No, IMO Aliens Is the best in the franchise

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5 The Dream Child.

Can't really be bothered to write much. Maintains the stupidity from the previous film although the main female character is slightly better acting than last time round. The biggest mistake the franchise makes really is thinking that Freddy should be a wise cracking goon rather than anything from an actual nightmare.

1.5/5. I think the slightly higher Mark is due to the fact that I am not shocked at how bad it is this time around.

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 6 Freddy's Dead The Final Nightmare.

The one in which Freddy becomes a character in a 90s computer game.

0.5/5

And they didn't keep their word. It's not thde Final Nightmare....

New Nightmare is much better though

Yeah how dare they lol. For the first time in a while I am actually looking forward to the next film!

Independence Day Resurgence.


Not a patch on the brilliantly hokey original. Suffers from what I call VERY LOUD NOISE syndrome, which is what I call it when a sequel comes along and you can tell they had one or two story board sequences instead of a plot or characters.

No build up of tension. Brent Spiner's character is now a moron instead of eccentric. Will Smith is largely irreplaceable so they just don't bother trying. Important things that are missing... human impact, drama, and probably most crucially fun.

Some impressive moments and the part 3 setup sounds intriguing.

Not as disappointingly mediocre as the dreadfully unambitious Jurassic World but a pale imitation of the original.

2/5

Funnily enough, they actually wanted to make a different film in a different genre, and not just repeat the first Nightmare over and over again, hence playing with genre and theme and audience expectation.

Did it work?

Depends on your 'mode of viewing'. If you went in expecting Nightmare 1 all over again, then you were bound to be disappointed (marketing and trailers don't exactly help their cause any ... especially true with albums, given a lot of responses to Braver). Basically, they didn't want to make a straight up horror sequel.

Fair point. I have no issue with experimenting and pushing boundaries. Done well it can keep a franchise alive. Done badly the opposite is true. I can see what they were aiming for with the others and actually like some of the things they went for. Just think there were too many duff actors and not enough scares.

The Nice Guys (2016)

Very funny Action/thriller. Russel Crowe and Ryan Gossling make a great duo.

8/10

Ah yes saw that the other day but forgot to mention. Was very good, as is anything by Shane Black.

Star Wars (1977)

Basically there are 3 versions to watch:

The George Lucas BluRay edition
The Despecialized edition (which featured the original, unaltered Star Wars as seen in 1977, created from different sources. The Despecialized editions are, without a doubt, the way to go if you want the original movies in 1080P quality. And, to me, by far superior to the original BluRay edition)

And then there is the SilverScreen Edition. This is the transfer from an 35mm print. And without a doubt the closest you get to experience your theater memories again (if you were lucky enough to see it in theaters in 1977).

I watched the 35mm version. And I can tell you, watching it from my projection beamer on my 5 meter wide screen (197 inches) this was a treat. Like a kid in a candy store. Long time since I had so much fun watching a movie again.

Movie 9/10
experience 10/10

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

As stated in my post above, in my opinion there are 3 versions to chose from. BluRay, Despecialized and SilverScreen's 35mm transfer.

Again I watched the 35mm transfer.

This Silver Screen Grindhouse edition has lots of grain and dust issues but it is so much fun to watch these movies like this again. Almost as if I am sitting at my old 'small town theater' again.

The Negative1 team (behind the Silver Screen editions) are working on a defnitive verion. I believe they are cleaning up the print a bit more and fixing some color issues.

Movie: 9,5/10
Experience 9,5/10 (just a bit too much issues to give it a 10)

Wes Craven's A New Nightmare

Great stuff and the best of the sequels. Goes for a new angle and nails it this time. Heather Langenkamp delivers a massively improved performance. But the best thing about it is they are finally taking Freddy seriously again, and he is almost always creepy and sinister in this and has a new look which is quite demonic. Kudos to the creepy kid too.

3.5/5

Return of the Jedi (1983)

I was going to watch this later tonight but I was so excited because of the other two films that I just couldn't wait to watch the 35mm transfer of this one.

