Reviews

Now here's a tale that's overwhelmingly nice, like puppy dogs tales and sugar and spice, with innocence threaded from the top to the bottom, and generally speaking, there's nothing that's rotten; as a robot behaves like the good Dr Dolittle, like Robinson Crusoe it gets into a fine pickle, but help is at hand from a fox and a possum, with a gosling called Brightbill relationships blossom; it's a joy to behold with great animation, has a heart full of soul and a moral foundation, perhaps a little too trite if you want to complain, but just like WALL·E, the message is plain.

It's a lovely tale that needs a big screen to be enjoyed from.

There's a lass, I'd have to say, you can't ignore her - working in a place with fascinating fauna, makes a living, just gets by, you can take her for a ride, if you're lucky you may get, to see her flora. An opportunist, she has an arsenal to deploy, knows a good thing when she meets a Russian boy, they enjoy some fun and frolics, they exchange lots of hydraulics, then word gets back to those, who are killjoys. So a dogleg's then deployed, plot rearranges, and the humour ratchets up as well as rages, guardians begin to prise, pulling apart the binds and ties, in a film that truly stuns, often amazes.

Great performances all round, wonderful cinematography, and a script full of magic.

Alas two hours or just shy is not enough, to encapsulate the essence of King's book, with David Soul you got the whole, James Mason dry and rather droll, a vamp that frightened you to death, if you could look. For me, it was the scariest of all, behind me when it's dark and shadows tall, but with the new a trick is missed, the characters do not persist, in fact this sinks like a lead ball, does not enthral. So my advice is go and find the two part version, where the tension's slowly built and intrigue well spun, where the scratching on the pane, will make you want to avoid Maine, and your instinct's not to stay, but yell and run.

A shadow of what was and what could have been.

If something is great why not bring it back to life, repeat and replay, replicate, do it twice - if it's not broke don't fix it, just adjust, meld and mix it, there are plenty of punters, who'll return, pay the price. Familiarity however, may just be your downfall, contempt, well not quite, but it's not too far a call, as the story recycles, the sharks kill the vitals, and the accent of Lucius, doth far from enthral. As for the Emperor Penguins let's say, it's hard to believe any subjects obey, as they act more like clowns, leaves observer with frowns, in a film that looks good, but is only ok.

Watched in an IMAX, great cinematography, costumes were spectacular, alas the story failed to meet expectations.

Now here's a film that's full of torrent, rage and scarring, we see the life of a young woman who's lived a life that's been quite jarring, in a family poles apart, then with a fella she breaks a heart, the sequence mixed and multiplexed, around someone constantly sparring. Set in Orkney where the weather can be brutal, cruel and savage, like the turbulence that spins inside poor Rona like a savage, takes her to the well to drink, a well that's guaranteed to sink, and remove the will to fight, and make escape, left without carriage.

A top drawer performance from Saoirse Ronan that brings home the challenges faced by those who struggle to adhere (and they are legion).

Now here's something of a conundrum, a film you'll find extremely humdrum, as dull as you can think, not only that, it really sinks, how on earth did Joaquin think that this would run. The acting isn't awful but the script is really poor, the story is quite daft and to be honest such a chore, your eyes will start to close, you'll relax, recline, repose - it won't be long before a snooze, and then you'll start to snore and snore. It's a shame because the first one was a bit of movie magic, the boxes were all ticked and things were set for a great hat trick, alas this only leaves a scar, may make you feel a bit gaga, if you've not pressed the green button, my advice would be to skip.

There's a killer out to make mincemeat of you, they have the power to seduce then run you through, they'll play games to make you tame, as they attempt to maim and lame, nowhere to hide, if you decide, to run off too. It's intriguing to observe events unfold, you're clearly full of confidence and are quite bold, a past master of the chase, you get your quarry into place, although you sense inside's a heart, that's icy cold. Those that cross your path quite often soon regret, then as darkness envelopes they soon forget, turning into a cadaver, you must get some kind of pleasure, and you never seem to get bothered or fret.

A great lead performance in a fascinating piece of cinema that is often original and keeps you engaged to the very end.

An encounter with Guy Haines when on a train, a curious young man who can't contain, all his hopes and aspirations, leading to father's cessation, looking for someone to pair, and share the strain. You shrug it off as idle talk, leave with dismay, heading to the wife who's been playing away, due a baby that's not yours, she re-attaches all her claws, it's not long after that she's found, as someone's prey. You're now the suspect with an alibi that's wanting, and that stranger from the train has turned to haunting, feels deserted and betrayed, there's now a price that's to be paid, at the carnival, the carousel's rotating.

Two great central performances, in a film that's well worth exploring, if for no other reason than to acknowledge how differently you would have played it.

