Reviews

The Stand is King's 'great American novel' and it's a whopper and one of his best books. It was adapted back in the '80's (with mixed results) and it has now been given the modern day treatment. I wanted to watch the whole season to give it a fair review. What with the current world health situation, the makers had a timely and relevant series that would really resonate with viewers.

The Good:

Some of the casting is excellent and I really liked the casting of Flagg, Stu, Glenn and Larry. I didn't mind Whoopi either - she was hamming it up a bit, but I didn't mind that.

Sometimes the story was well told and it pulled me along quite well. My GF watched it with me and she has not read the book and she found it quite moreish.

The good is a short list.

The Bad: My main problem with it - generally - was structural The book is split into three parts and part one is excellent. The breakdown of society and people dying left, right and centre meant that you did not know which characters would be there at the end. This created the tension, defined the characters and motivated them to go somewhere. Larry's story is a case in point and his escape from New York defines him, reveals a part of him we (or he) did not know existed and motivated him to transform into a humble yet surefooted leader. This was, essentially, compressed into him wading through a sewer. Many sections in the book - that were the strongest, most memorable scenes - were compressed or done away with. This was an odd decision. Stu and Tom passing the winter together was one of my favourite sections of the book. But - poof! - done away with.

Secondly, characterisation. Larry and Harold (who was appallingly cast) are two sides of the same coin, with two opposing trajectories. Their paths in book one are transformative and they both evolve into people they wanted to be but could never become - pre-Captain Trips. The structure of the series ruined this dynamic and the flashback (the cheapest trick in TV) took any interest or jeopardy out of it.

The book is about partnerships: Larry and Rita, Nick and Tom, Stu and Glenn, Fran and Harold - why do away with that?

Finally staging and cinematography. I never really got that this was the end of the world. With all the great scenery around the U. S.: shoot it. Also, New Vegas looked kind of fun, just saying.

Overall, this was a wasted opportunity to do a decent adaptation.

Maybe it's just me, but Pixar seemed to do no wrong for a long time a produced a string of movies that were simply wonderful. That run seemed to come to an end when they made Cars 2 and they have been pumping out some pretty average movies ever since.

What made Pixar great was the marriage of stellar animation, peerless storytelling and emotional manipulation. Up still gets me every time. What was missing was originality and emotion because, let's face it, everyone else has caught up animation wise. Coco sees Pixar back in form if not on top form.

The animation is gorgeous (as you would expect) but it is the emotional connection of the family that makes it work (Pixar is back!) and the songs are truly super (Disney showing their input). It bears an uncanny resemblance to The Book of Life (2014) - which is also a great movie - but Coco does the whole voyage and return with real verve and the journey carries you along without any pause to draw breath and my daughter was in tears many time and even I got a little grit in my eye now and again.

Great to see Pixar back in the zone and I hope that they can push on and get back to their best.

There is a lot to like in The Revenant. The cinematography is jaw dropping and the landscape is a character in it's own right - the camera work is excellent throughout, with some real bravura camera moments. The camera work makes one feel intimate with the action and one goes through the horrific series of events that Glass endures. A special mention for the sound design, which I thought was sublime. I felt that that the filmmakers were trying to capture the time in all of it's brutality and I think that they managed that with a combination of expert editing, grading and production design.

DiCaprio is great, in a grunty kind of way - I don't think it's his best performance by far but I think he was due an Oscar. I thought Tom Hardy was much better and it took me a while to actually register it was him at all. I had no problem with understanding the dialogue - a common complaint, it seems - and thought that the mumbled and incoherent utterances of the trappers was in-keeping with the period.

There is a fair amount of digital work here that is sometimes excellent (the bear scene) and sometimes not (the herd of Buffalo). But I imagine there was way more as some of the shots must have been impossible without - which means they were outstanding in that I couldn't spot them.

