b_trought

I've been waiting to see this for a couple of months now having seeing the cheesy Bond-esque trailer in the cinema. So after roping a few friends in, and convincing them that it'd be so bad it's good, we headed to the pub for a few drinks and then on for a good 'oul time at the cinema.

And it was a great time!

Was it everything we expected? Yes and then some! We laughed at the overused clichés, the way conversing character seemed to be having different types of conversations with each other, the 'science', some over-choreographed extra, dandy characters and hats at jaunty angles, as well as a whole host of other things.

We even somehow got talking to the couple behind us, who were also there to enjoy the over-the-top unintentional cheesiness of the film. That added to the viewing experience and the whole thing became this shared experience between everyone in the cinema. Something very rare in cinema viewing!

The film itself is ok. Honestly it's Not rubbish (it's flawed though) and Flatley deserves credit for pushing to make the project happen. He wanted to make it, fought until he did, so kudos to him.

Does the film deserve a 10/10 rating? Nope! But it's nowhere a 1 star either. It's somewhere in the 4-6 range of movies, but IT IS a memorable film and IT IS great craic (when you go with a particular attitude and the right friends). So much so that I can see this becoming a bit of a cult classic (amongst our friends at least).

Should you see it? Yes, 100%

Really Really enjoyed this!

The action sequences were something else here, as was the tension being built throughout the film... I actually felt relief when they were celebrating at the end. And that never happens to me!

It's a rollercoaster of a ride and definitely one to watch on the big screen (with the superb visuals and booming audio). Go see it!

To start I'd like to say that I wasn't excited about Moon Knight when I heard it was being released. The trailers were ok, but I figured I'd watch the first couple of episodes to see what it was about. The first two episodes were 'Meh' at best, possibly because of the Marvel storytelling formula, but I somehow stuck with it. Overall the series was ok... Maybe just a bit above ok actually...

The acting was great mostly and the chemistry between the actors was solid and believable. The series is predominantly focused on world building and relating the mythology of the Moon Knight comics. This for me is a good thing as you get a feel for the world they've created, as well as the rules of the world. The bare bones of the story are pretty generic though; bad guy wants to do some morally questionable stuff - good guy steps in - they fight, and bad guy wins. But there are some other layers to the story too, which is a plus.

In terms of negatives, Tawaret's voicing is a problem imo; It's a bit too 'daytime kids TV show'. In addition, while e I believe they're trying to focus on the relationships within the story (and this is done well), there's were too few action scenes for me. And Finally, there are some scenes in a mental hospital that made some sense initially. After the post credits scene however I was confused about how it fit with reality and how Harrow was there.

Give it a watch, enjoy the world building and the interplay between the main actors and you'll probably enjoy it . 6.5/10.

So there were some good things and some bad things in the season. Rather than going into any detail here I thought the 'Mods' were gimmicky and childish, offering little in the way of interest. They certainly weren't the type of 'muscle' you'd need in a battle! I also thought that all of the episodes without Boba Fett were better than those with him. In fact, Boba wasn't interesting enough (for a variety of reasons) when on screen for me to care about the character. For a series based around Boba Fett this isn't a good thing.

The overall season works well in the end though and if we get to see more of the supporting characters (again who were much more interesting than Boba) then I'd possibly tune in for the second season.

To start, Shang Chi is a film worth going to see. If you're a Marvel fan it'll be a film that you'll enjoy; story, links to the wider MCU, action, comedy, and visuals. Just take a look at the reviews on here and you get the idea that it's a v good MCU film, that is slightly different from others that we've seen.

I thought to add a few things not mentioned in the reviews on here that struck me while I was watching; a. The slow motion and music/sound during the slow Mo. Something I've noticed about Chinese cinema over the past 2 decades is the over use of slow Mo to try and be poignant or emotional. It's been overdone, especially with the slightly cheesey background music to labour the point. ShangChi leans heavily on these several times and I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. Admittedly you may not notice it.