The 35mm transfer isn't from Silver Screen but Harmy (the person responsible for the beloved Despecialized Editions). Again it's a Grindhouse edition. Meaning that the original print had some color corrections but not much more.

Movie: 7,5
Experience: 10

Overall trilogy experience: 10

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Very nice crime mystery

8/10

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

Freddy is a horror Icon. Which is funny as the first movie was very good, part 3 okay and the rest just crap. But New Nightmare brings back the horror and a demonic and scary Freddy. By far the best sequel.

7/10

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Brilliant stuff

9/10

Ouija - Origins of Evil (2016)

A prequel to Ouija from 2014. And this one is as bad as that movie.

No suspense, never scary, never intense and never not-boring.

3/10

2 guns (2013)

Average action comedy with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg

6/10

Faster (2010)

Nice action thriller with Dwayne Johnson in the lead.

7,5/10

Shawshank Redemption (1995)

In my opinion one of the best movies ever made. Fantastic job on the adaptation of this short story by Stephen King

10/10

Agreed. Absolutely superb film all round in which almost nothing happens but it grips you from start to finish.

Just seen this for the first time and to my surprise really enjoyed it. The idea of a different halloween horror story every year is at least interesting and the whole mask set up is quite well played.

Note to the Bond producers: the baddy in this is better at the whole friendly but sinister thing than your new Blofeld without saddling him with any of that dumb family ties guff.

Ending is a bit abrupt but good call to leave you wandering and not wrap everything up in a nice bow.

Overall a well earned 3/5.

The Green Mile (1999)

Frank Darabont returned to the Stephen King universe with his 2nd King adaptation. Not as good as Shawshank but, to me, the 2nd best adaptation of a King story (big fan of Kubrick's The Shining. Great movie but a terrible adaptation of the book)

Anyway, miracle at death row.

8/10

Agreed a tremendous film. Manages to do things that should stretch your disbelief without going so far that you stop believing, right up until literally the very end. But extremely well done throughout.

Murder By Death (1976)

Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, David Niven, Alec Guiness

I can go on but let's just say it my favorite murder mystery.

9/10

Love that film. Got it mainly for Peter Falk but it is hilarious. Also like Clue.

Clue did have a few great moments. But I found that an okay movie at best.

Some nice deleted MbD scenes on youtube. Including Sherlock Holmes

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.

Much to my surprise, I loved this film. Action packed, humorous, fresh, and original. Yes, there is considerable darkness, but unlike the last few Harry Potter films, it does not overwhelm the film and rob it of its entertainment value.

The vast majority of lead actors are also much better from day 1 than with Harry Potter. By which I mean no inexperienced child actors. The adult actors have been uniformly excellent throughout.

Just to note I "liked" the Harry Potter films, particularly Azkaban and Deathly Hallows Part 2, and thought Goblet Of Fire was a terrific film and the best of the franchise.

This film for me was up there with Goblet Of Fire.

I know a few Harry Potter fans who hated this film, so to be clear this is NOT Harry Potter The Even Earlier Years... it is its own thing, but with intriguing links and hints to things that may happen in future instalments, some of which were talked about in hushed tones in the Harry Potter films.

As with many Jk Rowling films, the Fantastic Beasts are not really the main event... more a smoke screen for a smoke screen... but they are beautifully realised and some of the captures are very entertaining.

The only VERY slight minus for me is Eddie Redmayne. It's probably just personal preference but I can't help thinking how much more panache and charisma other contender for the role Matt Smith would have brought. It's not that Ed is bad at all and he does develop the character well by the end of the film. Just could have done with a bit more welly.

But overall extremely entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing the next part more than I ever thought I would.

4.5/5

Freddy vs Jason - I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would or probably should. Freddy is mostly used for creeps and scares, although does get a few slightly awkward one liners. The set up is quite interesting and well handled. Actors are much better across the board than almost anyone in horror films in the 80s. Jason is Jason. It does get a little confusing trying to keep track of what's happening near the end. Overall though not a bad entry in either series.

2.5/5.

