Tag Archives: American Cinema

Movie Review – The Hitman’s Bodyguard

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TL;DR – A good case study on why it is so important to get your casting right

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is an end credit thingy

The Hitman's Bodyguard. Image Credit: Lionsgate.

Review –

Making a film is a very difficult process, at every point, there are decisions that you need to make, some of which can make or break your film, and you might not even know what the outcome is until the film is released. Should you rewrite your dark realistic film to be a comedy week’s out from shooting, it’s a big risk, but it is one that I think made The Hitman’s Bodyguard a better film, or at least a film that suited its cast much better. Though before we go on, while I kind of liked it, you need to know it is a type of film that I’m pretty sure the f@#$ counter is in triple digits, and you probably know just from that if this is a movie for you.

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Movie Review – American Made

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TL;DR – This is a movie banking on the pull of its lead star, and in some respects it works, but also it leaves you wondering what was the point of it all.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

American Made. Image Credit: Universal.

Review –

Ah the Cold War, once a time that we tried to ignore, that time when blowhards with nuclear weapons almost brought us all to ruin because of politics or ideology. We like to forget about it, but a lot of the problems of the world today can be traced right back to it, but still many don’t have a good understanding of the world that was. American Made is looking to change that, maybe, sort of, by shedding the light on some of the dirty dealings the Americans embroiled themselves in Central America, told through the story of Barry Seal (Tom Cruise).

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Movie Review – The Dark Tower

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TL;DR – This is a bare bones movie which really feels that too much was lost in the adaptation

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Dark Tower. Image Credit: Sony.

Review –

Oh boy, where to begin here, wow, ok this is going to be a tough one to review. I think part of the problem was that July was such a strong month for movies we had Okja (review), Spider-Man (review), Baby Driver (review), Dunkirk (review) and Planet of the Apes (review). It was such a strong outing that maybe it overhyped me for the rest of the year because since the start of August we’ve had Wolf Warriors 2 (review), Valerian (review), and Logan Lucky (review), all films with immense potential that all failed in their execution, and well this week we have another one to add to that list. Now before we start, I do want to mention I have not read the source material myself so I can’t give a complete comparison to what Stephen King wrote. However, even without reading the book you can infer a few things, which is what we will be doing today. So let’s dive in and look at the world of The Dark Tower.

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Movie Review – Logan Lucky

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TL;DR – Logan Lucky is equal measures fascinating and boring, with a heavy dose of Sothern Americana on top.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Logan Lucky. Image Credit: Bleecker Street.

Review –

I love heist films, indeed there are so many facets of them that I find really fascinating. I love the setup, the betrayals, oh and you better believe a love a good double and triple crosses, I love the prep work, the crime, the hustle and the con, and that point where everything inevitably goes wrong. I think it is safe to say that everyone has seen a heist film at some point, from both Ocean’s, Die Hard, The Thomas Crown Affair, if you haven’t the good folks over at CineFix have you covered. So I was really intrigued going in to see Logan Lucky, especially with a name like Steven Soderbergh at the helm, who has a long history of fantastic films in this genre. However as I walked out of the cinema, I was left feeling perplexed, confused and honestly, more than a little underwhelmed.

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Movie Review – The Big Sick

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TL;DR – Emotional, yet funny, Completely relatable, yet deeply personal, a look into what makes us who we are.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Big Sick. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

Review –

So The Big Sick was one of those delightful films where I knew nothing about it before I went to see it, which is rare in a time where not only are movie trailers plastered everywhere, but they routinely spoil the films they are promoting. To be fair I had seen one clip, the Thanksgiving Day parade, and you could infer things from the poster, but in this day and age that’s as close to not knowing as you can get. Also, I was going to give this one a pass because I’ve not found the Rom-Com genre to be anything but rehashes of the same material, for years now. So I was completely surprised, because The Big Sick turned out to be nothing like the film I was expecting to see, I’ve not been this surprised since The Dressmaker (review).

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Movie Review – War of the Planet of the Apes

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TL;DR – Apes Together Strong

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

War of the Planets of the Apes. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

War of the Planet of the Apes Review –

Film trilogies are very precarious things to manage because you have to keep each film working in its own right, but also place it in the context of a greater series. This can lead to all sorts of issues, like power creep when you have to keep upping the last film into ridiculousness, or different creators can come in and you have to balance their views with what is already established, there are studio and contract pressures. All of this can lead to the very common third film fail where things just fall apart, like the X-Men films for example. So given how strong the Planet of the Apes films have been, especially given that they are reboots, I was concerned that they would not be able to stick the landing with the third film. But I was wrong, and I am so happy that I was.

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Movie Review – Atomic Blonde

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TL;DR – Atomic Blonde is a technically brilliant film, but unfortunately the story does not quite live up to the rest of it

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Atomic Blonde. Image Credit: Universal.

Review –

So I have a pitch for you: we have an MI6 agent who romps through Berlin in the closing days before the Wall falls, they take down Soviet goons, drink vodka, seduce foreign intelligence agents, whilst acting condescendingly toward their superiors. Oh and no this is not a missed Bond entry during its Dalton-Brosnan hiatus, oh and the MI6 agent is played by Charlize Theron, it’s an interesting pitch, you have to at least give it that. However, while this pitch is interesting, Atomic Blonde is a very peculiar film, because it has a lot of things that really work for it, but it also has some other issues that really hold it back. So let’s jump in and discover the underworld of Berlin in the late 1980s, but beware there is at least one David Hasselhoff reference in your near future.

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TV Review – Game of Thrones: Dragonstone

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TL;DR – Dragonstone moves everyone into place and sets the scene for what is to come, whilst really trying to get you to give up your lunch in the process

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Game of Thrones - Dragonstone Banner

Review –

We’re in the penultimate season of Game of Thrones and goodness what a ride it’s been so far we’ve had the highs of the Battle of the Bastards, and the lows of Dorne, and everything in between. But now after six seasons, things are starting to fall into place, pieces that have been moving for seasons are now ready to collide, and boy are we looking forward to it.

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Movie Review – Baby Driver

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TL;DR – If you love the art of filmmaking, or cars pulling off impossible yet possible stunts, or well make films, then this is one for you

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Baby Driver. Image Credit: Sony.

Review –

Today I’m doing something I have not had the chance to do before, see an Edgar Wright film up on the big screen. I have been a fan of his work for a while now, I would put Hot Fuzz on my top ten films of all-time list. However, I have never been able to see one of his films up on the big screen, well depending on how you classify Ant-Man (review). So as I walked into the screening there was a giddiness that I have not experienced before, but also some hesitation. Could I have built this film up so much that it would never live up to the hype?  Well to make sure I was an impartial viewer, and not wearing rose-tinted glasses, I brought a friend along with me to keep me grounded. So what did I think? Well, let’s get started, but come on you already saw the score.

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Movie Review – Spider-Man: Homecoming

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TL;DR – A brilliant relaunch of a much-loved character, which tells an origin story without telling an origin story

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a Mid and Post Credit scene.

Spider-Man Homecoming. Image Credit: Marvel/Disney/Sony.

Review –

So here we are with our first big standalone Spider-Man feature now that he is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before we go on, we should probably take a moment and talk about how amazing it is that we actually got Homecoming at all. Indeed a lot had to fall into place to make this work. I’ve not seen companies work like this, and as well as this since, well maybe since Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Props have to be given to both Sony and Marvel to being able to put aside their differences and making this work, because that would not have been an easy set of negotiations, but they have made the integration almost seamless. So let us begin as we swing into the world of high school proms, alien weapons, explosions, and award conversations about life changes when you become a teenager.

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