macub8 Reviews

Farming (2018)

Wow step back in time

[9/10 · 27 May 2023]

I grew up in the era this film was based The guys who were skinheads seemed to be larher and more threatening than the other older guys This film has portrayed this culture quite accurately Had to look up the actor who played the,Lead Skin Levi played by John Dalgleish as it was a masterpiece of acting Best skinhead portrayal ever The man must have watched a lot of videos to perfect the mannerisms and bullying leadership techniques .The way they wore the clothes which was an important part of it and introducibmng the female skins added another dimension Mixed cultures and no settled family as such leads to disaster .

I remember an Indian guy who was,a skinhead and went to football games so it did happen Awesome script and film plus Kate Beckinsale also shines and could be pretty in anything .

This i will gladly have part of my library and it should be more succesful than it was when released. Amazi g story of a mans journey to maturity.

Villain (I) (2020)

Well Worth Watching

[8/10 · 30 August 2021]

Very realistic urban drama .

No glorification here just a guy trying to survive amongst a load of wolves .

I am a fan of this genre and Craig and the cast are all at their best .

Taken to breaking point things spiral out of control and come to a shattering conclusion This is one of the most believable roles I have seen Craig play I thought it would not be very good but it is one of the best. I did not want to add any spoilers to this review just qat h the film and you will understand.

Once Were Warriors (1994)

Great film Powerful Acting

[9/10 · 26 June 2021]

Watched this film at last after all these years .

Brutal drama dealing with the ups and downs of a maori family who are part of a struggling community Drinking Sexual and domestic abuse drug taking all play their part in the film It paints a bleak picture of hopelessness.

I Thought it was hard going at first but the acting is desperate and deep Alcohol is a drug that has destroyed the normal lives of this community and others and this shows how the lives of once proud loving people that are trying desperately to hold on to their identity Beth and Jake are a powerful couple This film is definitely worth watching .It mirrors a lot of communities where alcoholism and poverty leads to horrible scenes .

It is a powerful film and disturbing.

Ferry (2021)

Great Prequel

[9/10 · 22 May 2021]

Loved the first one When i saw this i did not think they could do a sequel but it is a prequel .It works and the acting is brilliant Totally worth watching and deals a bitter more with Ferrys position in the first series which i watched on Netflix . I think there coul bed room for one more film Loved both the film and the series plus the acting and cast is top notch Sets up the characters for the sequel well.

Avengement (I) (2019)

Proper English

[8/10 · 7 October 2019]

Love this film Violent and great dialogue Real proper cockney crime drama with some great over the top acting and characters but it really delivers The fight scenes are top notch I would reccomend this for any fans of the genre

Joker (I) (2019)

Best Joker Yet At Least For Me

[9/10 · 6 October 2019]

This is a hell of a tale with some questions raised about today's tendency to ignore the mentally ill people in our society by the lack of specialised care for individuals.who need 24 hour treatment What a performance by the lead man it slowly draws you in and you follow his unfortunate story to become the Supervillain we all know. It is worth seeing this film and watch a master at work bringing a different version of the joker to the big screen .The cinematography is great ,colourful and moody and the soundtrack just works alongside the gritty visuals So many twists explain why he becomes the man he does I am not going to spoil anything . Joaquin Pheonix is my favourite actor and never disappoints but he has gone a step up here in portraying a very mentally challenged character here .and deserves his acting to be rewarded

After Life (2019–2022)

Tough subject

[10/10 · 17 March 2019]

This Is a gritty portrayal of real life There is nothing overly funny here but just real life and the situations faced along the way You could maybe call it a black comedy but that would be stretching it .It is terribly addictive and cleverly written. Some of the characters are fantastic and come to the fore as the show goes on ,It has some moments thrown in to make you laugh but then reverts back to depression . Everyone has had experience of one of the situations faced by Tony in one of the episodes and I wish I could have been as forthright as he was This is a great portrayal of grief and how people deal with it in their own ways A must watch

The 12th Man (2017)

Superhuman

[9/10 · 24 February 2019]

This film will draw you in . Apparently a remake from a film made in 1957 It is beautifully filmed and no expense has been spared recreating the gritty WW2 environment The landscapes are breathtaking and portray the cold weather and uninhabitable scenes that were the biggest enemy of our hero . Some great German planes and vehicles star , even a German boat guarding the coast all look totally authentic They have all been been lovingly restored. Attention to detail is fantastic and a great Cinematic piece Do not want to spoil any part of this just watch it

Ill Manors (2012)

Absorbing Urban London Drama

[9/10 · 20 January 2019]

