Movie Reviews 2017

2017

John Wick 2.

Beauty and the Beast.

Black Butterfly.

Bokeh.

Bright.

CHIPS.

Churchill.

Darkest Hour.

Dunkirk.

Extortion.

Ghost in the Shell.

Going in Style.

Gold.

Kill Switch.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Live By Night.

Once Upon a Time in Venice.

Revolt.

The Mummy.

The Shape of Water.

Thor Ragnarok.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Wonder Woman.

xXx3: The Return of Xander Cage.

50 Shades Darker

 

 

Shallow action packed amusement infused with a superficial plot and lacking in depth. It is way below the quality of John Wick 1.

 

The first movie gave us an enthralling psychological thriller, but here, our intriguing zen-like amoral hero becomes a cartoonish murder machine.

 

Some quality acting by Keanu and supports. Skilful directing and stunt coordination create a two hour fest of expertly crafted gun pornography. The movie serves us up a Hong Kong martial arts assassin rather than a gritty Jason Bourne. However, there’s the rub. Wick appears to be so indestructible that the element of menace is as lame as soggy popcorn.

 

This spectacle of well-choreographed violence comes from the school of movie making that believes big budget means big overproduction and big stupid storyline. The producers seem to be totally unaware that in drama, less is more. We are over supplied with enough over the top violence to appeal to the blood lust of an Islamo-fascist. John Wick is a great character containing undercurrents of deep darkness, intrigue, irony and pathos, yet this movie places this amazing character into a ridiculously unbelievable script. In fact, that is a gross understatement; the script is not ridiculous, it is so stupidly banal that the director is now on my ‘Directors to Avoid’ list.

 

Once again we see what is wrong with modern movie making compressed into a single script. At various points, this movie serves our hero with about one protagonist to cleverly dispatch per second. Where Hitchcock could construct intense dramatic menace with nothing more than a shadow, a twig snapping and an owl hoot, this movie needs 100 stunt guys and a large budget to create a feeling of “So fucking what?”

 

This is a movie that tries hard to outperform the one next door by going further over the top than the competition. They seem to have completely overlooked that fact that the John Wick character does not need computer game cartoon intensity. Until movies merge with computer games and allow each observer the means to interact with and control plot direction, then movies like this should leave it up to the games: they do it so much better.

 

Hollywood is infected with a rotting fungus that seems totally unaware of The Poet Geo’s Inverse square law of dramatic dilution. They believe it is better to serve us up with a hundred CGI aliens rather than one; not understanding that in doing so they reduced the menace of the alien by a factor of a thousand and render it insignificant to the deep dramatic substrata of the plot. Conan Doyle does not give Sherlock Holmes a hundred Moriartys to contend with but instead compresses the menace of a hundred criminal master minds into one character. That’s how you do good movies guys.

 

John Wick 2 could have been a classic. Instead it is yet another entertaining but forgettable piece of Hollywood junk food. Go play a computer game afterwards, you will find it far more fun.

 

It is sure to be a profitable production within its targeted demographic but that is less than 25% of the movie consuming public. It is mostly aimed at men under 30 with an appetite for violence, like they have never suffered the consequences of real thing. In going for spectacle rather than depth the onus is single-mindedly focused on short term box office returns; which is a shame because they are over milking this golden goose of a franchise.

 

In terms of lost potential John Wick 2 is a stylish train wreck. If only the producers had contacted the artists here at Lightdrops, they could have refined this script into an all-time classic. The movie budget would have been much more impressive to its backers, even after investing in our services. On behalf of the great character of John Wick, give the director, writer and script supervisor two minutes to clear their desks then have security escort them out of the Lionsgate studio so that they don’t touch anything on the way out. Set the dogs on them, or maybe John Wick himself!

 

 

 

 

A much waited and promising remake of the original greatly loved animation success from Disney Studios.

Beauty and the Beast manages to stand proudly but not quite equally next to the original.  It comes close, yet it fails to keep some of the promises, and here the comparison with the original movie is inescapable.

 

The virtues of the film are in its artistry. The scenery and costumes coalesce into a magical atmosphere. Some songs make the film an extremely entertaining feast for the eye and ears. My personal favorite is “Be Our Guest”.  

However, some performances appear flat and cannot compare with their original predecessors. I was expecting better from Ewan McGregor (Lumiere, the candelabra). Luke Evans (Gaston) succeeds in creating a vivid character, fully unraveling his musical talent. Also Emma Thompson makes a moving tribute to Angela Landsbury’s famous and much loved porcelain Mrs Pots.

