Reviews

If you go into this film hoping for an historically accurate portrayal of the battle of Stalingrad then go watch a documentary, if you are however looking to be entertained by an action packed and gritty WW2 movie set in the city of Stalingrad, then go ahead and pick this up because it's nothing if not entertaining.

The movie is about the real life sniper Vasily Zaitsev played by Jude Law and his exploits during the famous battle, the beginning of the movie is complete chaos as our main hero is sent to the front and we see the besieged and infamous city for the first time. It's honestly worth watching this movie just for the opening scene alone which is just incredibly well done in all aspects and portrays some of the horrors that the soviet troops would have witnessed when arriving there.

Overall this is a highly entertaining war movie, fantastic CGI for the time, everything is well shot, the set pieces are gorgeous and even the acting and characters are well done.

All that said this is of course a Hollywood production, don't expect much in the way of historical accuracy and definitely expect a silly love story (though not the worst) and everyone speaking English with poor Russian and German accents.

I have always been fascinated with the gruesome tale of Griselda Blanco, from her early life which was beyond horrendous to becoming one of the biggest Colombian drug lords in history. There has been a couple of documentaries and even other fictional tales where she was featured but in my honest opinion this is by far the most entertaining.

Sofia Vergara stars as Griselda and she does a fantastic job portraying the ruthless and savage La Madrina, the series begins with her fleeing Columbia and mainly centers around her time in Miami during the infamous cocaine wars.

The series is very well done, the acting is superb, the characters are mostly well developed, the action is well shot and it does not shy away from the brutality that occurred during that time (even though it cannot live up to what really happened)

Vergara though really carries this one, she is simply fantastic in almost every single scene, going from this cool and charismatic drug kingpin to the savage, strung out psychopath who would murder you for looking at her the wrong way.

The only thing that lets this one down in my opinion is that it's not completely accurate historically, some things are changed here and there and I personally don't see any reason why, the true story is riveting enough so there was no need, but still it didn't detract much if at all from it being a great show, one that is easily on par with the other Narco series.

I was really hesitant to watch this film due to all the bad reviews but it looked so interesting and I love sci-fi so I thought why not, surely it's not as bad as the reviews make it seem, well unfortunately I was wrong, it's without question very bad.

Really the only thing the movie has going for it is the CGI and cinematography, it truly is a visual delight for the eyes and for that alone I gave it 4 stars, everything else however is just plain terrible, the acting is wooden, the characters are uninteresting and poorly developed, the story is rushed and the writing laughable, it literally has nothing else going for it and being a visual treat doesn't make a movie good.

So to summarize, it looks good and little else, if you want anything more than incredible CGI prepare to be disappointed.

I always loved this film as a kid and as an adult things have not changed, there is something about these 90's classics be they horror or otherwise that bring a sense of joy and wonder along with now the nostalgic feeling of better times long past.

The cast here is superb, all young and talented actors/actresses that most will easily recognize even today, sure it's a 90's teen movie, it has some cheesy lines and some aged SFX etc but that's all part of the charm.

As far as witch movies go I think this is still one of the best ever made, nothing here is overdone or overblown in terms of the magic and it all feels authentic and realistic, all four of the girls play their parts to perfection especially Robin Tunney (Sarah) and Fairuza Balk (Nancy) supported by the beautiful Neve Campbell (Bonnie) and Rachel True (Rochelle)

The Craft is easily a cult classic and if you love witches and the 90's it's a movie you cannot miss.

I honestly don't know why this is rated so low, sure it's unrealistic, the script is flawed and there are a few clichés here and there but if you just want a very visually appealing disaster/survival film featuring a cruise liner then you have come to the right place.

Firstly the special effects are fantastic, the CGI is definitely the highlight of the film and no expense was spared it seems, it makes the Titanic look like a low budget film in comparison. Secondly the cast and characters all play their part well, they won't leave a lasting impression but they do the job well enough.

