stephen-317 Reviews

Bombshell (I) (2019)

Promotes US exceptionalism and ingrained misogyny.

[8/10 · 16 January 2023]

A lot of what occurred would be totally unacceptable in European countries but the film presents it as a 'developed world problem'. There's nothing to suggest that the US has created it's own problem and continues to do so and we are presented with woman fighting the good fight for all feminists around the globe. This from a country where women have no control over their uterus.

Fox News and Trump are good subjects to bash, along with the bizarre US legal system but they come out of it relatively unscathed. What should have been a movie about the appalling lack of personal freedom in a country that tells itself it is the most free, it tries to make it a victory.

A good movie with good performances but not what it thinks it is.

Operation Mincemeat (2021)

Apparently Ben Macintyre's book was the source

[5/10 · 9 January 2023]

I'm not sure what the film wants to be. Upper middle class anxiety or a wartime soap. The source material is a real event that you can't make up. Unfortunately the producers made up other stuff instead.

Some parts represent actual events but not necessarily in that order or what even actually happened.

The worst crime was how the 'small' Spanish village was represented. The local doctor had seen many drownings and was in fact quite an expert which the Mincemeat team were unaware of. But the producers decided no intelligence exists in fishing villages Read up on the events, they are better than this film.

7 for a nice quality feel 6 for watchability 7 for performances but minus 1 for dreadful slow direction 1 for shameless inaccuracy 5 overall.

Day Shift (2022)

Good Fun.

[7/10 · 4 September 2022]

No idea why the teenage trolling keyboard warriors dislike it. It is not Bergman/Hitchcock/Tarantino/Goddard/Spielberg and it's clear those trying to give it a 'serious' review here don't know what that means. And those who review with '2' scores really don't understand how reviewing movies work. It is however a dark comedy romp with nods to other films like R. I. P. D.. My only critique for it would be to sharpen up the black humor and let the characters have a few more gags. And perhaps some of the editing has removed what could have been a better back story.

For me it's a '6' but it's a '7.5' for others.

File under 'Good Laugh' and 'Good movie for a lazy evening'.

Jack Ryan (2018–2023)

Season 1 - 8.4. Season 2 - 4.8.

[7/10 · 10 April 2022]

From an excellent Season 1, Season 2 just mumbles along like an unmarked school essay that nobody wanted to deal with. What happened? It's like a race to the bottom of the barrel. Those involved in Series 1 must have gone on holiday whilst those left behind thought 'I know, why don't we put on a show?' The result is a Cliff Richard musical with no salient plot, bad acting, bad direction, ludicrous twists and worst of all, no Una Stubbs,

Belfast (2021)

Overly contrived

[6/10 · 23 March 2022]

Set when I was an 11 year old and also in a working class family, the opening scene beggars belief; Everyone wearing Sunday best, all neighbors all passing each other on the street at the same time, nice new Raleigh Chopper leaning against the wall with no one near by (and a year before they were sold in the NI shops). Telephone in nearly every house when few had them, let alone a working class household with dole as a major income.

Then it's the army turning up, with several helicopters flying over low at the same time in a suburb to emphasise 'the army is here now'. Sorry, but if the realism of grime and 60's poverty isn't there like I knew it, then I can't begin to get 'into' the film. If it's so unrealistic at the beginning then it's not going to work.

Others have told me that they enjoyed it and I can see some quality in it, so it's a 6. Personally a 3 for me.

Reacher (2022– )

I don't like TV shows

[7/10 · 2 March 2022]

Well I don't, they are drawn out 120 minute movies. Acting therefore tends to become drivel and plot mechanisms turn into video games. This show has no particularly outstanding acting from anybody but is above soap opera level. Plot moves on well but gets snagged here and there and bits fall on the editing floor.

Strangely engaging and time passes quickly in the odd episode (I really don't like TV shows). Formulaic, with plot holes big enough to fill with an abnormal amount of animal feed. It also seems desperate to have the characters hold back on detail until the next series (I really, really don't like a TV series).

However, I know people will like this a lot and therefore gets a solid 7 edging towards the 8. Personally for me it sits around 6 but I'm rating the series, not my personal hate (millennials please note).