B. The CGI. I thought it wasn't great, particularly at the start in the forest fight and the bus scene. It got better though, and overall the climactic fight was well rendered, if a little disorientating.

C. The 'eastern' mystical stuff. They tried to shoehorn in a couple of things but honestly it's kinda like an impression that a westerner would have about 'Eastern history and culture'. It reminded me a little bit of what Marvel did with The Ancient One (a Caucasian lady in Asian clothes), and the way Danny Rand tried to spout a few mystical phrases in Iron Fist.

D. Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah. Three major players in Chinese cinema going all the way back to the 80s (I think)... It was great to see them here, particularly Tony Leung who has some of the most expressive eyes in film (I know it's a weird thing to say, but he has) and Yuen Wah who was a classmate of Jackie Chan. I would have liked to have seen more of the latter to be honest and would recommend you check him, Jackie, Sammo Hung and Yuan Biao out on YouTube.

E. The fight scenes. Overall they were very good, particularly the hand to hand on the bus (before the CGI). That one was sharp, aggressive and brilliantly choreographed. The one in the forest though!!! It's was one of that have been overdone in Chinese cinema, so an eye roller for me... ie a relationship developing as a result of a fight.

F. The humour was great imo and the delivery was great overall.

Like I said above it's worth seeing and you'll probably enjoy it. My girlfriend (who's not watch a whole lot of Asian cinema) did. I've seen a fair share of it, from the Shaw Brothers films up to modern day, so somethings did grate on me. Did I enjoy it though? Overall, yes.

Paterson has been on my mind since I first viewed it. Initially I wasn't sure what to make of the slow pace and the repetition, but watching Paterson savouring ordinary (and often repetitive) moments with people I had a feeling that Jarmusch was pointing his film in a specific direction; there is beauty in the mundane, in the banal if you can appreciate it. So like a passenger on Paterson's bus I was content in taking a journey with him.

The film is a snippet of one person's life, as he experiences an ordinary week. Unlike many typical Hollywood films there is no starting event, development, conflict and resolution. Instead the film reflects life and we're transported in to the middle of someone's life. There are peculiar people, random occurrences, and sometimes emotionless interactions much the same as in regular life. At times it seems the film is saying nothing and time is simply passing by. But the story is interspersed with poetry, subtly sweet moments and a final act that suggests the universe he exists is willing to help the main character when he falls out of balance.

Speaking of the main character, Paterson is almost unwaveringly pleasant throughout. When you feel he is on the brink of loosing who he is then a couple of "chance occurrences" help him make sense of what has happened and demonstrate that the pleasant kindness he has carried throughout the film hasn't been unnoticed. I guess this is what we all hope for fundamentally; that we have made a difference by existing, even if we're seldom told.

This is one of my main thoughts having just finished watching it for the second time. I'll return to it again in a year or so and it's likely I'll have a different impression of it. Having read others reviews it seems that this is likely to be the case.

So I'd suggest watching it with an open mind and maybe something will resonate with you.

I like Karen Gillan as an actor; from Doctor Who all the way through to the MCU stuff. She tries hard, sells the roles as best she can and I think she'll make a steady living from it over the next couple of years.

She Can't fight though. And her lack of skills are on show here, as are the rest of the female cast (Michelle Yeoh aside, who has plenty of experience with fight scenes in her earlier years). If the film focuses on a female assassin and its underworld then there are going to be comparisons with John Wick... and this film doesn't hold a candle to the action in that film.

Part of the reason John Wick is so popular is that Keanu Reeves can actually fight and use a gun... just check out his training videos on Youtube. The guy works hard. The action here is sloppy, clearly over choreographed to help the actors struggle through the fight scenes, and the dives that the stunt men&women take after being tapped by the ladies is just laughable. It was so bad it was good, but took itself so seriously that it was cringy and the poor dialogue adds to this.

