Boristhemoggy Reviews (434)

Anyone But You (2023)

Boy meets girl...blah blah blah

[4/10 · 18 April 2024]

Girl meets boy, they hit it off, then they don't, then they do, then they don't, then they do again. In the meantime they happen to have common friends and attend a wedding together.

It's not a bad film, but it's certainly not great. It is pure formula for a rom com: girl meets boy and they fall in love and fall out of love in cycles until they finally get together. It's a tired old formula not very often broken, and if you go into this movie without much expectation then you'll probably be satisfied.

There are some incredibly cringe moments like when Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) sing his serenity song while being rescued from Sydney Harbour. There's a group singing of it later too which is even more cringe, I've had enough cringe for this year from this one movie.

I very much disliked the fact that some footage was not edited out where you could see Bea's 'womanhood' in her tight shorts. I can't even recall the last time I saw something like that in a film, and it is really a no no. I guess all the directors want Sweeney for her sex appeal although she has none for me. I took a point off for that as it's not something we want in a rom com: or anywhere for that matter.

Speaking of director I don't think there was one, neither was there any chemistry between Sweeney and Powell. Powell was awful and it felt like he did not have a clue how to act and him and Sweeney together is just not likely.

I don't hate the film, it would fill a hole in a quiet evening if you had nothing better to do, but I would never dig the dvd out just to watch it again. Because of the cringe scenes and the unacceptable sexualisation I gave it a 4.

Immaculate (2024)

It's not Immaculate, but it's OK

[6/10 · 17 April 2024]

Cecilia, a woman of devout faith, is excited to take her vows at the picture-perfect Italian countryside convent, where she is offered a new role. It soon becomes clear that they have something less ordinary in store for her... First up, the ghosts in the room. Sydney Sweeney is by far not the greatest actress I agree, but she is also by far not the worst. And although the film itself isn't great, she, and it, are an averagely good turn.

Although the convent set is amazing, the film is clearly on a budget as you can tell by the poor CGI during the suicide and Sister Cecilia pulling her fingernail out. There are some shocker moments though, it had me jumping a couple of times, and it also had me anxious once or twice. So it's not that bad because horrors don't normally shock me. Although it seems to be fairly slow paced as you watch it, the story flows along nicely and I did not fast forward once on this film.

I love the old trope of extremist religious people contriving the second coming. And although it's very "Rosemary's Baby", it's presented in a way that is fresh. I loved the idea of the iron nail and the DNA. I also loved the catacomb sequence which did have me edgy, especially when the rather crispy Father Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte) grabs her.

It seems that all religious zealots are prepared to do much evil in order to achieve their apparent Godly aims. God's will sweeps an abundance of evil acts under the carpet, and I wonder what deeply religious people actually make of films like this. Do they see it as just entertainment or does it go against their tenets?

As a person raised in a catholic household but identifies as agnostic, I see it as great entertainment and this film while not great, was very decent. I gave it a 6 because it made me jump and the end scene where she delivers the baby is quite mesmerising.

Riddle of Fire (2023)

There is nothing at all redeeming about this film

[1/10 · 17 April 2024]

3 kids go off looking for a blueberrry pie for their poorly mama, and have adventures and stuff in the woods.

I imagined seeing something along the lines of the most excellent Bridge to Terabithia. Sadly, it was more like watching an 80's version of some appalling kids show. I can't even think of anything awful enough to compare it with.

The plot is ridiculous, the acting is appalling, cinematography looks like it's been done on an 80's Super 8. There is nothing, absolutely nothing redeeming about this film. It's not even a cult classic like Teeth. When a film is too bad to even be a cult classic you know it's bad.

I rated it a 1 and if I had the option to put 0 I would have.

Parachute (2023)

A fabulous film that parachuted in under the radar

[8/10 · 16 April 2024]

The film follows Riley, a young woman fresh out of hospital for an eating disorder who is trying to navigate mental health issues and her own self destructive tendencies to live, and love again, despite herself.

