An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converge in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine.
You know exactly what you’re getting. The comedy comes in waves, rather than a consistent level of hilarity. And, frankly, some of the troughs are kind of dull but the peaks make up for it.
★★★
Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.
First time I’ve watched this with my children (8/11). They quite enjoyed it and I didn’t hate it.
I still find plenty of it maddeningly moronic. Like “dropping” bombs in space. And how moving steadily in one direction, in space, burns fuel… But that was easier to look past today.
However, it’s harder to look past just how many scenes drag on. Even the characters admit that’s all they are doing at one point.
But there are still lots of cool moments and the more irreverent tone bothers me less with time.
I just think that Rian Johnson (like Edgar Wright) might be better off not directing his own writing work…
★★★
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…
I liked how it turned out. Much better than real life. And I liked a lot about how it was made. But I didn’t actually like the sum of the parts.
★★★
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.
New York detective Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in which the victims are found beheaded. But the locals believe the culprit to be none other than the ghost of the legendary Headless Horseman.
I guess if you don’t like the Depp/Burton/Elfman triumvirate there’s no way you’ll like this. But I think this is worth the watch for the visual effects, makeup and stunt work alone.
The headless horseman is superbly realised. A villain almost as formidable and implacable as the Terminator that, despite the lack of facial expression, still manages to have a playful and cheeky demeanour.
The central plot is fun, though it does rely heavily on a fountain of exposition in the third act to bring it together. Some of the performers are a bit wooden and the accents are ALL over the place but there’s at least Michael Gambon to enjoy.
Finally, a word on “horror”. There’s more threat and gore in this than I find in most recent horror movies pitched at teens. It deserves a little more respect in that regard.
★★★★
A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.
A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy.
I hated this when it was first released. Maybe I just didn’t want to like it?
I couldn’t get over the fact that we knew almost all of these characters were going to die, otherwise we’d have heard of them, right? I guess you could call it the curse of the prequel. On that basis I found it pretty hard to warm to them.
This time round, I was just focussed on what was on the screen much more. And, while there are still some fairly clunky lines and moments, the overall story plays out well and the battle scenes might be some of the best in canon. Looks gorgeous too.
★★★★
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with no choice, Harry takes matters into his own hands, training a small group of students – dubbed 'Dumbledore's Army' – to defend themselves against the dark arts.
It’s hard to fault this film for the turgid story upon which it is based. In fact, the film actually excises a lot of the cruft. But even stripped to the bones very little actually happens to further the story.
★★★
'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.
It surprises me to say that this looks as good as it ever did! Probably the main thing that dates this is the boob gags. In a kid’s film?
Possibly my favourite film noir.
★★★★
Disgruntled ex-CIA operative Strannix, his assistant Krill and their group of terrorists seize the battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback -- an error that could be fatal.
I don’t have much to add to the reviews already on letterboxd.
There some crazy dialogue and stunt work but it’s done with such a straight face it sets this really unusual tone that I kind of dig.
★★★