The main issue is that this is not a very complicated movie. For all the needless shots of running water and leaves shot through with shafts of light, this was - essentially - Rocky II. He gets beat up, left for dead and comes back for revenge in a classic re-birth storyline (I lost count at 3 at the amount of times he emerged out of some kind of chrysalis...). I don't have a problem with that but in order to give weight to this the film- makers added 45 minutes of 'meanwhile back at the ranch...' shots that broke the flow.

If you accept that this is a simple, brutal story and nothing more then you will enjoy it. But maybe only the once. But that bear scene is awesome.

Saw this at Visions Du Reel in Switzerland and I knew nothing about it so saw it somewhat blind, not really knowing what the plot was about.

The story of two disparate and utterly different artists coming together (Princess Shaw and Kutiman) is told with wonderful pace and genuine warmth. As the film progresses the story gradually reveals itself and you feel the impending resolution slowly emerge...and it is a beautiful moment.

Princess Shaw is so full of positivity (which is an utter miracle) and follows her dream with un-dented drive and charisma and you end up feeling a tremendous amount of affection for her and her spirit. Kutiman comes across as an almost Svengali figure and is the perfect foil for Princess Shaw. The moment of revelation is a thing of joy and I found myself smiling at the memory many days after watching the film.

The film is raw but beautifully edited and you can feel the craft of the film maker touching every aspect as he tried to mold this into a final film. Wonderful film that should not be missed - especially if you like music. The irony of this is that Princess Shaw auditioned for The Voice but was rejected and we can all see that she is much more talented than they realised.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tries to re-imagine the tale of the holocaust though told from the viewpoint of an 8 year old son of a Nazi commandant. His growing friendship with a boy (in striped pyjamas) is a lens through which we see the horrible stereotypes and attitudes held at the time. This perspective gives us a fresh look at a subject covered many times before.

I have read the book and the friendship felt a little more natural in print, but nevertheless the film sucks you in mainly because of the great work of Asa Butterfield as Bruno and a strong supporting cast. The period is captured beautifully* and the disparity between the lives the the commandant's family and that of the camp inmates is stark and something that resonates (I have visited a concentration camp and this was the case there as well...).

* My main gripe are that I would have preferred the film to be played by German actors in German. It doesn't matter how much effort you put into period details and uniforms and re-creating Berlin with all the posters and Nazi insignia - if everyone is speaking like they just dropped out of a Downton Abbey set then it kind of destroys the illusion. Yes they acted well, but it felt so awkward to me that I really felt the film suffered as a result. I don't imagine this would have been released as a AAA blockbuster so releasing it as a German language film seems sensible. Tarantino managed to make a film with German, French and English spoken - why couldn't this be the same? Frustrating.

The Big Short tells the story of a bunch of investment brokers as they un-earth the house of cards like financial products that the big banks sold, re-packed, sold and re-packed again.

The story is told in a documentary style that frequently breaks the fourth wall and takes time out of the narrative to explain some of the more technical stuff in easy to digest minuets that keep the narrative going. Everyone - essentially - acts their socks off with Steve Carrel knocking it out of the park on many occasions. Gosling gets top billing (and I don't think I have heard him speak so much dialogue before...) and he is great but more of a support and Christian Bale puts in another solid performance as a socially challenged fund manager.

My only gripe about the film is that the investors are made out to be quasi hero's, highlighting the fraudulent and despicable actions of the investment banks - but they really are just as bad as the banks; profiting off the eventual plight of millions of people just trying to get by. They showed no inclination to maybe visit the FDA or the government and give them a heads up on the catastrophe just waiting to happen in the hope that they could either avert it or at least throw a few people into jail...

That aside, this is a very good film and worth the 2 hours running time.

Suffice to say, this is a simple 'Doc Hollywood' style movie about a major league baseball star coming back to his hometown to make amends for his errant ways by coaching the local little league team. His addiction to alcohol, anger management issues and lack of responsibility make him virtually unemployable...so far, so predictable.

