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Reviews
Dune (2021)
Visually stunning but boring
After all the hype that surround Dune 21, I was really looking forward to this film. I am a huge fan of Denis Villenueve so expectations where high.
From the very start, you could see where the budget went. The visuals are incredibly stunning, the cinematography is top drawer, the music haunting and melodic and what few set pieces we have are something to behold.
Now the but. For me, the film was incredibly boring. The narrative jumps back and forth, dream to reality so many times. I don't like voiceovers, and although this film does it incredibly well, they still distract from what you are watching.
Timothy Chalomet plays the youthful Oaul incredibly well. Rebecca Ferguson is solid as always, and gets probably the toughest role in the film, always conflicted between family and duty. Zendaya is abesnt though, although from the trailer you would expect to see her a lot more, but apart from a dream seuence or two, the same scene is replayed, and I can only hope she has a bigger roles to play in part 2.
For me, the standout was Jason Mamoa. Playing Duncan, was always going to be a big role, as he is Paul's mentor, trainer and almost big brother type character. I won't give anything away, but this is a far removed role from his usual Aquaman type gigs.
As I said, so many psoitives, but I found the film to be very slow and drawn out. Nothing is resolved, which was to be expected, but NOTHING was resolved. I don't know if I can be bothered to sit through this again before part 2 comes out, but seeing as though that film hasn't even started shooting yet, I don't know if I will bother again. Maybe if they filmed them back to back with maybe 6 months between, I might be more interested, but waiting 2 years for a resolution is too far for me.
Army of the Dead (2021)
What happened here???
I, like many others were looking forward to this film. Zack Snyder is not for everyone. His films can be overlong, but there is no doubting he can handle actions sequences and he has a real visual flair.
Sadly, this film is lacking in many of these traits, apart from 1, that is is far too long.
The opening was brilliant. We didn't know what was happening, or what the army were transporting and the whole sequence was engaging. That is where it went downhill. At no point did we find out WHY they were transporting this creature, and why send it by road at all. Surely a transport helicopter carrying it underneath would have made more sense.
We then go through multiple character expositions, but at no time to we actually care about them. To be fair, Dave Bautista was okay, but Ella Parnell and the rest of the 'crew' were just annoying. You didn't care whether they lived or died.
Add into this the ridiculous 'plot' of the bank heist, which was so far fetched it made a mockery of the actual reason why they where sent in. If they needed the zombie dancer, why didn't they just go in and grab her as it would have only taken 2 minutes. Add into this the 'pregnancy' and the ridiculous 'smart' zombie leader, then you can see what a mishmash this was.
HOW did the zombie leader get so smart, HOW did a dead zombie get pregnant, HOW did he control the rest of the zombies, WHY did this movie get made????
I gave it a 5 but I am being generous. George Romero did a better job with Land of the Dead. At least that answered some questions, and was a lot shorter.
The only standout for me was the character Dieter played superbly by Matthias Schweighöfer. He was at least partially likeable, and probably the only character I was upset about how his arc ended.
There are a lot better zombie films out there, and I think Zack Snyder needs to go back to the drawing board, and make something around 2 hours long, story driven, and engaging. Just think Michael Bay and the 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
The Seventh Day (2021)
Not for everyone, but I actually enjoyed this cheesy film
I went into this not expecting anything at all. Guy Pearce is always a good watch and he is as good in this as other films. The script isn't going to win an Oscar but the premise of the story is good.
A young priest is sent to work with an exorcist (Pearce) who has some alternative ways of working. You get a bit of his backstory as to why he does what he does, and he has to mentor the somewhat nervy Fr Daniel, thrown into the world of aggressive exorcisms.
There are a few good moments in the movie, and without spoiling it, the ending you could see coming about 2/3rds of the way through, but it still entertained me.
I think with a bit of polish on the script, this could have been a lot better, but I give it an 8 as I enjoyed it, and in today's bland movie scene thanks to Covid, this did take me away from everything for 90 minutes.
The Devil and Father Amorth (2017)
Leaves more questions than answers
I went into this film with an open mind. The premise was excellent, and Father Amorth himself seemed to be a genuine, affable chap and having the director of The Exorcist himself direct this I was hoping for an awful lot more than what we got.
The story follows an Italian lady called 'Christina' who is allegedly possessed, and has had multiple exorcisms over the years by Father Amorth. We follow him as he performs an exorcism on Christina, but what we get is about as clear as mud.
