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The feeling I kept getting while watching this was that the director was trying too hard to scare and unnerve the audience. If the script is good enough you shouldn't need to overdo anything to get the desired emotional response. And as for the script, felt like someone had written a parody of similar horror films and then handed it to the director but failed to inform them that it was a parody. Excellent visuals though and the casting was good as well.

Beautifully shot, casted, acted film that the director and cast clearly had a genuine passion for but it's just too long, muddled and bloated. Regarding the length of the Directors Cut - Lawrence Of Arabia and The Good the Bad and the Ugly are two of my favourite films and both are long in length so before anyone accuses me of having a short attention span that is not the problem here but some major cutting in the editing would have done this film a world of good.

First off Robin Williams was outstanding lighting up every scene he appears in with his charisma and sincerity but sadly he isn't in the film nearly enough the bulk of screen time going to a group of teenage students who while fairly interesting characters represented by good actors weren't able to hold my attention. Now the chief issue with Dead Poets Society is that the message of the film seems to be non conformism, thinking for yourself and being an individual the final 3rd seems to tell us that going down that route is a road that will deliver nothing but failure and rejection. Our hero Robin Williams is fired, one of the boys commits suicide and the fraternal club of non conformists known as The Dead Poets Society are crushed and disbanded by the school hierarchy because they dare to non conform. Sure there's that happy clappy final scene tacked on at the end but just a little thought would suggest that the boys who escaped expulsion earlier by becoming rats would almost certainly have been expelled for what they did in that final scene. So the supposedly positive message of the movie that of Carpe Diem is rendered meangingless by the ACTUAL message of the film that being in the end the man always wins.

They're back, after a groundbreaking first film loved by critics, audiences and a box office success does this sequel deliver. Kind of. All the characters from the original are here plus many new ones, too many new ones actually. That's one of the problems with GOTG 2 it feels bloated and in need of editing especially in the final 3rd. Had to watch the film twice at home on Blu Ray after seeing it in the cinema to fully absorb everything that happened both from a story perspective and the action sequences. There's plenty to like here though the film looks amazing, the GOTG team have not been changed and the positive momentum from the first film has not been derailed, in fact if the 3rd movie is an improvement then this GOTG 2's stock may rise.

The first hour of Ip Man was excellent, one of the best martial arts films I've seen. Donnie Yen was excellent as the calm and fair Wing Chun master Ip Man who would rather help individuals than start a fight. There was a strong supporting cast with clear characters and the action scenes it goes without saying were first rate. However the last 30-45 minutes felt a little rushed as though the producers wanted to get it over with and move on to the sequel. I absolutely will watch the sequel just hope it's better paced towards the end than this.

Shakespeare this ain't. Kurosawa this ain't. Citizen Kane this ain't (thank god). Crude, overly violent, low budget, offensive ?? Sure.

Funny, self aware, entertaining, pure escapism ?? Yes !! Rather than criticising this for what is isn't how about enjoying it for what it is. A low budget horror comedy with no airs or graces that is fully self aware of it's utter ludicrousness. Switch off your brain and enjoy.

This started so well. It really did. First 90 minutes or so were among the best work Tarantino has done - Characters, visuals, storyline, action, pacing etc. Everything seemed to be building towards a monumental clash between Django, Schulz and Calvin Candie's small army. But what do we get instead ?? The arch villain Candie and Schulz dying in a desperately anti climatic manner. Django then goes Hong Kong style gunfighter for a few minutes, get's captured and escapes in the most stupid way. Returns to Candie land, kills all the remaining villains in cold blood and walks away with his wife. The End. Did Quentin Tarantino run out of ideas while writing the script ?? Felt like it. Last 45 minutes just felt so rushed and forced. A case of what could have been.

The Hateful Eight could have been easily 45 minutes shorter and edited in a linear fashion but as things stand the first 90 minutes of the film are an overly long, bloated mess with numerous sections and dialogues which not only had no business being included but slow what could potentially have been a very good movie down. The last 45 minutes are however excellent and with a linear style of editing who knows how good this would have been. Summary : A missed opportunity from Quentin Tarntino.