Final Destination 3 - I loved the first 2 but had heard bad things about the 3rd. Actually I loved it too! Fiesty with smartish modern characters who try to save themselves but are brung low by fate. The deaths are mostly pretty inventive although there aren't any that throw you off too much unlike in the earlier films. Great fun, good jumps, and very entertaining.

3.5/5

Die Hard

Still a superb film. The bench Mark for action movies back when they understood that less is more when you root for the hero and secretly also root for the villain just a tiny bit.

Bruce Willis is truly superb in the role... this was long before he started demanding huge paychecks to phone in sleepy performances.

Alan Rickman is magnificent, playing an intelligent man with a plan. It is actually a bit of a shame when he dies but it had to be really.

Downsides? Only the Deputy Chief of Police who is an absolute moron.

Other than that fairly minor blip, absolutely superb.

4.5/5

Sully

Superb well executed retelling of the Hudson plane landing.
Clint Eastwood seems to be perhaps one of the only directors who in his old age actually makes better movies than he ever did before.

Masterminds (2016)

A friend of mine loved it. He sai it reminded hm of "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" so I decided to watch. It had a few funny moments but I was mostly disappointed by it.

Very 'meh'

5/10

(Talladega Nights on the other hand made me laugh a lot. That one get's a 7,5/10)

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Now that's how to make a sequel. Ok, so the title sounds like a spoof, and in a way, it is a much more popcorn action flick than the previous movie. However, while they have undoubtedly ramped up the bullet and explosions count, this film manages to avoid my dreaded VERY LOUD NOISE syndrome, where sequels just become marketing exercises ticking off boxes (see also A Good Day To Die Hard. Actually, don't, but you know what I mean).


Bruce Willis is still a one man tour de force. He OWNS the screen and is again superb. You root for him and want him to succeed. He is put through real jeopardy. OK so you know he's not gonna die. But the jeopardy is real. He is not Superman and does not survive ludicrously impossible assaults - everything is just about plausible, from an action movie point of view.

The explosions are bigger, but they are actually used fairly sparingly, and are part of the story, not just tacked on because there hasn't been something enormous exploding for x minutes.

The chief policeman is initially an arrogant fool, but reports into an intelligent and honourable man in charge of the airport, who is in turn assisted by some good and intelligent people. The good guys tackle the situation intelligently rather than making things worse. Even the chief comes round in the end.

The bad guys motives are political this time round, and were probably quite a hot topic at the time. Believable, if just a little less interesting than chasing gold.

Minuses? Well the bad guys are played by less interesting actors this time round (they are not bad at all - just not Alan Rickman, RIP), and you never really secretly want them to succeed. You want them taken down. There are also quite a few logic problems (e.g. if a succession of planes are going try an emergency landing using fire to guide them in, wouldn't they leave really big gaps between them, and more importantly, move the first one down out of the way so they don't all pile up)... but that is really nit picking. It is not an essential part of the plot that throws you off, just a slightly amusing hole to pick if you are in the mood.

All in all though, thoroughly entertaining, slickly produced sequel that is different enough to largely avoid repetition, but with enough that's familiar to make you comfortable that you are in safe hands.

A well deserved 4/5.

Die Hard: With A Vengeance

More great stuff. The film has a much tenser, focused feel to it, similar to the first one. Jeremy Irons is nearly as good as Alan Rickman but Alan remains the king.

Sam Jackson is superb and the on screen relationship with Bruce Willis is superb.

The police are caring and smart (okay if just a little gullible) and the bad guys motives are much more credible and interesting. Who doesn't want trucks full of gold?

The riddles are entertaining and the cross city action is very well handled.

Downsides? Well Bruce Willis remains very good, but he doesn't seem to own the screen quite as much. It may just be because Samuel J shines so bright and it's only a very minor thing.

Not another downside but it's more vicious and gory than I remember but maybe I saw an extended version or something.

Anyway more great stuff.

4/5

Fun fact: It was originally the script for the 4th Lethal Weapon movie (explaining the team up with Samuel L Jackson) but Warner didn't like it.

What I really missed with Die Hard 3 and subsequent ones was they weren't set at Christmas. 4 was watchable for 1 time only. Didn't bother with 5, it looked terrible.

