osborne_graham Reviews

Starhunter Redux (2017– )

If it'd had a bigger budget it would have been great

[8/10 · 24 November 2021]

Definite inspiration for elements of firefly - Percy is Kaylee in every way, the Raiders are similar to Reevers, weaponry fire bullets not lasers, there is a back story of a great war, the 2nd in command is a women with military background.

Plots are decent but scripts and music are reminiscent of Hercules and Xena. Editing is appalling with scenes clipped too short at times and special effects are like something made in a 1980's camcorder however, pushing through these down points there is certainly a decent programme underneith worth watching.

Army of Thieves (2021)

An entertaining adventure

[9/10 · 31 October 2021]

Nothing in the slightest like army of the dead which in my mind is a good thing as I didn't enjoy army of the dead. Army of thieves was fun, humorous and entertaining throughout.

Fantastic Fungi (2019)

Terribly produced doc

[3/10 · 12 September 2021]

This doc is all over the place. The first 10 to 15 minutes about fungi is absolutely fascinating. We are then introduced to who to me seemed to be some amateur bloke who foraged for mushrooms. The next 30 minutes or-so was a bio on this guy mixed with his childhood introduction to and subsequent selling of magic mushrooms and then just 1-2 minutes tagged on about why this guy was so important (he has modified a fungus to be used as a safe pestacide for which he holds 6 patents). All quite interesting however not at all what i tuned in for nor promised in the synopsys. The next hour was almost solely about magic mushrooms interspersed with trippy kalidascopic images. Finally in the last 8 minutes there was a sudden bombardment of snippets of interesting fungi facts, none given enough time to sink in. This should have been separated into 3 docs, two shorts about fungi facts and a biography about the guy and the third a feature on magic mushrooms.

Iron Mask (2019)

Chinese epic movie that's tried its best to sell itself to a hollywood audience

[8/10 · 20 June 2021]

It is a Chinese epic movie that's tried its best to sell itself to a hollywood audience. If you read the bad reviews you'll find the general theme is that people are expecting a hollywood story but Chinese films are distinctly different. Another factor of complaints is the confusing storyline however i believe this is due to some parts being too fast. It's usual to find Chinese films in excess of 3 hours however this is not usual for Western audiences so it would seem they have trimmed parts.

I personally enjoyed the film. It had everything i'd expect in a chinese epic: monsters, long journey, a mystic back story, some jokes and of course some martial arts with the added bonus of some well known actors and a little bit of steam punkyness.

Jinn (2019)

Better than expected

[7/10 · 15 September 2019]

Much better than the reviews would make you expect. It's the sort of production that wouldn't look out of place on the sci-fi channel. Not big budget but had a story with twists and entertaining script and nice to see something based in the middle East that's not an American war film. I hope to see more.

Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit (2008–2009)

Great adventuring fun

[8/10 · 2 January 2019]

A good adventure with a proper plot, some goodies, some baddies, a couple of twists and a lot of action. Think Indiana Jones, romancing the stone and the mummy. The special effects are low budget but so too with indiana Jones. The acting is not superb but so too with the mummy. If it had been released in the 80's it would have been a classic.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

..I want my money back!

[1/10 · 17 February 2008]

What the heck! I have seen better written episodes of Hercules. It was like a 10 year old's homework task. Just so much about this film was appalling: the jokes, the plot, the story, the fact that the car chase scene was up and down the same short road in Cheapside in London, the way it goes on and on and on about 'the American way'. I like the way that it is listed as English/French language despite the only french being that a french policeman said one line in French before the Nicholas Cage reeled off the entire details of the clue they just found and the next part of their secret search to the policeman they had just met right before the policeman ordered a taxi to take him to the airport... oh, i could keep going just to get it all off my chest but I won't - If I was able to give minus points for a film i would have done with National Treasure 2. If you have not yet watched this film I am truly envious.