26 August 2016

The Summit, 2012 - ★★★

Didn't really know what this was about so it was a bit of a shock to find out. It's better put together than other documentaries with reenactments but structurally could've done with a bit more coherence and less repetition.

August 26, 2016 at 07:19PM

The Purge, 2013 - ★★★

The concept is good but the film fails to make the most of it. The central action sequence could've happened on any night of the year and just be another home invasion. I was expecting some kind of twist so it turned out to be more than it appeared but that never came either. Still an enjoyable watch though.

August 26, 2016 at 07:16PM

24 August 2016

Suicide Squad, 2016 - ★★

The opening 20 minutes are so badly edited it actually hurt to watch. Things don't get much better although the way the rest of the footage is butchered may actually disguise just how nonsensical the plot really is. Deadshot and Harley Quinn just about save the film but even they aren't given much to do. Viola Davis is good but it feels too early to form an opinion on Leto's Joker (this really wasn't the best way to introduce the character). Everybody will probably agree that Cara Delevingne is just awful - one of the worst performances I've ever seen - but even she isn't the worst part of the film. It's the use of music throughout the film that is just horrendous, nearly always awful choices that take so much away from the scenes.

August 24, 2016 at 10:51PM

21 August 2016

August: Osage County, 2013 - ★★★

Good actors playing bad.

August 21, 2016 at 10:10PM

Pete's Dragon, 2016 - ★★★★

Reminiscent of The Iron Giant, E.T and the works of Studio Ghibli, it never quites soars to the emotional heights of those earlier films but it delivers consistently throughout. It's in that way that it feels better than The Jungle Book and The BFG which both had dips in quality. It's certainly a huge improvement over the mawkish original.

August 21, 2016 at 10:02PM

Creed, 2015 - ★★★½

Better than originally anticipated but not as good as the later hype had lead me to believe. If I had any connection to the Rocky series I'd probably appreciate it more. Another film in a growing list of how to successfully reboot a franchise.

August 21, 2016 at 09:53PM

One Night In 2012, 2016 - ★★★★★

I wasn't going to include this as a film but it's a feature length documentary and it made me cry so that seemed like good enough justification. I'm a fan of Danny Boyle, making-ofs and of course the 2012 Opening Ceremony so it's hard to imagine how I couldn't love this. It may not do anything more remarkable than telling a fascinating story but it is such a good story.

August 21, 2016 at 09:50PM

14 August 2016

Pete's Dragon, 1977 - ★★½

The animated Elliot is nicely done and so is the invisible work but compositing was even harder to get right 40 years ago (incidentally I saw the 2D trailer for The BFG and things looked blended together much better than I remember). The whole film feels very dated and stagey. It may still appeal to children or those with nostalgic memories of earlier viewings but it's really lacking a lot and none of the songs add any magic.

August 14, 2016 at 08:11PM

10 August 2016

Weiner, 2016 - ★★★★

Even without the revelations that occurred during filming this would have been a great documentary because Anthony Weiner is such a fascinating character. In many ways it's a shame that the scandals occurred because we never really get to find out what his politics were either in the film and in the real world and yet we get an insight to his passion and determination to make things better. I've thought this before and it was cemented here but we really should stop caring about politicians sex lives. Yes he lied and cheated but, as far as I could tell from the film, never about anything to do with his politics or campaign and should that really stop him from doing that job.

The film feels a lot longer than it's running time but in a good way. It left me wanting to know more especially about what happened with Weiner's wife Huma (perhaps this is already well known in America and wasn't necessary for the film).

Both the man and the film are politically and psychologically fascinating, entertaining and exciting.

August 10, 2016 at 10:31PM

08 August 2016

Piper, 2016 - ★★★★

Watched on Tuesday August 2, 2016.

August 08, 2016 at 12:21PM

03 August 2016

Finding Dory, 2016 - ★★★★

There is something comforting familiar about Finding Dory, perhaps it is just revisiting characters you haven't seen in 13(!) years or perhaps the Pixar formula is too well known and understood now. I did enjoy nearly everything although the quarantine/tag/Cleveland plot points made even less sense than swimming from Australia to California (and back, twice in Dory's case). More problematic was the uneasy feeling around some of bullying of and by minor characters, I don't think it's as bad as this article makes out but I expect more from Pixar.

August 03, 2016 at 07:07PM

South Riding, 1938 - ★★★

There's an awful lot going on and it feels quite adventurous for it's time especially towards the end. However it also feels it's age and was difficult for me to shake the memory of the recent BBC adaptation so I never felt that engaged.

August 03, 2016 at 06:56PM

01 August 2016

Ghostbusters, 2016 - ★★★★

A worthy successor to the 1984 original (probably more so than Ghostbusters II) which was only let down by becoming a generic action/superhero movie towards the end and an awful version of the Ghostbuster theme song in the middle. It's worth seeing just for Kate Mckinnon's performance and Holtzmann is one of the best movie characters of recent years.

August 01, 2016 at 10:30AM

Pulp Fiction, 1994 - ★★★★★

None of the brilliance has faded in the last 22 years and it was a delight to see it on the big screen. This could have been the first time I've seen it in the cinema or Pulp Fiction could've been the first 18 certificate film I saw in the cinema back in 94. It's weird that I remember talking so much about the film when it was released but now wondering if that was just based on everything I read (including the script) and the soundtrack.

August 01, 2016 at 10:15AM