I had not seen any reviews for this film, and had no idea that it was a loose biopic of Steven Spielberg. The movie was totally engaging from the very first scene and 2 hours 20 minutes went by in a flash. It could easily have been 3 hours plus and still kept me enthralled. The acting was superb, as was the direction and cinematography. The characters felt totally believable and richly developed. The movie itself has humour, pathos and great depth, It richly deserves it's Oscar nomination. I have now read a great number of the negative reviews and I can't believe they were watching the same movie. I can only assume that they thought that it would be more like Jaws or Raiders Of The Lost Ark. And as for the comments about it being too long, maybe their brains aren't able to cope with films longer than 85 minutes.
Reviews
40 Reviews
A Man Called Otto
(2022)
Another brilliant Tom Hanks movie.
12 August 2023
The movie is sensitive, moving and brilliant. Ignore the negative reviews, they obviously don't understand anything unless it is filled with violence, bad language and action.
This film has heart and an emotional plot, the acting is superb and the storyline is warm and gentle.
The characters are funny, sensitive and just plain nice. I guess that's why some reviews say it is boring. Tom Hanks, as always provides a brilliant portrayal of his character, as do all the other actors. It's about life and loss and friendship, and the way people should treat each other. This film truly deserves an Oscar nomination at the very least.
This film has heart and an emotional plot, the acting is superb and the storyline is warm and gentle.
The characters are funny, sensitive and just plain nice. I guess that's why some reviews say it is boring. Tom Hanks, as always provides a brilliant portrayal of his character, as do all the other actors. It's about life and loss and friendship, and the way people should treat each other. This film truly deserves an Oscar nomination at the very least.
In the Footsteps of Killers
(2021– )
Stilted and wooden
11 February 2023
There are plenty of similar programs as this, following up on cold cases. All of them are done better! The concept is good, unsolved murders and missing people should be able to produce a watchable and interesting program. The problem with this is that it appears to have been made for the wrong reasons, it seems to be a vehicle for Emilia Fox. Unfortunately Emilia is not a very good actress, her facial expression seems to be perpetually confused and shocked. The program is obviously scripted but Emilia delivers her lines in such a stilted and wooden manner that it sounds very amateurish. The professor is much better, not great but better, at least he sounds natural and conversational. Another problem is that this has been made as an entertainment program, therefore it actually doesn't get anywhere. The cold cases are just rehashed, there is no movement forward towards a closure of any of the cases.
Inside Man
(II) (2022)
Much better than expected
6 October 2022
Much better than expected based on the early reviews. It is slightly confusing at the start as it seems to be two completely separate stories that have been cobbled together as neither would have worked on their own. Once you have worked out the link and the character relationships it becomes a really intriguing plot, difficult to stop watching. This is listed as Drama/Mystery, which it is, however it is so bizarre in places and has many dead-pan one liners that it has the feel of black comedy that became too dark. Maybe it started out as a black comedy and the writer decided it was becoming to dark, or perhaps it was pitched as a black comedy but the producers decided make it darker. Either way it works!
Solid new detective series
29 August 2022
The production values are high and the acting is good. The characters for the most part are believable and the plot was good although a bit obviousfrom the beginning. Most importantly, unlike so many new drama series at the moment, there were no major plot holes. There was a certain amount of obvious politically correct inclusivity, the lesbian detective in a mixed race relationship, it didn't intrude on the story. So many dramas that try this go too far and the personal lives of the characters become major distractions. The only downside was that the "twist" was obvious from the first 20 minutes. Hopefully future episodes won't show their hand quite so quickly.
No Country for Old Men
(2007)
Seriously Overrated
19 August 2022
There's no way that this movie deserves all the awards it won. I'd never seen the film in the cinema but eventually watched it based on all the hype and reviews describing it as a truly great film. It is simply a gore fest, there's no storyline, no plot and no ending. The film moves quickly from one killing to the next, its the sort of film you expect from the 8th installment of a b-movie franchise. The acting was adequate, for a low budget horror. The script was poor so not sure if discreet payments were involved in it winning best adapted screen play.
