christophertelford Reviews

Upgrade (2018)

Unexpectedly good sci-fi buried in a simple action movie

[10/10 · 12 December 2022]

This movie is under rated. It's a simple movie on the surface with decent hard sci-fi in the background, great action scenes, good actors and a nice twist at the end. I get the impression the budget was relatively modest but the movie is great regardless.

You can watch the movie on several different levels; as a decent hard sci-fi movie with plenty of arty scenes. As a kick ass kung fu movie with great fight scenes or you can pay attention to the plot and try and guess at what's really going on.

The low budget shows itself in the low number of actors and the use of relatively modest sets in places despite the futuristic settings. The movie gets away with it.

Definitely worth a watch.

Lodge 49 (2018–2019)

Weirdly enjoyable in a relaxing sort of way.

[9/10 · 12 August 2018]

It's hard to describe Lodge 49 without giving too much away. There are no scary monsters or much in the way of violence or action scenes.Just a really good slow burn 'alternative' drama with decent acting and characters that really makes you want to find out what happens next, both in terms of plot and also character development. I found myself liking and caring about all the main characters in the story. The description makes the show look like science fiction or fantasy, but the fantasy elements are quite subdued. Something weird may or may not be going on in the background but the show is mostly about the characters and what happens in their lives. I wouldn't have expected to like it as much as I did based on the description. Now I'm waiting for season 2.