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Paddington (2014)
As much for adults as it is for children
Paddington was good. That's been one of the highlights of Christmas actually. What a glorious little film, and Paddington - what a character - they gave him an edge, he's not fluffy and beta, he's actually a bit alpha and carefree and flawed, but at the same time he's really likeable. Whishaw is a brilliant actor, he voiced it really well, he fit the character.
A really good family movie, the fact I liked it as much as I did surprised me. It even almost made me cry near the end. Only a little bit. But it's not that kind of movie, it's kind of uplifting and a good ride.
Paddington 1 was better than Paddington 2 in my opinion, even though the IMDB rating says the opposite. I still think that as well, the original was more engaging to me, more centred around the family and Paddington, whereas Paddington 2 was a bit more about the other characters. Hugh Grant was good, don't get me wrong, but the whole story and piece for me in Paddington 1 was better than 2.
Paddington is a film I would say everybody should see, people who would love it haven't seen it because they assume it's something it's not and that it's for kids, it's not really, it's as much for adults as it is for children.
I would also make a point about its use of London in the film, it celebrated it and showed it off, which not enough British films do. We have excellent cinematic architecture in our capital city and this film really showed it off.
Top marks to everybody, a fantastic little film.
The Killer (2023)
Completely forgettable
Let's fast forward 50 years, nobody will look back at this film as anything other than crap. A thriller without any thrills, no suspense, no stakes. Some of the movie plays out like a coffee advert, nicely shot and quite stylised, taking itself seriously, but in the end it's instant coffee. That's what this film is, the Nescafé gold blend of thrillers. It's not completely without merit, the acting is higher than average and it's shot and framed well but there's almost no story and the film fades into the background when you compare it with some of the films or tv made in the last 30 years. I thought the more I'd let the film sit with me, I might look back and think it was actually good but no, the lingering feeling I have is that it was a massive waste of time and effort which left me cinematically undernourished.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
One of the greatest movies
Really, really fantastic movie, not overrated at all, by any means.
I watched it again recently, having seen it I think twice before, and even though I knew what was coming, the film still had me gripped and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was also in tears at the end, it got me.
It's *almost* a perfect movie.
I say almost because the third act loses pace a little bit but the opening two acts are superb and the final act is one of the greatest endings of anything put to film.
Acting: completely flawless, Freeman is outstanding, but as are all the supporting cast, from Prison Governor to Warden to even the small parts of the film, everybody performed
Tone: on point, mostly realistic (the lack of ageing from the characters supposed to be over 20 years can be forgiven because the film is so good, and it was the 90s where there wasn't CGI and budget available like there is nowadays)
Direction and cinematography: lovely
In context, it deserves a 10 due to.all things considered: it wasn't a big budget movie, okay it had a budget but we're not talking hundreds of millions, so small details can be forgiven, but from the human element it's a wonderfully well-judged movie with heart, the film at no point becomes boring, beautifully directed and acted, an outstanding piece of cinema that will live forever.
It's no surprise that so many people love this film, it's not trying to be anything that it isn't, it isn't asking permission for anything, it does what it does with complete integrity. No special effects, just a human story which everybody can relate to. 10/10.
Glass Onion (2022)
A sour onion that lacks crunch
I went into this expecting it to be bad, or at least worse than KO, and I wasn't particularly wrong, it was definitely not as good as KO. I really enjoyed KO by the way, it was engaging and interesting.
I enjoyed the start with the opening of the boxes, I thought that was well done. However, there was way too much forced-in use of social stuff like phones, crowbaring in the pandemic. The setup was kind of good, I just felt like the main body of the story was weak
It should also be said that most of the characters weren't likeable.
Cast were decent, but you felt watching it at times they were all thinking: "what's the point of me being here?"
Scenery, location: great. But what a waste
Special effects: cheap looking, you could see the VFX.
Overall plot: not engaging, no twists, uninteresting
6/10 because there are far worse films than this, however, if you were to compare this to all films I've ever seen then it just doesn't hit the mark
Rewatch value: Won't be rewatched.
I will just pick up on some of the acting performances
Kate Hudson was unlikeable, but I guess she nailed it as that was her character.
Benny Blanc wasn't as likeable as the first movie but Craig still put up a strong performance
Janelle Monae was striking in her performance, and surely has a big future in movies, however I didn't particularly like her character- she dealt with "the a55hole" but I wasn't rooting for her
The ensemble cast were all OK. Dave Bautista is a surprisingly good actor.
No complaints about the acting in total, the cast were all worth their money
I thought the burning of the painting was actually heretic. You don't punish an a55hole by punishing the whole world, which in essence is what you do when you spoil a work of art. That wasn't his art, that was our art. That peed me off a bit.
Some of the scenes in the house were actually bordering on being annoying.
I liked Knives Out, however that didn't really stand up to repeat viewing, so this one I would steer well clear of watching again
That all being said, it is worth a watch. It held my attention for the most part - I did spend the 3rd quarter a bit on my phone as I became disengaged - and the ending albeit wasn't intelligently done, but at least it grabbed my attention and brought me back into the movie.
It comes in at just over 2 hours, I didn't feel like my time was wasted but it was a let down compared to the first KO.
This seems to have bombed at the Box Office, but I reckon there'll be a third movie. It will need some inventive writing to surpass this one. I'd take a poke at doing something in a completely different time period, the present day of 2022 was just boring. At least KO could have been set at any time, this felt like it was crowbaring in modern stuff to appeal to a younger audience.
If you've never seen a good movie before then you may enjoy this, kids will probably like some of the chaos of it, but for a grown up, intelligent audience this movie falls flat. It definitely doesn't deserve the current 7.7 IMDB rating, the film is really not that good.
Interestingly, the highest ratings come from Under 18-year-olds, which corroborates my hypothesis that younger folk will enjoy this movie, probably because they haven't seen enough good movies and can point to scenes where the cast are on their phones and think, "Ooh, I've got a phone!"
I feel like the rating is so high because we've been starved of good quality movies in recent years and there is the occasional decent set piece but overall, disappointing.
The whole film lacks humour as well I thought. They didn't even try and put any comedy into it. It wasn't particularly dark, just had very little lightness to it.
Liam: As It Was (2019)
In His Own Words
This documentary is a telling of the tale of Liam Gallagher's personal journey after the breakup of Oasis. This is about the rebirth of a musician finding his place in the world again after the end of a major part of his life - Lazarus emerging from the flames even stronger. It's an honest and raw look into his world tour between 2017-18. A must-see for any Oasis/Liam fan
Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! (2012)
A film full of festive fun
I probably don't quite fit the bill for this film: single 30-year-old male, yet I really enjoyed this movie. I started off thinking "this is a bit poor" but I gave it a chance and in the end, I was pleasantly surprised. The original music I thought was well-written. It's a little bit cliché in places but if you go in not expecting much then you will be pleasantly surprised. The child actors are for the most part brilliant and the dynamic between Wooton and Tennant never loses its original appeal. On paper, the film should get a 5/10 if you were to take the constituent parts and break them all down, plot, script, budget, etc., but I think the film actually surpasses that with what they managed to get out of it. It's even uplifting and pretty entertaining throughout. You won't be thinking "God I want this to end." The humour is very much along the lines of a Richard Curtis film but for kids. It's not laugh-out-loud, but it's entertaining. It's not at all patronising. It's suitable for ages 5 and above, and of course adults :-) I give this film an 8/10.