Stylistically the film was entertaining. The colour palettes used were very standard for Netflix, but each character had their own colour theme which was nice, and there was no obligatory lens flare in a Netflix film ... yay!!!

I'd recommend giving it a look before watching John Wick just to see the difference in quality with the action.

This is great TV; good storytelling, writing and acting. Some great fight scenes, if a little heavy on the gore.

I have one gripe though, just one! The prolonged Nunchaku scene with Andrew Koji. I've been a big fan of his fighting and action work so far. The guy is Very Very good and his fights are generally very realistic. But his Nunchaku work in this one is slow, sloppy, and focused on being flashy. The scene is too messy for me. If you'd like to see how the weapon is meant to be used then watch Bruce Lee using them. Bruce Lee's movements were always sharp, purposeful, precise and efficient. Koji, and the choreographers have a lot of work to do to raise their game to this level.

Like I said though this is my only gripe from the episode. Actually it's my only gripe from the show! Go watch the series and enjoy this episode. Both are exceptionally great.

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Netflix movies. Overall I find they contain ideas in them aren't fully fleshed out and are derivative. The writing lacks punch and originality, the stories are predictable, and the visuals rely heavy on the current fashionable trend of lense flares and colour palettes of turquoise and orange. Add in plenty of (overly corrected) political correctness or woke-ness, an over-sexualisation of teenagers and some unnecessary sexual relationships that add nothing to the plot, men that are abusive, or selfish and act oppressively to all women in the film. These are just some of the ideas that are squeezed in you're usual Netflix movie... If you're not sure about this, or disagree then watch their movies and observe who the villian is, or what ideas they consistently demonise and you'll get the idea.

This movie has nearly all of these tropes, though in a less obvious way in some cases (which is good) nonetheless, and like most Netflix movies, the shoehorning of so many themes gets in the way of how clearly the story is told and experienced. And that is the reason for the low score- the movie is muddled in terms of what it is saying. It's not original in any way either, apart from the artwork (which I really enjoyed btw). There is a spiritual aspect to the story, but I suppose this is Netflix's way of replacing Western Christian exposition with something they believe is more suitable!!?? I haven't read the book so don't know.

Would I recommend it? Not really as Ive seen much better films of this type. But I wouldn't recommend many Netflix films either! ;-)

Firstly, I enjoyed watching this. It's well put together, is an interesting topic and there are plenty of relatable aspects to the stories of the 'ordinary' man involved in the industry. I'd recommend giving it a watch as it'll allow you access to a subculture many are not aware of. Just be aware that the film focuses more on the seedy aspects of that culture, and doesn't delve too much into the reasons why it has become such a successful and profitable enterprise for a few individuals.

Here are my thoughts that arose while watching the film;

1. For pick-up culture to have taken off as it has there must be a reason. The film makes the point that men are tired of rejection from women and this is a reaction to that. (Most subcultures arise as a reaction to mainstream ideals, so it seems like a likely conclusion.) This reaction leads to a lot of frustration in men, who are looking for a solution to this problem. The film touches upon the levels of frustration (and its negative outcomes) as a result of this and how the industry reflects and uses it. It doesn't deal with the cause(s) of this in any detail though. Actually I got the feeling that the film was implying the instructors were out to act revenge on the women that had treated them poorly in the past (the proverbial 'women-bashing' culture). I thought this was much to simplified. So who's at fault here? men, women, the p.u.a. industry for supplying ready-made answers. Imo it's likely all of them together with many more aspects of society (socialisation of men & women, poor male role models being 2 examples).

2. Creepy and manipulative are terms used in the film to describe the industry. I honestly don't know if I can call it that, but the thing doesn't sit right with me. That said neither does the way most industries target young women to have them look a particular way, buy a particular thing, or act a particular way to become more attractive or desirable. We're all under the influences of group trying to get us to part with money. The industries just go about these differently as they tailor their products to women (long-term continuously affective marketing) or men (solve a problem in your life quickly).

