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The Lady Vanishes (2013)
Seriously?
A terrible re-hash. No character depth, no intrigue and really not even any mystery. Iris Carr, the lead character, totally fails to engage. In truth, I found her so objectionable, incoherent and pathetic that I genuinely wished the bad guys would win!
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2002)
Clunes at his VERY Best
Nothing more to say than has already been said, other than to highlight an acting tour de force by Martin Clunes. Simply magnificent!
IO (2019)
False Advertising
I watched this because the trailer suggested thrilling suspense and action. It suggested the theme was a desperate race against the odds to get off the planet and join the human race on Io.
Sorry, folks, but ALL of the action was in the trailer - including some scenes that weren't even in the final cut. The results:
- A film devoid of action
- A title that is utterly and completely irrelevant and misleading. Io had no part to play in the movie whatsoever.
- No twists or surprises
- Desperately dull and slow dialogue
- An implausible decision at the end to stay on Earth and die alone
I am not getting any younger and wasting 96 minutes of my life was really not appreciated. Go and mow the lawn, do the ironing, watch some paint dry - all would be a better use of time.
A truly terrible movie.
Trance (2013)
A Masterpiece!
Wow! So many long and deeply analytical reviews of this film. Mine is simple and short:
It had me enthralled and kept my attention from start to finish. Great story-telling with more twists than I could count. Each twist takes you on a different line of reasoning only to find that you were never quite on the right track until the final one. So, who is the good guy and who is the bad? I still can't quite decide and that is the beauty of this film. Great movie entertainment!
Fright Night (2011)
Just a Pure Fun movie
Not really a horror film at all; more a comedy dressed-up as horror. Did it frighten me at all? Not one bit! But did it entertain and was it fun throughout. Absolutely! Loved "Dr Who" being a cowardly wimp. Sadly reminded of the talent that could have been with Anton Yelchin. Go into this without much expectation and you may just be surprised how much you can enjoy it.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Sheer Bloody Brilliance!
Action, humour, escapism, fun and super performances from Colin Firth and Mark Strong. Loved it from start to finish. OK, so it is pretty gratuitous, but Newsflash... this is a MOVIE! It's not real! Just sit back, suspend disbelief and be entertained.
The Humanity Bureau (2017)
Ran Out of Money or of Ideas?
I gave this a 5-rating for one simple reason: It kept me sufficiently interested to watch it to the end. No, it wasn't enthralling and, no, it wasn't exciting. The characters were poorly developed and no thought or creativity went into the single snowy mountain scenery. Plot holes abound, but I ended up not caring because I never had that suspension of disbelief that great movies inspire.
As a storyline, it had potential. But occasional glimpses of "what might have been" left a deep feeling of wanting so much more than was delivered.
Ultimately, the ending had a genuine feeling of "Oops, we spent too much time and money, so let's finish it quick". Very disappointing, but it did keep me watching (silly me).
Shimmer Lake (2017)
Memento, It Isn't!
Maybe unfair to compare Shimmer Lake to the greatness of Memento, but I could not help feeling that this was the inspiring film, so the contrasts become clear.
Whereas Memento's backward reveals at each stage were deeply thought-provoking, the reveals of Shimmer Lake were mostly a case of "so what?".
Only an idiot could miss the fact that the death of a child was the core theme. The inclusion of all the characters involved in that death and resulting injustice made clear that revenge was the clear motive (not the money). The self-professed oh-so-clean sheriff in a dirty town was a further obvious hook. The final reveal was, accordingly, pretty obvious and disappointing.
As a final damning comparison, Memento DVD's had an option to play the movie in chronological sequence, which gave an even darker view of the manipulations and machinations. Watching Shimmer Lake in its correct time sequence would rank it way below an episode of Columbo (famed for telling you the killer from the beginning).
Watchable, But Poor.