Watching this on the TV totally absorbing Brilliantly filmed and gritty These are normally ott but this is so realistic,great dialogue and Cinematography Portrays up the stuggle to survive amidst all the drug related events of everyday life One of my favourites and the background score is totally raw and in sync with the films subject

Gotti (2018)

I think this was better than it was rated

[8/10 · 11 July 2018]

This had a rating of zero apparently on Rotten Tomatoes not deserved at all I started watching it and it was a great film John Travolta is very believable and I was impressed with the cinematography and film score It is worth watching just for Johns performance I gave it 8/10

The Strain (2014–2017)

Watch and enjoy

[8/10 · 3 September 2016]

I watched this on Now TV I was ignorant of the series up until 2016 I have recently watched all the super series that are out ,Walking Dead ,Fear the walking dead etc but this has them trumped It has all the good guys bad guys ,deals with family and adult relationships This is absolutely worth watching as you begin to understand the characters and watch them intertwine with each other I love the way the story line flicks back to various moments in time explaining the main characters pain,heartbreak and greed Factors which ultimately lead them to the path they portray currently in the show . You settle into a rut then the writers will add another element to the story The Ancients and Quinlan the Son of the master.His son "a result of the master raping his human mother"but on a quest to kill his Father through the years that follow . I enjoyed this superhuman type of character in the show and the history of his origins in Ancient Rome shown in the flashbacks in the show I have seen bad reviews ,not for me the complexity of the characters and the ever evolving script will keep me drawn to this great series

Dracula (2013–2014)

Very Clever Script

[10/10 · 28 June 2015]

This series had me hooked from the dramatic beginning in the crypt What I like is the different take on one of horrors great characters A very complex character emerges with a lot of vengeful feelings but also very compassionate in his dealings with the women he is embroiled with he does not turn every women he meets int a vampire at all preferring they return their feelings from their own free will.The characters develop each episode all with a story told as to why and what they are doing at the present With Dracula A man with no discernible past but no doubt a wealthy industrial entrepreneur adds some interesting story lines in his quest for revenge against an equally dangerous human organisation,Hellbent on worldwide domination through the control of various assets such as oil etc they do not like competition Watch it you will actually end up liking Dracula maybe

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Action all the way for a future Classic

[9/10 · 17 May 2015]

This will become a classic in its own right I have given this a 9 because I would have wanted to see Mel Gibson back but too be fair Tom Hardy plays a very menacing Max and totally believable ,but I cannot help thinking that the role was written for an older Max who was looking to cure his inner demons Since seeing the film I have read that George Miller wanted to cast Mel Gibson but his previous public misdemeanours had prevented him from doing so .What a shame I watched the film last night and felt the need to add my positive thoughts to the others on the IMDb review board.

It has a different agenda from the first three in that fuel is no longer the controlling element but water, hope and the future of the human race Charlize Theron dominates this film and her character develops as the film progresses into a caring person ultimately looking for redemption Someone I went with actually thought she must have had a prosthetic limb in real life such are skills of the CGI boys Go see this in the Cinema and enjoy it in all of its Widescreen and Dolby Surround Sound it is the only way to watch this masterpiece

Before the Fall (2004)

Thought Provoking

[9/10 · 5 April 2015]

This film is an unexpected gem it deals with a young boy who wants to move on from his expected station in life and uses his sporting abilities and Arian looks to try and achieve this. I have never really thought about how the young Germans were trained and educated in their elite schools ended up actually fighting and dying for Germany and it's losing struggle This puts a human face to those young boys who so much was expected of. The need to be the best is hammered into them and if they cannot maintain these standards then they either fall by the wayside or are treated as failures by the system Please watch this film as i do not want to add any spoilers but it is one of the best i have seen for a while and will have you feeling for the characters as boys rather than the machines the establishment want them to become

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Best of the bunch

[9/10 · 1 April 2015]

Waited for a while to see this film and did not want it to end I love the time travel aspect it opened up new edges to the characters we already know and added some new facets to our favourite mutants The script flicks back and forth between the two main timescales and does not lose the story in fact ties all the scenes together perfectly The effects are as always top notch and the acting and costume too This is my favourite of the franchise by far and could stand up as a single X Man film in its own right I think that the plot was written to showcase the abilities of the Xmen and to show that teamwork is tantamount to their survival it also shows that though they are allied in the future they had all made enemies of each other in the past

Fury (2014)

Thoughtful Portrayal

[8/10 · 26 October 2014]

Having not seen a top level war film for some time this looked like it had all the elements to be one of the greats about the WW2 conflict No films have been made to portray the life of a tanker either German or Allied ,and being a fan of Das Boot "The Boat" I thought yes lets go and see this in the cinema.This would benefit from the larger screen and sound effects that these films need,remember "Saving Private Ryan" My thoughts post viewing were mixed .I think you have to try and see what the director is trying to portray and get away from the obvious entertainment value of the film .It is quite deep .