Firstly, the room is full of family members, which in the case of an exorcism, would never happen as once the evil is excised, it would simply go onto another person. When she start getting possessed, all we get is a manic grin, where she is rocking back and forth and when the 'voice' manifests, I am afraid that I didn't believe it one bit. Music over the background allows manipulation to occur of other sounds, and to be honest, it looked like someone having a manic moment, maybe even hysteria. Not once did I ever think possession. Once this has all occurred, the multitude of family members are blessed before leaving. After all this, you get another 'story' from the director on how he had a further encounter with Christine and her husband in a church, but very conveniently, he didn't have a camera or any form of recording device with him. The story he told was so fantastical and out there, and basing my views on what I previously watched, I don't believe a word of it.
This had the scope to be very thought provoking, to be something to maybe align faith, but in the end all it did was create disbelief and cynicism and actually makes the director a bit of a laughing stock.
Coffee & Kareem (2020)
Sort your ship out Netflix
Was really looking forward to this but boy, was I disappointed in this not funny 'comedy'.
Taraj P Henson was amazing in Hidden Figures and I just can't fathom why such a talented actress would want to be associated with this tripe.
The kid in it is foul mouthed for no reason, and after about 10 minutes I wanted someone to shoot him in the face as he was that annoying.
Oh yes, Ed Helms should take a hard look at what he thinks is funny. The Hangover was well written and well acted, this most certainly wasn't.
Avoid at all costs!
6 Underground (2019)
A Michael 'Bayhem' film for sure
After a quick intro, you then get a 20 minute car chase through Florence with more explosion, carnage and kills than a Rambo movie.
The reason behind the 6 is swiftly explained and all that is left is to sit back and enjoy the movie. You won't get Oscar winning acting but you'll get explosions, action and fast editing!
Is it loud, yes
Is it cheesy, yes
Is it fun, hell yes!
Your will not be disappointed if you switch your brain off and let the film entertain you I did.
Chappie (2015)
Great premise but just a huge music video
To anyone who reads my 'review' please be aware that this is my opinion and I am entitled to it as much as you are yours so please no silly comments or idiocy. Thanks.....
I was really looking forward to this movie coming out. I am both a huge fan of Neill Blomkamp and of Die Antwoord as well (much to my daughters disgust!) so had real high hopes for this film.
Then, unfortunately, I watched the film. I am a little bit stuck here because there are parts of the film I really like, especially the Peter Weller voice on the scouts, and the filming and the visuals are all top notch. My problem is with the characters and I will explain why.
Sigourney Weaver - Did nothing in the few scenes she was in. Amazing actress given NOTHING to do in this film, and I know it was a sweetener for her to be in his next movie but what a waste in the end.
Dev Patel - Very good actor who will get better with age, but does anyone else think that the geek character was a bit OTT? He is working for an arms company, and can just help himself to stuff. He can not only crack an AI problem on his home computer, but then at the same time, steal a robot with no-one questioning him or searching his vehicle, letting himself in to a secure compound to steal the one and only security key, getting kidnapped by the criminals and then AFTER they let him go and DON'T kill him, he is then able to come and go as he pleases without anyone noticing. Does he not have a clock in card like millions of other employees. Surely someone must have noticed him coming back and forth and not being at his desk.
Hugh Jackman - What was he meant to be? Disgruntled employee or comic book villain as he didn't really get to be either. As for the easy manipulation of Sigourney Weaver, that was rubbish and the finale in The Moose, his robot was simply crap. A flying ED209 rip- off that got its metal butt handed to it on a plate in about 3 minutes. Unshielded cameras? Please!!
Die Antwoord - What on earth possessed the director to hire these 2? Ninja was rubbish throughout the film and his total lack of acting skills was evident at all times. Yo-Landi was a bit more believable and had some sincere moments in the film. What irks me most is that the whole movie seemed to be a massive Die Antwoord music video. Zef was plastered everywhere. At every opportunity was there a music track of theirs playing in the background and at one point the camera even zoomed in on Ninja wearing a Die Antwoord vest. I didn't even realise there was a Hans Zimmer soundtrack till the end titles. I know they where all chums before the movie and had a massive falling out because of behaviour on set but someone must have thought that this may be a BAD idea...
Chappie himself - The VFX of Chappie is amazing and the mo-cap performance of Sharlto Copley is outstanding and adds gravitas to the film. This is one of the redeeming features for me although I did find the whole Gangsta robot persona quite childish, and as for the use of PlayStation's and a couple of household fans to make a super Neural Net transfer computer, WTF.....
Overall was let down by Chappie. I think the director needs to really go away and work his quite amazing talent on Alien and try and do something away from the South Africa that he obviously has affinity for, but I think he gets lost in the process. You never know, if his take on Alien next year is as good as we all hope it will be, he might have a genuine shot at making the Halo movie we all want.