Just noticed I hadn't logged this and 4 months later I can't quite remember what I thought. I liked it but was also disappointed and didn't think it lived up to the hype.
June 15, 2017 at 09:29AM15 June 2017
06 June 2017
Wonder Woman, 2017 - ★★★★
I hadn't realised how important it was to have a such a strong female lead film. It shouldn't make a difference but it absolutely does. For most of the film it's outperforms other superhero films and is in a whole other universe from the rest of the DC films. It's a shame that it resorts to the old Iron Man endings of two (mostly CG) characters throwing things at each other because everybody deserved a more satisfying conclusion. There are other places where things are pretty unbelievable (even for a godly superhero) but those moments are forgivable because everything else is done so well.
June 06, 2017 at 09:03PM04 June 2017
Get Out, 2017 - ★★★★
So much of Get Out is so good; everything is set up just perfectly, horror is combined with comedy and there's intelligence and bite to the satire and social commentary. For much of the film things the mystery is far-fetched but works in context and it's only when things start to get explained that it unfortunately steps over the believability line. The ending is still executed well but it does feel like a disappointment after everything else was so carefully considered.
June 04, 2017 at 02:02PM31 May 2017
The Hollow Crown: Henry VI - part 2, 2016 - ★★★★
Watched on Wednesday May 31, 2017.
May 31, 2017 at 09:57PMThe Dark Crystal, 1982 - ★★★
Surprised to find out that I had never seen this before (or don't remember any of it if I had). Technically it's impressive (although I find the Gelflings a bit odd looking) but the story is quite basic and a bit too hobbit-y for me.
May 31, 2017 at 09:50PM30 May 2017
24 May 2017
The Edge of the World, 1937 - ★★½
Despite appearing to be a well made film this didn't really do much for me.
May 24, 2017 at 09:48PMKing Charles III, 2017 - ★★★★
I liked this a lot even though I hoped the second half wouldn't play out as it did.
May 24, 2017 at 08:08AM19 May 2017
Alien: Covenant, 2017 - ★★★
It's all good until the aliens turn up and surely that's a huge problem for a film in the Alien series. Things aren't helped by the crew bouncing between idiotic and cliched decisions and even Waterson's mostly sensible Daniels becomes annoying by the end of the film. Those cliched moments feel like ticking off a checklist of things an alien film needs and at best add little, but often feel closer to parody. One shot of the Alien looks like it's part of the Hollyoaks title sequence and in another moment (or was it the same) it was a surprise/relief it didn't turn into a Spaceballs song and dance. All of the aliens look awful; badly animated and out of place, later CG humans are thrown around and you just have to wonder why. The final plot developments are so obvious I actually groaned when they began to be played out. People always say that a sequel or remake doesn't detract from the original film and I usually agree but this comes dangerously close to undermining the original films.
And yet having complained about nearly every aspect of the film (and I haven't really gone into the problematic plot) I did enjoy myself far more than I should have
May 19, 2017 at 11:16PMThe Hollow Crown: Henry VI - part 1, 2016 - ★★★★
Watched on Wednesday May 17, 2017.
May 19, 2017 at 10:48PM10 May 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017 - ★★★★
It's all over the place but in a way which works far more often than it fails. For two hours it provided enough entertainment to distract me from the real world and that feels like an achievement. I'm also pleased I saw this in 3D because it did actually add something to what is already a visually impressive film.
May 10, 2017 at 09:39PM07 May 2017
A Conspiracy of Faith, 2016 - ★★★½
More cinematic than the other films in the series but still suffers many of the same problems. The biggest issue is that once again the characters do something reckless and/or ridiculous that would seriously undermine the case. It's a shame because the characters and their relationships are great and it successfully manages to be both dark and humourous.
May 07, 2017 at 06:28PM01 May 2017
Swallows and Amazons, 2016 - ★★★
There's something quite charming about how all of this looks but there's not really much of a story. As harsh as it may be the child performances are distracting and not strong enough to carry the film.
May 01, 2017 at 05:18PMThe Absent One, 2014
Withholding a rating because even though I only watched this in the last week I can't remember enough about it (which is a sign of my failing memory and mixing it up with Follow The Money, rather than the quality). Like the previous film, It still feels like a feature length TV episode but a good one. There was something about this I was going to say but it completely escapes me now.
May 01, 2017 at 04:35PM25 April 2017
The Love Witch, 2016 - ★★★½
There's so much to appreciate and enjoy in Anna Biller's film (her name is most of the credits). Unfortunately there's not quite enough to sustain a 2 hour running time. This would have been so much better if it was less than 90 minutes and also a lot easier to rewatch.
April 24, 2017 at 10:49PM18 April 2017
Easter Parade, 1948 - ★★★★
It may just be a collection of song and dance sequences, with very little story, but what songs and dances.
It was also great to see Judy Garland in something other that The Wizard of Oz and "why didn't you tell me I was in love with you?"
April 18, 2017 at 10:49AMMoana, 2016 - ★★★½
I was expecting more from this and found that the moments that didn't work stood out much more than those that did, which doesn't make it a bad film. There's something odd about the human animation, it has a rotoscoped/motion-capture that didn't feel like "Disney" to me. Only two of the songs stood out (You're Welcome and Shiny) so I still need to be converted to Lin-Manuel Miranda. That chicken made me laugh far too much though.
April 18, 2017 at 10:44AMThe Great Muppet Caper, 1981 - ★★★★
Second part of a Muppet double bill and another I don't remember seeing before. I think I preferred this slightly over the first movie because it has more of a story. It feels like a film from a different time and would work just as well without any Muppets but would be nowhere near as much fun.
I'm in amazement at the cycling sequence, even after finding how (vaguely) how it was done. I genuinely can't remember the last time I wondered how something was possible.
April 18, 2017 at 10:35AMThe Muppet Movie, 1979 - ★★★★
I was surprised to find that I'd never seen this before (at least not as an adult that I remember). It's enjoyable and has aged really well, with only the cameos placing it as a (nearly) 40 year old film. The practical full body effects are so much more fascinating and magical than their modern CGI counterparts. It's only a slight story which now feels overly familiar but it's told and performed with such love it's hard not to be impressed.
April 18, 2017 at 10:31AM11 April 2017
My Life as a Zucchini, 2016 - ★★★★
Ron Swanson! I'm convinced Nick Offerman make anything worth watching and this is no exception. Even without Offerman this would still be fantastic. Beautifully animated, lovingly told, it feels so honest and true to life despite being animated but that's no surprise when it's from the writer of Girlhood and Tomboy.
It's best not to think about the ending too much or you start to realise how messy things may become which is a slightly disappointing conclusion.
April 11, 2017 at 10:55PM
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