tclegg-60959's Reviews

The Black Phone (2021)

8/10

22 July 2022

This film is an excellent example of how to subtly grow tension in an interesting and meaningful way. Whilst not perfect this film had me truly gripped.

The film does start a bit slow which may not be to everyone's taste but this allows the relationships between the kids and families to develop in to more than just generic stock characters. This helps us to actually care for their story which adds to the emotional tension later on.

Ethan hawk is fantastically unhinged and give and excellent performance as the magician. It's an unusual role for him to take but he nails it. The child actors within the film are a slightly mixed bag. The two main characters(the brother and sister) give excellent performances that show real emotional range that helps us connect with them. Unfortunately some of the other child actors are weaker and this does unfortunately stand out but considering they are all young actors they do a really good job and there weaknesses can e overlooked.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie and think it's worth checking out.

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Resident Evil (2022)

5/10

Sadly, this is what Resident Evil has become

22 July 2022

Warning: Spoilers

I know a lot of reviews keep saying that this "isn't resident evil!" but sadly this is exactly what Resident evil has become. Yes RE7 and 8 were welcome returns to horror let's not forget the boulder punching, telekinetic, sun light dodging craziness from the other games. Not to mention the stupidly bad Paul Anderson movies that we all had to sludge through.

As for this series - it's a total mixed bag. The overall story is not the worst idea. I especially like how they essentially keep the early raccoon city games as cannon. The acting through out is average but not offensive and the effects are decent.

The story takes place over split timelines with one set in the present and one in the future. This is where the program really struggles. The present day storyline has the most potential and could be a great way to show the sinister side of umbrella and the early dealings of an outbreak. Unfortunately this story never really takes off. It briefly shows bits of Umbrellas reach and corruption but does not go in to enough depth about their experimentation and ruthlessness. The twins are ok (much better as their younger selves than the older versions. ) but their story is too soft and more like a Halloween special of Dawson creek than a scary horror show.

The second interlaced story line occurs in a already dystopian future. This is where the story takes a nose dive. Some of the action is decent and the monsters look good but the storyline is really repetitive. The main lead(honestly can't remember her name) runs some where, meets someone new, gets captured, escapes(the new person she just met dies every time) and then she runs again. After the 3rd loop of this plot thread it becomes painful. The twist at the end of the series is not even close to being a surprise or even entertaining.

Ultimately it's a missed opportunity. Why they have not just gone back to basics and done a mini series adaptation of the 1st game I'm not sure but I will probably watch the 2nd series(assuming Netflix doesn't pull the plug -I wouldn't blame them if they did)

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Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

6/10

Decent way to kill 90 minutes

16 April 2022

This film by no means is good but it's not particularly bad either. The actings fine, the pace of the film is good(90 minutes is exactly the right length) and the action is decent.

Overall is a bang average film that won't really leave a lasting impression on you but as a short popcorn movie, it's fine.

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Choose or Die (2022)

2/10

Does Netflix have any quality control?

16 April 2022

Firstly, It's good to see first time directors get a chance at making movies on a large platform but there really should be some form of quality control. I understand that Netflix needs to pump out a lot of content to justify its production side of the business but that surely doesn't mean just throw everything at the wall blindly and hope something sticks. There are lots of talented people who could of looked at this script and told them it was garbage. Why does Netflix not seem to have them? I know these films are dead cheap and probably can be knocked out in a shorter time than other genres of film but that's no excuse. As a massive horror fan it annoys me that films such as this keep getting made, they give the genre a bad reputation. Low budget does not have to mean rubbish.

The acting in this film was terrible at best (asa butterfield is terribly miscast and the female lead has as much personality as a wet toilet roll) the plot was ridiculous yet still incredibly predictable and it was as scary as an episode of blues clues.

Also, do not be sucked in by it having Robert England as third billed. Spoiler alert - he is not in this movie. He provides a simple 2 line voice over that offers nothing to the plot. I actually doubt he even knows he's in this film at all.

Overall, this is garbage and dull. I suggest that rather than watch this film you do something more entertaining with your time- like counting the blades of grass in your garden.

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I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021)

7/10

Why all the hate????

22 October 2021

Whilst this is far from a master piece it's clearly not a 1 star program so you can ignore those haters straight away. The production is good, the acting is fine(not Oscar worthy but who would expect that in an Amazon original) and the story line is a good spin on the original movie.

Yes the kills are a bit muted but this feels like an artistic choice to add to the sense of disconnect - we see the kills more through the eye of the main protagonist rather than the victims or killer.

