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jonwade
Reviews
The Beekeeper (2024)
Not much a buzz around this film.
I enjoyed Beekeeper - the same way you enjoy a 1980's straight to video action flick. In places it was unintentionally hilarious.
The accents of what seemed to be the mostly British cast were fantastic - American one moment - English the next - with Jeremy Irons appearing to be the first Brit ex head of the CIA before taking a stab at an American drawl later on in the movie.
The fight scenes were good - the twisteroo with the bad guys mum was good.
But the absolute pinnacle was the South African hit man Lazerous. Wonderful stuff - chewing the scenery from second one. The Stath had no problem identifying Lazerous' team in a crowded building as they were all dressed like extras in an MC Hammer video.
Did enjoy it - had a good laugh - but it is not great.
The Killer (2023)
I love this film.
I watched this in bed - at night - on the iPad - really wishing I'd went to the trouble to goto the cinema to watch it as that would have been an a amazing shared experience.
I was totally engrossed from start to finish. There were no car chases and big explosions so maybe that is why some people have given it a negative review?
Rather than finding it slow I found it gripping, tense - from start to finish.
Coldly touching - as in the way he killed Delores so her kids would be able to get her life insurance - that worked on so many levels for me. There was no way he was not going to get rid of a loose end like that - but he honoured her last wishes - so a cold killer but - still on some level capable of empathy - despite him spending the entire film saying empathy was a weakness.
I can't wait to watch it again.
The Marvels (2023)
Disney Princess
I went into this film wanting to like it. There were parts of it that worked well - the tone was fine - went to see it on Imax 3D and some of the space sequences were amazing.
But when they landed on a planet and Captain Marvel was a princess and they could only communicate by singing - that was it for me. I almost walked out at that point. I realised that there was a big difference between this film and Wakanda Forever - Wakanda Forever is a good film featuring strong female characters - The Marvels seems to be a film aimed at women.
Which is totally fine - but women that like Marvel films do not go and watch them expecting a Disney Princess song section )I don't think( .
It is better than the most recent Doctor Strange and way better then Love and Thunder but slightly worse than Ant Man 3 - which - I realise - is damming it with faint praise.
I rewatch Marvel films all the time - I will go to the cinema and watch them multiple times - I will never watch this film again.
When I got in I watched Loki season 2 finale - I really would have preferred that on IMAX rather than The Marvels.
The Hunter (2011)
Engrossing.
This has become one of my all time favourite films. I find it utterly engrossing - a masterpiece.
The tone and pace are perfect. While all the characters are fully defined and believable as the viewer you are still required to join the dots yourself (as with Sam Neal's secret longing for Frances O'Conner).
Watching Defoe make his way around the plateau setting his traps and marking his maps is almost therapeutically mindful and the landscapes and cinematography are fantastic.
There's mystery in this too - no matter how many times you watch you'll never know what actually happened in the cabin or at the end.
I read the book as I needed to know the exact ending but the book has less detail than the film.
Just sorry I'll never get to see it on the big screen. An absolute masterpiece.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022)
Take me away from all this death.
I thought this was okay but not brilliant.
The animation was good and the voice acting fine but the story was too dark.
They could have told virtually the exact same story without the endless killing and deaths.
Why make a Green Lantern cartoon a certificate 15? The original JLA series proved that this is not needed to tell amazing stories. The gritty grim DC films absolutely tanked - why are they rushing to take their animated arm down the same dark alley?
To have Green Arrow shoot Hal Jordan in the back and kill him at the end - and I'm not even a massive Green Lantern fan - stank and was totally out of touch with their characters and their history. No redemption arc for Hal Jordan - here's an arrow in the back courtesy of the new Warner Brothers DC animated universe.
I think I'll stick with their old stuff.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Disappointing.
My eldest had been to see this and didn't rate it.
I started watching it and couldn't work out what he meant - I loved it. Right up until the Kamatarge battle.
After that it kind of becomes an MCU horror film and the tone just was jarring to be honest. Wanda could have achieved all that she wanted without cutting Captain Carter in half or shredding Mr Fantastic or snapping Prof X's neck - this appeared to be just added in for shock value.
The whole multiverse thing - which was what I was most looking forward to - was a let down as well.
Just a bit of a mess really for me. Not one I will be interested in re-watching. Shame as the director has proven with his Spider-Man trilogy he is more than capable of a straight up and down superhero movie.
Went to see it in IMAX 3D and it looked
*amazing* - so at least it's got that going for it.
Nightmare Alley (2021)
A really great 90 minute film in there somewhere.
I enjoyed this and would recommend - but it was far too long. The beginning and the end were great but the middle was pretty bloated and would have benefitted from a judicious edit.
Reminded me of Tales of the Unexpected from back in the 80's.
Cate Blanchett was amazing - and the bursts of violence when they came were toe curling realistic.
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons (2020)
Average.
When Deathstroke first appeared in the Teen Titans in the 80's he was one of the best characters around. He was an incredibly skilled human - not unlike Batman in his way.
Why did that need to change for this film? In this iteration Slade has taken a super soldier formula (Captain America) that has given him incredible healing powers (Wolverine).
At one point - testing his abilities - he punches a punchbag off its chain (Steve Rogers). His wife ends up with white highlights in her hair (Rogue) dressed in a black catsuit (Black Widow).
The story also was bang average - this may as well have been a PG - the violence seemed tagged on to get a 15 certificate - not a mature story line - childish and simplistic - just the odd throat stab here and there.
Animation did not set the world on fire either.
How do you ruin a film about Slade Wilson? Tough ask but these guys managed it - kudos!