Think the Christmas setting really added something special to 1 & 2. Christmas in NYC would have made 3 better I reckon and funnier in places.

When a formula works they should stick to it.: Back to future 1,2,3. Star Wars etc. The prequels are terrible and new one which is just same formula as originals is exceptionally good.

They messed around with Die Hard too much. Now Bruce Willis/John McClane is a political correct hack who needs help from computer nerds. Lame. His wife wasn't even in 3 or 4 either whilst she was in hostage situations in both 1 and 2. Again a missed trick in my opinion. Instead both 3 & 4 focuses on the man/woman relationship of bad guys and the bad women, who gives a toss about this.

The Pink Panther (1963)

Not the Steve Martin crap movies which were not just awful but a disgrace to the genius that was Peter Sellers' Jaqcues Cloueau. If Martin's comedy skills were half as big as his ego his movies might not have been the disaster they turned out to be.

Anyway the original movie with Peter Sellers and David Niven (Niven was the main bill but Sellers stole the show, resulting in 4 more Clouseau movies -5 if you count Trail of the Pink Panther)

Superb crime comedy.

7,5/8

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

This sequel to the Pink Panther is perhaps the best of the series. Major fun!

8,5/10

Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

When Peter Sellers refused to pick up his role of the stumbling detective (Sellers and director Blake Edwards didn't want to work on a Clouseau together anymore after Shot in the Dark and both declined for the 1968 follow up) , Alan Arkin was brought in to play Inspector Clouseau in 1968. A movie I haven't seen in a whle and I will review after the Sellers movies.

Luckily Sellers (in search of succes) agreed to work with Edwards again and make another sequel which resulted in this movie. Return was my favorite of the Pink Panther films for a long time. And I still think it's one of the best, maybe just edging the original for the 2nd spot (and just behing Shot in the Dark).

I own the HD versions of the first three movies (Pink Panther and Return on BluRay - Shot in the Dark had a 1080p web release). Unfortunately, from the three, this has the worst picture quality although still a great improvement over the DVD's. The other sequels don't have a HD release.

Anyway, I love this movie.

8/10

Yeah I know what you mean. For me though, 3 still has the "feel" of a Die Hard movie and just about keeps the John McClane character from the first film alive. I can't remember much about 4 but I hated 5 the first time around because it was a generic action shoot em up where the characters could be anyone and the situations pushed credibility way past breaking point. It also suffers very badly from VERY LOUD NOISE syndrome... I. E. Lots of bangs and flashes but you don't care because of the problems with characters and credibility. The film makers had stopped caring about trying to make quality films about one hell of a cop and just slapped the Die Hard label on it to milk the franchise.

You will be looking forward to Die Hard Year One set in Japan and released in 2018. ;)

To be fair it sounds like it might be interesting, tying it to the first movie. Could be crap if it's just like the last then.

http://diehard.wikia.com/wiki/Die_Hard:_Year_One_(film)

Pink Panther strikes again (1976)

Some of the funniest moments of the entire series can be found in this movie (that's a priceless Steinway! -Not anymore)

7,5/10

Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978 )

I think this the weakest from the 5. Still highly entertaining

7/10

Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

This one concludes my Sellers/Clouseau series. Peter Sellers, of course, died in 1980. So Blake Edwards used unused archived footage from previous Panther movies. Also a voice double and a stand in were used for some scenes.

This wasn't really good and although the Sellers scenes show his comic genius, it wasn't enough to save the movie. After this one even worse sequels followed (Curse of the Pink Panther and Son of the Pink Panther) but they didn't include Inspector Clo... sorry Chief Inspector Clouseau.

5/10

Actually the Japan plot does sound quite interesting, but as always, it will all be in the execution!

Inspector Clouseau (1968 )

Alan Arkin did a decent job. The movie was okay.
5,5/10

Inferno (2016)

It was okay but I was very disapointed by the ending. They changed the very clever book ending into a Hollywood ending. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

6/10

David Brent - Life on the road. Pretty good raised a couple of decent laughs.