I guess Brittany Snow directed this film as she had experienced similar problems in her life. Perhaps it was cathartic to portray what young girls can go through, perhaps she just wanted to get the message out to people to raise awareness of how life can be for some people, and how hard it is to keep an even mental keel, when the world seems to be teetering under your very feet.

The irritating thing is you can feel and appear to be fine and on top of the world. Then there's a trigger and suddenly your brain convinces you to think that you're unworthy, life is unworthy, everyone around you is better than you, you have no meaning or value, and yet deep down you know you do, and the dichotic maelstrom of emotion can tear you apart.

It seems to be becoming more common too with young people, perhaps brought on by TV standards, and then film standards, and now the internet bringing standards that people...mostly women...feel are impossible to live up to and if they can't then they are unworthy. They can't find how to be happy anymore. And of course no-one knows how best to treat even their close friends when they're like this. It's an epidemic and Snow brings this into focus to show us all what it can be like.

The cast is fabulous, Courtney Eaton slays this role and I believe everything she is going through. The situations, the contradictions, the failed romance, the struggle and then the acceptance. And thankfully it is not ruined by an awful music soundtrack. The score is unobtrusive and sympathetic and sometimes there is no sound at all, and that's very powerful.

I loved this from start to finish and I think it's beautifully and passionately and sympathetically done, so I give it a strong 8.

Knox Goes Away (2023)

A twisting tale of love, acceptance and redemption

[7/10 · 14 April 2024]

When a contract killer has a rapidly evolving form of dementia, he is offered an opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son.

His character (John Knox) has to learn to accept that his life is going to be shortened by a disease, but as his estranged son comes to him out of the blue he sees an opportunity to see right by his ex wife and son and redeem himself for the life he has led. It must be said that Keaton grabs attention in his first scenes. His acting is purely on point and he clearly has seasoned over many years.

It's quite slow paced but not to the extent that you get impatient. It's more like being given time to savour what's going on. There's no massively intrusive score to ruin the scenes either which is very welcome.

The plot has a great twist but not one that seems contrived or just there to shock. It's part of a long drawn out plan of Knox's and although it's not hard to work it out early on, it still impresses with it's simplistic but effective machinations.

There is genuine tension at times and yet you can't help think that Knox is playing this all with a dark sense of humour. It's still very poignant though that in order to redeem his past, he has to accept that he has no future. He does this gracefully and willingly and I forgave him his every sin.

A solid 7 from me for a great thriller/murder/mystery.

Strictly Confidential (2024)

Strictly terrible

[1/10 · 14 April 2024]

A group of friends fly to an island so they can commemorate the tragic death by suicide of a close friend a year before. Many truths come out during their time there.

I didn't want to just jump on the bandwagon of poor reviews so I watched it right through so I could give a fair review.

The story itself could have been ok but was overly webbed and drawn out. The dialogue/script was childish, but that matched the whole thing, childish. I felt like I was watching a very early episode of Mean Girls, or 90210.

The acting was beyond poor. There was the very odd moment when you could tell an actor was reacting to an emotion rather than direction, but only a handful in the whole film. It distinctly lacked acting ability throughout the film, but the behaviour of the cast suggested that they though they were acting really well. Delusion reigned.

The direction was almost bizarre. We'd see people look a certain way and there was no context for the look. The camera panned to look at a wall, or someone sitting down, and then back to the scene but without ever letting us know why it had panned away. People's actions, especially in group scenes just weren't normal and I think sometimes the actors struggled to know or remember what they were supposed to do. There were many horrified looks, or agonised looks that I think were meant to be sympathetic, that did not correlate at all with the plot or the scene.

The cinematography was below amateur grade. Half the time it was as if there was a hazy filter over the lens and there were many angles and shots that simply didn't make sense. Also the score was louder than the dialogue and continuous, even if the music lent nothing to the scene. It felt like it was there just for the heck of it. It was highly irritating right to the very end. The constant closeups of faces that were struggling to portray what they wanted to was painful.

The overall thrust of the film was a lot of titillation and see through clothes, a sex fest where everyone was having everyone else, and some of the most cringe worthy lesbian kissing scenes I've honestly ever seen. Liz Hurley wins the gold award for most awful kissing in the movies. And the cringeworthy moment when she pulls her panties back up after being caught kissing Natasha. It was like a pair of 16 year olds being caught in the playground. I actually gagged.

