Tag Archives: Richard E. Grant

Nautilus Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – When this series comes together, it is a delight to watch. Unfortunately, a lot of the episodes are a bit hit or miss.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

The crew does a slow walk.

Nautilus  Review –

In today’s re-make/re-boot culture, there are stories that you hear over and over again because they are in the public domain. Sure, it is great to see another take on Peter Pan, but there is a treasure trove of works in the public domain that are interesting and ready for interpretation through a modern lens. Today, we are looking at just such a property that has not been delved into since 2003’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

So, to set the scene, it is 1897, and the British India Company has stretched its influence across the globe through colonisation and imperialism. One of those ships, in its vast navies, was on its way to Bombay when something rumbled the ship from below. They could have let it go, but Captain Youngblood (Jacob Collins-Levy) had to hunt it down. The only problem is that what they saw was not a beast but a craft unknown to science at the time and one that just ripped their hull out from underneath them. For this is a machine, a machine made of metal, that can travel under the water and is led by the magnificent Captain Nemo (Shazad Latif). We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Argylle – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that makes one of the worst mistakes it can: constantly remind you of better films you could be watching.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Agent Argylle is captured.

Argylle Review –

Today is a bit of an awkward review because I am exploring a work from people both in front of and behind the camera who I have deeply loved before. However, today, I am looking at a film that fails at almost every single step. It failed so badly that I had moved from frustration to disappointment, to wholly checked out by the time I rolled my eyes at the mid-credit scene. With that in mind, we will explore just what went wrong because, like many things, it was not just one road bump that led to this.

So to set the scene, we open with Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) infiltrating the lair of Lagrange (Dua Lipa) and initiating a pretty intense dance-off. However, Lagrange knew he was coming and what he looked like because someone in his organisation was a mole. In fact, it could be one of his teammates, Keira (Ariana DeBose) or Wyatt (John Cena). However, just as the big reveal happens, we discover that this story is not real. It is a novel written by noted author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), whose Argylle series of spy novels are best sellers. However, as Elly takes a train ride with her cat Alfie (Chip) to her mother Ruth (Catherine O’Hara), she is interrupted by the unkempt Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell), who might be leading her into a world she wrote about in fiction, that just might be real.

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Saltburn – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A torrid and often shocking affair, but one you have trouble looking away from.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains scenes with prolonged flashing lights.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

Oliver reflected in the table.

Saltburn Review –

There can be a multitude of emotions that can wash over you when the end credits roll. Disbelief, boredom, shock, sadness, horror, resignation, frustration, and even anger. However, never in my time reviewing films have I ever had this particular set of emotions permeating through my mind. A combination of revelation, horror, shock, and sheer amazement. It is this film that we explore today.

So to set the scene, it is 2006, and Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) has made it into Oxford, but he didn’t have wealthy parents. He got in on a scholarship, which immediately set him apart from everyone else there. He longs to be part of the group, and being friends with local heartthrob Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) is the best way to do it. It is a tumultuous relationship, but when Oliver’s dad dies and he has nowhere to go over the summer, Felix invites him back to his family’s estate, Saltburn. A place where wealth is in excess and lives can be changed.  

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Movie Review – Their Finest

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TL;DR – Where Their Finest excels is in creating the world of WW2 United Kingdom and what it was like to make a film during this time, but it is held back a bit is in its slightly clunky script.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Review –

Their Finest. Image Credit: Lionsgate.

It is at the depths of WW2, Hitler is on the move everywhere, the allies have been forced to retreat from France, London is under almost daily bombings during the Blitz, and the USA is refusing to get involved, it is the darkest of times. However, it is also a time of great change both within society and also within the film industry, with pressures to boost moral but also the need to engage with women in a way that they have never done before. Within this complicated setting, we have the Ministry of Information who is trying to make a film about the Dunkirk evacuation, the biggest military retreat in history yet also a great source of national pride as the whole country mobilised to save the troops from the approaching German Army. This is a great setting for a film, it deals with a lot of issues that feel very much of the time yet still relevant today, but can it maintain your interest for the whole film, well that’s what we are going to look at today.

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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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