Andrew426

Hurts like Hell is a real gem. The show is a miniseries about Muay Thai and gambling, and the seedy underbelly that corrupts the sport. Featuring real life interviews spliced in-between, HLH is almost as much of a documentary as it is a drama! Not since I watched 2018s A Prayer Before Dawn has there been a real Muay Thai itch to scratch on the small screen, and this show does just that! It's a slow start, but episode 3 is a straight masterpiece, and could have been a movie in and of itself.

I would say the only negative to this series would be the decent yet subdued fight choreography. Though still very well choreographed, unfortunately thats the problem - you can just tell. There is a lack of urgency in the fights, compared to APBDs brutal, barely scripted brawls, but they are still very good for what it is worth. Ironically the best fights are in ep3 with the child fights.

If your a fan of Muay Thai this is an absolute must watch, and the novelty about this show is that you can practically watch it in any episode order you want.

I expect this series to be a big gateway for mainstream media and western viewers to gain a greater picture and respect for the art of sumo (as it did me!)

Aside from being a great representative of Sumo, its also a pretty damn good drama too! Aside from a few moments of overacting and cringeworthy gross-out humour, the series takes itself relatively seriously and has some good twists throughout.

Hilariously enough the choreography is also highly realistic and pretty great! The dub suffers from Squigame-itus, so I'd recommend the sub.

This series was a pleasant surprise and I'd highly recommend it. Both as an entry point for those curious about Sumo, and already existing fans!

Good stuff first - Mcgregor when he's a down to earth family man and honourable and humble martial artist is PEAK Mcgregor. I find the moments when he's a loving father and husband and just a normal person far better than when he acts like a glorified thug with money. The series covers a very interesting period in his life, basically post Mayweather when he had it all - a treat for superfans.

However this whole series just screams ego-project, and feels pretty revisionist.

Episode 1 completely downplayed Conors inexcusable antics during his Khabib rivalry and Dana is portrayed as almost sycophantic to him after the fight.

An interview said that the fight "bought out the worst" in Mcgregor and Khabib, as if Khabib's "worst" was somehow remotely on the same level. Mcgregor was essentially portrayed as just 'not being himself' instead of a completely unhinged maniac. He said and did some really bad things during the rivalry that just aren't shown here. Let alone his ridiculous Twitter activity.

Episode 2 also naturally ignores the fact that Cowboy was on a 2 fight losing streak before the fight and past his prime, but sure. The ep made the fight look a lot more competitive than it actually was, and basically made it look like Conor had overcome some sort of impossible odds, when in reality, the Cowboy bout was clearly a gimme fight, all respect to the latter.

Wasn't much to cover with ep 3, but ep 4 gives an interesting prelude to what led to his recent injury, despite yet again trying to excuse/cover up his bizarre behaviour pre and post fight

Overall this series won't do much to win back lost fans, but those who are still on the Mcgregor train will probably get a good kick out of this. Just go in knowing the facts aren't all there and that naturally, Khabib, Cerrone and Dustin's perspectives are totally sidelined and nonexistent.

Contrary to what people would have you believe, Covenant isn't the worst film ever made ever. There are worse films out there, including within the same franchise. Alien: Resurrection is infinitely worse by every margin.

Alien: Covenant is simply just an okay movie, as it didn't follow up from Prometheus enough to surpass it. It upped the android David's character by 100 but unfortunately it was in sacrifice of any development of Shaw or the Engineers. It had some amazing scenes, but also very concerning ones too, like why the Engineers in the film look like low-budget fan film versions, or the implied revelation that DAVID is the creator of the Xenomorphs. Though this revelation has seemingly since been retconned, the thought process behind this I don't understand at all.

Unlike Prometheus, where I enjoy it the more I watch it, I seem to be liking Alien: Covenant less and less. Scott clearly strayed too far away from his original idea for a sequel after too many complaints following Prometheus' release, and he clearly caved in. He should've just stuck to his guns and made what he originally envisioned. The result as seen in Covenant is a frankenstein's monster of a film that doesn't truly satisfy Prometheus fans OR Alien fans. Unfortunately, I think the ball has been dropped for Scott's prequel series, and the franchise should just move on, which it seems to have been.

Personally, I think David reappearing in subsequent Aliens or AVP media as a main antagonist would tie a nice little bow over Covenant's cliffhanger.