Makeup, although I expected a lot worse, overall was actually reasonable, apart from Hurley's. She honestly reminded me of some 80's porn star with her makeup, it did nothing whatsoever to put her in a good light.

The very final scene was utterly bizarre. After Mia has boarded the jet Rebecca has a final truth to admit to. I can't even talk about it really: it's not a great plot twist, it's just bizarre and unnecessary. I hate to say this but after seeing Damian's other, short film, The Boy on the Beach, I truly worry about the relationship between him and his mother.

I gave it a 2 but I think 1 was simply out of pity.

Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Absolute gem of a film, loved it!

[8/10 · 12 April 2024]

"Wicked Little Letters" follows two neighbours: deeply-conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and rowdy Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley). When Edith and fellow residents start to receive wicked letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foul-mouthed Rose is charged with the crime.

I watched this solely because Jessie Buckley stars and I wasn't disappointed. Even though I'm not a fan of Coleman she plays a fabulous part too. In fact every single character in this film plays a fabulous part, I can't fault one single character. Oddly, Timothy Spall as Edward Swan reminds me of Daniel Day Lewis playing Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York.

It's filmed in an almost stage type style and in fact would probably make a brilliant stage play. The pace is great so the story flows naturally and it never gets a chance to make you bored, or goes so fast it loses you.

There's some genuinely, laugh out loud funny parts to it too. It's a long time since I last laughed out loud at a film.

The sets and costumes are spot on and the score is as it should be...in the background.

The only thing I dislike is the slightly racist idea of replacing white people with black people for no good reason. Gladys Swan (played brilliantly by Anjana Vasan) was in fact a white British woman. Given that she has a major role in helping bring the real perpetrator to justice her real identity should be honoured. I feel that despite Vasan's excellent acting skills this is a distinctly racist piece of casting.

Nevertheless I loved this film so much I gave it a solid and rare 8 but if I was allowed to give 8.5 I would have.

Sleeping Dogs (2024)

Almost made my dogs sleep

[6/10 · 10 April 2024]

Russell Crowe plays an ex detective (Roy Freeman) who is asked by a man on death row to help him prove he is innocent of murder. Roy agrees and although suffering from dementia, embarks on a long and confusing course to find the real murderer.

I have to say that right from the beginning the first suspect raises his head. And not long afterwards the second one does too. Throughout the film the two suspects in my mind remain suspects until the very end: where they are both revealed as complicit in some convoluted way.

Knowing who the guilty parties are doesn't prevent the film from being quite tense at times, but alas apart from Crowe and Paula Arundel (Susan Avery, who is only in for a few minutes) the quality of acting is pretty poor. I was really sad to see Karen Gillan mangle the accent and speech pattern of an American, and she seemed stiff and tense the entire time. I think she was out of her depth in this role.

However the film meanders on with the plot thickening and the date of execution nearing for the innocent man, and a big surprise comes at the end which I hadn't foreseen, which eventually led to a huge plot twist I had not seen either, a bit like the big reveal in the Sixth Sense. People said they knew, but most lied, most did not have a clue until it was revealed. The same is true of this story because the 'real' truth comes out of left field.

The final scene leaves you with a 'Did he?' or "Didn't he?" conundrum which is great.

All in all a great film, good story, great production, poor acting but worth a rating of 6 for the cinematography and score combined with Crowe and Arundel.

There's a cracking twist at the end.

Música (2024)

Musica fantastica

[7/10 · 9 April 2024]

Rudy is torn between 2 lovers and feeling like a fool. Pressured by his Mum and friends to sort himself out, but all he wants to do is make music and play with his puppets. Dumped by his girlfriend but then meets another girl who urges him on.

I had no idea what this was going to be like, and at first it sort of reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors in the way it combines theatre type performing, film acting and puppetry.

It deftly handles problems with breakups and the 'tween time' from the breakup to the meeting someone new. We've probably all been there and we've also been at that point in our lives when we have no proper clue what we are doing.

