant bring myself to hate him. 8/10
The Last days on Mars. Nothing to say as it was just a load of rubbish. 2/10
Overall, considering I thought it would be a disaster remake, I`d give it 6/10. Original is a huge 9.5/10 for me.
MUD
Just seen this on DVD. Thought it was really engaging and great performances from the 2 boys. If you like coming of age films, this is one of the better ones.
7/10
Paranoia
Film about Corporate espionage and the temptations of living like the better half. Despite the lead actor being a dead ringer for Gareth Bale, I really enjoyed this. It was slated on release but I thought it was extremely well produced and good performance from Oldman doing an London accent for the first time in ages!
7.5/10
An interesting film about a man with early stages of dementia who befriends a robot and uses him in more ways than one.
Frank Langella is very good and i was pleasantly surprised by this film.
7 out of 10
Kevin Costner tries to revive his career by going down the Liam Neeson route and doing the all action hero bit.
The problem with this is that it has a beginning and end full of action but it sandwiches a dull father/daughter story that completely kills the film. Nice Try Mr Costner.
5 out of 10
I always dread being dragged to the cinema by my kids to see ComicBook films and more often than not i end up quite enjoying them.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is no exception.
Plus points are that the action is great and Scarlett Johansson is pure eye candy.
Minus points are that it's at least half hour too long and the 3D is utter rubbish.
7 out of 10
Blue Ruin is an intelligent , provocative , revenge thriller that despite being played out at a pedestrian pace throughout has you gripped from the first minute to the last . Fantastic performance from Macon Blair. Recommended.
9 out of 10
Godzilla - surprisingly boring for a film about monsters.
Thanks for that - going on Monday.
Saw Locke this week, really enjoyed it. No action, but absorbing throughout. Thought his welsh accent was a bit dodgy now and again though.
Blues Brothers apart i really do not like musicals. I think they have a part to play on the stage but spontaneous song in the middle of movies make me cringe. I normally avoid them. Because of some good reviews i decided to watch Sunshine on Leith. A story based around the songs of The Proclaimers. Sadly this did nothing to change my mind. I found it embarrassingly bad but do you know what? my wife absolutely loved it. That says it all really.
3 out of 10
Id give this film a generous 8.5/10 due to the empathy building characterization of Robot. Mainly writers and directors have failed before with this task.
Reasonable Doubt
legal "Thriller" with samuel L and Dominic Cooper.
I know it would be rubbish and it was. I dont get Cooper playing front man Hollywood, he has no presence in that role and looks awkward. He is a lucky boy to be getting these gigs but needs to stop churning out shite.
I cant remember what annoyed me so much about this film but I was bored sheetless.
2.5/10
Enough Said
This film puzzled me. Gandolfini in a rom com? Dodgy ground surely. However, he was excellent
However, despite a lively opening, the absence of any themes to the story disappointed. Not much comedy in it either...didnt laugh once.
4.5/10
Fascinating documentary film about the build up to the Mr Olympia competition in Vegas. If you think tennis players and footballers dedicate their life to their sports , think again. The guys that this film follow take dedication to a new high. I knew nothing about Mr Olympia before this and i found it eye opening. The one thing that struck me most is that they were all fairly introverted and quite miserable. Well worth a look.
7 out of 10