I could not rate this anything other than a 10, this is by far the best thing Ricky Gervais has done. I read reviews saying that this made them laugh and cry and I watched it thinking thinking maybe it was hyperbole, it really isn't, this series is heart breaking , there are some funny moments but make no mistake this is a drama about grief with occasional comedic moments, I honestly cannot recommend this series highly enough
Reviews
11 Reviews
Enough
(I) (2002)
An enjoyably tense watch
22 June 2020
I enjoyed this movie, its not perfect but so what, some parts of the film are not typical of most real life situations but this is a movie, movies are made to entertain and entertain this did. Jennifer Lopez plays Slim who thinks she is married to the perfect husband until one night he reveals his violent side, she then has to try and get her and her child away from him, a fast pace and hefty dose of tension make this an entertaining watch
Undisputed 3: Redemption
(2010 Video)
Really, really enjoyed this one
3 June 2020
Ok so the plot of this is : Boyka, a Russian inmate, injures his knee before the start of the new prison fighting tournament. Despite his weak knee, Boyka decides to compete with the best fighters to earn his freedom.
Having seen Undisputed 2 I was interested in seeing this movie but skeptical about the movie as Boyka is the main character in this one and as he was such a savage character in the 2nd film I didn't see him as a character that I would necessarily want an entire film about.
I needn't have worried, no 2 was a great action film, this one was even better. In no 2 as much as I enjoyed it I found that the character of Boyka was a little one dimensional in comparison, very sadistic and angry but not that much else, in this movie his character is much more fleshed out, more complex and even likeable,his actions, his aggressive manner etc are a result of his incarceration in a dog eat dog kind of way. This does of course work in the movies favour as Boyka is now the (anti)hero in this movie and you do actually find yourself wanting him to suceed.
The fight scenes are top notch but I would say that this movie may even be enjoyed by people who dont usually watch action movies, it is just that good and besides who doesn't love movies about an underdog
Having seen Undisputed 2 I was interested in seeing this movie but skeptical about the movie as Boyka is the main character in this one and as he was such a savage character in the 2nd film I didn't see him as a character that I would necessarily want an entire film about.
I needn't have worried, no 2 was a great action film, this one was even better. In no 2 as much as I enjoyed it I found that the character of Boyka was a little one dimensional in comparison, very sadistic and angry but not that much else, in this movie his character is much more fleshed out, more complex and even likeable,his actions, his aggressive manner etc are a result of his incarceration in a dog eat dog kind of way. This does of course work in the movies favour as Boyka is now the (anti)hero in this movie and you do actually find yourself wanting him to suceed.
The fight scenes are top notch but I would say that this movie may even be enjoyed by people who dont usually watch action movies, it is just that good and besides who doesn't love movies about an underdog
Savage Dog
(2017)
an average action flick
2 June 2020
Ok so to summarise the plot, Scott Adkins character is doing a stretch in a corrupt prison, where the inmates participate in often deadly fights which people bet on, whilst in there he makes a name for himself in said fights, as I dont want to give spoilers I am just going to say that this is a revenge film and leave it at that.
The casting is great, Scott Adkins is great as is his nemesis, the fight scenes are great however the one thing that prevents me from loving this film rather than just liking it is that without giving too much away Scott Adkins character is in some ways quite an unsavoury character and there were things that I am not going to give away that prevented me from really rooting for his character
The casting is great, Scott Adkins is great as is his nemesis, the fight scenes are great however the one thing that prevents me from loving this film rather than just liking it is that without giving too much away Scott Adkins character is in some ways quite an unsavoury character and there were things that I am not going to give away that prevented me from really rooting for his character
Ordinary People
(1980)
A Masterpiece
29 May 2020
Ordinary people is about 3 people(Beth, Calvin and Conrad their son) who are dealing with the aftermath of the death of the other son.
Conrad is anxious, depressed and full of guilt about his brothers accidental death, Beth the Mother is emotionally distant from Calvin the father but especially from Conrad, Calvin the father is like the glue that is trying to hold the family together that finds himself in the middle of the turmoil between Conrad and Beth.
Another character worth mentioning is Conrads shrink played by Judd Hirsch who helps Conrad to work out why he feels the way he does and above all is a rock for Conrad as a friend
The characterisation in this film is exceptional, each of the characters even the more unlikeable ones are shown as complex multi facted people and allowed to show their humanity , their struggles, their good sides and their dark sides, Beth the mother for example although she is emotionally distant and you could almost say she is cruel you can feel her pain, you can feel that she wants to connect emotionally but cant. As a result you are invested in the characters and care about each one which means that when the drama hits in this film it is like an emotional sledge hammer.
There are many amazing scenes in this movie, I would love to tell you about them but I dont want to spoil this movie for people , my advice is simple: watch this movie
Conrad is anxious, depressed and full of guilt about his brothers accidental death, Beth the Mother is emotionally distant from Calvin the father but especially from Conrad, Calvin the father is like the glue that is trying to hold the family together that finds himself in the middle of the turmoil between Conrad and Beth.
Another character worth mentioning is Conrads shrink played by Judd Hirsch who helps Conrad to work out why he feels the way he does and above all is a rock for Conrad as a friend
The characterisation in this film is exceptional, each of the characters even the more unlikeable ones are shown as complex multi facted people and allowed to show their humanity , their struggles, their good sides and their dark sides, Beth the mother for example although she is emotionally distant and you could almost say she is cruel you can feel her pain, you can feel that she wants to connect emotionally but cant. As a result you are invested in the characters and care about each one which means that when the drama hits in this film it is like an emotional sledge hammer.