Isabella prompts him to pursue his dream and because of his amorous intentions to her he does just that. His mother, played by his real life Brazilian mother Maria Mancuso, is so perfect for the role it's untrue. Her first time ever in a movie too.

The cinematography is playful and I love the live action scenes where his synaesthesia is playing up. Everything about this film is great. Odd in parts, but likeable anyway.

This is Rudy's directorial debut and I believe he's struck paydirt instantly. Can't wait to see what else he does. A solid 7 from me.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Another goal from the team at MI

[7/10 · 7 April 2024]

This is the fourth film of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his new team race against time to track down Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), a dangerous terrorist who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States, to initiate a war. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe damage to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

This is typical MI formula: simple plot, sometimes complex plot twists, lots of effects and stunts, tons of action, and some eye candy to boot.

It raises the issue 'What if'. What if someone actually did this. Would America believe Russia if they said "We didn't send the missile"?

Given the complex codes and authorisations and standing orders re: launching of a nuclear warhead, it's next to impossible for it to happen in real life. But it's wise to think through the problems and develop resolutions for them...just in case.

Ignoring the goofs. Anachronisms, plot mistakes, continuity problems as they beset any film and they certainly don't spoil most films: this is a great action film with very good acting and effects and production. If you like a bit of adventure you will like this. A solid 7 from me.

Gangs of New York (2002)

Possibly a historical reminder?

[8/10 · 7 April 2024]

Gangs of New York is an odd film in that it doesn't seem to pretend to be any one thing. It starts with gang warfare in an area of New York city, with Sir Daniel Day Lewis playing a historical character called Bill the Butcher, and his arch nemesis Priest Vallon played by Liam Neeson. Vallon is killed in the fight and his son is taken off to an orphanage.

All countries around the world suffer from gang dynamics, it's part of tribal human nature to affiliate to a group you relate to and to be in conflict with rival groups. That's the history of humans since the earliest forms of humans walked the earth around 7 million years ago. This element of what you may call humanity is shown to follow a common theme of nativism.

Bill the Butcher considers himself a true American (although we don't know his lineage and he certainly isn't native American) and is angered at the influx of Irish immigrants which at one point reaches 5,000 per week seeking a better life. It is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Irish arrived in America between 1820 and 1930. Most lived in poverty and so crime was rife and powerful gang figures ran their areas with an iron fist.

And so we see this in Gangs of New York and it centres mostly on young Amsterdam Vallon, the priest's son who witnessed his fathers death at the hands of Bill the Butcher, return as an adult to seek vengeance for his fathers death.

However it is interrupted by the civil war and the ensuing draft. During the riots against the draft 120 people were killed but some say the real total was 10 times that amount. In the middle of the riots and military action to quell them Amsterdam manages to kill Bill the Butcher and now his life's aim is complete he sets off with his love for California.

It's interesting that the very same themes run through the film that have run through all historical ages. Even now in 2024 we have nativists in all countries, fighting against immigration from other countries and the crime and cultural changes that mass immigration brings. Nothing has changed since the 1800's.

Those in power seek to retain power for the sake of the power, not to manage a city for the better, but simply to be at the top f the chain. Again in modern times we still see that exact same model. Wealthy men and women enter politics and become wealthier but never seem to make life better for the majority of the populace. This again is a theme echoed down history. One quote from the film is as they bury the bodies of the dead rioters in mass graves, one man says "These are votes we are burying." It's a very gory film, with lots of violence and inhumanity, but overall, the thread that runs through it for me is that things never change and probably never will. The exact same themes of power, greed, violence, poverty and the tiny number of wealthy people ruling the rest of the world run through every single eon of history. Our masters may be overrun and beaten, but only to be replaced by new masters. Every era and every age. Nothing ever changes. And the film suggests, nothing ever will.

This film is a historical lens, and a future prediction, of human history.

The Interpreter (2005)

A good film which could have been great

[6/10 · 6 April 2024]

Nicole Kidman plays a UN interpreter called Silvia, who alleges she accidentally overheard a death threat against a visiting member of an African state.