Lastly yes the film is very unrealistic for a multitude of reasons but you should be able to suspend your disbelief and have yourself a good time as the film still has plenty to offer, not to mention there are very few cruise liner disaster films out there to scratch that itch but this in my opinion definitely does.

7/10.

Well the show started off fine, it kept my interest initially but unfortunately it went off the rails rather quickly. I love a good thriller mystery as much as the next person but this just wasn't it.

Firstly Kiefer is to old for this role, it would've been much better to cast someone a little younger, he just didn't fit in here and always seemed out of place, the rest of the cast weren't much better and there really wasn't a single character I cared for. I found the acting itself to also be quite mediocre like everyone was just doing their lines so they could go home and put their feet up.

The story and plot were absolutely nonsensical, the twists and turns of which there were a few were just laughable, so many unrealistic moments and characters made me just shake my head in disbelief especially towards the end (my god the ending was horrendous)

If you can suspend your disbelief and just want something to pass the time then you might get some joy out of it otherwise skip.

If you really want to experience the true greatness that is TLOU 1 then just play the game and then if you must watch this afterwards just for comparisons sake.

The show despite copying a lot of the games story just doesn't do it justice in terms of portraying the emotions and bonding between Joel and Ellie, as much as I like Bella as an actress she just doesn't fit the role of Ellie well, she looks nothing like the game character and despite using some of the same dialogue she cannot convey the same emotional connection and depth as the game character along with the voice of Ashley Johnson. I think Pedro was ok as Joel, he looks a lot more like Joel than Bella does Ellie and even though his acting was fine he is still a far cry from the game character though not as far off as Bella is to Ellie imo.

The show also skips a lot of what makes the game great, the infected for example are few and far between and even though they cannot be used as much as in the game for obvious reasons they are still severely lacking, they change little things here and there for seemingly no reason (another example there are no spores in the show, a big part of how the infection spreads and sticking with bites only which is a big shame if you understand fungus at all)

Overall the show is just mediocre, the acting is ok not great, some of the CGI is good not spectacular, the cinematography is done well though and the set pieces are fine, again all things considered it's just so middling.

So TLDR, just play the first game, it's a masterpiece and this show is anything but.

Like most I loved the original GOT series (season 8 not included) and had high hopes when this was announced that it could live up to the original at least to a degree however that has not come to pass.

Firstly the cast is just all wrong, out of all the main cast I can barely think of one who is appropriately cast, the writing and character development feels rushed and at no point was I invested in any of the characters like I was with the original series.

What the original did so well was get you invested, whether you loved or hated the characters there was investment in seeing how their story played out but here I just don't care either way and feel completely indifferent towards them all. On top of this there is the shoehorned diversity, interracial couplings and homosexuality which all feels very forced and essentially just feels like a tick box exercise for political correctness like a lot of other shows these days.

I am really struggling to find anything positive to say about this, even the CGI was a let down and feels cheap and makes me wonder where the budget went on this one, the only good thing was that it made me want to rewatch the original again just to get the sour taste this left in my mouth.

3/10 and that's being generous.

Whilst the series starts off slow it does eventually get going and I thought once it did that it was an enjoyable ride, if you're looking for the usual lightsaber duels along with Jedi and Sith battling it out then look elsewhere but otherwise if you're a fan of this universe then you should have a good time.

I thought the cast was good, some decent character development, acting was fine, set pieces whilst familiar were done well, costumes were ok but some of the props felt out of place (for example the Kalashnikov blasters were out of place and felt cheap which broke the immersion a little) but it's whatever merely a small nit-pick.

Everything else was good, CGI, sound effects, cinematography all well done and you can tell again despite some minor flaws that a lot of money was spent on this show, another thing I was pleased with was a lack of wokeness most shows especially from Disney have been plagued with as of late, didn't notice any of that PC nonsense here which was refreshing.

So in conclusion if you like the SW universe and can handle a slow burn give it a shot and you should enjoy it.

Fury is a really fun film, very dark and gritty affair which kept me thoroughly engaged the whole time, the characters played their parts well and the development of said characters flows nicely from start to finish.

