Category Archives: 2017 Reviews

Movie Review – Logan

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TL;DR – There was a lot of hype for Logan, and it mostly lives up to it, Logan is violent, gory, but also really emotional at times. At the very least this may be the best X-Men universe film they have made so far.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. There is no after credit scene

Logan. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Review –

The X-Men films have been a real scattershot, from great to trash and everything in between, but after Apocalypse fell flat I came into Logan with a bit of trepidation. As well as being the next X-Men film, Logan is also Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart’s last outing, that was a lot of weight to put on a film, and yet they nailed it. Of course one of the things you need to know before going to see Logan is that this is an incredibly violent film, as a movie about a man with knives in his hands probably should be, but unlike previous instalments Logan shows the violence in graphic detail i.e. what would actually happen if you were attacked with someone knives protruding from his hands. One would think the rating would be enough to warn people about this, but from the people around me in the cinema it was a surprise to many, so this is probably not a film to take your kids too. Now I have not read the source comics (Old Man Logan) so I can’t tell you if this is a good adaptation, but what I can tell you is that this is a great film.

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How well did they create Australia in Civilization VI?

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TL;DR – So how well does Civilization 6 capture Australia with its new entry? Struth, it’s a ripper of a new Civ.

Civilization 6

Review –

Civilization is one of the pioneers of the strategy genre a series that has lasted six iterations, numerous expansions, and last year on its 25th anniversary launched the next entry into the franchise Civilization 6 (See Review). Since its release, there have been new Downloadable Content (DLC) released and this week it was announced that the next civilization to be added would be Australia. So Australia joins the large and expansive franchise as the 55th civilization¹ ² to be added, but the question remains: Is it any good? And then also is it a good representation of Australia? These are the question we will be looking at. Now there were three components of the Australia update The Australian civilisation, The Outback Tycoon scenario, and Uluru natural wonder, and we will be touching on all of these facets throughout this analysis.

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TV Review – Chef’s Table: Season 3

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TL;DR – Chef’s Table is at the pinnacle food documentaries, indeed it is one of the best documentary series I have ever watched and season 3 is no different.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Chef's Table

Review –

For those of you who read my review on the last season of Chef’s Table, their mini-season in France, then you should know that I really love Chef’s Table (for those who didn’t, just to catch you up, I really love Chef’s Table). From a filmmaking perspective, to the featured guests, to the spectacular food, it is a joy to watch. However, that means that I come to the next season with very high expectations, so bon appétit, 맛있게 드세요, прия́тного аппети́та, and mahlzeit, and welcome to Chef’s Table season 3.

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Movie Review – The Great Wall (Cháng Chéng, 长城)

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TL;DR – The action sequences are some of the best I have seen in a very long time, truly epic in scope, the only problem is you have to sit through a lot of rubbish in between it

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

The Great Wall (Cháng Chéng, 长城). Image Credit: Legendary.

Review –

The Great Wall is interesting just from its very existence, it is the most expensive movie ever made in China, and it is a real indicator of the continued rise of Chinese cinema and the continued push of Chinese soft power diplomacy. Like Kung Fu Yoga, this leads to some interesting features, but it also leads to some issues. The Great Wall ends up being a film that is dependent on its action sequences because there is not a lot else going for it.

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Movie Review – Hidden Figures

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TL;DR – Hidden Figures is an amazing film about our past and very much relevant in our present, that when you oppress people it holds everyone back.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Hidden Figures. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

Review –

Straight from the start, I should say I love movies about space, the history, NASA, the satellites, probes, and rockets, I watched the Curiosity landing even though it was very early in the morning here. So what I am saying is Hidden Figures, much like The Martian & The Dish, is a film that automatically peaks my interest before I make it to the cinema. This means that I have to be really careful when reviewing these films to make sure I am being objective and not just getting caught up in my joy of the subject material, but even with a cautious approach Hidden Figures still knocks it out of the park, or knocks it into orbit, or, wait no I think I am starting to mix metaphors here.