Silvia almost instantly becomes a target of the killers when she is seen listening to them in a booth by the killers.

Sean Penn plays secret service agent Tobin Keller, assigned to investigate her, and he imagines that she might actually be part of the plot. He has to stay close to her to investigate but also keep her safe, and it is clear that he is developing feelings for her.

It's almost like a dance where they drop information about themselves to each other little by little, but there's never really any proper chemistry on screen between them. Penn plays his secret service agent part in the way you'd expect a comic book to portray such a person. Including the old trope of speaking into his wrist microphone.

Kidman is developing her character to be a deeply sad individual yearning for her home country even though everyone she knew has been killed there. She never reveals any real passion from the character and relies on lots of straight to the camera face shots. The director seemed to focus on the actors looks rather than her characters motivations.

There's lots of twists and turns along the way but I would hardly call them thrilling. The base story is really good and this could have been a top notch political thriller, however I think poor acting and direction let it down as well as some very childish dialogue. The ending is a big anti climax too and means I sat through the whole film without much of a reward at the end.

If you're a Kidman or Penn fan you will probably enjoy this on a fan level if nothing else. I still enjoyed it for entertainment and I give it 6 stars but it could so easily have been 8.

Man on Fire (2004)

One of the very best revenge movies

[7/10 · 6 April 2024]

Denzel Washington plays ex CIA officer and now drunk, John W Creasey. His friend gets him a job as a bodyguard to a child (Dakota Fanning), whose innocence awakens his interest in life again, before being kidnapped in lawless Mexico. During a bungled ransom drop the girl is killed and Creasy wounded badly.

When he recovers, he is grief stricken about the girl, and so embarks on a calm but determined spree of torturing and killing the men responsible, to exact revenge for her kidnapping and death.

I remember when this first came out and I had not heard of Denzel until then, but this film awakened my interest in him which continues to this day.

The film is almost relentless and is not for the faint hearted, but the violence and brutality has gaps where more information comes in and we find that there is much, much more to the story than a simple kidnapping.

It's very tense most of the way through, very well acted by the main stars, and happily, without non stop garish music which a lot of thrillers seem to favour these days. My only complaint is that there are many scenes filmed in a style where the image flickers, skips and stops, flickering again and changing colour as if the camera is broken and missing frames.

Almost the entire final section is filmed this way and whilst I am sure the director intended it to be art, it does not fit with the film, and actually takes away from it. For that alone I took a point off and gave it a solid 7. I will watch this great film again.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

A break from tradition?

[7/10 · 5 April 2024]

The third of the MI films and it just keeps getting better. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) takes on yet another mission which is almost impossible, to secure an item known as the Rabbit's Foot.

As usual there's lot's of intrigue and secrets to unveil and riddles to solve, and along the way Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant as the evil Davian.

Unusually we see our hero Ethan getting married. This is of course asking for her to be used against him which she is, as she is kidnapped and threatened with death if he does not return the item he stole. Ethan does not give in of course, he has to save his wife and also retain the item: he still does not know what the item is.

There's tons of action as usual, and there's some fabulous sets and great locations, things I value in a film, whether the film itself is good or bad. I'm unsure why we continue to see Simon Pegg in major films like these. He does not really bring skilled acting tot he table, and more often than not takes the role of a foolish person.

But his appearance does not do enough to spoil the film which carries on the great tradition of MI.

I gave it a solid 7 as a very enjoyable action adventure.

The Longest Day (1962)

The Longest Day, a day that will repeat itself.

[8/10 · 5 April 2024]

The Longest Day is a film recounting the events leading up to the operation on 6th June 1944, codenamed OVERLORD, where over 2 million allied forces delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France.

The beaches were given the code names UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD and this was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. The statistics of D-Day, as it is known,are staggering. The Allies used over 5,000 ships and landing craft to land more than 150,000 troops on five beaches in Normandy.

Th Germans defending the beaches against this invasion were caught off guard by successful disinformation, and internal command problems.

The film recreates the main invasion, and some other less major operations that were carried out simultaneously, but as part of the overall strategy.