Predators is a pretty good reboot/sequel-thingy to the original film. It contains diverse characters each with their own distinctions backgrounds and personalities whilst simultaneously all being horrible people, and action that pays a good homage to Predator. Not exactly ground-breaking in its premise but a strong follow-up.

The concept of a 'Super-Predator' was a bit of a pointless edition, and perhaps it did derive from the original film a little too much, but overall it was a good film that I wished was given a sequel, not including the weird comic or that GOD-awful Shane Black movie. The Topher Grace twist actually caught me by surprise too.

The Colour Purple feels like it should be a much more serious story, considering it deals with heavy themes of oppression, rape and undertones of third class citizenship. But this film is chock full of unnecessary Spielbergian tropes, including an oddly bright colour grading, some on the nose acting in scenes and a VERY cheesy 'movie magic' soundtrack. Imagine 12 Years a Slave with these qualities. It would completely confuse the film on a tonal level! Not that it does, but these things almost romanticise life as a beaten down housewife. It's just a little odd. The runtime is also INCREDIBLY long.

On a positive note, Whoopi Goldberg puts on a fantastic lead performance, but this isn't really my kind of film.

Not a particularly complex watch here. A very competent animated film, but with no real curveballs. The casting wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be - Chris Pratt actually does a decent job and of course Jack Black kills it as Bowser. Animation is very pretty and expressive, especially on Bowser.

Negatives were the intrusive licensed music, and a very conventional plot, but I guess that is all that it needed to be. Also, anyone find it a little weird how Luigi was basically the princess of this film? I feel like Illumination could have done better regarding the screenplay, but other than that this is definitely a film that viewers 13 and under are going to love, but I don't think anyone beyond hard-core Nintendo/Mario fans are going to go crazy over this. Will be interesting to see what they do for future Nintendo licensed films.

Finally a biographical pic on one of the most inspirational boxers of the century! I'd be lying if I wasn't hyped as hell to watch Big George, and for the most part it was exactly what I wanted!

Unfortunately, the third act was when things started to get a bit iffy, following Foremans decade long hiatus from boxing. I don't expect the film to broadcast EVERY single one of Foremans fights, but they really rushed his comeback. The training was all fine, but the Holyfield and Moorer fights were really downplayed, to the point that they used stock footage for Holyfield v Foreman. And then suddenly we are dropped into the Moorer fight with perhaps little to no buildup whatsoever. And then the film just kind of ends all of a sudden. The pacing took an absolute nosedive.

On a side note, the Jamaican accent that Foreman's wife uses was shockingly bad and killed any seriousness in a scene with her in it.

Beyond those issues, and perhaps a bit of an intrusive soundtrack at times, this is as good of a George Foreman biopic as you could ask for.

Paris Texas is another "Chinatown' for me, where the films length is a detriment in my unpopular opinion. Paris Texas is an incredibly slow burner to the point where I was considering giving the film a 6. Not much really happens throughout and I was beginning to get a little bored.

The first thirty minutes has our protagonist Travis completely mute to the chargin of his brother (and perhaps the audience too) and about 85% of the rest of the film is about him attempting to bond with his estranged son, fairly heartwarming but uneventful.

However, its that final revelation that really makes the film, and reveals why Travis is the way he is. It is an incredibly moving and saddening twist and fantastically built up, albeit built up for a bit too long for my liking. The reception this film receives is much deserved, but for me, I wish we could get to that third act a little faster, and cut out some of the fluff between.

Tom Hanks has a thing for playing real life PTSD ridden American captains, it seems.

Sully is an interesting story, but pretty much one you know exactly what to expect going in, and I think the celebrity cast kind of reflects this - the story itself isnt enough to hold up a film so they crammed as many familiar faces into this as possible to compensate. This feels much more suited for a documentary, which I'm more than positive already exists.

Hank's performance isn't bad either, but its basically consists of a permanent concerned/worried look on his face throughout, didn't exactly require a wide range of emotion for this one.

Pretty passable film, overall. For a select crowd, I'd say.

EEAaO is something that you most certainly have never seen before. Closest thing I can ascribe it to is something like a modern-day Matrix film. It's an incredibly unique assault to the senses, in a mostly good way.

The universe-hopping premise makes a great backdrop for some great set pieces (we all know about that hilarious trophy fight), but I found the plot about a mother's waning relationship with her daughter that was wrapped around it to be what made the film. It's easy to write this film off as just nonsense, and it can come off as that sometimes, but it does have a touching moral to it underneath its bombastic, epileptic exterior.

