Right, first of all I'm a massive critic of Netflix movies. Most range from okay to utter tripe. They simply have the budget but not the storytelling ability. I expected Damsel to fall into the same kind of category, but to my surprise it delivered far more. The CGI is used to great effect and produces one of a greatest movie dragons seen on screen. During the underground scenes it is truly terrifying. It reminded me of The Winged Serpent (1982), a movie that truly terrified me and my brother on VHS back in the late 80s. There are times I wished I was on the production team and could direct them to some of the scenes that need ironing out and it has to be said that the finale is underwhelming and leaves you wanting more. Overall Damsel is by far one of the best movies Netflix has created and is well worth your time. It's a 8 out of 10 from me.
Reviews
28 Reviews
On Her Majesty's Secret Service does romance in a bond movie like no other.
17 November 2023
It's strange to look back at how this movie and George Lazenby was given such a hard time. The movie works and given a second chance I think Lazenby would have relished in the role. I think even he admits that he was difficult and probably could've managed relationship with the director and senior production better, his reluctance to jump on the marketing, hamster wheel cost him dearly. With all seriously, if Connery could do it, anyone could. Cinematically OHMSS is beautifully shot, come to think, it hasn't been bettered by any other Bond movie. The locations are breathtaking, the action is hard-hitting and the chase scenes are top drawer. Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas are outstanding, it has the best soundtrack and does romance in a bond movie like no other.
Bleak forgettable modern western who done it!
20 August 2023
With a stellar cast, I really did expect more from percent of rain and lightning. It just seems to drag on and on with only a few standout scenes, what could've been a compelling who done it turns out to be more than a bit of a drag! It seems to have been shot on a pretty tight budget, but even so a little bit of creative cinematography could've elevated it higher. The modern western setting is nothing we haven't seen 1000 times before, and sadly some of the drawnout shots are more style over substance. Again, the cast do nothing wrong, but aren't given much to work with in what is a truly forgettable movie.
The Mother
(2023)
Lopez plays the female version of Arnie in Commando!
12 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Very poor movie, with very few redeeming moments! Some parts of this movie are just strange, the moment Jennifer Lopez grabs her daughter onto a motorcycle while doing 40 or 50 mph is just totally bizarre! If there's one thing, I really hate in movies, it's coincidences, and this has more than its share! Bad guys randomly turning up at the park while she's watching her daughter, jumping from a multi story car park onto a van and then rolling to the road beside her partner ready to make a quick getaway, the list goes on! Jennifer Lopez is probably the best thing about this movie, but that isn't saying much, sure she's very watchable, but I did feel at times that she was playing a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger! If you think you've seen this movie somewhere before, just have a look back at Commando!!
Ghosted
(I) (2023)
Kick ass rom-com action flick
30 April 2023
Okay, ghosted isn't going to win any Academy Awards! But it does work as a Friday night romantic action comedy flick. The action sequences really are spectacular, some of the best and most seamless CGI I've ever seen. The bus chase and the finale really are outstanding! The shame is that the plot is so unbelievably weak, and held together with nothing more than average performances from the leading duo! Ana de Armas shines while performing the action sequences, yet struggles somewhat to engage with the audience while not 'kicking someone's ass'. Chris Evans is more or less the same, and shouldn't expect an Oscar any time soon! I'm starting to fall into the trap of being a little negative on this movie, but I have to reiterate that some of the CGI action scenes really are groundbreaking, and for this reason alone well worth your Friday night time!
Kaleidoscope
(2023)
Doesn't quite hit for mark, but doesn't miss completely!
22 April 2023
Some critics have given kaleidoscope a bit of a hard time, but personally I found something enjoyable in each episode! After all, it's a mini-series with relatively short episodes, so it's well worth investing your time! There is high production value, great acting and interesting plot twists, although the final outcome is foreseeable. The pink episode (six months after the Heist) is the only one that disappoints, I would just love to be a producer on the show and tweak just a few small details that could've made this series more engaging and overall more memorable! A pretty solid 7 out of 10.
Guy Richie has well and truly lost his originality!
28 February 2023
The biggest mistake this movie makes is linking it in any way, shape or form to King Arthur. Guy Richie tries to fabricate him as a English Londoner! Nothing could be further than the truth as Arthur, Brenin Arthur was a Welshman and so was Merlin, who hailed from Carmarthen. As for the actual movie, it felt like a third rate Game of Thrones! Richie was given $175 million to spend on this movie, and only God knows what he did with that money! Some of the CGI wouldn't even be fit for a TV movie! I believe this was supposed to be part one of six, and it's dismal showing at the box office was no surprise at all! Guy, Richie has well and truly lost his originality and hasn't evolved at all!
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
(2021)
Stick to the original
29 October 2022
Tries to live off the magic of the first original movie and for me personally it fails quite miserably! I've only just re-visited original movie and can honestly say that it trumps this new version on every level! Even the 1980s special effects seems more realistic than some of the CGI used here! Afterlife has such a long build-up before any real action takes place, this only adds to the feeling of a rushed finale! And there are major plot holes, if you have not seen the 1st movie you'd be at a total loss to some of the character transitions and what the hell is going on! The only positives is that the young cast produce some stellar performances which are sadly wasted on this poorly thought out movie which regurgitates ld material lazily!
