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Meta
Tag Archives: 3/5
All This And World War II 3/5
A very odd movie, with a montage of world war 2 footage in chronological order with a soundtrack of Beatles covers (minus the really, really inhuman pieces of footage). Some of it works quite well and is poignant, but others … Continue reading
Fantastic Voyage 3/5
Goofy “boys own” adventure involving miniaturized people in a cool submarine craft that looks like something from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, with some dated, though still cool, special effects, with a very A to B story. Contains … Continue reading
High Anxiety 3/5
Not a great comedy, but it has its moments, and part of the fun is spotting the references to Hitchcock movies. Most of them are completely obvious, but there’s some more subtle ones, such as Marnie. There was one scene … Continue reading
Stir Crazy 3/5
Reasonably engaging comedy with a few very good sections, and a lot of sections where there’s story but no laughs, in particular the last act. It is an enjoyable time though, and I particularly like the rather touching scene where … Continue reading
The Lawnmower Man 3/5
Cliff Notes: oh wow, haaahahaha This is dumb fun. I haven’t watched it since it first came out…yes, I paid money and saw this at the cinema… Jeff Fahey’s character has been hitting with the same dumbstick as Harry from … Continue reading
Cloverfield 3/5
I’m sure glad I didn’t see this at the cinema, the shakeycam would have been unbearable, I’d have vomited. Watching at home, you can at least avert your eyes and look at something else, which I ended up doing for … Continue reading
We Are What We Are (2010) 3/5
An everyday story of a dysfunctional family who happen to be ritualistic cannibals… The film has all the elements to work and be great, with nice camerawork, acting and tension, but it’s lack of proper setup or explanation, even through … Continue reading
Mark of the Vampire 3/5
This movie reinforces my view that Todd Browning was great at eerie and odd, but pretty terrible at conventional drama. He did it in Dracula, and he does that here. Only his ‘Freaks’ remains a pure masterpiece, because the conventional … Continue reading
Barbarella 3/5
This is archetypally 60s goofy fun. There’s a LOT of things wrong with it, such as the constant padding of the story and the absolutely terrible special effects, but you know what? It’s fun, it’s extremely creative in its look, … Continue reading
Hunter Prey 3/5
Rather enjoyable, cheap but competently made that mixes elements of the Star Trek episode Arena, Battlefield Earth (and I mean the story, not the rank filmmaking), and Enemy Mine in a blender and comes up with a pretty satisfying product. … Continue reading
Down Periscope 3/5
Whilst this is a lightweight comedy/drama, I found it a very satisfying and fun watch, and even felt I learned something about crewing in a submarine. The cast was good, in particular the crew – even Rob Schneider was okay … Continue reading
Doghouse 3/5
Goofy horror movie that just about works. Some of it isn’t great – the dialogue is not good (it’s clichéd) but delivered with some gusto, and you can tell some of the scenes probably seemed much better on paper than … Continue reading
Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell 3/5
A Q and A with Kevin Smith of distinctly two halves. The first half (or more like, first hour) is pretty great, where he talks about his interaction with the Westboro Baptist Church, and the making of Red State. The … Continue reading
Thor The Dark World 3/5
A decent sequel to the impressive first one…and I say impressive, because it really shouldn’t have worked, Thor as a comic book character works, but I just couldn’t see how it could possibly work at a serious level when put … Continue reading
Visit to a Small Planet 3/5
Pretty good early Jerry Lewis movie, where there’s a distinct lack of mawkishness and plenty of goofy fun. The supporting cast is pretty good and energetic too, and there’s some nice touches, such as Jerry walking up a wall and … Continue reading
Submarine 3/5
Rather fine coming of age/emo drama that required a little patience to get used to during the first act, but actually quietly satisfying by the end. Rather nice direction, sound, acting and script.
Abby 3/5
This was a film of that was a distinct mix of good and bad (fittingly). Condemned to purgatory by legal threats from Warners about it being a ripoff of the Exorcist, it’s been hard to catch, and even now it’s … Continue reading
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3/5
Gleefully goofy Ghost Rider movie that’s propped up by Edris Elba as a French special ops monk and Christopher Lambert as a walking walloftext, we have the fiery spirit of vengeance going at it with Eastern European gangsters, arms dealers … Continue reading
Pusher 2012 3/5
A remake of the Nicolas Winding Refn movie of 1996, this does not reach the same levels of intensity and claustrophobia as that one, but it’s not a bad crime thriller in its own right. Richard Coyle is pretty damn … Continue reading
Hooper 3/5
Easy going, fun, undemanding stuntman comedy with Burt Reynolds, interestingly touching on a man getting to the end of his career, and damaged from it. It has a few laughs and exciting scenes, but my favourite parts are the bar … Continue reading
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle 3/5
This was undemanding fun, watching the two guys going through a hellish night just for burgers, but learning a little about life. Neil Patrick Harris is particularly fun.
World’s Greatest Dad 3/5
As I watched this, I thought I really didn’t like it. It seemed disjointed, and I found virtually all the characters unlikeable or positively annoying. I cannot fault the movie on the acting, sound design or cinematography though, the problem … Continue reading
Carnival of Souls 3/5
This is a really interesting movie. It falls flat on a lot of the acting and dialogue, but really stands out for several reasons; the weird overuse of weird organ music throughout and indeed the whole sound design, which is … Continue reading
Get the Gringo 3/5
Yep, we have Mel Gibson doing what he’s good at, which is excessively violent action genre movies. This one’s quite unusual and not what I expected, as he spends most of the time in a Mexican prison, but it’s fun, … Continue reading
Julia’s Eyes 3/5
This thriller has a pretty great central performance, and like others have noted, owes more to the legacy of Italian giallo movies like Deep Red that Spanish horror. However, it is very engaging, and really keeps you tense for the … Continue reading
The Nutty Professor 1963 3/5
Some rather fine comedy scenes, in particular the hangover scene, the first-person perspective of Buddy’s first appearance in public, the first jeckyll-and-hide-like transformation scene, Buddy sharp-talking the dean, and the parental family home flashback. Other bits didn’t work so well, … Continue reading
White Zombie 3/5
Whilst not quite as good as some of the other great, weird horror movies of the 30s (Freaks, Island of Dr Moreau, The Black Cat), it really works well whenever the zombies are on screen. It works less well in … Continue reading
Vampyr 3/5
This didn’t really work for me for the first half. I really enjoy another movie by Dreyer, specifically The Passion of Joan of Arc, but the silent screen aesthetics employed in this, a talkie, seemed retrogressive. The quality of the … Continue reading
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 3/5
Reasonably charming comedy, with some laugh out loud moments (watch out for the mention of a ‘genital cuff’, and Caine testing the paralysis in Martin’s legs), and a ton of charm from Caine and Martin. Glenne Headly also does really … Continue reading
Plague of the Zombies 3/5
Pretty solid Hammer movie exploring Haitian zombie lore, with some tense scenes. The scene were huntsmen cut cards over a trapped woman is tense as was the scene where they hunt her down in the woods beforehand), and the old … Continue reading