I think its biggest issue is that it goes on for a bit too long - there were several moments when I thought the film was wrapping up, but it just kind of kept on going. With so much going on "all at once", it can also get pretty much. By the end of the film, I was thoroughly exhausted.

Pretty good film, overall. Best picture? Probably not in my opinion, but still worth watching, if only just the one time.

I'd almost recommend the 2006 WM over the original solely by virtue of how terrible it is. I won't, though. I'll save everyone some braincells and just say DON'T watch this film. It's not particularly so bad it's good (save for a few moments), it's just kind of sad, overall and a waste of your good time.

Wooden acting, a bizarre script, characters acting like morons and scenes that go nowhere. A lot of the film consists of Nicholas Cage walking around this female-led colony interrogating its residents on the disappearance of his daughter, only for them to be cartoonishly evasive, and for Cage to just kind of move on to the next scene. It's beyond frustrating.

The original film had moments of unintentional levity, but this one takes it to new levels. If you truly want a modern day rendition of The Wicker Man, watch Ari Aster's 'Midsommar'.

I don't think I've ever watched a film where practically every single line of dialogue could make you laugh. After not being the biggest fan of Guy Ritche's 'Lock Stock', I watched Snatch out of morbid curiosity and I VERY much prefer it. Better characters, better plot and an overall funnier film, despite me not being the biggest fan of the style of storytelling carried over from his last film.

Snatch is funnier than most comedies I've seen, and features Tarantino-esque back and fourths with a strong cockney twist to them that I think even non-British viewers would find a laugh.

The only negative I'd say is Brad Pitt's gypsy character felt too forced. Of course mr Hollywood is going to play this overly anarchic badass traveller who can knock people twice his size out in one punch. I doubt he would have settled for anything less. Just a pet peeve, though, its still a good(?) performance and it serves the narrative, just a bit on the nose for me.

Overall Snatch is a brilliant, hilarious watch that I'd definitely recommend.

Cheaters is a serious gem and that first episode is one of the best hooks ever! The complicated relationship between Josh and Fola is a fantastic and the comedy stems largely from their downright bizarre situation between them and their other halves. This show doesn't pull its punches, my jaw dropped with one scene in particular. It was a serious 'they really went there' moment.

What I loved the most about this series is how down to Earth it felt. None of the characters felt like caricatures, or looked like typical Hollywood movie stars. Just real people with real issues looking for an actual connection. However, I must say that this doesn't apply to Callie Cooke's Esther, who was so annoying and cartoonishly stupid that it was hard to empathize with her problems, even when the show does go lengths to try to make you do so, especially when she was the one who cheated on Josh in the first place!

The 10 minute episodes are a perfect length, but ironically, it has led me longing for more. Fingers crossed there's a season 2. I'm not much of a romcom fan, but hopefully Cheaters gets the recognition it deserves!

Every now and then a special type of game comes about that is completely unique from anything else that's come before, and I'd say that Sifu is that type of game.

This is NOT for those looking for a casual game; Sifu has a steep learning curve that only seems to get more difficult the further you go, but it is so satisfying when you get the start getting the hang of things! On top of the steller gameplay mechanics, the presentation is top notch! The first three out of five levels are all visual treats (the fourth fees a bit of a step down from the latter) and the bosses have fantastic face value designs and personalities. It's a shame not more time was spent developing them and your characters' dynamic, but hey, AA budget so not all beggers can be choosers.

There are also plenty of great references to other media, from The Raid, to Oldboy to even John Wick (maybe?). The games plot itself is basically an homage to a classic Kung Fu film. The antagonists are simple, but very distinctive, and the ageing mechanic to signify how revenge takes its tolls on a person's life is masterfully woven into the game.

However, Sifu isn't flawless. A few negatives: Though presentation and gameplay is great, the English dubbing is pretty awful (play with the Chinese Dub). Replay value is stretched a little far to compensate for its short length, and it can get annoying having to replay the same level over and over due to the perma-death mechanic. Music is awesome, but I have this nagging feeling that it could have been even better - something just feels missing about it.

Overall the game isn't perfect, but it is such an outlier in a market full of clones and duds that the ambition alone to create a game like this is truly admirable.

Can't wait to see what sloclap do next! Perhaps a blend of both Sifu and Absolver?

You can definitely see where Ari Aster got his inspiration from. The Wicker Man is a British classic that for the most part holds up. It's got a gripping premise - you can just tell the entire village is hiding something from Sgt Howie, and that twist and ending is pretty horrifying. The late great Christpher Lee gives a malicious performance as the big bad, and Edward Woodward is fantastic.