Overlord has gone down in history as one of the most ambitious and successful invasions ever carried out during wartime, and the film is told mostly from the American view, but also from a British and French view too, and also plenty of screen time showing the mistakes made by the Germans.

It's reasonably historically accurate and remains a great reminder of the task taken on by Allied forces from the 12 nations involved and the huge success that was achieved that day.

Despite the film being over 60 years old it still stands as one of the great wartime films ever made, and is a source of pride for all of the countries who gave men to the allied assault. It's almost empty of the typical Hollywood smush that we expect now: it's more of a soldiers film, showing the reality and the brutality of war.

It would take a whole page to list the major stars in this film, but even the non-stars make a great contribution and the film to me embodies warfare: the glory of it, the futility of it, and the necessity for it. It does make your heart swell with pride when all these men were sacrificed on a beach to free a country and a continent from the tyranny of the Nazis. But it also is incredibly sad for so many men to die for the sake of one dictators vision.

It also reminds us that nothing has been learned from it. To this day there is conflict in the world, taking 100's of 000's of lives for the sake of the ideology of a handful of men in power.

I gave it a solid 8 because it stands as a historical document.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mission: accomplished

[7/10 · 3 April 2024]

Based on the hit television series. Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) was sent to Prague for a mission to prevent the theft of classified material. His wife Claire (Emmanuelle Béart) and his trusted partner Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) were members of Phelps' team. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong and the mission failed, leaving Ethan Hunt the seemingly lone survivor.

I went back to watch this just to see if it had aged. Of course it had via the clothes, devices (Nokia) and vehicles. However it had not aged in terms of a well executed film with decent acting and a fine plot.

Don't expect Hollywood greatness that's not what the film, or the franchise is about. It's about a great adventure, with impossibly great secret service-type personnel, winning over the baddies and achieving their aims. MI achieves this in spades.

Now this film is very surely in the same vein as James Bond films: it's easy to poke holes in the plot, and poke fun at the twists and turns, but ultimately you get some great looking people, acting great parts, with imaginative tech, high octane adventure and a guaranteed win at the end for the good guys.

Although this film is now close to 30 years old it has not aged in many ways and it kept me solidly entertained from start to finish. I gave it a solid 7 despite it's age.

World War Z (2013)

Interesting to watch after the Lockdown

[7/10 · 2 April 2024]

Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease.

I watched this when it was first released and liked it as an adventure film. However I came across the DVD and decided to watch it in retrospect of the Lockdown.

Far from the worlds great and good working together to find a solution, our response was to Lockdown hoping that that would solve the problem: quickly realising it would not solve it, but might slow it somewhat.

What was interesting was that they found no cure for COVID, but all Govt's around the world adopted the same dogmatic approach of masks, distancing and isolating, even knowing that these would have no impact whatsoever. So why waste time and money on such endeavours? A project that has cost the world greatly in many different ways and the repercussions will last for generations.

It's interesting to see Hollywood's approach which is much more simple and functional. Find a way to not get infected, then find a way to kill the virus.

As a film this was fabulous entertainment. As a means of showing us where we get things right and where we get them wrong it was also very helpful. Let's hope if there is another pandemic we will cope much better?

Deserves a 7 for an entertaining and suspenseful plot.

Silver Haze (2023)

This may not be a popular review

[2/10 · 2 April 2024]

Hospital nurse Franky (Vicky Knight) is covered with burn scars from a fire 15 years ago when she was a child. She meets troubled patient Florence (Esme Creed-Miles) who tried to commit suicide. She suspects her mother's friend having set the fire and it continues to haunt her.

The film is filmed in the style of 'fly on the wall', or graphic documentary style. And given the subject matter and stated storyline, that's not the best way to do it.

It presents southern English people as common, uneducated, ungracious people with no manners or courtesy and not even able to speak English properly. That for me takes away form the central story and starts to take on the role of a social commentary on the way people live in Britain.

In the first half of the film there are only 2 references to a fire, so rather than Frankie's search for the truth of what happened to her, the first half of the film is nothing but anti-social behaviour, swearing, arguments and graphic, but completely unnecessary lesbian sex.

