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T2 Trainspotting (2017)
Superb sequel
Was great to see a film that was a bit smaller in scale and not focused on action set pieces in the cinemas, especially a sequel to one of the biggest cult hits to come out of Scotland; so I was already going in with high hopes and really wanted to like this.
Fortunately it delivers, a few minutes in and any concerns this would be a let down just melted away. It's a perfect balance between progressing the story and nostalgic nod to the original, reminding us how crazy the gap between these have been. It's great they held off until the whole cast would return, even down to minor characters which is just excellent as no aspect of the plot suffers due to a loss of one of the cast. The plot actually benefits from the time, namely due to the antics of Begbie in the first film.
This film has enjoyed a fair few glowing reviews so I doubt scouring the IMDM reviews is required to convince anyone to go see if they are already thinking about it, just go for it and you will get what you hope for; strong story, excellent acting and once again played out to an amazing soundtrack.
Can't really fault this one at all with how well it balances the humour, tension and more serious aspects just like the original and in some ways surpasses it, thus why the 10 star rating.
Enjoy!
Hardcore Henry (2015)
Non stop thrill ride!
Can only agree with other reviewers asking what the negative folk expected.... this was an original concept sticking to the first person view throughout rather than a random section like Doom. Don't get me wrong I almost gave up after the first 5 minutes thinking I would never get used to it and the wife was concerned it would just make her sick. Thankfully after the initial chaos is does settle down for a bit allowing you to adjust for the rest of the film, which barely lets up.
From a film-making perspective its a great achievement, huge credit to the folks doing all this with a go pro attached to your face! The reviews saying there is no story have a fair point, I would say its not so much no story as a fairly simple yet convoluted in places one. At least it tried to have one in place that wasn't too generic.
The main focus is the action and in this area the film really delivers, combine that with an excellent soundtrack and this one is a winner.
Recent years we have been blessed with films being made by the stuntmen like this and John Wick, and to an extent The Raid & Dredd. With all the superhero and bloated blockbusters we have its refreshing to not only get an excellent action film but at least one who brought some originality in their delivery, and as such they should be supported so we get more.
Must see for action fans.
Shooter (2016)
Excellent & exciting adaptation
Great way to show how TV (and Netflix particularly) can do a better job than a movie can with adaptations, no need to trim things down and more time to flesh out the characters to care whats going on.
Happy to see Ryan Phillippe in such a great show, and taken producer duties too, always rated the guy and finally i hope he stays in projects like this where he belongs.
Not many complaints really, expect most know the general story and perhaps the previous film, this just adds much more to that making the story far more interesting.
Classic conspiracy stuff with well executed action sequences to keep the viewer excited enough. Only reason this wasn't a 10 is since other shows i rate a 10 are just better all round, and the wee girl wasn't great plus the constant use of either 2 names or his full name was just needless.
Might be too late but would be good if Jack Reacher was to get the same treatment, seems the best place for such fodder...
The League (2009)
Funny and cruel in odd measures
Picked this for an easy bit of entertainment on the morning commute, quite like NFL and thought this would be a fun look at how they do their fantasy league.
Initially this was a bit of fun, found their jokes/pranks on each other pretty darn mean spirited at times, some messing with your friends is one thing but often i couldn't understand why these guys ever hang out with each other.
The main issue i had was the last season, the wheels well and truly came off this show at the end. They seemed to know it was drawing to a conclusion so what a wasted opportunity to tie it up nicely when so many shows are cancelled without this chance. Such a shame and pointless way to end the whole thing, so this and the parts where the joking around was just them being a**holes to each other stopped this being a solid 8.
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
Hidden gem!
What a movie, came out of nowhere and was sitting on my list for a long time before i downloaded for a flight due to lack of anything else to watch. Seems Netflix has a promising future in the movie department now too.
Draws understandable comparisons with Zulu, but the real shame is behind the true story here and the reason why it's not a widely known about event.
Ignoring the real events (which were incredible and worth further research) the movie really stands on its own as a thoroughly entertaining war film. Tensions builds nicely and results in a whole load of impressive action sequences.
Credit to Dornan who is unfortunately going to be more known for the whole 50 shades nonsense, hopefully once he gets past that he wont be held back on more decent roles.
19-2 (2014)
Subdued & surprisingly graphic!
Initially enjoyed this show, good to have a more low key cop drama that entirely focuses on the individuals and not some big case. This approach is both a positive and negative, positive was the ability to explore characters more, however I understand life in general is tough and more so for police but odds should mean at least one is a happy & rounded person!
This does make it pretty depressing, could have done with some more lighter and comical moments, i expect this is the way a team would handle their tough lives.
I also found it oddly put together, some plot points seem to just vanish, making it feel poorly edited, granted focus is on the people but sometimes you still need to know whats happening to understand whats going on. This is not even major plots, just random things are started then just never mentioned again.
My massive problem was the violence in episode 9 in the first season. I love many shows known for their violence (GoT, Spartacus, Banshee and such) and whilst I reckon all these shows could tone it down to be less gratuitous, at least its part of their identity and you could argue how they do it makes it a bit tongue in cheek and your always prepared for it. Nothing prepares you for how graphic this episode was, this may have been the intention, but personally this episode had one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have watched in a long time. It wasn't required in my opinion and didn't fit with the tone of the show.
I would have scored higher but this surprise dark turn and the lack of more engaging story lines let me down. Massive fan of the Shield & Wire, both these shows had great character development around interesting plots and neither used overly shock tactics in terms of violence.
BrainDead (2016)
Fresh, fun and gory...
What a surprise this was! Initially slow to get going but after 2 episodes I had to binge the rest. Invasion of the body snatchers style plot, good to see a low key alien invasion and against the backdrop of a government in chaos makes it all the more refreshing. Good mix of politics and the actual invasion, worked so well.
This show would work even if it focused on just the politics or the aliens since the writing is excellent and the whole cast are great to watch with interesting back stories and such.
Really hoping to see more of this, great having original shows such as BrainDead, even their 'previously on' section is awesome by doing it as a little song that changes each time.
Must watch for anyone intrigued by the title and general premise, can't see it disappointing.
Not Another Celebrity Movie (2013)
Underrated
I didn't expect much to be fair, and the fact it has very few reviews at all was concerning, and most things written about it are negative which I found a bit harsh.
First thing to keep in mind is the genre it belongs to, and in that respect its much better than the other spoofs or 'not another' style movies we have had recently. Agree this is not a strong genre so not a good enough reason to rate it by comparison, but the cast really made it worth it for me. I found the vast majority of them to be really good, spot on impressions and that alone gave me a good few laughs. Tom Cruise for me was hilarious.
Another positive it has, as much as the story is weak (again its a spoof), at least its coherent. I thought it would stumble from one skit to another but it does follow the established plot line mirroring an Oceans film.
Not saying this is one to rush out and buy, but at the end of the day its just a comedy making light fun of a large group of celebrities and in that respect i enjoyed it. There are certainly worse ways to spend 90 minutes so check it out for some cheap laughs.
The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015)
Interesting & unique take
Felt this was let down by the marketing and fairly bland trailers. I only watched since Sean Bean was in it, thank goodness I did! Whilst its pretty slow initially, after 2 episodes when it all starts coming together the show stands out as a very creative one, with what I certainly felt was a completely original story based around the Frankenstein lore. In this respect it was a great surprise, and like others have mentioned, with so many shows coming out now based on established materials this was very refreshing.
Hopefully we see more, since whilst I do appreciate shows that keep it short and direct, instead of like others dragging on longer than they should (you know who you are!), this is one story that certainly has more to tell.
Not to miss.