 

Fantasy and magic combined in a beautiful outcome, I would watch it again, because who doesn’t want to be touched by some Disney magic every now and then?

Despite its shortcomings it is a definite must see.

 

 

Psychological thriller whose concept would be better elucidated as a stage play not a movie.

A mysterious hitchhiker comes to stay with a washed out writer and a battle for control of life’s narrative develops between them. Unusual idea for a film with some unexpected yet flimsy twists and turns. Or is it all a dream happening in the alcoholic mind of the writer?

 

 

Entertaining and action fuelled SciFi fantasy set in an alternative universe delivering us the lone Cop battling against badass evil scenario.

 

A formulaic production but Ignore those reviewers of little imagination who cannot suspend their disbelief or engage their sense of humour. Disregard the trailers also and judge for yourself, it is much better movie than they indicate. The trailers appear to have been put together with a deficiency in understanding of the intricacies of comedy drama or timing: an unjust undersell given this movie’s decent comedic vein.

 

Disciplined and imaginative use of special effects. Well worth the price of a cinema ticket or download fee.

 

 

 

 

 

Low budget, low intelligence and boring “Last people on Earth” movie.

 

It is about two sad assed characters who go on a romantic holiday to Iceland and wake up to discover they have the whole world to themselves when everybody else on earth ridiculously disappears for no apparent reason.

 

Unfortunately for the human race, the last woman and man on earth are a pair of low brow depressives who don’t deserve to live in a world where everything is free and belongs to them. Instead of acting like the king and queen of a planet they could enjoy populating with great sex, they decide to commit suicide for no apparent reason other than they are bored because Facebook etc., is no longer functioning.

 

The movie has some spectacular scenery of Iceland but you would enjoy more by firing up Google Earth. I’m wondering if this was only made to get an expenses paid trip to Iceland. If you like a happy ending give this movie a miss. If you like good movies don’t waste two hours of your precious life on this trash. Avoid!

 

 

Epic and realistic war survival movie but it could have been better.

 

It is the start of World War Two and long before America was persuaded to join by Japanese bombs falling in Pearl Harbour.

The soldiers of the British Empire and their allies from France and Belgium have greatly underestimated the German war machine with its mighty tanks and fighter bombers. They have become pinned down on the beaches of Dunkirk and surrender or massacre seem their only viable options yet Churchill has ruled out surrender.

 

Only by a mass and rapid evacuation can they survive to fight another day. A fierce battle rages in the air and on land to hold ground until 300,000 men can be saved.

 

It seems an impossible task but even the best military leaders of the day underestimated the impact of a flotilla of civilian rescue ships from every river, port and estuary of the UK.

 

Filmed in an artistic documentary style but its docu-drama juice was weakened due to a lack of emotional connectivity with the movies cannon fodder and by an unnecessarily annoying soundtrack - Grrrr, what a waste of oppertunity

 

Amusing buddie movie but nothing like the popular 1980’s TV series.

 

More Police Academy than California Highway Patrol.  Not as much motorbike action as I expected but more humour. Most of the gags, dialogue and action revolving around the comedic interaction between the two motorcycle cops.

 

The humour is often crude, part based on ‘ouch moments’ with some of that new wave anti-political correctness thrown in. It tries hard to make you laugh but doesn’t always succeed. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable movie along most of its journey but any sequel would have to have a better script.

 

Depressing, dull and inaccurate historical biopic with a small silver lining.

 

As dark and depressing as some of Winston Churchill’s moods when he carried the weight of the free world upon his shoulders. This guy had a fantastic sense of humour and tons of wit but there is little evidence of that in this movie.

 

Taking great artistic licence, the plotline inaccurately dumps Churchill’s anxiety over the D-Day invasion into the last few days. At this late stage Churchill had exorcized his daemons and was one of the invasions greatest advocates and an inspiration to all.

 

I can see why the writer has erroneously compressed several years of anxiety and projected it forward into the last crucial moments. I believe she was trying to milk the Kings Speech scenario.

 

Brian Cox delivers a performance that saves this movie from being a travesty. It contains too many mistakes and missed opportunities to be a tour de force but within its narrow area of focus it score a few hits.

 

 

 

Where was Gary Oldman in this movie, all I saw was Winston Churchill?

