Mycroft needs Sherlock's help, but a remorseless criminal mastermind puts Sherlock on a distracting crime-solving spree via a series of hostage human bombs through which he speaks.
It would be harsh to dismiss the previous two episodes as set-up for this one and yet…
This is fantastic TV. This one takes more pleasure in the solving than in the outcome and it’s all the better for it. Not least because we know what the outcome is going to be anyway.
If I had to pick a low point, though, it’d be some of the music. Yep, violins, I get it, but it’s just a bit one dimensional.
★★★★½
A string of apparent suicides has Scotland Yard baffled in London 2010, and officials turn to their consultant, Sherlock Holmes, for assistance.
I love this for the introduction of (this version of) Holmes and Watson. Especially Watson, who is far more interesting than he’s ever been.
Don’t love the case, though. The “headology” explanation is not very satisfying. Not a patch on developing a tolerance to iocaine powder.
★★★½
In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.
It’s well made but, although the story seems clever, I’m not sure it makes any sense. Like, at all.
★★★
When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.
It’s by no means good but I like parts of what it does, like our first Predator “final girl”. I don’t even mind the story that much; the idea that aliens advanced human technology is hardly new.
However, the tone is completely different from its predecessors (I always think of the Merovingian when I use that word) and it plays out more like a video game adaptation. And, since I mentioned the Matrix, maybe that’s just where we were in the early 00s – studios wanted PG13s and video gamers’ bums on seats?
The upshot is, you can sell the same audience Prey 18 years later at a fraction of the cost and go hard R. So, net win?
★★½
Detective Scott Turner has three days left in the local police department before he moves to a bigger city to get some 'real' cases—not just misdemeanors. When Amos Reed is murdered, Scott sets himself on the case, but the closest thing to a witness to the murder is Reed's dog, Hooch, which Scott has to take care of—to avoid Hooch being 'put to sleep'.
I definitely did not enjoy this as much as I did when I saw it in the cinema but it’s fine. Again, weird amount of sexy times and partial nudity for a kid’s film! Put some clothes on, Tom!
★★★
In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.
As a “comic book” adaptation, I reckon it’s pretty successful. Comics are a visual medium and visually this is top tier. Aside from that, and Jackie Earle Haley’s performance as Rorschach, nothing else really stands out. Malin Ackerman is a bit wooden and, while I get what he is going for, Matthew Goode doesn’t quite pull it off.
Despite the length it still jumps around a lot to get to the good stuff, so I guess that could be better edited? I’ve not read it for a while but I remember it covers the source material pretty thoroughly. And it’s in that source material where I think most of the movie’s problems lie: I’m not sure it’s ageing well.
We have no need of paranoia when shameless self-interest is just playing out right in front of us every day. I feel like many of us are now living in an age of bewilderment, asking ourselves “Is this really happening?” The grand plan almost seems a little naïve by today’s standards: nothing would surprise us any more.
★★★
Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.
Glad I didn’t let my general dislike of the Francos put me off this. His casting alongside Brie absolutely makes this movie.
The change in tone towards the end might bother some but I really liked it. Ultimately strikes a great balance of fun and some really creepy shit. Loved the folk horror angle too!
★★★★
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Be easier to like if its predecessors hadn’t been so excellent. Entirely generic except with apes.
★★★
Explore the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island.
Damn this is a good looking movie. Other than that, it is what it is and it does it pretty well. However, I’m not sure what Brie Larson’s character (does she even have a name?) brings to this other than some Ann Darrow parallel, which is barely more than hinted at. Still, she does better out of it than Jing Tian…
★★★½
A screener at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), who has earned an unsavory reputation for being the strictest censor of violent films, begins to spiral out of control after viewing a low-budget horror with similarities to the disappearance of her sister.
This review may contain spoilers.
Bit disappointed we never found out what happened to Nina. However, that does leave guilt and grief as the explanation and, as the outcome emphasises the depth of those feelings, it becomes more unsettling than some “sinful” motivation. Even with the significant time lapse, it still feels credible, which is some accomplishment.
★★★½ (contains spoilers)