The Rock (1996)

I remember seeing this in the theaters 20 years ago. Also remember that I thought that this was a crap movie and was suprised so many liked it. Watched it again after 20 years and I was right. This is a crappy movie. Big budget, sure. But very very poor executed.

3/10

Aliens (1986)

This movie just makes me appreciate the original Alien movie more and more. Aliens is now my third favorite in the franchise (and if you count Prometheus in this franchise it is my 4th favorite). I think Aliens is highly overrated and has become a typical 80's flick. Only Alien Resurrection was worse.

6,5/10

"Get Santa" (2014) (Executive Producer: Ridley Scott!)

Some good heartwarming bits I'm sure kids and adults would enjoy.
Many clever homages to great films such as "Shawshank Redemption", "The Godfather", "ET". In fact the end is maybe a bit too ET-y I'd say.

Ultimately falls short somewhat to be a long term Christmas classic in the vein of "Home Alone", "Santa Clause The Movie" and "Christmas Vacation" etc. Could have been a little bit better developed and just less dirty jokes / toilet humour which is just a bit too silly for the pro actors, pro effects, pro music and pro cinematography they had.

Broadbent, the reindeer and the squirrel were great though.

6/10

Desperado (1995)

The opening scene with Steve Buscemi is simply fantastic. Banderas in his best role and many fun scenes to enjoy. A classic!

7,5/10

So no Rogue One midnight viewing for you either tonight? ;)

If it was Star Wars, I would have. Maybe this weekend if I find the time ;)
btw I am sure I will like it. It just doesn't bring my Star Wars Enthusiasm hype up. But already certain I will love this more than anything of the prequel trilogy combined ;-)

A Nightmare Before Christmas. Doesn't leave a lasting impact but Visually inventive and good fun. 3/5

Rogue One: a Star Wars story (2016)

Almost 40 years after Star Wars there finally is a prequel!

Forget Episode 1, 2 and 3. Rogue One is the true prequel to the Star Wars Trilogy. Although the movie is more of a war drama than a space adventure, it manages to give you that Star Wars feeling that the prequel trilogy failed to do. Sure those prequels shared the well known characters but it lacked everything that is Star Wars. Rogue One, suprisingly, managed to pull you in the Star Wars universe with a completely different story and characters.

8,5/10

Great, seeing it tomorrow in 4DX. :-)

Bad Santa (2003)

This movie is so wrong but has a few incredible funny scenes. :lol:

7/10

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Never liked any of the Muppet movies but this one is brilliant.

7,5/10

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Really enjoyed it. It took a bit of time getting to know the characters and to like them but this all comes good towards the end. A few background stories maybe a bit unecessary and leads to some compilations (for example how the young female loses track of the Forest Whitaker character).

It almost got a little meh a few times but stick with it as it all resolves and makes sense. I absolutely adore the last 30 minutes. They are perfect and what a super prequel it then is.

Better than any of the prequels but not as good as the other four films. Perhaps almost on par with Return of the Jedi for me (that one is a bit meh in places too - the somewhat repetitive carry on on Endor for example - but resolves perfectly as does Rogue One)

4dx effects during the battle were outstanding. 3D on its own is becoming meh for me.

8/10

I agree. The first hour is slow. But I love how this one explains some of the issues that fans had with the original Star Wars movie (like why the Empire didn't fix that one flaw in the Death Star, that made it able to destroy. Or why Luke was Red 5 in Star Wars at his first rebel mission)

And there are so many nods too, also plenty of cameos. And the last 30 or 40 minutes are the perfect connection to the original trilogy.

That's why I said that this is a true prequel.

My star Wars ranking

Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
Force Awakens
Return of the Jedi
Rogue One

Revenge of the Sith
Attack of the clones and the Phantom Menace (terrible movies)

I agree with that ranking!
I wonder now that the story is tied up at the start if Disney will release the unaltered versions of the original trilogy on Blu ray and digital or if Lucas hid them in an R2 unit somewhere.

Hoping to see Rogue One in the next couple of days

Disney doesn't own the rights to the original movie. Not many seem to know this. Disney owns the rights to use the SW characters and storyline etc. But for the next few years they don't have the release rights.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Chevy Chase in this Holiday masterpiece. Eventhough I can almost dream every line, it's the movie I watch every year.