Unfortunately, the film has aged quite a bit. It most certainly isn't scary, or particularly tense or atmospheric either, and I know Nicholas Cages' Wicker Man gets some flack for being unintentionally hilarious, but this film has its awkward moments too. The entire final bit where Howie was in a full Mr Punch getup was a little embarrassing, not much better than Cages' bear, to be honest. Also, no one told me this was a musical as well?? The amount of musical segments are downright bizarre in this film. The music they used during a brief chase was also a little off.

I also feel as if the film was a tad over-long. The entire film has Howie being led astray by the pagan cultists like a headless chicken, and it gets a little tiresome by the end. Still, when you finally DO get to that iconic and haunting ending, it's almost worth it.

Maybe I'm just some Gen Z zoomer with no taste, but I don't consider The Wicker Man any kind of masterpiece, but it is still worth a watch, for sure.

The Raid is one of those types of films that technically has a plot and characters, but it is all pretty much a backdrop for some high intensity fight scenes and choreography that would put any Western action movie to shame.

Most of the fights in the Raid are adrenaline fueled which is a plus and a negative in my opinion. Realism is dropped in favour of spectacle, for better or worse - both of 'Mad Dogs' fight scenes are incredibly choreographed, and hats off to all actors involved, but they also kind of overstay their welcome - they go on for what feels like a WHILE. If they kept some fights shorter and sweeter, I feel it would have been to the films benefit. These characters have unlimited stamina, but hey, if your not in it for the realism, or for that much plot, you'll probably love this film for its sheer spectacle!

I decided to give this film a watch upon recommendation by Mark Kermode. Thought it most certainly wasn't as terrifying as he hyped it up to be, it was still masterfully directed and eerie for a 1964 film. Onibaba feels very contemporarily shot.

The inba swamp was an almost limbo-like setting and incredibly atmospheric. The camerawork at times almost gives off the impression that the swamp itself is alive, and natural sound and a lacking in any musical composition is highly weaponized.

However, I feel as if this film is quite the tough watch. Inspired by a story of a woman using a mask to scare her daughter from entering a Buddhist temple, the entire film is based around an old lady essentially trying to stop her daughter in law from having it on with her neighbour, and that point only comes about at the very END of the film.

It starts masterfully, with the two living a nomadic life and salvaging what they can by murdering deserters from a war, but the entire mid-section of the film is just the daughter sneaking off to go see Uchi, and then the Mother taking issue. It picks up after the masked man appears but the film still trudges. Taking the film from face value, it really has no need to be as long as it is.

If you want a unique and unusual watch, go for it. If you're a casual filmgoer, I'd suggest avoiding this film.

Ben Wheatley's unanimous magnum opus. A troubled army-vet and his friend take up a contract killing, only for it to spiral into a black hole of folk horror.

Fantastic acting from our two main leads Jay and Gal. To say our lead, Jay is a troubled man is an understatement, and his descent into madness is very well performed.

The film goes from depressing, to dark, to a complete surreal nightmare. That final twist ending will leave you pretty shook.

The only real negative is the unnatural sound affects they used for the masked cultists to artificially make them sound more inhuman, which felt a little cheap, but I understand the decision.

If you're a fan of a good bone chilling thriller that doesn't rely on jumpscares, watch Kill List.

I think I've come to respect the idea Ben Wheatley's films more than I actually enjoy them. Aside from his magnum opus 'Kill List', every other project of his I've seen has been so weird and divisive. Of course, I'd rather people make unconventional films like these rather than Marvel movie no. 155, but still, I'm afraid this one was a dud. This makes A Field in England look like an arthouse masterpiece...

Movie starts strong with good acting and an overall well shot cinematography and greatly composed soundtrack, but drops the ball during the middle when 'Zach' is introduced, the least threatening and scary antagonist I've ever seen in a horror film. Our two leads are kept captive by this dork for the entire middle section of the film and its such a dull slog and tonally a mess - the amputation scene was so sloppily handled I kind of checked out after that. And then a REPEAT of the scene happens again when they have to cauterize the wound later. It was like a bad joke...

By the time I thought the movie was wrapping up I was disheartened to realize I had an extra forty minutes to go, and it really doesn't improve. Coupled with some nauseating strobe light affects and In the Earth becomes a genuinely tedious watch. No horror. No substance. Just nothing.