 

Accurate historical biopic capturing the spirit of the time: and the spirit of a flawed, complex and unique man whose obstinate heart and “never surrender” attitude, kick-started the demise of the mightiest fascist military machine the world had ever seen.

 

Should the merry shires of Britain compliantly surrender to the dark shadow of fascism that had engulfed Europe, or should it stand and fight as one nation?

 

The problem was that it would have to commence that fight alone against a regime that would use ruthless cold hearted efficiency in the pursuit of victory. It is up to Garry, sorry, it is up to Winston to decide.

 

It’s like Oldman has climbed into Churchill’s old skin, booted up his embalmed brain and revived the dust of that belligerent arrogance, anxiety, courage and genius. Worth a watch if you are into history or politics.

 

 

Intense thriller about danger in paradise.

The first few beats of this movie seem unnecessary as they are too contrived a device to get the protagonist into danger but once there you are propelled into a compelling dramatic lift-off!

 

A man risks all in an effort to save his family and he has to do it alone against all the odds. Wonderful Caribbean locations and atmosphere. Excellent and believable acting where even the bad guys are so devoid of stereotype they seem like real people who have accidentally wandered into a movie shoot. Barkhad Abdi’s performance is so deadpan naturalistic he gives the feeling this is a horror documentary not a movie.

Watch if you are prepared to be on the edge of your seat with tension.

 

 

The Ghost offers a glossy but too cartoony a film with not much of a personality inside its shell.

 

Close, so close… but not quite there. A spectacular concert of artificial cinematics, sometimes too noisy, sometimes breathtakingly beautiful. The original idea could have gone further and better with an improved script. Story has been sacrificed over cinematics. 

 

An entertaining masterpiece and profound demonstration of human love, wrapped inside a light-hearted comedy.

This film is a remake of a superb one from 1979 but the new landscape is set in a world that has been ravaged by corrupt, greedy and incompetent banks and contains hard working, yet hard done to, decent citizens.

The movie is about decent honest work versus corruption and about love versus greed. In this respect, this movie is a powerful love story. Not the love that is attached to romance and sex or the love that Romeos espouse loudly up at Juliet balconies, but the greater love that resonates between every entangled beating human heart.

Three retired guys with not long to live, exist on modest pensions and meet each day in a café and buy a nice piece of pie. Then one day they learn that a major corporate merger has dissolved their pension. The next time they meet they cannot afford the pie but the waitress, motivated by love for these old guys, hands them a free slice and adds “Life is short, always have your pie”.

 
This simple idea of American pie, is the most powerful in the whole movie. It is reiterated near the end with more emphasis when it is encapsulated within a more powerful phrase. The message is hidden in a pie box, that out of love, has been donated by the friends to an old folks club.  First, we first hear the message spoken, then we see a full screen shot of the message in print on top of a pile of US currency. But before this, the three, close to the grave old buddies need to rob the bank to do it.

Through scenes of lights comedy we are shown that these guys are not crooks, the assumption is that they are a part of us, the nice people. The robbery is their justified way to “reclaim and redistribute” money that was unjustly taken.

The mise-en-scene shows us their nice guy reality juxtaposed against corporate greed; we hear that absent fathers should “Step up to the plate and “Crime is not cool”.  There are also Christian references such as "Did he find Jesus or something?" Other Christian symbolism includes people wearing crosses, such as Annie the girlfriend or the waitress who hands out free pie;  the criminal advisor to the old guys goes by the name Jesus and his crime proceeds seem to go on helping stray animals find loving homes; the pensioners club proudly displays the Stars and Stripes in the background. There is a mass of semiotics embedded in this movie to connote the message that these people represent the good, beating heart of America.  

There is soft focus conflict here, a soft-power battle for the real America.  A land of greed or one of decent, loving citizens. Are the bankers the only ones who should get away with their crimes or should the decent folk of America be allowed to beat them at the same game?

This movie is about fairness, it is about justice and more subtly, the spirit of justice that is beyond the playing of games with linguistic technicalities. Some call it natural justice and ‘Natural Justice’ is the main ingredient of this movies pie.

Sometimes we cannot see a truth because it is simple when we are programed to expect complex. This profound message of pie, is as deep as anything by Socrates and it is embedded so naturally into the plot without oversentimentality that this production is a gentle work of genius.