The sets look really good, beautiful cinematography, CGI is great, costumes seem fine to me in terms of accuracy from what I could tell (maybe a few minor inaccuracies here or there) so all in all I quite enjoyed it however there are a few big problems with the movie which prevents me from rating it any higher.

The major problem is the silly battle at the end, whilst it looks good it's just absolute nonsense and you really need to suspend disbelief on that one, I really wish they went a different route for the ending as it would have made the film so much better, apart from the last battle there was also quite a few historical inaccuracies which I noticed here and there but nothing too serious, it's a movie after all.

Worth a watch for sure, 7/10.

I have seen my fair share of horror and gore movies but the most harrowing of horror films are those based on real events and the worst horrors are the ones being depicted not by imaginary monsters but by human beings.

Fair warning this one is a tough watch even if you're used to such films, it does not shy away from the violence that was committed during this time so be prepared to see men, woman and small children (even babies) being brutally murdered in some of the worst ways possible.

Overall this was a well made movie and I enjoyed it as a film but was completely shook up by it's content, not being a European myself (though familiar with these events) I still found it difficult at times to tell who was who as it involves Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Germans and Russians including all the partisan groups and even mixtures of the above so one must pay close attention to follow along.

If you're looking for a good anti-war film this is it, after watching you will be utterly disgusted with what took place and if you're not then you're not human.

Obviously I am in the minority but to even call this a movie should be a crime, to be honest I am not even sure what I watched, the whole thing was a confusing, poorly edited low budget mess and I don't even know where to begin in terms of explaining just what a terrible film this is.

Firstly the acting is atrocious, heavily overdone and the dialogue must have been written by a mad man because most of it just came off as completely bizarre, human beings don't talk like this to one another, they don't act like this even under extreme duress, it was just straight up nonsense with very little character development.

Secondly the soundtrack and audio was also a complete mess, poor sound effects, poorly edited, constant screeching during the middle of the film so as to depict hearing loss from the main character but comes off as just infuriating for the viewer. The cinematography is not much better, the camera work is poorly done and again it shows the shoestring budget here as well.

I get they are trying to shock the viewer with a lot of the scenes but all they did was annoy me to no end, they even shoot a real cow with machine guns purely for shock value because like you know can't shoot real humans so let's just shoot some animals, yeah that will show em what real war is like.

Honestly overall, utter garbage, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

Being a fan of German cinema and WW2 history I must say this movie did not disappoint, firstly I would like to point out there is no homosexuality depicted at all in this film despite the tags saying otherwise, I am unsure why these tags were listed but the movie has nothing to do with or even mentions anyone being gay, also for anyone wanting a boxing film look elsewhere it has little to do with boxing other than a few scenes.

Now the film itself was really well done, the acting was superb and the well written characters and there development really draws you in and allows you to relate to the lead actor. You will be transported back to 1942 in this movie and will experience what it would have been like growing up in a fascist country like Nazi Germany and all the horrors that go along with attending a Nazi run boarding school.

My only gripe was that the film was a little predictable at times but overall it didn't detract from it being a great watch, definitely recommend giving it a shot if you are interested in history, Nazi Germany, or just after a good drama.

8/10.

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is a great heartfelt story and one that should have been told sooner, these brave and courageous men faced insurmountable odds to become combat pilots at that time so I have nothing but respect and admiration for them and it was good to see this on film.

With that said the movie is not perfect by any means, some of the dialogue was quite poor and very cheesy, also being made in 95 with a small budget this obviously doesn't translate well to the combat scenes as they even had to use WW2 stock footage which makes it seem like something made in the 60's, for me this broke the immersion at times but nothing to serious.

Apart from that the story is well told albeit with some minor historical inaccuracies, the heavy racism is something they didn't shy away from and just went to show some of what these men had to endure, all in all it's well worth a watch but with any luck we will get a future remake with the budget it deserves.

7/10.

