saidintime Reviews

Money Plane (2020)

Watching this made my IQ drop...

[2/10 · 8 November 2020]

It's a cool idea and the film maker managed to wrangle up some big names however it looks like they had the budget of a film student with rich parents - so lots of toy guns, awful effects from a laptop, terrible acting, and a silliness throughout that makes the whole thing painful to watch.

All said I did sit through it (although I had my phone in hand reading and texting for most of it) so maybe there is something buried in it all that is redeeming.

Still, I feel dumber for having watched it. This is definitely one to miss - just watch the trailer and nothing more if interested.

Unhinged (I) (2020)

A neat thriller

[7/10 · 24 October 2020]

Edge of your seat thriller that successfully entertains.

The over-weight Russell Crowe bad guy works well, his 'unhinged' body adds to his menacing presence. When he throws his weight around it's also believable.

A solid thriller that looks great and feels quality. Performances are convincing and I was hooked to the end.

The Great Hack (2019)

Propaganda trying to delegitimise democratic outcomes

[1/10 · 24 October 2020]

A one sided film with a clear agenda.

It gathers megalomaniacs who seek to claim credit for winning elections without examining how effective their methods were to shaping election outcomes and the extent to which the loosing sides used similar techniques.

Most critically it does not look at money spent/donations - a bigger decider in election outcomes.

The fact is leave.eu conducted a better campaign, with characters such as Nigel Farrage & Borris Johnson pushing the Brexit argument clearly on a variety of media outlets and the remain side failing to present it's argument. The Brexit decision has also been back up by 2x subsequent elections. Similar things could be said of the Trump campaign and the orange man's use of twitter.

'The Great Hack' is a dud that fails to tell the whole story or clearly articulate how limited or effective targeted advertising was on election outcomes - the reason for this is that it is proven to have had a very limited impact.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

It's junk, fake reviews?

[1/10 · 23 October 2020]

In the shadow of the first film totally lacking the light-hearted energy and comedy gold of the original.

All the same set ups as the old one but it all seems so dull, the energy isn't there, and there is nothing new to pull it along.

It becomes tired early on and relies on the Rudy Giuliani interview at the end to keep people holding onto the end, and then that's an even bigger let down.

Glad I pay to see it in the cinema, COVID has it's perks.

Greyhound (2020)

Bland and empty

[1/10 · 15 July 2020]

Lacking a back story for the main characters, any meaningful establishment of the broader WW2 situation, and being totally filled with fake looking CGI, Greyhound is a total dud.

The entire film is one single battle that felt bland and empty. It lacks any depth what so ever. Thrown in is some commentary about the limited role African Americans played in the US navy that felt shallow and was dimly implemented. Tom Hanks does his Saving Private Ryan mark 2 performance, but it lacks anything new and certainly doesn't save this 'ship-wreck'.

The CG looked so fake and is so over-used that I thought I was watching Polar Express a few times. With a budget this big they should have gone to sea and captured imagery that doesn't look like it came from a PS4 on steroids.

The run time of the film is less than 90 minutes showing how little there is in terms of story. All there is is the battle, nothing more.You will probably get more emotion from watching a documentary.

With the great cast and big budget the film makers could have made a memorable war epic about a critical aspect of WW2, but instead we have this uninteresting pile of rubble. Avoid.

Nemesis (1992)

Low budget 90's sci-fi/action awesomeness

[8/10 · 12 March 2020]

Nemesis hits well above it's weight. Full of ideas about cybernetics and artificial humans and with some great action scenes this neat little movie is a bundle of fun.

It's far from perfect, at times it makes little sense and lacks the refinement of bigger budget films but all can be forgiven as it's clear the film makers were working on a shoe string budget.

If you like the old 90's shoot-em-ups and the sci-fi genre, Nemesis is worth a look.

3 Days to Kill (2014)

Silly yet entertaining

[3/10 · 7 March 2020]

A great cast with a brilliant performance by Costner, beautiful French locations, and a couple of decent action/chase scenes.