I'm sitting here at the half way stage still waiting for the story to start and for someone to be able to speak English.

I've given it a 2 and that's more than it's worth.

Cast Away (2000)

A heartwarming but introspective film

[8/10 · 2 April 2024]

FedEx operations executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) and grad student Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) have long dated and lived together, and despite each being the love of the other's life, have not gotten married because of their respective busy schedules, especially Chuck's as he is more often on business trips than he is at home. On one of those business trips he doesn't come back.

I just watched this again, for the fist time in about 10 years. It has lost nothing in the decade, and still left me as stunned, melancholy and yet positive as I was when I first saw it.

The beginning of the film is full on normality. Yet within a few short hours Chuck's life is cut off. Everything he knew is cut off. He has to learn again how to live and survive, but this time all by himself, with no seeming purpose at all. Wilson is important in all of this. Wilson is part of his purpose. Part of his social group. Part of his way to self regulate himself. He even fashions a face on the volleyball, so it can serve as the mirror that will hold him up to himself. The grief in losing Wilson just before he is saved by the boat, must have been ironic and palpable.

His photo and memories of Kelly of course give him a focus point. Something to remind him what he's lost, and what he needs to survive for so he can return to her. It would be very easy to believe that Kelly was still sat waiting for him to return home, and therein lies motivation to get back to her.

It's easy for some to mock the character for talking to a ball and a photograph, but that level of isolation and self dependency is unknown to all but a handful of people in the world.

When he is rescued and returns, Chuck finds Kelly has moved on, and although she loves him she has a different life now. He goes through a ritual of returning the only remaining package from the flight, which feels like he is connecting his life before, with his life now. He's bringing it back together. I felt like that ritual would be necessary before he could move on with his new part of his life.

Clearly he does not know which way to go at the end. He has no purpose now, but he has to forge a new purpose for his life, by himself again, and "Keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide will bring?" None of us can ever know what the tide might bring us, we just have to live it, live with it, and keep breathing.

A rare 8 from me for this fabulous film.

The Colour Room (2021)

A feel good female empowerment film, but based on a true story

[6/10 · 31 March 2024]

The Colour Room follows the journey of a determined, working class woman, Clarice Cliff, as she breaks the glass ceiling and revolutionises the workplace in the 20th century.

Like many I was unsure what to expect from this film, but after soaking it up in one sitting I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pheobe Dynevor is the perfect, pretty-young-bright thing to carry off the part of Clarice Cliff and she exudes energy and positivity on the screen. She appears to be a model for aspiring women and certainly that's how she comes across when you read her life story.

I am so glad that they did not pursue a raunchy love affair between Colley Shorter (played by Matthew Goode) and Clarice Cliff. Because this would have cheapened the story which is not about sex. It's about self belief, perseverance, not being told when to stop and not giving up.

Whether you are a woman or not you can still take away from this film the positive vibes and the decision making that propels some people to greatness.

I loved this film and gave this a solid 6.

Clara (III) (2018)

Beautiful film

[8/10 · 31 March 2024]

Dr. Isaac Bruno, an astronomer and astrophysics professor at Ontario University in Toronto, has been obsessed with needing to discover that there is life in the cosmos besides on Earth.

I saw this film when it first came out as I am a fan of Troian Bellisario. This film superbly balances a love story, with science and a fairy tale, all rolled into one. As a Sci Fi fan I love how they have intermingled all 3 concepts to produce a really great film with some very fine acting.

Patrick J Adams plays Isaac beautifully, and you can feel his inner struggles all along the way. Regret, grief, loss, love, curiosity, fervent need, he displays them all and yet without saying too much.

Troian Bellisario plays the eponymous Clara, and when I watched it the first time I had no clue about the twist at the end. One of the cleverest and unexpected twists in a long time and I almost welled up.

It makes you believe in fairytales and love even if you do have a more practical mind, and that's what I love most about the whole film. It dares you to believe and makes you think you can. A solid 8 for me for a very fine film.

Spare Room (2018)

It's not a bad film...