I am not sure why this movie is praised so highly, I love war history and of course war films but this certainly wasn't up there with the best of them, in fact it wasn't even close.

The main issue I have with this movie is the scale that was presented in the film, it just didn't do Dunkirk any justice which in reality was a massive undertaking, here in the film the beach is rather bare, the ships minimal and the evacuation as a whole quite small compared to what really took place, with such a budget they couldn't squeeze in some CGI to make this believable?

Secondly the character development is essentially non existent, you don't really care for anyone because the film doesn't endear them to you the viewer, also there is nothing shown of the heroic effort of the rear guard at Dunkirk leaving out such an important part feels plain wrong.

Lastly how did a Spitfire with no fuel manage to not only continue flying but engage and defeat enemy aircraft? Like who was their advisor on this some random off the street?

Overall it's watchable, what effects were used were done well, the cinematography was good, the costumes were fine etc but as stated above it just missed the mark on so many crucial things that I cannot consider it a good war movie, average at best.

This is a modern take on The Continuation War fought from 1941 to 1944 by the Finnish, German and Soviet armies. It starts out at the beginning as Operation Barbarossa commenced and Fins push to retake land they lost in the previous Winter War of 1939.

This was a really fun war movie, incredibly well shot, great scenery and well acted, the most impressive part for me was the sound effects, no Hollywood nonsense here just straight up audio terror with machine guns and artillery booming.

The movie is quite long and goes for 3hrs, most of which is pure combat almost the whole way through, very real and visceral, there is also some blood and gore but definitely not over the top. There is some story and a little character development but this film is really about the battle and focuses mainly on that.

If you love war films and intense combat with good sound and visual effects then this is it, Finland really made a great war movie here.

9/10.

This was a really harrowing war film, don't go into this one expecting large scale battles or intense trench warfare, this one is more about the soldiers and the affect that fighting in such a brutal and nasty place has on their psyche.

The film has quite a star studded cast and is extremely well acted, everything is done right from the costumes to the cinematography and sets and the frightening sounds of war, it really helps you feel like you are among the dirt and grime that were the trenches of the western front in WW1.

My only real complaint is that it's a little to short, I think it could have done with another 30mins or so, throw in a few short combat sequences to really drive it home but unfortunately that didn't happen.

7/10.

This movie tells the story of the battle of hill 60 where British, Canadian and Australian troops dug tunnels underneath the hill to set off the largest explosion the world had ever seen at that point killing over 10,000 enemy soldiers.

The movie is well made, the production values are quite high considering the budget, the acting is on point, the set pieces and cinematography are top notch, the sound effects and CGI aren't on the level of big budget war movies but still does the job making it very believable.

The most important thing however is that the movie makes you feel like you're right there in the midst of total chaos with artillery constantly ponding, gun shots ringing out and the shock and horror on the faces of the soldiers fighting in this terrible conflict.

If you love war movies or are fascinated by WW1 then it's a must watch.

8/10.

1917 is mostly a well made film, the set pieces are gorgeous, the acting is fine, the cinematography is stunning, fitting soundtrack etc etc it does most things really well and it most certainly held my attention throughout it's runtime.

The main issue I had with the film was not the lack of combat scenes (as it focuses mainly on the main characters and not large battle scenes as a whole) it was the lack of realism, for example two young soldiers are given a task by a general to make an important trip to another front in order to halt the allied attack there due to a German trap that is set for them as otherwise many lives will be lost, now why would a general rely on two lower ranked soldiers alone to pass on such an important message, not even sending other runners just two guys across many kilometres and just hoping they will make it, very silly.

Other examples include the Germans missing almost every shot when the main character is fired upon and is essentially a sitting duck, shot after shot after shot all close range missing completely, then there are others things missing like background ambience of a war in some cases totally absent, just little things like that.

All that said I still think it's a good movie worth watching, it has some great scenes and can be quite moving at times, well worth a watch just wish the producers paid a little more attention to details.