While this film is entertaining and looks great, it's ultimately let down by a silly and childish plot that will appeal only to teenagers.

While this film looks the part, it's core is very weak.

True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)

Seems incomplete & patchy with a bad second half

[4/10 · 27 January 2020]

Despite the 'true story' title the opening blurb states that 'nothing you are about to see is true'. This makes the whole thing seem gimmicky, like you've been conned into watching this movie by a sketchy Aussie used car salesmen.

It has a okay first half with entertaining appearances from Russell Crowe but looses it's way towards the end skipping over key details to such an extent that little understanding of events and motivations are provided. It seems like the producers ran out of money so pressed fast forward on the legendary part of Ned Kelly's life where he became an outlaw.

Punk rock and mullet hair styles don't fit the portrayal of the 1800's. Perhaps the film makers were going for a comic book style, but it seemed inconsistent and out of place with the rest.

I did enjoy the film and it's worth watching, just don't expect too much. Even with some great ingredients the film seems incomplete and patchy. It's a real pity because it could have been so much better, and knowing the Aussies they would have dumped a huge pile of money into this film only for it to be lacking.

Break (2019)

A neat little movie

[6/10 · 21 January 2020]

Nicely put together with slick graphics and a good looking cast.

The film has a good premise however it needed more of a build up, we needed to get to know these people prior to them getting into the doomed ski lift.

Its also a little cheesy and could have used a better dub.

All that said, it's a neat Friday night teen thriller.

Disturbing the Peace (2020)

Ultimate B-Grade

[1/10 · 21 January 2020]

I love Guy Pearce, but not even he could save this terrible film.

Nothing about it is good, avoid it.

24 Little Hours (2020)

Just awful

[1/10 · 19 January 2020]

I've seen better student films. This looks like it has been shot on a camcorder, the audio sounds tinny and wrong, clearly they are running around with toy guns, the after effects gunshots look ridiculous.

The plot is just dumb. Acting is terrible. Any positive reviews are probably from the film maker and his mates.

Don't waste your time.

The Host (2020)

A silly film that never meets it's potential

[2/10 · 18 January 2020]

This film looks good with London and Amsterdam locations, has some good performances, but is seriously let down by a fragmented and disjointed story. What starts as a thriller turns into a horror film about half way through, it's like watching two separate movies in the one.

This film had potential, all the film-makers needed to do was keep the plot consistent. The whole experience is ultimately unrewarding and disappointing. Perhaps they were trying to make it quirky, but it just comes across as silly.

This film is best avoided.

Black Panther (2018)

DON'T take the bait!

[1/10 · 11 January 2020]

I couldn't believe how silly this movie was.

The marketing and hype around this film was crazy, when I finally watched it I couldn't believe that people were talking about the same movie.

It's an empty feeling film lacking anything to keep an audience interested beyond mediocre special effects.

The plot is silly, acting terrible, and the whole thing looks cheap and tacky.

The only thing that worked for this film was it's marketing. It race baited people into buying tickets. Don't let these goons trick you, this film is rubbish.

Joker (I) (2019)

Brilliant film, a must see

[10/10 · 11 January 2020]

Joker is a masterpiece.

It's a gripping and original film that subtly comments on modern life.

Captivating performances and a gradual plot build up make Joker hugely entertaining.

Although it deals with a bleak story and a troubled character, the film is crafted to to take audiences along for a wild ride that will not disappoint.

Joker is a must see.

Gemini Man (2019)

Unbelievably bad

[1/10 · 11 January 2020]

This film was completely disappointing right the way through, there was nothing to redeem it.

In spite of having a big budget, the whole film looks cheap and empty. Fake looking sets and empty locations where they were obviously too cheap to get some extras.

The CGI also looks hopelessly fake, inexcusable.

Script and story were also silly, the cloning plot has been done before.

Performances were unconvincing and bland even though some great actors were on screen.

There are probably a few teenagers out there who might like this film, but to everyone else it's total rubbish.