Street Kings (2008)

Biggest flaw is Reeves acting

[7/10 · 31 December 2021]

He has presence and action but dialogue is not his strong point. As soon as we move from Wick/Neo to a bit of acting the scene dies. Whittaker seems to stumble around trying to find a good place to show his ability and Laurie can't believe he makes more money than Fry. Violent and well made, it's a shame the decent movie making bit went wrong.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

A film designed by a committee

[6/10 · 30 December 2021]

It has lots of ideas and even art put in a package that the producers hoped a new generation would like. Original film: 486's with large screens and the internet was being slowly picked up by the media. Current film: Everyone has social media so obviously the original film had the wrong plot given that everyone now has better equipment. It's like a priest trying desperately to update Adam and Eve after seeing how DNA works. Fails but it didn't have to. The people who made the first one were clever. This one was made by people who thought they were smart.

See (2019–2022)

If they can't even get the description right..............

[4/10 · 18 November 2021]

One 'story line' describes it as the future where one in ten have died, another describes it as 'all' mankind killed 'but a few survivors'.. When stuff like this is written by interns then it doesn't bode well for an entire series.

We seem to be at the crossroads of too many TV series and not enough plots. Soon it will get like all the derivatives of the CSI franchise where writing, acting directing and production quality are rock bottom. It would be nice to think there will be a downturn in this rubbish being served up and the people making them get proper jobs.

.

The Titan (2018)

Cheesy smiles, stale dialogue, cardbboard acting, cliche plot

[4/10 · 14 October 2021]

If you are going to make a thoughtful Sci-Fi movie, at least put some thought into the thinking bit as well as a bit of credible science.

Bizarre plot about spending lots of resources on a planet with limited resources to get to a place with a worst environment and fewer resources.

Bad Sci-Fi Checklist:

'God' gets mentioned, check.

People regarding science is awesome and 'we don't understand it properly yet', check.

Childless people are frowned upon (despite the plot based upon overcrowding), check.

Ethnic groups comfortably under represented, check.

Cliche female underling scientist and bad male boss scientist, check.

Lots of cheesy grins and looks off-camera with 'wows', check.

Another bad acting performance by Worthington, check.

Could have been more interesting if glycolysis, metabolic pathways and Archean oceans were mentioned (the proper science). I might have forgiven the rest of the crap.

Overlord (2018)

New Game: Count the Clichés and Inaccuracies

[3/10 · 5 October 2021]

The US went into the beaches with no black people. It was thought that having people who were just above slave level would be demoralising. Here we have Hollywood, itself not exactly 'clean' of racism, trying to show that the US has no apartheid. Pointless drivel enjoyed no doubt by pointless people. Vote Trump!!

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Solid 6 and a bit

[6/10 · 10 July 2021]

More plot holes and bad science than an anti-vaxxer's diary, this is entertainment without breaking the intellectual bank. It's a Hollywood movie, not a science class, so don't expect quantum entanglement and the grandfather paradox explained.

Daft writing for the second part, with over editing like the first showing that the suite was having a bad day as the plot descended into a teenage adventure book.

I can never understand why people give a movie one star. Within a range of 10 lies all films and that's how they should be assessed. People seem to think it's a binary scoring system: 1 = I don't like it. 2 = I like it. They seem to score it like a 5 year assessing their green vegetables.

Formulaic? Yes. Entertaining? Yes.

Wrath of Man (2021)

Review the film, not the Director

[8/10 · 3 June 2021]

Most reviews here seem to be obsessed with Ritchie and his past films. As for the film itself: Is it good? Yes. Is it a decent Statham film? Yes. Anything wrong that could have been better? Final shoot out could have been more expansive rather than the obvious sound stage setting. Timeline could have been more linear. Would I watch it again? Yes.

The Gentlemen (2019)

Ritchie's fourth 'cockney' film in 22 years.

[10/10 · 24 August 2020]

No idea why people slate the man for making this type of film. It's only his fourth. I enjoyed this film. More please.

Midway (2019)

Historically inaccurate, but then it's Hollywood.

[7/10 · 23 August 2020]

Completely ignores the wider aspects of the Pacific war and has only the US as the protagonist and China (a Chinese production company put some money up for the movie) as a sideshow, despite several million others from British Empire and beyond. It also brushes over the fact that the US was having a trade war with Japan at the time and was severely limiting it's importing of resources. This led to the attack on Pearl Harbour because Japan saw no alternative. The US never admits this and Hollywood has never seen a reason to either.. The movie is watchable but don't use it as a history lesson as it's all over the place with made up 'facts'.

Second viewing. Better but now the CGI becomes obvious. I thought my gaming PC was interrupting as it's cheaply done in places (no visible humans and weird physics, a big telltale). Tries too hard in places then not enough.