It's a role which you might find yourself assuming, as the toll of age looms large and starts consuming, with a chance to halt the rot, recapture something that's forgot, an elixir of youth, to start you blooming. But there's a price you have to pay to reverse time, it involves a split and suck as well as slime, plus there's teamwork, partnership, and some rules you cannot skip, if you're not careful parts may age - well past their prime. But what the hell, the road to wrinkles can't be worse, the path that's taking you away rides like a hearse, you'll make the call and overhaul, bits will stand proud and you'll stand tall, let's put this growing old thing back, into reverse.

Two wonderful performances from the two leading ladies in a macabre tale that may leave you slightly bruised at the end.

It's a shame, but you need to take a break, have it cast and settle back to sit and wait, take the view over the yard, of disaffected and those scarred, with Lisa Freemont overlooked, rear views you take. People come and people go, events take place, you observe where once was someone now's a space, where has she gone, where could she be, suitcase packed is what you see, has the lady in the bed left the rat race? You're convinced that something awful has occurred, you're enraged, but they all think you are absurd, you must enlist their help to find, there is a murderer behind, the windows, sometime clear, but often blurred.

It's a typical James Stewart role, playing himself to aplomb, and it's a little bit dated, but it still has a style seldom matched.

It's fair to say that made in heaven your marriage isn't, there's no dynamic or indeed great coefficient, although there is a correspondent, that your wife is rather fond of, and it's got you feeling somewhat, insufficient. So you've decided to curtail her time on earth, to inherit all the things she has of worth, a cunning plan has been concocted, and is soon to be adopted, once you've found someone with little, or no worth. What could possibly go wrong, everything's covered, it's something around the neck rather than smothered, the cops won't have a clue, you've covered everything right through, the key to your motives, won't be discovered.

Ray Milland is out of this world as the hateful husband, intent on making the call.

Of a time when there had earlier been war, and the wounds were still unhealed, open and sore, as a people came to terms, with the lessons no one learns, and secrets gather dust, wait to be learned. In a village a young woman and her aunt, partially rescued from a life to which she'll grant, all she does, and all she'll be, before that happens she'll come to see, a history, forever to lament.

Some of the most incredible cinematography and framing, a gallery of art and perspective to take your breath away, beautifully captured in monochrome, encapsulated through two outstanding central performances by Agata Kulesza and Agata Trzebuchowska, that leaves the viewer overwhelmed by the trauma and torment of war past, present and future - incredible.

A holiday overseas with wife and daughter, leads to friendship (with another family of three) when out on a sunny saunter, back at home a card arrives, come and see how well we thrive, spend a night or three within, our bricks and mortar. You take up the invitation and set off, unaware of just how this couple like to trough, or indeed how they behave, and the trinkets that they crave, if you did, it may just cause a mighty scoff. It's fair to say that your encounter's like no other, it doesn't end in the same way as Danish brother (or sister), which is a shame as that was better, it was unshackled and unfettered, leaving the viewer with more than, drainpipes and a gutter.

James McAvoy is brilliant, alas the ending isn't - watch the Danish version for that.

Imagine what you'd do, you're abducted by some thugs, no idea what they're after, they seem to recognise your mug, taken to a place unknown, a large house someone calls home, questioned, pushed, pestered and hounded, a little later drunk and floundered. As the nightmare then continues, as you sober from all the booze, trace your way to The Assembly, where a dagger makes an entry, pursued and chased and then embraced, on a train that makes great haste, before too long your being dusted, there's nobody, that can be trusted.

Of all of Hitchcock's films, this stands the test of time better than most, and Cary Grant is perfectly cast in the role of Roger Thornhill.

It's fair to say this cast of actors deserve better, because this film is quite a very low bar setter, where the script is so inept, poorly sequenced, and poorly stepped, any belief you had is well, and truly beggared. What on earth went through the mind of poor Cate Blanchett, she must have known this would be everything but a hit, perhaps she fancied dipping toe, into a sci-fi film or show, but instead she's just been covered - it rhymes with quit. As for the absolutely dreadful CGI, it's not too long before you start to squirm and cry, and that annoying load of Claptrap, makes you want to take a long nap, all in all, the kind of film, to mortify.

There's a word the title rhymes against quite well, it encapsulates the whiff, the pong, the smell, of a film that's truly awful, over your eyes I will not pull wool, avoid at all costs, are the words that I would yell. The acting is awful (Lady Raven is exquisitely awful) and the script is so dire, the story is daft you will want to retire, as you shout at the screen, building into a scream, this is such an incredible botch and misfire. It's as if the events that unfold have been set, through a sequence of hoaxes, and exotic bets, unelaborate turns, make you twist, cringe and squirm, walk away, make escape, or you'll end with regrets.

Sadly, the director has become quite accomplished in flattering to deceive.