Capture the Flag
(2015)
Great Film.
10 July 2022
This is an unexpectedly great film. It has a good story, it's charming, it's well made, the music is brilliant, it's educational as well as entertaining and fun. I can't believe that this film didn't even get nominated for any of the big awards. Yes it won a couple of smaller European awards, I guess it doesn't tick the political correctness boxes and doesn't have any Hollywood names.
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968)
Complete and utter trash.
19 June 2022
Yes, the arty-farty brigade would have you believe this is one of the greatest films ever. Don't believe them!! The film is slow, dull, with almost no storyline. It is a collection of connected short stories that have been put to music. Long slow panning camera shots and lengthy black screen sections. Dialogue is minimal, acting is poor at best. As for the final sequence in the stories, I can only assume it was produced during a very bad acid trip while watching a lava lamp.
Dodger
(2022– )
Very poor.
13 March 2022
The concept is good, but the execution is typically poor from the BBC. Some of the acting is good namely Dodger and Fagin, but the rest are very amateurish like a parody of a village play. Obviously we understand this is a work of fiction but no attempt has been made to actually get things right. In the mid 19th century, the average wage of a market worker was less than a shilling per day, yet the workers seem to be willing to gamble 2 shillings on a card trick. The production is also overshadowed by the BBC diversity rules, this leads to a view of victorian England having a 50% ethnic minority population. Worst of all the production suggests that the mill owner would be black.
The Desperate Hour
(2021)
Reviews can be misleading.
12 March 2022
This is not a bad film. From reading the reviews I was expecting it to be very weak, but it's not. I think the problem that the reviewers have is that this is NOT an action film. If you watch it not expecting action, shooting and chases, it is actually a very good film. Its true that 80% of it is the main character on a jog in the woods, but that doesn't mean there is no suspense. The acting is good, the scenery is beautiful and the plot is strong and believable. Well worth watching if you're not expecting high octane action or CGI nonsense.
Treadstone
(2019)
Very weak.
20 January 2022
It's obvious that money has been thrown at this Bourne spinoff. It ticks all the diversity boxes, which I suppose is why the critics rate it highly. The plot line is ridiculous, why would a defecting North Korean general want to speak to a discredited uk journalist turned cab driver, its simply ludicrous. Random fight scenes and car chases and why would a Jason Bourne type sleeper have so much trouble fighting 5'6" 98lb woman when he has just flattened several 6' highltrained security guards.
The Tower
(2021–2023)
OK, so far!!
11 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Disappointed after the first episode, seemed a bit slow and far fetched. Decided to give it a second chance with the next episode and this didn't really improve my opinion but it did raise some questions, not so much about the plot as about the way the procedural errors keep compounding. After watching the last episode it became obvious that this is the start of ITVs attempt at a "Line of duty" the ending leaves everything tidy but unexplained. It is obvious from the final sequences that this will be a run-on for a few years just like Line of duty. We can only hope that it will become a little less PC/Woke as the future series expand on the story.
Hollington Drive
(2021)
Poor
30 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The first episode is mystifying. It seems to be trying to be the next "Broadchurch" but there is a distinct lack of drama. The relationship between the characters is impossible to work out, even by the end of part 1, I couldn't work out which family was which or whether they were all some sort of strange cult, especially since the headmistress visits the missing
boy's father and immediately jumps into bed with him. Throughout there is overly loud and discordant incidental music, presumably attempting to raise the drama level, however it only serves to make it difficult to hear what the actors are saying. The acting is weak, even from the usually good Anna Maxwell Martin. Rachel Stirling seems to be playing her character as if she is a reject from "The Stepford Wives". The mother of the missing boy doesn't seem at all upset by the fact she hasn't seen her 10 year old son for many hours and hasn't bothered to contact the police. There seems to be no urgency to find the missing boy.