Role Models (2008)

Dialogue mismatched with the acting

[6/10 · 25 July 2020]

Not a fault, just something I thought was happening. Easy 6 on the score card as it gets lots of good jokes in there. It's a shame the 1 pointers have decided to trash it rather than having a life.

Endeavour (2012–2023)

Too many historical inaccuracies

[6/10 · 15 March 2020]

As much as I enjoy the plot and acting and a drama set in the sixties, it fails badly in the latter and spoils it needlessly. The writing: Believe it or not there is a line in it where Morse or someone says 'we're still 5 years off using DNA matches'. How the hell would they know that? Props: I can put up with clean vehicles supplied by enthusiasts for the production, with their spotless number plates but the list of inaccuracies is stupidly long.. Payphones then were predominately the A/B button stuff. Clocks were, well, clockwork and not the little AA battery powered things we have now. Scenery: A Chief Inspector lives in a tiny semi? Smoking and Drinking. Just look at dramas actually made then and see how much drink, driving and puffing on a cigarette was going on all the time. My favourite is Jack Hawkins in the 50's Gideon's Way film where he smoke, drinks and eats on the fly all the time. Overall a very bad production by lazy people, hence a damming 6.

Spenser Confidential (2020)

If a major criticism is that it could be better, then that's not bad

[6/10 · 12 March 2020]

Tighter writing and a bit more development then it would get more stars. If it was just plain bad then it wouldn't even be worth the comment. But it suffers from showing good potential, which is a category most movies would love to be in. As it is, it's quite watchable and a good showing for this category of film. Nice to see Alan Arkin still bouncing around. I gave it 6 as it's a bit better then the usual fare. I don't give 10 unless it's outrageously good. Anyone who gives one star is a moron for watching a film that bad all the way through.

Dunkirk (2017)

Watch the 1958 film and save yourself the bother of having Branagh chewing up the scenery.

[1/10 · 19 January 2020]

Sir John vs Sir Ken. Sir John wins because this poor melodrama will die very soon of old age. In 20 years time people will look at it again and then stuff it back down the back of the sofa. In the 1958 version they went through gain, loss, pathos, tragedy with good acting/script whilst this one had a masked man farting. The 1958 film is far, far more superior.

When I watched the recent 1917 film, a friend who was going to see it asked if it was a as bad as this film (clearly it isn't). It says something about a film that is so bad that it is a yardstick by which others are judged.

Avoid.

The Limehouse Golem (2016)

Terrible Authenticity

[6/10 · 1 January 2020]

Always a treat to see Bill Nighy and the rest of the cast put in a good show but the production has the appearance of a good thing spoilt by someone who had completely another film in mind. It's as if it was made for and by mindless people who needed to be reminded how horrific murders are, well, horrific. They also don't understand recorded history. I guess I was never sold on it when the library scenes popped up, they were filmed in Manchester and seeing a scale model of Stephenson's Rocket that represented an 'average scene in Victorian Britain' wasn't even the worse. The film is set in 1880. Dan Leno was born in 1860. The main female character sees him as a major music hall hero when he was 5 years old. Bad editing and bad production that could have been a lot better. It's as if an obdurate owner of a tabloid wanted to make a story without realising their solipism. Miss.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

30 minutes in, Zombies with flaying arms (sorry, 'spoiler')

[6/10 · 7 September 2019]

I viewed this as a movie and it's not that bad but, as said here elsewhere, very predictive events occur that does not make a good movie.

Cold Blood (2019)

Very suspicious reviews here giving abnormally low marks

[10/10 · 31 July 2019]

Perhaps a French/Ukrainian film isn't to everyone's liking but it's not that bad. It bears a couple of similarities in the plot with the movie 'Polar', but then any Jack London novel also does. It's OK to watch and has Jean Reno.

Cold Pursuit (2019)

Good but unnecessary.

[7/10 · 17 July 2019]

'In Order of Disappearance' was good enough so why did the director make an exact copy but in English and set in the US? Money I guess and an audience incapable of reading subtitles. Is reading and watching a movie really that hard? Apparently it is for some people.

Tomb Raider (2018)

Good film spoiled by bad reviewers

[8/10 · 2 September 2018]

Enjoyable with a good cast. Most of the negative reviews are from a type of person who complain that the film is not like the game. Do these same people criticise war films because they are not like their 'experience' in COD or MOH?

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)

Quintessentially British yet does not try to be.

[9/10 · 17 March 2018]

Made ten years before the Beeching report yet seems to predict it. I showed this film to a Danish friend after playing 'The Blue Lamp'. He chose this as the better film.