There are many amazing scenes in this movie, I would love to tell you about them but I dont want to spoil this movie for people , my advice is simple: watch this movie
The Ice Storm
(1997)
It was ok
29 May 2020
I will start my review with the synopsis: In suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
This film was just ok, it wasn't a terrible film or anything but it seemed to only skim the surface of many of the characters and many of the characters seemed a little one dimensional, it would have been good to have seen deeper into their characters to see the other sides of them and to see what ir is that makes them act in the dysfunctional ways that they do. As a result I found myself unable to connect and identify with the characters, I felt the the film was depressing but I found myself oddly unmoved by it when it should have been a heartbreaking watch.
As an example of a film that does characterisation well take a look at Ordinary People (1980) the characters in that film come across as real, relatable, complex people, as a result that film (Ordinary people) hits like an emotional sledge hammer whereas The Ice Storm felt a little underwhelming
This film was just ok, it wasn't a terrible film or anything but it seemed to only skim the surface of many of the characters and many of the characters seemed a little one dimensional, it would have been good to have seen deeper into their characters to see the other sides of them and to see what ir is that makes them act in the dysfunctional ways that they do. As a result I found myself unable to connect and identify with the characters, I felt the the film was depressing but I found myself oddly unmoved by it when it should have been a heartbreaking watch.
As an example of a film that does characterisation well take a look at Ordinary People (1980) the characters in that film come across as real, relatable, complex people, as a result that film (Ordinary people) hits like an emotional sledge hammer whereas The Ice Storm felt a little underwhelming
Watch Your Back
(2015 TV Movie)
Entertaining tv movie
29 May 2020
This was an entertaining watch about a women who starts receiving threatening photos from a stalker, who is it and what are their motivations ? There were some nice twists in the story and you are always trying to guess who the stalker could be, there is the odd red herring thown in to keep the audience on their toes, a worthwhile watch and above average made for tv movie
The Neighborhood Watch
(2018 TV Movie)
Blah
29 May 2020
This was not the worst film I have seem but also far from the best. I quite enjoy trashy tv movies but this one just didn't really do it for me, it is not a fast paced movie which would be fine but the characters were just not developed enough to be interesting or for anyone to be invested in, this problem is amplified by some bad casting decisions, the woman playing Gladys for example is in a retirement home but she is clearly way too young to be playing the role of an elderly grandmother. Probably best to skip this one
Jingle All the Way 2
(2014 Video)
Really fun film, really enjoyed this
9 December 2019
There is a lot of negative reviews on here for this film but I really enjoyed this film, Larry was a likable and really funny character, Victor was one of those characters you love to hate and the film was great as a bit of light hearted fun, there was several really funny moments in the film, ok the plot was pretty much like the first one but the film did not try to pretend otherwise
3 Day Test
(2012)
Terrible, terrible movie
4 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Plot for this movies is that the father receives a dvd about a 3 day test to bring families closer by cutting out electricity and other basic amenities that people take for granted, somehow his completely unlikeable family eventually decides to go along with this, the father does many things that will leave you scratching your head like painting the windows black etc.
This movie was awful, I have a soft spot for bad made for tv type movies and low budget films and as long as they are not dull I can overlook the flaws inherent in this type of movie. This film unfortunately is as dull as dishwater, slow, plodding, its only around 80 mins but it feels like it is about 3 hours long, unfortunately I saw this for cheap under the title "Home and alone for christmas" with a very Home Alone looking cover and thought this was going to be a Home Alone clone, sadly the alternate title was just a cynical way of selling more copies of this awful film, there is no Home Alone plot in this film and sadly none of Home Alone's wit and humour. The irony (or maybe hypocrisy) is that (minor spoilers)there is a scene where the father tells off his son for "stealing" by creating pirate copies of movies but I kind of feel that selling a product by deceiving the buyer is pretty much the same as stealing.
This movie was awful, I have a soft spot for bad made for tv type movies and low budget films and as long as they are not dull I can overlook the flaws inherent in this type of movie. This film unfortunately is as dull as dishwater, slow, plodding, its only around 80 mins but it feels like it is about 3 hours long, unfortunately I saw this for cheap under the title "Home and alone for christmas" with a very Home Alone looking cover and thought this was going to be a Home Alone clone, sadly the alternate title was just a cynical way of selling more copies of this awful film, there is no Home Alone plot in this film and sadly none of Home Alone's wit and humour. The irony (or maybe hypocrisy) is that (minor spoilers)there is a scene where the father tells off his son for "stealing" by creating pirate copies of movies but I kind of feel that selling a product by deceiving the buyer is pretty much the same as stealing.
Scarecrows
(2017)
Great old school slasher fun
10 December 2018
Was very pleasantly surprised by this as had been a while since I have seen a modern horror film that was actually entertaining but this film reminded me why I love horror in the first place. A lot of modern horror films are very drab affairs with washed out colours, jump scares and cgi galore along with a usually fairly downbeat mood and plot to them, this film was fun, looked good and was well paced.
The plot is basically a bunch of college kids go on a bit of a road trip to a lagoon , this leads them to a cornfield, the farm owner hates trespassers and turns them into living scarecrows, nice and simple no found footage, no haunted houses, no dead relatives just a nice simple straight forward plot. In a nutshell this film is a lot of old school slasher fun and definitely worth a watch.
The plot is basically a bunch of college kids go on a bit of a road trip to a lagoon , this leads them to a cornfield, the farm owner hates trespassers and turns them into living scarecrows, nice and simple no found footage, no haunted houses, no dead relatives just a nice simple straight forward plot. In a nutshell this film is a lot of old school slasher fun and definitely worth a watch.
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