A young Rookie is thrust into a battle hardened crew of tank crewmen slowly becoming removed from civilised values in order to survive the day to day skirmishes against equally brutal and fanatical resistance As time goes by you see him trying to fit in to this impossible situation ,he has as he finds out no choice but to change or die He has to change to keep his team to survive Along the way he brings out the humanity and emotions in his teammates such is the strength of his character and you see the bonding process evolve that is needed to operate as a "single unit" capable of effective action I am writing this a day after watching the film and feel that this has been thoughtfully made ,dares to be different and has some excellent acting but the relationship between Norman "Logan Lerman" and "War Daddy" Brad Pitt who has a lot of facets to his character as elder and mentor is very convincing . Forgive the sometimes unbelievable but great action scenes I liked it and will be recommending it

Lone Survivor (2013)

Read the Book As Well

[7/10 · 2 February 2014]

Having read the book in anticipation of the films release I have to say there are many differences between the two versions Please read the book it is actually far more exciting and has not been changed to fit in with the budget constraints of the films backers. I wholeheartedly admire the courage of these men and there comrades still serving ,Make no mistake about the fact that they are highly trained warriors doing a very difficult role in a highly dangerous world. I really would not like to elaborate on this but an example of this arises when the villagers protected Marcus from the Taliban due to an ancient custom .Without the strength of these people and their doggedness to follow this code Marcus would have been handed in for execution,

The film mentions this only in one line on the screen just before the credits roll . This is explained far better in the book I do not want to name any specific scenes where I can explain this further so please go see and enjoy the film for yourself

Harry Brown (2009)

A grim social study of Urban Britain

[8/10 · 26 January 2014]

Watched this film on TV tonight. This is really one of those films where you can watch time and time again and try to relate to the different characters.It depicts two different generations both trying to live in the same society.Plan b plays the lead bad guy just perfectly suggesting that he is only emulating his Father who is in jail and so he must continue his dominance of the estate by any means possible The estate really does have its own rules and the role of the Police is that of a blundering investigation .The police have done nothing but when the killings start the police finally take action albeit in hunting down the vigilante a real example of a lack of community policing There are no real winners here but it is a stark representation of society's spiral into lawlessness

Yamato (2005)

Will leave you thinking for a long time

[8/10 · 5 January 2014]

I bought this film not knowing anything about the history of the Japanese battleship Yamato, The film portrays the Japanese as proud young men with the same fears and trepidations of any nation involved in warfare , It is probably the propaganda of the Hollywood type films always showing the Japanese as warmongering warriors with only one thing on their minds that is to destroy the enemy at all costs in the name of the Emperor, This film deals with a lot of issues on different levels and I think with a bigger budget could have become a war classic, In my eyes the battleship represents Japan with its great industrial and military capability In the beginning the crew feeling like they are invulnerable to attack and so exude a great confidence in their vessel However as the Americans get nearer, their superior air power proves to the crew that they are now facing their own mortality and just like Japan itself looking at the jaws if defeat. The film also deals with the issue of Kamikaze and what the reality of these decisions meant for the crew who yet again actually protest rather than blindly following the orders from their superiors,I see in the Yamato apparently the biggest warship ever built a relic of naval strategy .Sure it must have been a terrifying sight when at sea but it had been superseded by the Aircraft Carriers .The ship needed to have air support to properly defend itself against these new vessels.Yet again just like Japan it was falling behind and was a monument of the past and so paid the ultimate price.to the superpower that America with its overwhelming technological superiority had become The film also deals with the human side of things and becomes very emotional ,how do you explain to a mother that her son died an honourable death ,in her eyes her son is dead that is all that matters to her I do not want to spoil the film but if like me you like the War genre type of film then this should definitely be on your list,

The Fall of the Essex Boys (2013)

I enjoyed it

[7/10 · 6 October 2013]

I brought this on a whim from a supermarket alongside with my weekly groceries. I am glad I did I really enjoyed the film,so much in fact that I decided to write a review I was surprised at the bad reviews it had it is definitely worth watching Sure it is not a big budget film but this only adds to a certain style being used in production It is a good British film so buy the DVD and make your own mind up Sometimes making a film about subject matter that has been done twice before And adding your own twist cannot be easy .i have seen Rise Of The Foot Soldier and Bonded By Blood also so feel I can make this judgement it really was a surprise to me to see so many negative reviews here If I had come here first I would never have bothered to buy it but no regrets at all on the purchase .i actually feel that it tries to portray a more realistic portrait of the leading characters .They are after all under the influence of steroids etc and not really your run of the mill people This has reignited my love if the genre .