Memory
(I) (2022)
Guy Pearce, you deserve more!
30 September 2022
The only person that shines in this average TV movie is Guy Pearce! He truly is wasted on this endeavor and proves how mi-sused he is in Hollywood! He plays the anti-hero cop with a troubled past while Nelson plays your genetic gun for hire with a heart! The movie begins strongly giving hope that Liam Neeson hasn't made his final watchable movie but descends into something you'd probably tune into on Channel 5 at 2am on a Thursday morning! All the budget seems to have been spent on Hollywood B listers, leaving very little for editing and screenplay! Hollywood seriously needs to get away from the Netflix way of moviemaking before it becomes a long lost art!
Loving Adults
(2022)
Hit and run!
18 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Okay, no one in this scandi-thriller is going to win an Oscar any time soon! Some of the acting is truly terrible and the worst offenders were probably the two leading actors! Redeeming factors, well the hit-and-run scene is truly shocking and looks unbelievably realistic, they really couldn't have executed it any better! Also the locations used were fantastic and really helped with the visual side! I'm not sure I could recommend this movie strongly but if you do have a couple of hours to waste on a Friday night and you have a bottle of wine open this might just tick the boxes in terms of easy watching!
The Last Duel
(2021)
So nearly a fitting sequel to Gladiator, a few centuries on!
26 August 2022
Without a shadow of a doubt this movie had great potential to be a classic, a Gladiator 2 if you'd like! Sadly the sum of its parts do not work! The first 2 chapters seem meaningless as you dredge over the same story from slightly different view points! Personally, I'd suggest anyone to start watching this movie at chapter 3 as only then does this movie truly engage and lead to an epic gladiatorial finale! It's also worth mentioning that Ridley-Scott assembled an epic cast here, a special mention to Ben Affleck as Pierre Who managed to drop the American accent beautifully! Jodie Comer also stars and surely now is on an upward trajectory to Hollywood stardom!
Welcome to Wrexham
(2022– )
Has all the ingredients needed to be a first class sports documentary!
25 August 2022
Two episodes in and I'm addicted! This has all ingredients needed to be a first-class sports documentary! You can really tell they have the town/city's best interest at heart and really want Wrexham to be more than a football club in the community! Also loving the Welsh language and highlighting Wrexham as a Welsh club! Da iawn!
Stranger than fiction!
17 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A very strange premise for a movie! Woman wants to be a mother so decides the best thing to do is enter another dimension universe kind of thing and kill herself? Yeah, sadly the movie makes as much sense as what I've just written, which is a shame because it does have some redeeming moments and a stellar cast!
Death on the Nile
(2022)
A decent murder mystery
12 August 2022
For me personally this is head and shoulders above its predecessor. Death on the orient express was totally spoilt by the horrendous CGI and inept acting! Thankfully Death on the Nile does not falter from the same and actually excels as a decent murder mystery!
The Gray Man
(2022)
This certainly won't save Netflix!
23 July 2022
This movie is nothing that you haven't seen 100 times before! You can throw all the acting royalty you want at a movie but if it has no originality and the CGI effects of 1998 it will be doomed from the word go! Ryan Gosling, what were you thinking!! $$$
The Silencing
(2020)
Somehow misses the target!
11 July 2022
A great cast, some fantastic cinematography and a decent story, yet somehow it doesn't quite deliver! And it's difficult to pinpoint why! The editing is definitely questionable and the night hunt scene feel lethargic yet somehow rushed!
The Batman
(2022)
Like a day at the zoo! Bat, Cat, Penguin!
2 July 2022
I've been looking forward for so long to watch this movie, and ultimately it was pretty good! It's a sum of parts that nearly comes together, but maybe not quite! Patterson as The Batman has some way to go to match his peers, Cat woman was pretty great and Colin Farrell plays a masterclass as the penguin, even though his prosthetics do half the work! Looking forward to the next instalment, maybe cut half an hour off run time!
Patton
(1970)
World War II movie on a Patton scale!
18 June 2022
They just don't make movies like this anymore! Never does this epic feel long at 163 minutes, it keeps you engaged and fully engrossed! The cast, the cinematography, the dialogue, the end product is simply flawless! I only slightly mark it down because it doesn't have that one standout scene, quite possibly because nearly every scene has some magic!
The Contractor
(2022)
A budget version of Jason Bourne!
2 April 2022
With a half decent cast and the production team responsible for some great movies I really was expecting more from this! It's kind of like a budget Jason Bourne! Some of the action sequences feel amateurish, there is no character engagement and overall it feels like a cheap TV movie!
Uncharted
(2022)
It might not have struck gold, but it comes in with a silver as the best of rest!
1 April 2022
If you can slightly overlook the bonkers ending, Uncharted delivers exactly what it sets out to! So many movies have tried to follow Indiana Jones and none have ever come close! At least with Uncharted the action keeps you on the edge of your seat and you actually give a damn about the main characters! It might not have struck gold, but it comes in with silver as the best of the rest!
It Chapter Two
(2019)
Like losing the winning Euro lotto ticket straight down the sewer!
25 March 2022
Scary movie? More like a disaster, no amount of budget can save this from going straight down the sewer! You can have all the Hollywood cast, big budget CGI and still not complete with Stranger Things, which this undoubtedly is!
Tell Your Friends