willdotcom79 Reviews

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

Stunning portrayal

[10/10 · 4 January 2012]

This adaptation (so far) is without a doubt the best I've ever seen. Few books ever make the transformation from script to screen without loosing something monstrously important to whomever has read it and taken it to heart. We can all reel them off. The Beach for me ... what a pity. But HBO really have pulled it out of the bag with Game of Thrones. The sets, characters and costumes are perfect, they've even kept huge segments of dialog exactly the same.

GoT almost plays out like a medieval polecat thriller, with a hint of fantasy. If you're after a Lord of the rings type saga, you're going to be disappointed, only until you realise the plot is so thick and rich, you'll be on Amazon 5 minutes later ordering the books to find out what happens next. I'm on book 3 and hand on heart, I think it's one of the best stories ever told.

I dare anyone not to enjoy this epic medieval drama.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

A movie with a story, plot and fleshed out characters, who would have believed it?

[9/10 · 4 January 2012]

I think this rates right up there with the one of the best films I saw in 2011. I certainly wasn't expecting to find a sci-fi remake/prequel with this level of intelligence, care and entertainment. I was expecting perhaps 20 minutes of explanation and then an hour of apes go bonkers in down town LA.

Instead we witness what surely should be an Oscar winning performance from Andy Serkis, yet again demonstrating his stunning physical acting prowess. We get a very well laid out plot and excellent character and relationship development. Something that is seriously lacking in perhaps the vast majority of movies I've sadly watched in the past few years.

A real testament to this film is from my wife, who hates this type of thing, who also believes it's one of the best films she's seen in a long time. A big opposable thumbs up for this one.

Hall Pass (2011)

Truly dire

[1/10 · 4 January 2012]

I've never felt so repulsed by a film (and I've seen my fair share of festering turd piles) that I've had to create a movie review profile to warn the rest of human existence about this cinematic nightmare. The title for me, being from the UK, was misleading, the premise is woeful and the characters despicable. The only thing worse is the human, no cretin, who dreamt up this schizophrenic abomination.

This movie doesn't know what it wants to be on an epic level. On one hand it's an "American Pie" type comedy, where you're laughing at how bad the situation has become for a character, and then it's attempting to be all grown up, emitting a deep emotive, heartfelt message about life, love and loss. It simply doesn't work.

I would say it was aimed at teenagers, but what teen wants to watch middle aged guys hitting on young girls? It's cringe worthy beyond the extreme. I'm sad that I've watched this film and have found a new all time worst movie ever.