3. The money aspect was treated in a way that I expected in the film. And yes, there is big BIG money involved. But you've got a subculture (so very few real experts), clients that are willing to pay those prices, and a camaraderie within the group. This last factor is hard for men to find and is probably a major contributing factor for some people to stay in the scene. Mind you, there are other industries that charge as much for similar services and offer similar benefits (self-help being the one that comes to mind). Yes there's big money, but there are reasons for this.

4. The nasty people in the scene. There's really no excuse for this imo, but it does happen when someone obtains some skill to exert influence over others and has a group of cronies backing them up. Again not limited to the pua industry, but I can definitely see how it's a real issue that needs to be dealt with in the industry.

5. I would have liked to have heard from people who've tried these methods and met the right person for them (the success stories comparatively speaking) but weren't taken advantage of. There's clearly a need for people to meet and if some people don't have those skills, or confidence in this area, then using some of the "inner game" methods to develop into a healthy individual surely can't be all bad as they improve you as a person (and are not meant to take advantage of other people). As such I'm sure some have used these techniques to mature and meet the right person for them. It'd have been nice to have seem more of these.

6. There's a point made in the film that both sexes are fragile and need to create some sort of persona and identity to attract a 'mate'. As such there's a need to lie to one another out of a fear of rejection. This for me was the saddest part of the film; creating a lie because you want to be liked by someone you don't know.

I think there are other industries that could have been covered here in a similar way (again the self-help industry comes to mind). Go watch it, have a think about the pluses and minuses of the film, and make up your own mind. You won't be dissappointed.

... the pointless melodrama, why an Ensign with limited field experience is promoted to First Officer (is it because she cries the most???), why Burnham solves everything with minimal help from anyone. It's all so ridiculous!

It's got all the Star Trek names and places, but the ethos is way off, the handling of stories has become something not Trek, and so much more. Honestly, it'd be more accurate to call it The Crying Burnham Show 'cause it ain't anything else

Why am I still watching this ???????? Arggghhhhh

I'm enjoying the two main characters, the parents. But the teenagers are all smug, clearly in their mid to late twenties at least and are written to appear smarter than everyone else. But honestly I can't buy it, they're just condescending while spouting pop culture psycho-babble and meta-physics. I suppose this is the way of 'TV' - compose the kids as smarter and more advanced than their dumb, passed-it parents.

This could have been fun. But it's been ruined with crappy cliched characters based around crappy writing.

A good story should be built around solidly written and interesting characters and how they deal with their situations and experiences. This isn't that.

There are so many parts of this I enjoyed.

There are lots of ridiculous things going on in each episode, but I'm pretty good with suspending disbelief and rolling with them for the sake of a larger story. So I enjoyed how out-there the whole thing is. There's nothing else like it at the moment.

The downside though is that it's real heavy-handed with the racial aspects of the story; Caucasians are all villainous, greedy and/or aggressive towards non-Caucasians. Non-caucasians (the only term I can think to describe the other actors) have greater depth of character, are more varied, and you can accept their flaws as being part of a complex person.

Stick it out for the sci-fi/horror, it's worth it. But you might be rolling your eyes at overtly basic characterisation of 'white people'

I loved Bill & Ted! I watched the movies, cartoon, started saying 'dude' and bogus because of it, and hoped that this would be a nostalgic look back to my early teens. And it kind of was, in a way. And there was a sweetness in watching Bill&Ted again fumble their way to saving the world/universe/reality.

But the problems with B&T are the usual problems with most remarks and sequels coming out of Hollywood.

* I'm definitely for equality, but the males (with backstory) in the film are either dysfunctional or complete idiots while the women come to save the day because they're portrayed as smarter and more resourceful. Spread the cluelessness around, and spread the resourcefulness around.

* (Future) Bill&Ted were even painted as being manipulative and nasty in some parts, which is not who they were in the original films.

