thekarmicnomad

This starts off feeling like an adult surreal, mind-bending, possibly psychotropic kind of affair - but quickly changes into something more family friendly.

After about fifteen minutes we are made aware that the world contains all sorts of fantasy type characters and it gets a bit more fluffy - the Jim Henderson tag should be a give away.

The main character is very good and not your typical hero and the supporting cast all do a great job - Sam Neil is obviously having a lot of fun here.

The story unfolds and interesting stuff happens until it all ends. Pretty much what a film should do.

As I was watching interesting characters stepped from behind the curtain then dash off again.

It gave me the sneaking feeling that this is actually a part of a series of books?

I was spot on - it looks like there are eight of them at time of writing.

This means that if you like this there are likely to be more on the way but it does mean this isn't a film that stands solely on its own and some scenes are clearly foreshadowing.

A good fun family film with some silly fantasy elements that kids will love and adults can relax to.

A dull suburban dad turns out to be a hitman in retirement.

This has been done a thousand times before as comedies, dramas, thrillers and Manga.

But I still think there is a little space for this.

The slight twist here is that Mark Wahlberg really leans into the satisfaction of having a good life.

In a sea of inspirational films, where every character saves the world before breakfast, it is a little refreshing to have a main character who just wants to be happy with his family.

Saying that, there is a lot of action here with plenty of shoot-outs and car crashes.

The main joke is that Mark tries to keep the truth from his family as long as possible and it does add to the hijinks.

There is nothing new here but it is honest to what it is, there are no hidden themes or unexpected twists just a fun family action movie.

The violence is quite tame and slapstick - you never see what happens to the motorcycle riders as they fly off screen to their doom and when people are shot they just lie down as if taking a little nap.

Take this for what it is and you will have fun.

This film takes a really long wind up to get going.

You get lots of shots of children running around spooky mansions and the ever present water that is all around.

The arty camera angles in Death on the Nile really bothered me, but here they are toned down and add to the disjointed feel of the haunted house that Poirot has come to investigate.

Performances and production are all great and the characters engaging.

My wife got a bit bored waiting for something to happen and was unimpressed when it did - so I can see how this one can be a bit divisive.

This has a darker feel to it than the other films and if there were to be a Halloween-special then this would be it.

Have some patience and you should enjoy this and may even get at ingle down your spine.

This has very little in common with its older namesake - apart from it is set in a Road House (whatever that is) and there is some fighting.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays an amusingly pragmatic fighter who smiles and quips before throwing people through windows.

The plot is very silly and things that look like they are going to be built on aren't and so much of it makes little sense.

But there are lots of fun characters and lots of action.

It is quite violent but in a semi-silly way.

Jake Gyllenhaal gets punched in the face about a thousand times which only results in the odd split lip or a black eye.

This has nothing on the original and really it shouldn't have bothered trying to dress up in Road Houses's clothes as it is its own, rather silly, thing.

But all being said this was good fun, full of action and just quirky enough to catch my attention.

This is a simple story of busy-body neighbours taking things to the extreme.

It is a fun light comedy based on a fairly simple premies: the new neighbours are weird and up to no good.

This stars a very youthful Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.

This is quite innoffensive with simple jokes and a bit of slapstick.

When you break it down there is not a lot going on and this does look a little dated and in some ways underwelming.

But like many films of its time it is lean, getting in and out without wasting any time.

I got the bluray of this and really enjoyed watching it again after so many years.

I am not a big fan of really zanny gross comedies - but this plays it nice and safe, and was refreshingly fun.

There is quite a bit of silliness but this film keeps its feet firmly on the ground.

The cast are great and work well as a team to set John Cena up for some great jokes.

This has a classic feel about it where it doesn't try too hard to be too mad or too clever.

The story is nice and lean, you could write the whole plot out in a few lines, and amongst the jokes there are a few welcome moments of sadness and tenderness.

I thought this looked pretty lame but I ended up really enjoying as did my wife.

I watched this in 94 and quite enjoyed it.

Then when the radio played Wet Wet Wet to death I associated it with the film and never watched it again.

This is a great story with great characters and some genuinely funny moments.