This 1981 adaption is essentially the entire book on screen, if you loved the novel and are not a snob when it comes to big budget production values which this admittedly does not have you'll love it. Dark, atmospheric, well acted and in keeping with the spirit of Dickens and the book I can't recommend this enough. It is long yes but for a complete adaption of the book it had to be really. Recommended.

The Walking Dead seasons 1-5 were true classics of modern television, real and likable characters in an impossible future of dystopia trying to survive, rebuild society and create a haven despite the conditions around them. However from season 6 onwards it's been all downhill, the idealism and optimism of the early series' is gone forever. Every episode is now largely a grim, depressing chore of misery. And it's gotten horribly repetitive too. Our 'heroes' encounter another faction of survivors and go to war with them, started with the Governor and has been ongoing since. Rinse and Repeat. Season 7 was the tipping point for many fans. Negan and The Saviors should have been an opportunity to revive the show but instead was a badly paced and thought season that ended at a point were it should have been 4 or 5 episodes in. I still occasionally watch but not religiously anymore. Too predictable now.

A good but not great entry from Takeshi Kitano. Only his second directed film so he was still learning his craft and defining his style. For the aficionados of Kitano and the Yakuza genre I would recommend this, not quite on the level of Takeshi's later seminal works such as Hana Bi and Kikijuro but well worth giving a chance.

From beginning to end Machete is a self aware parody of the action movie genre but it doesn't mock the genre it honours it while highlighting the often ludicrous nature of it. Danny Trejo is outstanding as is Robert DeNiro and a host of other well known faces however the stand out has to be Steven Seagal playing a villain for the first time which he is better suited for in reality, Seagal is a bad guy in real life by all accounts so it only makes sense that he's more convincing in that kind of role. Funny, self aware and brutally violent. Brilliant.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles isn't just an odd couple comedy it's about growth and facing your flaws. Arguably Steve Martin, John Candy and John Hughes at their absolute peak this isn't just funny it has pathos, feeling and depth. Neal Page (Martin) and Del Griffin (Candy) are not the one dimensional characters as they first appear to be, as thing progress we discover both men have hidden layers, flaws and insecurities they've been avoiding. All of this is set against a backdrop of an odd couple, travel comedy as Candy and Martin try to get to Chicago from New York during the Thanksgiving holiday, the weather is bad and their travel plans are continually being disrupted and no matter how hard the uptight Neal Page tries to avoid the lazy, loud Griffin they keep winding up having to travel together.

A sadly forgotten adaption of Leo Tolstoy's short story. This is set in early 1800's England and is a poignant moving morality tale with deeply religious/spiritual undertones.

Presumably like others I discovered this by accident one night when surfing TV channels in the early hours of the morning saw this listed and gave it a chance.

So, so glad that I did. A beautiful short film with a positive, uplifting message that is rare missing in today's media.

A true hidden gem that had a strong impact on me, if you can find this movie - online, DVD or on TV please give it a try.

Bone Tomahawk is a slow burn western with true grit and realism, it isn't per se an action film as there are long dialogue scenes with character development but when the violence happens boy does it happens.

Perhaps the most brutal violence I've seen on film, was on the edge of my seat at times, the director does not pull punches here, for those of a sensitive nature be warned. Acting and dialogue is slow, deliberate and very good, characters clearly defined and realistic. If you're looking for a modern western with depth, violence and intensity Bone Tomahawk is for you.

Theme park movie rating : 9/10 Real movie rating : 4/10

Read the reviews and expected something a little different to the cookie cutter superhero trend ala Guardians Of The Galaxy but no Aquaman is just another soulless big budget blockbuster devoid of character or emotion. Looks like a cartoon with most of the movie filmed in front of a green screen, at no point did I feel like I was watching anything under real sea, just looked like fake CGI. Also couldn't figure out if it was self parody or not, every cliche you can think of from other superhero movies is in here, won't list them all.

Can't understand the good reviews this gets. I'm a huge fan of Akira Kurosawa - Seven Samurai is one of the greatest films of all time, Yojimbo and Hidden Fortress are classics but Rashomon was for me a boring, depressing mess of a film. A messy, unclear plot that by the end I was too tired and eager to for the movie to end that I'm not even sure if there was a clear conclusion to it ? For years I'd read the amazing reviews of Rashomon and was expecting something special but what I got instead was one of the biggest disappointments of my movie watching life.