* the daughters bring everyone together in the end and are credited with creating THE SONG. But neither plays an instrument and just offer some feedback on what each musician was attempting to do. So they don't really have any talent other than telling seasoned and talented musicians what to do (cause the daughters listened to lots of music and therefore know better then them I suppose). If they are to be the heroes then they really should have had stronger parts written for them. Hollywood, if you're going for strong female leads in a film then give the female lead a backstory, with skills that justify them being in that role. No-one deserves a leading role just because they fit a particular demographic.

* the music. What can I say other than there was soooo much more they could have done with this. The music in B&T was build around the time period they were in. Metal & rock were cool at the time so the original films can be placed in a time period. This one however... it's almost like they didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted to portray.

* I have to say I like Bill's daughter and how she tried to go full Bill/Keanu. She nailed a lot of his idiosyncratic movements and facial expression. Ted's daughter though could have been played by anyone. So this missed the beat for me. Either make sure the daughters are girl versions of the Dads, give them their own personalities&mannerisms, or even swap them (Ted's daughter behaves like Bill and vice versa). Unfortunately we got half of one of these.

There are more, but other reviewers have covered these points.

Finally, I just want to say that it's sad that the film missed the point of Bill&Ted - it was never about saving the world, or their marriages. They were just 2 sweet dudes, a little clueless, trying to do what they thought was right in their own way. And we like seeing their positivity come through even when times were rough. And because they were always positive things worked out in the end, sometimes with a little help from Rufus.

There was a glimmer of that here, but not enough.

So the TZ had these types of ecological morality tales dotted throughout the series. They were never my favourite, but this one is good for what it is. Some good sci-fi, flawed characters making mistakes that lead to bigger consequences and such. As with most of the episodes this season the story is based around characters and there's a good narrative overall.

So it's over-the-top & campy, but I think it's meant to be as the episode is 50s B-movie and homage to a very famous original episode. Overall they did a good job, while adding in some social commentary about mindless consumerism.

The best TZ episodes for me were always large sci-fi concepts seen from a smaller personal angle. They analysed what it meant to be flawed and human and how we respond to unusual situations. Set-wise the cast and setting were relatively small, so they felt like a 20-25 min stage play.

This episode is all of the above and I enjoyed it.

I wasn't excited about this season of TZ after the 'woke' and preachy first season, but I thought I'd give it a look. Tbh I was hoping to trash it, but I've watched 4 episodes so far and have to say it's been good. Surprisingly good!

This episode is typical TZ; an interesting character-based episode with a straightforward sci-fi concept. I think the writers seem to have found their feet in the show and may have understood that viewers want to empathise with people in unusual situations, rather than be preached to/at. More of this type of episode please.

Like the earlier review I think this one starts slow but does deliver. An interesting episode overall.

A lazy idea that rips off Groundhog Day. Underwhelming and disappointing.

This isn't the worst episode in the new series as there's very little of the heavy-handed woke commentary and agenda pushing that the other episodes have brought in favour or character development and/or story-telling.

But bringing the 'ghost' of Rod Serling to the show made me cringe. The episode felt as if the writers were trying to give themselves Rod Serling approval and acceptance of the show. Maybe cringe isn't the right description - it's more like wholesale embarrassment. The show isn't that good, and certainly doesn't hold a candle to the original series

Season 1 of Legion was GREAT! The visuals, use of sound and music, the quirky story, everything added up to produce an innovative show with an interesting story arc and interesting characters. The wait between episodes was excruciating and then soooo rewarding! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Season 2 though is ... meh... or maybe just disappointing! The visuals and music are still excellent. The character development and individual arcs are still interesting, but there are some major pacing issues. After a decent start, we've spent the last four episodes covering plot points that really could have been covered in one episode. It's almost as if the substance of the show has taken a back seat to the style of the show. It's become so that I wonder if the writers have a clear vision of where the season is going.

I know I'll finish watch the rest of the episodes in the season, but I doubt I'll tune in for season 3, if there is one.