Hugh Grant does what he does best being adorably foppish and awkwardly witty and is backed by an epic supporting cast.

It is hard to pick out a favourite couple as there is a real mash of personalities and everyone adds something.

The four weddings all have a humorous twist and I must admit I shed a few manly tears at the one funeral.

It has aged quite well but the pacing is slow compared to modern films and demands some of your attention.

I highly recommend this as a Sunday watch it should make you laugh and cry.

I saw this back in 2002 and, apart from the title track lurking around on my play list,I haven't given it a second thought..

This came on the TV in 2024 and I was just too lazy to turn over the channel - I was quickly chuckling along.

The premise is really simple but super effective: the internal bachelor gets drawn into a kid's life and, after some resistance, realises he needs to "grow"

Looking back, casting Sharon Small opposite Hugh Grant, as a well mneaning new age mum was a touch of genius.

Marcus (the boy) was the exact right about of annoying and hopeless for this story to work.

This has some dark themes about bullying and depression but they are all handled with delicate grace and always measured with wit and grace.

Near the end it does get a bit cloying and you need a glass of water to wash the sugary taste from your mouth - but then what else do you expect from a 2002 Hugh Grant film?

The trailer made this look like it was a film the family could enjoy but I think it is more aimed at kids.

There are a few (rather lame) jokes that adults can appreciate but this is really just about getting fast moving bright colours on the screen.

There is no real story just a bunch of stuff that happens, normally ending in some of the birds tumbling through a door.

This is well made for what it is and I am pretty sure that younger kids will get a kick out of it but this is the kind of film where it comes on the TV in 6 months times and it feels vaguely familiar but you can't really remeber why.

I don't like sport but I do love a good sport's movie after my Sunday roast.

This has everything you would expect, down-trodden beautiful people who need to strive to win a game of sports.

This has a very traditional feel about it with a fairly standard hero and romantic interest which, bizarrely, felt quite refreshing.

The boys row the boat and get knocked down but then do better to some rousing music.

There really is nothing new here but the people making this film realised it and ran with it.

It is great to watch a film that isn't trying to be something it is not.

The costumes and sets are amazing and you get a real (although sanitised) feel for the time.

The story focuses on a few characters meaning other members of the crew fade into the background - but the main characters have enough to them to carry this along.

There is nothing to get excited, upset or hot under the collar here - just a good honest story.

I miss movies like this.

My only criticism is it felt a little long - but then that is what Sunday afternoons are all about.

This has a lot of things going for it - great cast, good performances, production and clearly some love was invested in making this.

The result is a fine movie - but nothing fantastic.

I think this is a children's film as oppose to a family movie.

There is not much of a plot: stuff just happens and when a problem seems too difficult to tackle Willy literally pulls the solution out of his hat.

This leads to a lot of silliness that kids will probably appreciate.

The songs are ok but I have forgotten them already.

The sets are interesting but the CGI feels oppressive.

There is some great acting (especially Coleman) but most of the charters are pretty shallow.

Whereas the original was about shunning greed, gluttony and selfishness - this seems to be about solving everything with magic and chocolate.

Got a problem? Eat this sweet and it will make you big or small or strong or whatever you need.

Got no money or any place to sleep? Eat a chocolate.

I think too much was put on Calah Lane's shoulders - she gives a sterling effort but it is such a big part to put on such a young actor - and in a lot of places it shows.

I watched this in the cinema when it came out and was so displeased with it I never watched it again - until 2024.

Maybe I am mellowing in my old age but I really enjoyed this.

It has a workable time-travel story with an interesting villan and lots of little side-jokes that mostly land.

The action is low key but when things do happen the set pieces are energetic and the visuals standup pretty well considering the age.

The character development is where this really shines and I loved seeing young K and O in action.

This isn't an amazing movie but for a Sunday afternoon this is perfect viewing.

So I was pleased (and surprised) to see this pop up out of nowhere.

If you are a fan of Monk then you will probably like this as it follows pretty much the same type of format as the TV show but with one (rather dark) overshadowing theme.

Making this film so long after the series has its draw backs - there is a certain amount of exposition as people new to the show are caught up and the absence of other characters is explained.