8/10

:lol:

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring Extended Edition

Stunningly good. Still as engrossing now as it was then. Epic yet character driven. Dark but humorous. Long but leaves you wanting more. I still remember how blown away I was seeing it at the cinema the first time around. I still love it now. An ultra rare 5/5.

Haha, we don't share the same passion.

Felowship 3/5
Two Towers 2/5
Return of th King 1,5/5

For me these films started the downfall of a director I held very high. Very ambitious, very pasionated but also coming short on too many apects. I appreciate the love fans have for this trilogy (my best friend is a pasionate fan of the movies) but I never shared that same feeling ;)

But if you like them, I think this is the right time of the year to enjoy them :cool:

LOTR. Once was enough.
Harry Potter. Once (first film) was too much.

Really don't care for these fantasy movies. I like it when Sci Fi movies have some conventions & boundaries and push them somewhat (Star Wars / Star Trek / Back To The Future).

Total fantasy where you can suddenly encounter goblins, woblins, dwarfs, broomstick flying games, elves, endless battles and walking trees just doesn't do it for me at all.

I did really enjoy Malefecent & Frozen however. I'd rate them 9/10 both. But they both stayed in a somewhat conventional setting I'd argue.

Two of the absolute worst "Fantasy" movies I saw in the cinema were Hugo (sooo boring) and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (atrocious).

Buba Ho-Tep (2002)

Elvis and JFK, both alive and in a nursing home, fight for the souls of their fellow residents as they battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy.

Bruce Campbell as Elvis in a movie that is boyh depressing and funny as hell at the same time.

8/10

Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition

Again with the extraordinary. The return of Gandalf. The rescuing of Theoden. Gimli doing long distance running. The last March of the Ents. The battle of Helms Deep. Gollum.

Breathtaking film making.

5/5.

Finding Dory.

At their best, Pixar films blow me away. The Toy Story trilogy. Up. Wall E. Inside Out. And of course the original triumph that was Finding Nemo.

Finding Dory for me doesn't quite make it up to that standard. It's just a little bit too predictable. A little bit too safe. A serious of mild perils are encountered each of which are relatively easily over come. Pixar at it's inventive best shows you things you hadn't seen before or even imagined. In this film some of the scenes are very basically lifted from the first film. I would welcome the odd nostalgic reference if the remainder of the film was packed with inventive laugh out loud or heart in mouth moments.

Sadly it isn't. Apart from a beautiful slow mo bit at the end that shows the Pixar inventiveness and sly humour finally kicking into top gear the rest is relatively uninspired.

However, please don't get the impression it is a bad film. Far from it. It was quite funny, well acted, beautifully designed, the Septopus was great, and everyone of course lives happily ever after.

Just don't expect to be blown away.

4/5

Actually having thought about it some more I think 3/5 is more accurate.

For a second I thought you were correcting your LOTR rating :O

Lol no. Can't give it more than I already have 😂

:lmao:

Star Wars - A New Hope.

This was one of my childhood films and I love every aspect... esepcially the Dambusters inspired Death Star Raid.. We will miss you Princes..

The BFG 2016

A very sweet film, beautifully designed. The dream tree is a sight to behold. Well acted by both main leads although the actress playing Sophie does remind me of Early Hermione from the Harry Potter films from time to time.

The only problem with it for me is there is not a lot of drama to it. Children going missing, snatched from their beds in the middle of the night... you would think there would be grieving parents demanding action, frantic efforts by the authorities to get things under control, or at least give that impression. But no just one small headline. I couldn't massively invest in the mission to stop the giants given that we do not see or really hear about the bad things they do. Also, it doesn't really build to a finale. A series of mildly awkward situations arise and are dealt with largely without any particular challenges or mishaps.

The whizz popping scenes are however very funny and well handled, Penelope Wilton is as expected wonderful as the Queen, and Mark Rylance is moving as the BFG.

But ultimately while it is a nice film and entertaining enough it doesn't make a lasting impact due to the lack of drama.

