That Chanel ad where the Eiffel Tower is a rocket… 😖
Month: December 2022
Tweak new Twitter
I’ve obviously been using the “Tweak new Twitter” plugin in Firefox (https://github.com/insin/tweak-new-twitter/) for a LONG time. I just logged in without it enabled and… it’s just awful.
Harry starts his fourth year at Hogwarts, competes in the treacherous Triwizard Tournament and faces the evil Lord Voldemort. Ron and Hermione help Harry manage the pressure – but Voldemort lurks, awaiting his chance to destroy Harry and all that he stands for.
When you consider the ground this film has to cover, I think it’s a fine effort. I still find the conclusion of the tournament very moving, despite finding out what happens about 20 years ago…
★★★★
A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why??
Still love it. It’s bananas but so well executed. Has some amazing dialogue too in amongst the machismo.
★★★★
A group of heavily armed hijackers board a luxury ocean liner in the South Pacific Ocean to loot it, only to do battle with a series of large-sized, tentacled, man-eating sea creatures who have taken over the ship first.
Objectively terrible yet there are some great lines, major grue and some good chuckles. The stunt work with the “Sea Doo” is pretty cool too.
★★
Scott Calvin is an ordinary man, who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve and is knocked unconscious. When he and his young son finish Santa's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole, where Scott learns he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed, Father Christmas.
I enjoyed watching this hugging my son. He’s ten. I’m making the most of it while it lasts.
★★★
In a remote corner of England's Peak District, a mysterious skull is unearthed. But even weirder is that Lady Sylvia steals the skull for use in worshiping – very erotically – her pagan god, The White Worm, who hungers for the taste of virginal flesh.
This review may contain spoilers.
I’ve seen some whacky films in my time but this might take the cake. Of all the many, many questions I have, I fell the most pertinent is: did Peter Capaldi have a sedated mongoose in his sporran
★★★ (contains spoilers)
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
162 minutes. Why does it have to be this long when they made stuff up to pad out the story?! And to add insult to injury the stuff they added is so dull!
★★½
Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in one night. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur. Arthur Claus is Santa’s misfit son who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present half way around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
I think this is a bit under-rated. On first viewing, the plot seems a bit too complicated. You spend a little too much time trying to figure it out and miss what is right in front of your eyes. There’s quality visuals, amazing stunt work and a great soundtrack that’s well used, not just chucked on.
By and large the players are very solid. My biggest criticism would only be that McAvoy and Toby Jones are not exactly stretching themselves. Sofia Boutella plays her tiny part fantastically.
Fortunately, though, the plot is over-explained at the end, so you don’t really need to pay that much attention. However, with a bit more guile in the application and quite a lot less John Wick gunplay, this would actually be a very passable espionage tale.
Still, there is something that holds it back from being excellent. Just not really sure what it is.
★★★★