Once it gets going it is the normal cheesy detective show that I have grown to love so much.

Having a longer run time doesn't really add much and there is nothing special about it being a film - but I am fine with that it is perfect as it is.

This (as the title suggests) is a farewell show and it has a marked degree of poignancy.

An extra star for pulling back the original cast.

From the start you can tell something is up - not by the story but by all the glances to camera, plonky piano, rising strings and sudden bursts of modern music.

Lots of strange things happen but nobody acknowledges these.

They just sit around hoping things will get better.

By the two-hour mark I was actively hoping that all the characters would get killed.

As the film goes on many events become redundant and are quickly overshadowed by the riddiculousness that follows.

Everything becomes so silly: According to this film there is no point in putting pilots in planes.

Apparently no society can survive without the internet - I guess the world didn't exist before the 1990s

The soundtrack is physically unpleasant and the camera work annoyingly obtuse.

This film is painfully artsy, full of oh-so clever references and hat tips about modern culture.

Things like colour coding scenes (yes, I have seen "Run Lola Run" too) and inserting visual barriers between groups of characters becomes overwelming.

If you have the best part of three hours free to pull this apart to find the little nuggets of pointlessness then good luck to you.

I found this painfully slow and silly,

Time for another stab at Henry Jame's tale of a nanny looking after some spooky kids in a spookier manor.

So, no prizes for originality but this does get off to a very good start.

The setting, production, acting and casting really does get you hooked into this unsettling story.

The kid from Stranger Things does a good job as the disturbed boy and casting an older boy adds in an element of sexual peril.

A lot of people complain that the ending is bad - they are definitely not wrong - but this lost me half way through.

The story is good as it chugs along, the children slowly becoming more brazen and bizarre with their behaviour but then it escalates too quickly.

When a young man you are looking after breaks into your room at night and tells you he is literally going to kill you or lures you into dark corners where you get stabbed - then it is time to find another job.

This isn't the 1800's - you can just leave.

She phones home complaining that she doesn't like it here (what with the death threats and sexual harassment) but doesn't want to let the little girl down.

I don't know why she feels this way as the odd-ball child hates her too.

As other reviewers have pointed out - there is no ending to this.

It goes far beyond ambiguity.

This starts off very strong with some great characters, acting and production.

Santa is jaded and suffering flashbacks from his violent past before he doned the red jacket.

The setup is great with an awful family who are jumping through hoops to get their hands on the rich and corrupt matriarch of the family.

The action starts with a real Die Hard vibe and it is all great.

Then the film gets very violent very quickly.

I am a fan of horror and slasher movies but this was a bit much - not just to stomach but also to care about.

In the space of a few minutes the slayings become more extreme and bloody that it quickly becomes boring.

I yawned as another bad guy got a skate to the neck or yet another goon clumsily fell into some spinning blades.

Once the blodd starts flowing this really has nowhere else to go - I really couldn't care how it ended and became distracted as the ineveitable ending played out.

A man inadvertently summons a genie, oh and it happens to be December.

In this setup usually the protagonist's major flaw is an unhealthy obsession with work and money. Here it is pure stupidity - he really is as dumb as a bag of spanners.

Normally genies have a devious side as wishes are dangerous, limited, corrupting and often at the expense of others.

Not here: just wish for what you want and don't worry about it - if someone's day is ruined by your wish forget about it - everything is peachy.

The only obstacle our protagonist has is his inability to wield this power in any meaningful way.

Luckily his wife is a real plank of wood too.

This is designed to be a light, fun, easy watch.

And it manages this to an extent - but the extent you have to switch your brain off might lead to cerebral damage.

The jokes are lame and inconsistent - the genie knows what a sweater is but not a pizza.

It you are a big fan of McCarthy you will like this, and to have on whilst you are doing something else it is fine. But this feels very much like a cash-grab film of the 2020's - there is no story, no Christmas message, all the right boxes are ticked and it has a flashy Tiktok like trailer.

Once is all said and done the end goal of the main character is easy to achieve - you don't need a genie to get yourself fired.

A man gives a woman a lift home and she invites him in.

He is clearly weak: physically, morally, intellectually, and has the wit of a potato.