Receiving sentence, there's no trial to make your case, the jealous have you interred at great haste, you've lost your love, forfeit your life, solitary conflict wrapped in strife, withered in a cell, with years laid out to waste. But there's hope, as you find out, you're not alone, as a pair you set to work chiselling stone, scraping, digging day and night, in the search for a new sight, rocks fall - and then your future is resewn. You acquire your ex partners wealth and riches, it allows you to acquire the finest britches, plus a title and some land, revenge can now be mapped and planned, all because of nimble hands, and threaded stitches.

A perpetually enduring tale, well performed and presented, albeit with poetic license, but there are better versions available.

You're a bright and rather cocky kind of youth, a silver spoon nestles against each wealthy tooth, you command all that you see, with your friend who's cowardly, commit a crime that can't be solved, by any sleuth. The scene now set, you start to welcome several guests, knowing none of them could ever make a guess, or discover what is hidden, from events that truly sicken, that are buried in the bowls, of dining chest. But the absence of a friend grabs folks attention, and the parents of deceased ratchet attention, as they leave you bind pretense, with a lash of evidence, not long after comes the price of recompense.

Time's a passing, and there's a shelf that's where you're head, it's a lonely place, only room for one in bed, but from the gloom a prince does come, you break from shackles and you run, into arms that lift you up, close to the sun. A marriage made in heaven, well not quite, a relationship that's soon beset by blight, trust is lost and doubt encroaches, as he takes, and steals, and poaches, it's not too long before you're filled, with dread and fright. Convinced the end is rather closer than desired, that your time in this domain's soon to expire, you're quickly driven round the bend, anticipate, your mortal end, from the cad, the scoundrel, bounder, who set your fire.

Allegorically, and quite unintentionally, this is the continuing saga of a virus; ignorantly released its only aim is to destroy us, with the wheels reset in motion, it's quest resumes with veined corrosion, a perpetuation that can't be undone, and no where's safe, you cannot run - from the evolutionary transformations, variations and mutations, the prequels, sequels and un-equals, to come - and gone.

What's not to like, an intriguing and innovative re-entry into the world of chest busting, face hugging, acid bleeding Xenomorphs, that may have parallels with organisms created in laboratories today, all policed, promoted and protected through intelligence of insincerity too.

Now here's a film that has minimal plot twist, at the end you will not even find a sentimental kiss, but from the start tensions start swirling, vortex, eddies, maelstroms turning, as the characters are drawn, towards a gyre they can't resist. While it's shallow in the depths of where it burrows, tunnels, delves - and doesn't really say a lot, of how we view ourselves, the dizziness does capture, intense passions cause enrapture, as those tossed into the whirlpool become one, combined and meld. An experience that's best when taken in an IMAX zone, where you'll feel all of the gusto that the makers seed has sown, a lot taller than it's wide, it doesn't matter I'll confide, just sit back, enjoy the crack, and watch the isobars collide.

It's not easy getting older on your own, a widow, and you're family has flown, although Daniel stays in touch, this grandson loves you so much, means you're inclined to help him out, when fraught, he phones. Alas, the caller isn't who you think he is, and not long after you find out that you've been whizzed, ten thousand dollars has been taken, something inside starts to awaken, a plan's made to get it back, you won't forgive. With the help of an old friend who's disinclined, on a scooter, one in front and one behind, you track down the evil fiends, will halt the wrongs that they have schemed, bringing down the clockwork orange, mastermind.

It's not that engaging, but it passes the time, and the performances are fine.

Now here's a film that may just get you thinking, and once you've done that it may then get you drinking, as you try to unwind, all the words that you find, the actions of those, with dedication unblinking. The presentation's obscure and the concepts quite odd, in the first there's a boss who behaves as a god, the next one you will shiver, after cannibal liver, in the last R. M. F., makes return to his bod(y). It's the brainchild of one who's films come as a tangent, whose previous works would have left quite an indent, with a cast on repeat, you may not keep your seat, and walk away from the scene, agitated, malcontent.

Now here's a film that's the third one of three, ends what you might call triple X trilogy, Maxxxine Minx at its centre, you may be a dissenter, or you may grasp the thread, and enjoy it with glee. As expected there's plenty of in your face gore, dismembering torsos and blood in galore, it's violent and vicious, some folks are pernicious, if it's your kind of movie, you'll be begging for more. But the best thing about it is the great Mia Goth, as with most of her films she presents as the boss, she'll go on to great things, she'll develop her wings, a Hollywood legend when she makes it across.

There's a gift that gets delivered on your birthday, in a box replica sits has little to say, but the effect is quite disturbing, as parent becomes unnerving, and the beast reveals itself, ready to slay. It's a process that repeats based on some dates, conjured by albino Joker who just hates, he's a rather twisted soul, you would think he's not quite whole, there's a connection with a Motel, name of Bates. As you wander through this film you might just wonder, why the lambs are being silenced by this punter, is there method in the madness, from the sadness and the badness, you may conclude, perhaps like me, it's worthless blunder.