3/5

The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King Extended Edition

Just stunning. A superb closer to the trilogy that brings the story of the ring full circle (sorry).

5/5.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls (2008 )

This and the Star Wars prequels are the reason that I am glad George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney.

What the heck was Lucas thinking, while writing the story? I can screw up Indy more than I screwed up Star Wars?

Not the worst adventure movie in history, but this has nothing to do with Indiana Jones.

4,5/10

Star Trek (2009)

JJ Abrahams returned Star Wars to the fans and reinvented Star Trek for a large audience.

Basically Abrahams brought back the original characters, used a few inside jokes and stereotypes as a wink to the fans but most of all took all the boredom out of it.

I understand many Trekkies don't like the reboot. Because in all honesty they are nothing like Star Trek or Next Generation. The reboots are actually fast paced movies instead of those dragging pseudo science nonsense. I never liked the Star Trek movies. They always came across to me as a long tv episode without any extras. Abrahams approached the movies in an entire different way and created a 'larger than life' mythology for the characters and the Star Trek Universe.

Finally Star Trek has become something to enjoy. Thanks to the Steven Spielberg of the 21st Century.

7.5/10

Passengers (2016)

I understand it is meant to be a psychologic morality quest. But the movie failed on so many aspects.

First the movie was very predictable.

But there also were so many issues that make no sense at all. Just to maintain this plot the writers threw every logic overboard. The entire mission set up was so stupid even the toilet cleaners at NASA would shake their heads about it.

And finally the acting was nothing I expected from Jennifer Lawrence. So many 'key scenes' where she looked anything but convincing. Pratt of course can only play one role: Pratt.

I wanted to like this movie. But common sense prevented me from doing so

3/10

I actually thought this was ok. Saw it in the cinema yesterday. Gave the 3D version a miss as I just can't be arsed with it anymore.

Some stuff didn't make sense.

**SPOILERS**
Probably needed the following to be more memorable:

Far more character build up of the Laurence Fishburn character, more jokes. An interaction with him and the Michael Sheen bartender character possibly would have been the best acted scene in the whole film yet it was missing totally. Perhaps he should have been injured by the failing ship rather than weird unexplained waking from hibernation sleep malarky. Also the fact the sickbay pod thing can help resuscitate someone but not any of Fisburne's 61 problems made no sense. I would have had him injured terribly during the failing ship. Lawrence and Pratt get him to sickbay but the pod keeps failing because of electricity problems on the ship and then he dies. Pratt gets mad at the ship and this would have highlighted the significance to his later mission which seems a bit unimportant. Perhaps also show the hibernation pods in general are starting to fail etc. given more weight to the 5000 passengers thing...

How Lawrence could remember Fishburne's ID after I think he mentioned it only once was a bit far fetched. Maybe if he had said it 3 or 4 times in the movie, fair enough...

Some robots looked horrendous, for example during the birthday scene. And then they have an android bar tender that is indistinguishable from a human. Hmmm. Quite a few technology inconsistencies in the movie. Also the bartender can whip up any drink for free but Pratt has to make do with designated shit breakfast. Seems weird. Funny but totally unnecessary in the end. Different class passengers system made no sense to me and didn't add anything.

Some type of romantic tagline malarky that the actors kept repeating to make the movie more cohesive and poignant towards the end...
Jennifer Lawrence when she found out what Pratt did "So I saved you?! How could you do this to me."
Pratt should have saved Lawrence during the anti gravity scene Pratt "I saved you."
Lawrence after the blow out scene "I saved you."
Lawrence at the very end during narration when she explains what she eventually chose to do... "So... we saved each other."
etc...

Some scenes really reminded me of The Martian and Gravity. This movie borrowed a lot of ideas from other sci fi films for sure.

Other than that I'd rate it 7/10.
Pretty good effects.
The film was pretty much what I expected and I didn't expect too much.

Star Wars Rogue One

An excellent film. Although we know the ending, how they get there is cleverly plotted and full of convincing challenges. This is emphatically not one of those films that the BBFC would describe as "sustained mild peril".