The woman is sharp, acidic, dressed like a hammer house of horror reject and lives in a big spooky mansion that has intermittent power cuts.

Wow!

What follows is a tedious ramble where the woman is openly mean to the man, who puts up with it in the hope of getting laid.

The dialogue is painfully trite, the woman is an insufferable bore and definitely not hot enough to make it worth the abuse the man sits through.

So much of the dialogue is so forced.

Suddenly the woman starts lamenting about how defenceless she is and how the man could do anything he wanted to her. His dynamite move to this is to explain how he could chase her around like a bunny?!

They chat on for an eternity - the few events that do occur serve only to burn up screen time.

After what feels like an age it comes to a head in the most blatantly signposted non-twist I have ever seen.

Now the "bunny" dialogue from earlier is repurposed in an attempt to show some kind of role reversal?

But it never felt like the man had the upper hand so it just feels a bit unnecessary and pathetic.

It feels like watching a gang of thugs crack wise as they beat up a pensioner.

The ending alludes to a sense of justice as the man acts like a douche so he gets what he has coming to him but doesn't really track.

This feels like a bad episode of Tails of the Unexpected that has been tied to a rack and stretched out to the point just before its limbs come off.

If I wasn't stuck on a plane I would never have finished it.

This movie is a bit of a shame as it has a lot going for it but lacks funds and attention for me to recommend it.

The story is ok and there are great actors doing some great work but I quickly lost interest in this.

The camera work and direction is plain clumsy.

Even simple shots are really badly framed.

Domeone standing in a doorway looks like a cannon is sticking out their arm.

All that was needed was the actor to move slightly to one side - but no one realised or cared.

This is the tip of the iceberg, the cameras are all over the place.

It feels like this was made by a very inexperienced crew who needed more guidance.

The film in all, is pretty good but I have mostly forgotten it.

Good enough TV fodder to have on in the background.

But it feels like it could have been more.

This is a story about a pair of detectives forced to work together in a small Australian village where a body has been found.

As expected, the two are very different and sparks soon fly.

A lot of the humour here is based around crassness and foul language.

This is the lowest of all forms of wit, but when done correctly (like here) it is very funny.

Katie Box (Dulcie) is excellent as the straight woman to Madeleine Sami's (Eddie) no-holds barred detective off the rails.

I have never heard the word cart used so frequently and to such great effect as here.

I am sorry but there is just something funny about seeing a detective scream and shout absentees at a witness whilst trying to retrieve their flip-flop from a puddle.

There is a great array of characters and if you are into your inclusivity quoters then this has it all - the characters are all fleshed out and serve a purpose and it never flet like a box ticking exercise.

The mystery and the action is all very well written and handled - this is just pure good fun.

The only criticism I have is near the end a little more restraint was needed.

To do a gender equality bit the men start to act really silly, like Monty Python silly.

The fun here is watching Eddie rail against a close approximation to real-life, when everyone else starts to act overboard it gets too zany.

Suddenly some of the characters become a bit preachy too - we can see that X person is racist you don't need the character to actually say it for us.

I highly recommend this.

Some brainy people are invited to stay in a big house and compete in mental games for a chance to win a sack of money.

The games are complex (which I love) and each game has about five minutes of rules explenation - my wife would switch off for these bits - but it doesn't matter as a voice-over provides tips on what is going on.

The characters are great and it really is moving when one is eliminated.

The format has some interesting kinks in it: like the "pieces" the players can obtain.

This isn't a straight forward "you lose you go home" affair - you can come last and be fine and come second and be eliminated.

I was at the very edge of my seat on several occasion.

Please, please, please renew this!

This isn't your typical Robin Hood movie with men running around in tights, splitting arrows down the shaft.

This is a lot grittier and dips in to history more than most other Robin Hood films.

There are some gruesome battle scenes with arms getting chopped off and people skewered with pikes and arrows.

But there is also a lot more about what is going on in court.

Rather than Richard being a classic villain and the Sheriff a buffoon we get much more rounded characters.

This is more of a prelude to the Merry-men stories we are used to.

In fact blink and you can miss a lot of the characters that are a normal staple for Robin hood.