But, I have no problem with a simple movie about a guy making amends and I was happy to be wafted along the easy path of him falling in love with his childhood sweetheart, small town charm and coaching kids. I would have been happy to see him, maybe, rediscover his baseball through coaching and then following a proper AA program and getting clean. I don't mind a bit of honest predictability.

What I do object to is this, essentially, being a Christian propaganda film about how discovering Jesus can solve all your problems. You don't need a God, or even a belief system, to follow AA. Jesus will not help with his anger...or his doucebag-ness. In the end I gave up. This film is rubbish. Which is a shame as some of the (adult) actors are pretty good. It's well shot and lit. But this is a religious pamphlet masquerading as a movie. AVOID,

I watched this simply because it was rated 7.0/10 on IMDb. After the initial first 15mins of 'this has dated really, really badly' and 'is this a comedy? A romance? A...thriller? An...apocalyptic nuclear war film?' to the 'there must be some kind of clever denouement...or twist because this is a really, really bad movie.'

Unfortunately, this is just a really, really bad movie. This is no hidden gem, or a cult film from the '80's. This is no misunderstood masterpiece or ground breaking piece of cinema 'ahead of it's time.' This isn't redefining a genre or breaking the mold. This is just bad. Even if you take into account it's age.

Two people meet, and before they have even gone on a first date (he is promised sex at the end!) he misses his alarm call to meet her after work and a pigeon picks up his cigarette and starts a fire that burns through an electrical cable that stops his alarm clock (I am not making this up). He then goes to her workplace 3 hours later and then randomly gets a call from a guy who works in a missile silo who tells him the missiles have been launched to be confirmed by a high up government type who is in the diner at 4am (really!).

You know what? I cannot be bothered. This film is a rotten, terrible film. Badly shot, terribly acted, awful dialogue, incredibly bad foley and sound design and a plot that defies belief. I would have to be drunk or somehow mentally impaired to get any form of pleasure from this. AVOID. Do not believe the reviews - they are doing a group trolling session or something because they watched a different film to me...

Let's get this out of the way: this is a good movie. You will enjoy it and it is beautifully made, acted and written. Keaton is excellent and holds the movie together but notable mentions must go to Edward Norton (nearly stealing the show entirely) and Emma Stone (who is better than I have ever seen her). The whole single shot (with some hidden cuts) thing is great and I loved the setting and Keaton's honest performance.

Are there issues? Yeah. The script starts off subtle and suggestive, the concept of mental illness is handled well and I felt as if I was in Keaton's head a bit but later on I was a bit: 'I get it!" but the film telegraphs the plot and the metaphors too much and I felt like I was being lectured to a bit...in the end this spoils what was a great film.

Did it deserve the Oscar? For me, no. I think Boyhood should have got the nod.

Sometimes you're in the mood for a gentle, character drama with a simple premise. This is that kind of movie. A writer trying to manage two teenage, aspiring writers who are themselves wrestling with the breakup of their parents marriage.

So, there we have it. Sounds like it could be good if written well with some conflict and some emotional draw. Unfortunately this movie is rubbish.

We have Bill (Greg Kinnear) idly hanging out in his $15m dollar beach-front show home, overlooking the sea as his two good looking and talented children get published via nepotism and back channels. Occasionally his beautiful neighbor jogs round and has no strings sex with him as well as giving relationship and fashion advice. Bill, however, is holding a flame for his (obviously) beautiful ex wife(Jennifer Connelly) and cannot move on.

Boo hoo.

Really, I cannot think of a film where I felt so little for the characters. The only character with any bite is Lou (Logan Lerman) who has something about him...but the rest of the cast act about as well I could. Connelly has about as much screen presence as a bucket of paint and Kinnear appears like he is waiting for a part on Grey's Anatomy. I just ended the film thinking: this is going straight to daytime TV as a film to pad out the schedule between cheap cooking shows and Storage Wars.

Avoid.