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Movie Review – Manchester by the Sea

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TL;DR – Manchester by the Sea is a film about mess, our lives are messy, death is messy, life is messy, but in many respects this film is messy

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Manchester by the Sea. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Review –

To be honest straight out of the gate Manchester by the Sea is one of the more difficult films I have ever reviewed because there are some truly amazing moments and performances but it also is quite problematic in other regards, so even though I have given it a score I have gone back and forth on just where it sits. Now as well as this when putting together this review I found out I saw a cut-down version of the movie, so maybe some of the criticism that I have were explained away in the cut footage, I don’t know, but it the end I can only review what is in front of me. Before we delve into the review proper, because of the structure of the film and the nature of it being a snapshot of a family’s life, it is difficult to talk about the story without hitting [SPOILERS], so just a warning moving forward that we will be talking about the story in its entirety.

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Movie Review – Kung Fu Yoga (Gong fu yu jia, 功夫瑜伽)

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TL;DR – Kung Fu Yoga is a classic Jackie Chan action film, with a Bollywood villain, and Indiana Jones plot, and if that does not sound amazing to you then I am not sure how else to sell it to you.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Kung Fu Yoga (Gong fu yu jia, 功夫瑜伽). Image Credit: Shinework Pictures.

Review –
I remember my first Jackie Chan movie, one of my friends had gotten their hands on Rumble in the Bronx and we all snuck over to their house, because it was more mature than we were allowed to normally watch at the time, and it was amazing. I had never really seen a Chinese/Hong Kong action film before, and it was a revelation that action could be fast paced, but also fun, as long as you didn’t find yourself on the wrong end of a wood chipper. Since then we have had a lot of delightful films from his comedy turns in the Rush Hour’s, to the really quite good The Forbidden Kingdom (yes it has a rough start but go with it and it’s so fun), but neither of them really harkened back to these movies of the past. So I was really excited to hear that one of my local cinemas was showing his latest film, and while it has some rough edges Kung Fu Yoga was an amazing blast of fun.

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Movie Review – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

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TL;DR – Somewhere in here is a good movie, unfortunately, it is smothered in poor action, the need to jump cut eight times every second, and an entirely predictable story.

Rating: 2 out of 5.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Image Credit: Sony.

Review –

So Hollywood has been on a bit of a bender recently bringing back franchises from the 2000s to give them another try. First, it was Underworld, then XXX, and now the granddaddy of them all (by a couple of months) Resident Evil. Now, of course, Resident Evil does have a bit more stability in its releases compared to the other two, but when in Rome, lump a bunch of stuff together to make it easier to analysis, so who am I to disagree. Honestly, I do have to say I did quite like the first two films in the series, the first Resident Evil had some iconic scenes, and the second really made the most out of its unfolding zombie apocalypse setting, you know before we got sick of that particular setting, thanks, Hollywood. However, since then the Resident Evil films have felt more like rehashes of each other, different movie, same themes, so I was actually quite excited when they named this next film ‘The Final Chapter’. I wanted to see them really go for it, take that final chapter mantra to heart, and knock it out of the park, but alas once again my optimistic nature has been dealt a blow.

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Movie Review – xXx: Return of Xander Cage

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TL;DR – This is a perfect popcorn flick, as long as you don’t try to think through the plot, which you can’t help but do in the 2nd act.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Image Credit: Paramount.

Review –

XXX: Return of Xander Cage is a film of many things, interesting set pieces, an incredibly diverse cast, a title that you really need to be careful with when searching on the internet for researching the movie, but also some missed opportunities. So it should come as no surprise that everyone is trying to create the next Bond, and why wouldn’t you? if you could swing 25 feature films out of a single premise. There have been multiple attempts over the years to create the new spy king, a fresh new face. Now for me, the best attempt has to be Kingsman (Click here to see Review), but many people have tried and one direction they went in was recasting the Bond-type with an extreme sports star, and well I have heard worse premises. However, after twelve years, and fifteen since Vin Diesel has been the lead, did we really need another crack at this formula to see if it works, well if this is anything to go by then … maybe?

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Movie Review – Monster Trucks

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TL;DR – Honestly this is one of the silliest premises I have ever seen for a film, but wow it was a surprisingly good film, with great creature creation, and some great action, well worth a look.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Monster Trucks. Image Credit: Paramount.

Review –

I was not expecting much from Monster Trucks, I mean it has one of the silliest premises I have ever heard, well not the silliest, I mean it is no ‘Tetris the Film’ silly but still. However, the more it went on the more I really started to like it, maybe even against my better judgement, but here we are. Now I am under no illusion that it is not a perfect film, none at all, but in a world where children films is usually a cover for lazy filmmaking, it is great to see a film take care and effort with the small details.

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