Beautiful film about difference.
27 August 2021
Really beautiful film, deserves to be better known.
This film deserves to win many awards, but it won't because it isn't big enough in the modern scheme of things. The cinematography was stunning and the locations were strangely beautiful. Production was great and the acting was excellent. Once again Jaeden Martell was totally brilliant.
This film deserves to win many awards, but it won't because it isn't big enough in the modern scheme of things. The cinematography was stunning and the locations were strangely beautiful. Production was great and the acting was excellent. Once again Jaeden Martell was totally brilliant.
Probably the worst ever episode.
31 July 2021
This is probably the worst ever episode of Casualty. What was once an excellent medical drama series has degenerated beyond belief. What was the point of it all, the constant time shifting, the appalling acting and direction and worst of all absolutely no storyline.
From Time to Time
(2009)
Traditional ghost story in the best tradition.
20 June 2021
Good old fashioned ghost story. This film follows the best traditions of great ghost stories with none of the modern gore, violence or scares. It tells a simple story of intrigue and historic crime. It has great characters that inspire empathy. Good story, good acting, great cast. Total mystery that this film is not better known.
Cats
(2019)
Ignore the bad reviews.
29 December 2020
I read the reviews for this film because the rating was so bad (2.8 at time of writing). The reviews were so bad that I had to watch the film...I was very surprised, this film isn't bad at all. In fact as far as stage musicals transferred to film go, it is good.. better than good even. I think the problem is that the reviewers that gave this 1* didn't actually understand what they were watching. It's a fantasy musical, it's supposed to be fantastical. As for the reviewers that said there is no plot or story, Cats doesn't have a plot or story because it's based on a book of poems about different cats.
What Dreams May Come
(1998)
Just too weird.
6 November 2020
I just can't see why this film gets such a high rating. Yes it is very nicely filmed, and the scenes are colorful, and obviously with the high grade cast the acting is good... BUT the film is just too weird. Some of the reviews say it is the ultimate tear jerker but honestly I couldn't build enough empathy with any of the characters to feel moved to tears. There is just too much "Dante circles of hell". The concept of the story intrigued me enough to watch it but stylistically the production was over the top. It ended up looking like a cross between The wizard of Oz and Dante. Maybe you need to be on strong drugs to appreciate it.
The Black String
(2018)
WOW
6 June 2020
Well worth watching, I expected this to be a low budget low quality film, only really watched it because I haven't seen Frankie Muniz in a film since he was a kid. But it was brilliant, one of those films that you just can't stop watching once you start, you need to know what is going on, you need to know how it ends. Frankie Muniz is still a very good actor and played this part brilliantly. The story is first class, as is the directing. Every turn of the plot was a surprise, you never know what is going to happen next.
Disturbing the Peace
(2020)
Rated 1 as ZERO is not possible.
28 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Possibly the worst film ever produced. Acting is atrocious, direction is appalling and the plot is full of holes.
***SPOILER***
During the first 20 minutes the motorbike gang cut the power to the town, for no apparent reason this seems to have the effect of cutting off the cell phones and land lines ( Neither of which would be affected by a cut in power) BUT it doesn't seem to have any effect on the lights In the bank being robbed or the other businesses in town except the Marshal's office and the cafe. (Both of which are main settings in the film)
Spider-Man: Far from Home
(2019)
Time to stop the franchise
11 April 2020
This one is ok, not nearly as good as the previous TH spiderman films. Not enough Spiderman and too much Marvel CGI. Too many explosions and not enough story. Spiderman was always the part of Marvel that had believable storylines this one strays so far from the original that it becomes just another Marvel movie. Tom Holland was brilliant as usual and Jake Gyllenhaal was also very good, but as for Samuel L Jackson and his "heroic" overacting what purpose did he serve.(unless of course it was politically correct casting).
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