If you want to watch a film with a similar concept but infinitely better execution, watch 2017's 'The Ritual'.

For all the things The Tunnel has against it (a miniscule budget and of course using the dreaded 'found footage' style), it is incredibly well made and atmospheric.

Horror within the film is appropriately used, the acting is surprisingly great for how low-scale it all is, and miraculously, the monster is NEVER properly revealed, adding to that creep factor of not truly knowing what we're supposed to be afraid of.

There is the overall question as to how a single scrawny goblin monster has impeded an entire governmental programme, and why they couldn't just send in a death squad to take the thing out, but to be honest, everything else in the film is so well done it doesn't really matter.

I would highly recommend this film. Currently, it is free to access on Youtube, so what's stopping you?

This film screams proto-Lighthouse; black and white historical psychological thriller featuring characters slowly losing their minds? Eggers MUST have taken notes!

Though I wouldn't say AFiE lives up to the monumental highs of Egger's 2017 masterpiece, it is still a unique watch that wasn't bad. Regardless, it is most certainly one of those 'out there' films, and will definitely polarize. Case in point, the hallucination scene near the end is a real spectacle - it manages to give half a glimpse into what our characters are tripping out to, but only that. Characters are also great and acted fantastically, especially Reece Shearsmith's Whitehead, who's got himself a bit of an arc. It can get a little self-indulgent, however, and the tiny cost of production does show, but overall I won't deny A Field in England is a substantial watch for such an under-budgeted film.

Chinatown is hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, arguably the best neo-noir. For me, being a twenty something filmgoer born roughly forty years after this movies release, I'm afraid a lot of the praise is lost on me. I don't require my movies to have egregious amounts of action setpieces, but I do appreciate it when things actually happen in scenes, beyond character A going to a place and talking to character B.

Chinatown is incredibly slow-paced and dialogue-heavy, perhaps by the largest margin I have ever seen in a film before. Jack Nicholson gives a fantastic and effortlessly charming lead performance, and I do like the concept of him slowly unfolding a labyrinthian mystery much larger than he will ever be. Music is great, and the entire film is far less stylish than I thought it would be - very grounded and real (the scene where Jake has his nose slashed was brutally realistic). I also love the setting, but the titular location only appears at the VERY end for about 5 minutes! Rather disappointing. The ultimate twist also doesn't do much for me.

Hopefully I'll be able to see what so many others see in this film upon subsequent reviewing, but as of right now, and I may be committing heresy saying this, but this film was just kind of boring for me. I went in expecting a stylish, surreal, escapist crime thriller, and what I got was a very blunt, grounded mystery film. Not a bad movie by any means, just not really what I was looking for.

Chinatown is definitely one of those films which isn't a surface level watch, and film analysts have probably had a field day with this, so this isn't really my kind of film.

They really needed just a couple more episodes to flesh things out a bit more for this series before the finale.

I feel as if some further time spent with Joel and Ellie's relationship could have been very beneficial. The opportunity was right there after episode 8 but instead the finale is set after a timeskip! With two of the nine episodes this series essentially being filler, I don't really feel as if Joel and Ellie have really spent that much time together. In retrospect there is also a severe lack of infected in this series; episode 2 is the obligatory Clicker episode, and they never really come back afterwards save for one more scene, and the Bloater shows up for one measly scene.

I think 12 episodes would have been perfect, heck, 10 even just to make that finale really hit hard. I was shocked at how short the finale episode was, and it felt kind of rushed as a whole. Still a good series, overall, but why so short? We get about 6 episodes to develop our main character's relationship, and a lot of the dialogue is just from the game, but less of it. Personally, I don't think that's enough.

I don't usually give out ones, but this is definitely one of 'those' films that warrants a low rating.

Released years after Lee's death, GoD is a poor attempt at stringing together unused footage of Bruce from a prior project and splicing it into a new film with obvious stunt doubles. The film goes hefty lengths to obscure protagonist Billy Lo's face as much as possible, including an embarrassing reflection shot where they just taped an image of Lee's face onto a mirror - terrible.

The film is also pretty tasteless, basing the entire plot on Lee's character being assassinated, and then showing real footage of the actor's FUNERAL. On top of all this, supporting actor Gig Young would go on to kill his wife and then himself before the film released. Just an overall dumpster fire.

Only salvageable part of this tacky flick is probably the one fight with Kareem Abdul Jabbar (intended for a different movie), otherwise don't bother with this.