[5/10 · 30 March 2024]

When a young widow rents a room to a mysterious veteran, their attraction sparks unforeseen circumstances.

As it is a Gravitas Ventures film I adopted my usual method for films distributed by them. They are frequently self financed or budget movies, often by unknown stars and sometimes first time directors, so quality isn't always what you'd hope.

However while the quality isn't there in this film it is a very watchable story and a heart warming one too. The film is carried really by Skyler Samuels who plays Lillian, and Cole Sibus who plays her brother Arrow. It's very predictable, sometimes a little slowly paced, with chunks of self pity that is so common in American films, and a hefty dose of melodrama.

Lillian takes in a lodger who upsets the applecart between her and her boyfriend. But I'll be very honest, I didn't get the whole thing. At the end we see the lodger in jail, with a letter from Lillian saying she loved him. (Which is fine because her boyfriend pointedly said "Goodbye Lillian." in the hospital but she smiled in return and I have no idea why he left her.

But quite why the lodger was in jail I had no idea either. It may have said so in the story but I could not be bothered to go back and find it. Perhaps my attention had drifted? The dialogue was sometimes difficult to hear, and sometimes just irritating or nonsensical. So I may have tuned out important bits.

Overall I still give it a 5 as Sibus and Samuels made it highly watchable.

Road House (2024)

If there's nothing better on this will do

[6/10 · 29 March 2024]

Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.

First off this is not really a remake of Road House, it's more of a reimagining. So don't expect the same film.

Jake Gyllenhaal is great to watch, and he plays his part well for what it is. The fight scenes are exciting and well done, but a bit OTT. This is a larger than life film and not one to take seriously.

There is a story, goodies and baddies, beginning and end, and everything in between is watchable. If you like violence and blood, even more watchable. If you just want mindless entertainment as you veg on the couch, it's very watchable. And if you're a Conor McGregor or Jake Gyllenhaal fan, you'll love it.

I gave it a 6 because it was enjoyable even though it was silly.

Ordinary Angels (2024)

There are so many angels in this world

[8/10 · 28 March 2024]

Based on a remarkable true story, ORDINARY ANGELS centers on Sharon Steves (Hilary Swank), a fierce but struggling hairdresser in small-town Kentucky who discovers a renewed sense of purpose when she meets Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), a widower working hard to make ends meet for his two daughters. With his youngest daughter waiting for a liver transplant, Sharon sets her mind to helping the family and will move mountains to do it.

I only watched this because I like Hilary Swank, and she did not disappoint. In fact there was not a single bad actor in the entire film. From the receptionist to the 5 year old girl they all played a blinding part and made you totally absorbed and immersed in the story. A true story too.

It's a feel good story with no romance or magic or miracles, just plain people coming together to help other plain people out. It shows what can be possible when we all get together and really try.

I loved the real footage from the time which underscored how ordinary people with a little faith and a lot of human kindness moved mountains to save one little girl.

Believe in good.

A solid 8 from me.

Madame Web (2024)

OK...don't write this off yet

[5/10 · 26 March 2024]

There's been enough lambasting of this movie so far. But sit back and think about it. Put to one side the direction was appalling, dialogue very poor, and the camera work amateurish.

OK now you've done that, think of h9ow many other great films have suffered from some level of the same ailments? Die Hard 4 springs to mind for me. It was an incredibly poor end to the franchise, but on the coat tails of the previous 3 it was still enjoyable. Now, if some really clever director was to come back and do a Die Hard 5, we'd be all over it right?

The 'idea' of Madame Web is a solid idea. Dakota Johnson was more than up for the task, I'd happily watch her washing her dishes and still be happy. But the 3 girls also played decent enough parts if you consider the poor dialogue they had to work with and the amateur hour direction. So I think of Madame Web as an introduction to that universe.

What I'd like to see now is maybe a remake of this one but much better done, by a proper director, with a thought out plot, and a fast follow up film showing the 3 girls coming into their own in some great adventures. I've been bitten by the spider bug and I want more.

So OK, this wasn't a great film, but there's an awful lot of shine to polish up and I think there could be much more to come.