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 07:19PM26 August 2016
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 07:16PM24 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 10:51PM21 August 2016
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 10:02PMCreed, 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 09:53PMOne 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 09:50PM14 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 08:11PM10 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 10:31PM08 August 2016
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 07:07PMSouth 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 06:56PM01 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 10:30AMPulp 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 10:15AM25 July 2016
Pandora's Box, 1929 - ★★★½
When thinking about silent films it's too easy to focus on the comedies or horrors and forget about the drama. It's also easy to think that these were innocent times but Pandora's Box throws out all kinds of debauchery. It's a shame that the film is so long and the first part in particular really drags but part two is a lot more enjoyable.
Screened as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival with a brilliant live score by Jonathan Best.
July 25, 2016 at 04:23PMQueen of Earth, 2015 - ★★★
A few days later and I'm still trying to make sense of this. I think I liked it and I definitely liked that it's open to many interpretations. I haven't decided if it's a horror, psychodrama or science fiction or how much of what unfolds was real or in somebody's head. Not that it really matters or if it was a bit of all of those things, combined with the compelling performances is what makes it good.
July 25, 2016 at 04:09PM23 July 2016
Star Trek Beyond, 2016 - ★★★★
The best Star Trek film I remember seeing. It isn't perfect and it would be quite easy to list many things that are wrong but does that matter if I was having so much fun? The story may not be great but the script and how the characters react to the story and each other is just fantastic. The action scenes are too long and noisy but most of them do feel fresh and original. Jaylah is a wonderful character and in the ever increasing shared universes of cinema would it be too much for her to get a spin off movie.
3D: There are a few scenes when 3D is used and makes a difference but probably not enough to compensate for the many low light or fast moving scenes.
July 23, 2016 at 04:08PMThe BFG, 2016 - ★★★½
Mark Rylance is just fantastic as The BFG, it really is a great performance and the animation looks great. In fact all of the film looks great but there is still a problem that the live action doesn't smoothly blend into the digital world (which I don't remember happening with The Jungle Book). It was an unnecessary distraction whenever Sophie was in Giant Country (but not when the BFG was in London) which made me wonder if it would have been better to animate everything.
There are bigger problems that despite ticking all the right boxes it gets a little flat and dare I say dull in the middle. Fortunately a trip to the palace is magically joyous so the film ends on a high, it's just a shame that level couldn't be maintained throughout. John Williams score also lacks something apart from the end credit music.
3D: Didn't notice the 3D at all which may be a good thing but not sure if it added anything.
July 23, 2016 at 03:49PM17 July 2016
Magic Mike XXL, 2015 - ★★½
The road movie part is good fun but once they arrive at their destination the film goes nowhere. Of course if you're watching the film for the overlong "male entertainer" show at the end you'll probably think completely the opposite.
July 17, 2016 at 11:06PM10 July 2016
The Neon Demon, 2016 - ★★★★
Two thirds of this are absolutely film-of-the-year fantastic but the final third goes to all sorts of strange places that just make it difficult to stay on board. I think I 'liked' what happened towards the end but I'm really not sure.The soundtrack is consistently brilliant and definitely one of the best of the year
July 10, 2016 at 10:17PM
Tale of Tales, 2015 - ★★½
I didn't know anything about Tale of Tales before it's release and it was only as I heard more and more favourable reviews that I thought I should try and see it. It was Mark Kermode and James King who finally convinced me by both saying it was something that needed to be seen on the big screen. I had a feeling that if I liked the film I would really like it but there was also a chance I wouldn't like it at all.
I'm sure James King said something about seeing it at the cinema because on a smaller screen it might just look cheaper. There are many moments when it looks wonderfully cinematic but it never manages to escape the overall feeling of it being a big europudding television special. I love television (perhaps even more than cinema) and hate using this is a criticism but I could never get over it. It's not just the look of the film but also the structure which felt like it would be better suited to a TV series. The three tales don't really intertwine so you have to wonder why they couldn't just be told separately. None of the stories are really that great and every time they do start to engage (which they all do at least once) the focus switches to another, dragging out the running time to an increasing level of frustration and boredom. Three 30 minute episodes could've been fantastic.
Lovely end credits though, or perhaps I was just glad it was over.
July 10, 2016 at 12:02PM03 July 2016
Orchids and Ermine, 1927 - ★★★★
Another film and group of filmmakers that I knew nothing about so I'm grateful to the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival for giving me chance to see this really enjoyable film.
July 03, 2016 at 10:06PMA Pair of Tights, 1929 - ★★★★½
A wonderful introduction to Anita Garvin with Marion Byron
July 03, 2016 at 10:00PMThe Grim Game, 1919 - ★★★½
Perhaps more interesting than enjoyable but there's also a lot to enjoy especially the plane stunt at the end.
July 03, 2016 at 09:58PM
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