NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.
The quality of this movie shows with the scene in which they close Powell’s arc and nobody has to say a word.
★★★★★
When a group of 20-somethings gets stuck at a remote mansion during a hurricane, a party game gone very, very wrong ends with a dead body on the ground and fake friends at every turn as they try to find the killer among them.
You get to the dénouement and you’re, like, “Oh. Haha! That’s neat.”
And… well, that’s about it. “Lite” might be the word I’d choose.
★★★
The Guardians of Arcadia reunite to battle the nefarious Arcane Order, who've reawakened the primordial Titans.
This was never going to be good but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.
If you like your typical Japanese anime, you might enjoy the interminable parade of “one last chances” and Deus ex machina on offer here but, otherwise, it’s incredibly tedious.
The film and the series are filled to the brim with great concepts that result in wonderful visuals but the story, if you can even called it that by the end, just wears thinner and thinner, to the point where it actually gives up… and starts over.
★★
The inquisitive Mr Wraxhall discovers that a long-dead Swedish nobleman does not lie easy in his tomb.
Firemen brothers Brian and Stephen McCaffrey battle each other over past slights while trying to stop an arsonist with a diabolical agenda from torching Chicago.
Unarguably the best film about fire fighters. I’m sure fire fighting has changed a great deal in thirty years but you still got to love them: you call, they come.
However, the “sex scene” might rival Top Gun’s in its unsexiness. Though I do like the shot of them riding the fire truck after. The soundtrack gets a bit cringe during the funeral too.
On the plus side, the effects are still amazing and everyone apart from Jennifer Jason Leigh is on at least decent form. Although Donald Sutherland is a bit hammy, and doesn’t scary me quite as much as he did when I was a kid, Ronald Bartel is still a terrifying character.
★★★★
Deep inside the mountain of Dovre, something gigantic awakens after being trapped for a thousand years. Destroying everything in its path, the creature is fast approaching the capital of Norway. But how do you stop something you thought only existed in Norwegian folklore?
Fairly simple fun. I love that it’s a Norwegian story, set in Norway. So nice to be away from US coastline!
In terms of production, it feels a bit like the “Spooks” TV show at times. I hate Spooks. So, that’s not great.
There’s strong Cloverfield, Skull Island and, of course, Troll Hunter vibes, which you could consider either a poor imitation or a fun new combination.
None of these make it a bad movie. There’s just not much to recommend this.
(Original audio with subs)
★★½
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.
★★★