Initially lots of new characters and planets are introduced in a bit of a whirlwind and then the film spends a bit of time getting to know them and setting up their various parts in the whole. This is time well spent given the events of the third act which I will come to shortly.

The film looks gorgeous and has a lot more character background than you may be used to in a Star Wars film. The acting is also uniformly excellent and the dialogue is overall a little more natural.

Ultimately it doesn't quite have the sense of breezy fun that The Force Awakens had but then I don't think it intended to.

The third act, which is the actual plan stealing bit, is probably the best actual fight we have seen so far in Star Wars films and is worth the admission ticket price alone. Quite refreshingly it is not a blatant set up for a sequel, unless in the increasingly complicated Star Wars film franchise time line you count A New Hope as it's sequel.

Either way it's a fun, well acted, imaginative, visually impressive spin off that keeps you entertained and maintains your sense of excitement for the next Star Wars film.

4/5

Suicide Squad.

Meh. A dark film with little wit. Ooh look no lighting and shadows everywhere to emphasise the darkness. Largely uninteresting characters... Harley Quin and the Joker were intriguing but the rest just bland.

It's a bit like the difference between the Fantastic Four films and Marvel. Sure it ticks all the boxes studios seem to think we want ticking but never really adds up to anything special.

For example... there's some sort of fiery fellow who is working with the films main baddy, Then one of the members of the Suicide Squad turns into another fiery fellow. And says "Bring it bitch". Would have been toe curling in a cheesy 90s B movie. Here it's just rubbish.

Marvel films and Christopher Nolan's superb Bat trilogy feel like they have been crafted by intelligent people who are at the top of their game and know what they are doing.

This film feels like it has been designed by a committee and then given to a safe pair of hands.

Sorry but not for me.

2/5.

Yup, the movie had potential but quickly got trapped in it's own chaos.Very underwhelming

Sherlock - The six Tatchers (2017)

Big fan of the series but in all honestly I didn't like this one as much as the other Sherlock movie episodes.

7/10

Agreed... seemed to be missing something. To be honest though I always tend to like the ones written by Steven Moffat better then the Mark Gatiss ones.

Psycho (the Alfred Hitchcock original of course!)

Still an excellent film with strong acting all round. Anthony Perkins is terrific as the sweet and bumbling Norman with the split personality. The film has an excellent aura of creepiness and dread about it, which many modern "horror" film makers would do well to learn from.

It's hard to see how it could be improved really which is why remaking it remains baffling to me.

5/5.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
To me (and not only to me) - it's better than Star Wars part 1,2,3. It has less force, more shooting.

Score: 8/10

Star Trek Into Darkness (2012)

Good cntinuation of the reinvented Star Trek franchise. JJ Abrahams did good but I slightly prefer the first movie. The nod to the original story with Khan was a nice one. And it reminds me to never piss off Sherlock :lol:

7/10

The Witch (2015)
Very meh, glad I skipped it at the cinema.
4/10

Last few I've watched were :

The Grand Budapest Hotel - great film, live the stylised cartoon like feel to it and the performances by the all star cast were ego free and on point.

The Big Lebowski - how have I messed this all these years, the Country brothers at their best.

Sausage Party - what can I say, certainly not a family film and not one to watch if you shock easily probably best watched when you've had a few drinks! The Meat "cameo" is interesting and well done,

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Third movie in the ST Reboot. Fun rollercoaster

7/10

Watchmen again

The Goonies (1985)

This movie just gets better and better. One of my top 5 of all time.

9,5/10

London Has Fallen (2016)

Pretty stupid. Dialogue was awful in places. Gerard Butler to president "Don't know bout you but I'm thirsty as F*ck". Cone on now...
Long shootout scene with Butler in streets of London was awesome though. Well done.
Movie was not good enough in the end. Poor CGI in places. 5/10
A third is on its way next year minus Eckhart "Angel has Fallen". Meh...

Sully (2016)

Didn't really feel like watching the movie but, well I am married. It doesn't matter what I feel like :oops:

I have to admit that I enjoyed the movie. Hanks is performing as well as we know he can.

7/10