I really loved the first two seasons, it was more like the Star Trek of old but never took itself as seriously and had some really great humour. Season 3 however is starting to move away from what made the first two seasons good, the comedy has been toned down, they moved into a more serious and sombre feel and they have introduced some woke/PC elements.

Overall it's still a great show and even though season 3 has a different feel it's still mostly well written and acted despite the heavier PC elements, the CGI is for the most part on point, the set pieces are fantastic, it can still get back on track but I am definitely more weary now going forward.

Also stop with the silly musicals, the last few episodes have included them and it's just corny as hell, thankfully they don't last long but whoever thought it would be a good idea needs to be fired.

This turned out to be a very dull series, as someone who loves anything space related I just couldn't enjoy this one and in part because it actually focuses very little on space itself as it's more about the characters.

Overall the acting is ok and the cast was fine, the special effects are decent when used but that's about all the good I can think of, for a near future setting it's certainly not portrayed that way, it seems very little thought went into this as the clothing, buildings, cars and gadgets etc look exactly like they do today and this maybe due to the budget constraints which is fine but it can ruin the immersion.

Then you have the abysmal writing and story/plot which is shown in two pieces, one part taking place during the space mission and the other is the flashbacks before the mission, the major problem with this is it spends most of that time in the past which is all about the characters and their relationships which are mostly uninteresting and do nothing to advance the plot at all, had they spent less time on this they could have even wrapped things up if they so wished it.

On top of this all the characters are overly dramatic (every single one of them) the melodrama here is dialled up to 11 which makes things almost unbearable, you then have some very depressing music and voice overs which also don't fit well at all and to make things even worse there is absolutely no ending, nothing it just ends on a cliff-hanger due to the series being cancelled.

4/10 and that's being generous.

Honestly I am not surprised this turned out to be a bad movie, I come to expect it in this day and age, basically every big Hollywood blockbuster film is made for one reason only and of course that's money.

There is no soul in this film, it's a generic dinosaur action flick where the actual dinosaurs (ie the main attraction point) take a back seat to silly and highly predictable storylines and action sequences. On top of that you have incredibly cheesy and cringey one liners, poor acting and woke propaganda.

The only reason I can give it 2 stars is because some of the CGI and shots looks well done (not all however) and this is to be expected with such a large budget. Basically another soulless husk of a film made and produced with zero love or passion.

Skip at all costs.

I love my time travel movies and was looking for something I have yet to see and someone, somewhere recommended this to me, I checked the reviews and thought sure why not how bad can it be?

Well I watched it and yes it can be really bad, the acting in this is so awful that it's almost comedic, had they labelled it a comedy I might actually have given it another star because it's laughable, it's literally like a badly acted pornography spoof just without the actual porn.

The story and plot has been done many times before just much better so nothing new or innovative at all, the special effects/CGI looks like it was done on a $5 dollar budget by a 12 year old who just learnt how to use Adobe After Effects, I honestly cannot think of anything this movie does right so...

1 star, skip at all costs.

I love this time period, I loved Boardwalk Empire so I thought well this is highly rated, people talk highly off it so why not give it a shot I am sure I will like it, oh how wrong was I.

I found the show along with the characters incredibly boring and dull, the constant slow motion shots of the gang and the women walking down the street like they're the coolest people to have ever existed was very cringe worthy, this is topped off by using modern rock music over the top like who thought that was a good idea?

The storylines kept getting more and more far fetched along with the gangs status going from a simple street gang to basically running the country LOL.

Seriously if you want a good show in this time period stick with the far superior Boardwalk Empire, it makes this show look like the second rate B grade trash that it is.

Firstly yes this show is great, it's well written, well directed, well shot, compelling characters that are well developed it basically has everything going for it but what really makes this show great is Anya.

Here she is portrayed as this kid genius, a true chess prodigy and boy does she nail the role, every scene with her is truly mesmerising to such an extent it's almost unbelievable, easily one of the best actors I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

To sum it up she is brilliant, she makes this series brilliant and even though it would have been a good show without her it would not have been the masterpiece that it is.