Rush (I) (2013)

More than a racing film

[9/10 · 22 September 2013]

This film is a masterpiece .It fulfills its role as a historical reenactment of a battle in Formula 1 I learnt a lot from this film not being from the era when these two great drivers were racing. This has made me respect all the drivers from and before this era when I realised the dangers faced and the death rate per season .i think it could have been the start of the stricter safety rules observed today. The two actors playing James Hunt and Niki Lauda are completely believable and a joy to watch the duel unfold Gosee this it is a classic film about human competiveness ,respect and ultimately motor racing

The Conjuring (2013)

A classic in the making

[9/10 · 4 September 2013]

Hi This film sneaked past me .Knowing nothing about it I was at a loose end and it was the last picture showing in the cinema that night . I am not normally a horror movie fan but the storyline slowly brings you into the life of the family that are unfortunately victims of this rather violent unsettled spirit. I was completely engrossed and at times nearly jumped out of my seat due to the skill of the director and the way he handled the build up to the finale . This no doubt will become a classic of the genre and is well worth watching by anybody that can handle the suspense ,i am not joking . The fact that I have later found out that its based on a true story leaves me shocked and a little bit afraid of what sort of events have actually happened to people and the sheer nerve and belief of the people that deal with these type of paranormal activities. I take my hat of to them This film is worth watching believe me .l

Man of Steel (2013)

From Boy To Man Of Steel

[9/10 · 23 June 2013]

Man of Steel a great title for a new era of the superman franchise I waited until the hype had died down and went to the cinema with a view to enjoying this title. It fulfilled all my expectations. Russell Crowe added a touch of class to this film ,he always has a great screen presence The casting was spot on with the bad guys being fantastic one of whom was extremely pretty ,I am talking about the female one here. The story I think actually sticks very close to the early comic strip origins of superman but adding a modern twist to proceedings. There are some who will criticize the Lois Lane Superman pairing not being concentrated upon her but I think the director thought this hero worship crush type of relationship belonged to the 1950"s ,that is just my view The film flows flawlessly from beginning to end with flashbacks to Clarks past showing him growing up to become the Man of Steel

Kevin Costner I did not know he was in this film plays his Father on earth giving a great performance by not overshadowing the main character in their scenes together. Films like this are about escapism and this really delivers on all levels .Some are complaining about the cgi being excessive I think the perfect balance was achieved Read an old comic strip about Superman you will realise these genres of film have been crying out for realistic cgi for years Enjoy this masterpiece

Behind the Candelabra (2013)

Just very basic spoilers

[9/10 · 9 June 2013]

I have just come home after seeing this and found this was made for TV I was thoroughly engrossed with the whole thing Michael Douglas in the star role apparently not eligible for an academy award because it is for TV is simply ridiculous he is thoroughly believable cast as Liberace

Matt Damon I was not aware was even in the film until later on .The blonde hair being enough to throw me also combined with my lack of knowledge of the cast . You know how the relationship is going to end from the start shown when Scott appears, Liberaces last conquest is fired freeing up a role on the staff for Scott. I was uncomfortable I am afraid to say with some of the kissing but how can you portray the relationship betwenn these two characters with no kissing or physical contact Very brave roles for both actors respect given the further the film progresses the more their physical relationship becomes more acceptable This film i believe is trying to show reality and does not try to humiliate the subjects.It deals with the human side of being a superstar and is itself an insight into a lifestyle almost on par with royalty while neither approving or disapproving . Go watch it the acting and cast are just superb Try not to look look at the cast either see if you can recognise them as they appear throughout the film. Two big stars on top of their game both pushing their boundaries make this compelling viewing.

Oblivion (I) (2013)

Don't miss this on the big screen

[8/10 · 4 May 2013]

I finally went to see this film tonight. In reading the reviews there seemed initially a negative vibe about this movie which I feel now having seen it undeserved,I think it will become a classic it has a top cast great cgi effects ,rolling landscapes and an unbelievable musical score. It has to be seen on the big screen to maximise all the elements that make this movie work. I was mesmerised all through the film never once guessing the plot. Afterwards I was still putting pieces of the plot together even though I knew the ending, There are certain elements about this film that seem to draw upon other sci if classics but why not . In a nutshell go and see Tom Cruise in another great sci if role and watch it at the cinema Enjoy