This makes this quite different from most other movies based on the story.

Maid Marion is a great character and her relationship with Robin is very entertaining.

Godfrey makes a nice stand in bad guy and there is a lot to keep you interested.

Unfortunate this movie just runs out of time for its ambitions.

It is already cracking on for two and a half hours and so much gets swept under the carpet.

As time runs out it feels like we should have a big battle (that any British school child can tell you never happened -we all learn 1066 if nothing else) This battle is just silly.

We drag every toy out of the box and stuff it one by one into the audiences' faces.

This dumb Hollywood ending really sours the movie as a whole for me and now I know it happens I could never return to it.

But I do think this was entertaining, it had action and romance and thrills and probably deserves a bit more credit than it gets.

This is a movie about a grumpy old man who meets some neighbours.

We follow Otto as he carries out his routine, bossing the neighbours about and chastising them for trivial errors.

Despite adhering to his mundane routine we get some indications that today is a very special day for Otto.

As the day unfolds we get some flashbacks of how Otto arrived to where he is now.

The story was quite personal to me as I almost lost my wife to cancer - so I started silently crying at about the eleven minute mark and didn't really stop.

This is not laugh out loud funny and can be a bit sombre in paces - but has an overall poignant and hear warming feel to it - I never found it depressing.

The romance elements are absolutely beautifully done - strumming at every heart-string

The casting, acting and production are all great and for most of the film Otto's situation is allowed to seep into the viewers consciousness.

This falls just short of being perfect.

As the film rolls on it builds up too much steam and has to slam down track to keep ahead of itself.

Otto's revelation and the Trans character are especially badly fumbled.

The Trans character is a good addition (twenty years ago he would have been gay) but there is no room to get to know them.

They literally ride up and say "Hey I'm trans. People are mean to me, can we be friends?"

Suddenly Otto, who until now who has been secretive and uncommunicative, blurts out his issues like he is reading it from a therapists handbook.

Then everything is suddenly tied up with a perfect little bow.

This doesn't ruin the film but it makes the finale feel a bit artificial and cheap like a processed-cheese slice in your Wagyu burger.

Overall a great watch that had me smiling and sobbing into my sleeve all the way.

I am not a superhero fan - but so many people have recommended this I finally gave it a go.

This movie is ok.

Wonder Woman looks great and stuff happens, there are a few chuckles and thrills.

However, this film is really flawed.

The movie opens by awkwardly ramming a tome of fables into your brain, explaining why the Amazons exist and what their deals is.

The big fight I had seen on so many trailers doesn't look or feel that great in the flesh.

The Amazons turn out to be rubbish, making a real meal of fighting a few lightly armed soldiers attacking from the most disadvantageous circumstances possible.

But that is ok.

Then there is a bit of fun as Dianna flounces around London.

Then the action starts.

It gets so boring.

Wonder Woman, unlike her sisters, is shown to be effectively bullet proof.

Now she decides to heroically assault a trench - except it is clear she is in as much danger as me storming a basket of kittens.

This is not a bad movie and I would happily put it on in the background on a Sunday afternoon but I don't see what the hype was about.

This looked like good fun from the trailers and does start of strong but quickly loses its way.

The production and acting is pretty good, I liked a lot of the characters and the initial premise is good.

The main problem I have with this is the tone - it doesn't really know what it what's to be.

"Scary movie" goes full on silly where as "Bodies, Bodies, Bodies" plays it straighter with more ironic humour.

This flip-flops around somewhere in the middle.

The things that happen are silly and the characters become more stereotypically as the film goes on - but there is not much fun to be had here.

A lot of the humour is overly simplistic.

Obviously you should go into this expecting white-people jokes but, like so many other parodies, there is no actual joke.

Just a wink to the camera and a - "white people am I right?"

The use of the N word is so prolific it starts to jar, like giving a ten year old permission to swear for an hour and watching them go at it.

Perhaps this is to parody horror movies - I couldn't tell.

Not an awful film but it seemed to really drag as the characters bumbled from one room to another waving their hands around and screaming - only pausing long enough to make a cheeky comment.

This is not awful - it is just very mediocre and is probably tilted towards a black, U. S audience.