The story is being told at a more realistic pace that feels natural and doesn't rush the kills and scares. This does hold the program back slightly as there's very little in the way of actual suspense but the slowness does allow us to connect more with the story.

Simply put, this is not a slasher movie/program so if that's what your expecting then you may be disappointed (to be fair the first movie was hardly a slasher anyway) but so far it's a decent watch and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

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Hatchet (2006)

4/10

Am I missing the point?

9 April 2021

Having watched Hatchet I'm still not totally sure what type of film it is trying to be. It seems to put its self in the low budget exploitation style movie whilst trying to be a horror comedy. Sadly it fails at both. Yes it has gore and the kills are reasonably "good" in a low budget but done practically kind of way, but that doesn't make up for the terrible script and story line. The "monster" effect is weak and looks like a really low budget Wrong Turn reject.

The music is also so out of place for most scenes. It rarely matched the atmosphere of the film and generally .ages every scene worse.

As for the comedy aspect..... in parts this film feels like it is going for the "so bad it's good" style however I never quite reaches those heights. The humour falls flat and is delivered in a stilted and childish way.

If you told me that this film had been written by a 12 year old I would honestly not be surprised.

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Aquaman (2018)

6/10

Wakanda rip off

19 March 2021

Warning: Spoilers

This is just a blatant underwater rip off of Black Panther. The plot is so similar it's laughable - guy who's not ready to be king fights a relative to be king and loses. He then goes ok a journey of self discovery where he speaks to a dead relative and returns for a big CGI fight where he wins and all the other tribes declare him king.

Honestly if Jason Mamoa had shouted Atlantis forever at any point during this film I would not of been surprised.

As for the rest of the film, the CGI is appalling. I understand that it's supposed to be underwater and 'futuristic but the use of neon colours makes it look like awful. The CGI shark would not look out of place in a sharknado movie and the super imposed back drops are just garbage. This is particularly evident at the end during the lighthouse keeper and Queen reunion.

On a positive note, Aquaman himself is somewhat entertaining but at no point is he either funny, heroic or even slightly cool. He's just some guy who can talk to fish.

It's a shame because this could of been good but sadly that wasn't to be.

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Max Payne (2008)

5/10

A Missed Opportunity

2 March 2021

This film is a really big missed opportunity. The styling and story line of the game could have been easily transferred t oa dark and violent film noir with a nice dose of conspiracy thrown in. Unfortunately all of this is wasted on a very tame and lackluster film that stick to a predictable formula with poor character development and sloppy dialogue.

Some of the visuals are nice but the lack of any true bullet time (which is a big mechanic of the games) is a real let down. As for the violence, yes there is a lot of shooting but this is a film that needed to be darker and more visceral. Had the action been more similar to films such as John Wick and the Raid or even the Punisher (TV series not film) and this film could of had potential. Unfortunately all of this was repeatedly squandered through.

The acting is fine but I felt that the poor script left them very little to work with. Hopefully in time this will get some form of reboot and correct these wrongs.

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The Rezort (2015)

3/10

Interesting premise - Disappointing execution

10 February 2021

Although the concept for this film is nothing new (Just think Jurassic Park but with zombies instead of dinosaurs) it did have potential to be a decent zombie film.

Sadly its bogged down by terrible acting (accents seem to change on a whim), terrible dialogue and ridiculous character decisions and developments. The political and humanitarian sub plot is very under developed and feels simply thrown in at the last minute. Its a shame because I do feel there is potential in the concept but this film falls way short.

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Ouija (II) (2014)

4/10

Shockingly forgettable movie.

16 January 2021

This film is so generic and forgettable that I honestly got 70 minutes in to it before realising that I had already seen it before.

The film makes it hard to care about the characters due to their mundane and dull personalities. Their decisions are bad even by horror movie standards as there seems little logicaly point for anything that they do.

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Bridgerton (2020– )

1/10

Pointlessly dull.

12 January 2021

Having watched 1 & 1/2 episode I can honestly say that this program is absolute garbage.

It would seem that the writer has read half a Wikipedia page about the British Monarchy, smoked a load of weed and then made up some sort of rubbish story for a 5 year old book report.

Awful.

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Hoops (2020)

9/10

Ignore the bad reviews.

24 August 2020

Yes the humour is crude and angry but that's why this program works. Genuinely one of the funniest shows I've seen in ages but its clearly not designed for everyone.

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