The ease with which Alan Arkin, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman act their way across the ‘simple’ profundity of this moral landscape is an integral part of that genius. These guys are old actors now, but the essence that’s always been at the core of their acting shines as bright as ever. They show us how our grandparents endure via their gallows humour, that is also a problem shared, we are shown how courage and faith is maintained in the face of the greatest inevitability of human existence

 

Skilfully pretending a poor pensioner normality, they strike a small energising spark right into the heart of human decency. Awesome performances, totally awesome!

 

The director could have taken a more confrontational approach to the issues involved. But in a world where greed and colossal inequality is normalised, those issues would interact at the surface level of mind and lose impact with non-intellectuals. All good advertisers know that the best messages work subconsciously on the level of ‘myth’. The best memes are the ones coated in sugar so that they are swallowed whole and go straight to the heart. This movie is so expertly crafted that its main payload of love and fairness flies below the critical radar and right into the spiritual ventricles of your heart. Also; imagine the issues involved if a movie vigorously stated that its ok to rob a bank because it has robbed you.

Part of the deep analysis of a movie review is to express how it made you feel. How it works on the level of heart. I experienced a lot of feel-good after watching this movie!  The feeling seemed to come from somewhere deep in the quiet of my soul where the real instinct for justice lives.  Perhaps I should change ‘feel-good’ to feel-God’.  I felt god at work in this production and I’m an agnostic. 

 

This movie is ‘High Art’ packaged in a nice sweet pie box. Watch it.

 

 

Tolkien said, “All that is gold does not glitter, nor all who wander are lost” but no gold glitters in this movie and the script, characters, and entertainment value are hopelessly lost.

 

I watched less than half this movie because I couldn’t suffer the unsympathetic lead character or plot anymore. And watching it was a struggle believe you me, it was like rubbing sand paper on my tongue.

 

Based upon a true story it’s about a man fixated with the avarice side of the American dream who goes hunting for other people’s minerals to make himself rich. McConaughey gives a crafted performance as the selfish asshole ‘hero’ who is so motivated by self-interest he pushes himself to the limit. His performance is good, the asshole he portrays is so well played that you want nothing to do with this man nor the movie he is in. The Indonesian native people are just extras to manipulate and exploit as they mine their own gold to give to the ambitious outsider in order to satiate his desire to be rich and great again like his father.

 

If I had a puke bag handy I may have watched until the end to see where this story was going so could offer you more insight but sorry, I’m only human. Of the time I did spend on this movie I consider it totally wasted.

 

. . . “All that glitters is not gold” and the movie is exactly that. In spite of McConaughey’s and Ramirez’s moving efforts to make more of it than it is, Gold fails to impress or shock the viewer. There is very little inspiration from it and it’s a very boring movie. Avoid.

 

A Sci-Fi film that punches above its budget regarding futuristic intelligence but performs below average in terms of dramatic satisfaction.

 
We suddenly find ourselves inside the protagonist, experiencing a bewildering environment from a first person POV.  We are a prisoner behind his eyes as he struggles to fulfil his mission while evading futuristic security forces and joining the rebel alliance.

Half computer game and half movie is fantastic idea but this production skims over the surface of its much deeper potential.

Yet another re-telling of the Arthurian legend delivered on an epic scale but it fails to grip.

 
The movie's grip upon the sword is also limp wristed. Here the sword in the stone is not a legendary emblem of nation-building but a magical tool for a revenge plot incorporating lots of eye candy.

 

It's like Lord of the Rings without any poetry, beauty, elven majesty or hobbits and like the leftovers of a nice meal where someone has already eaten all the best bits.

 

see King Arthur: Legend of the Sword BugFix

 

Adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane, Afleck’s film adds all the elements of a film-noir to present a very realistic outcome.
The film doesn’t always achieve all its high goals, but manages very skillfully to charm the viewer. You just want to follow where the story leads down to its hard-bitter end, balancing on both sides of the Law. Fathers, sons, good guys, bad guys, beautiful girlfriends, love and hate and everything in between is wrapped into the seductive misty shadows of this prohibition underworld. A must watch!

 

Entertaining and funny. A light-hearted laughter ride with lots of vitality, surprises and perfect timing.

Did not expect to enjoy this after reading some odious reviews, however this is the best movie feel-good I’ve enjoyed this month and up there with the best of Bruce Willis comedies.  And John Goodman delivers a stalwart performance just by looking to camera.

 

The sleazy underbelly of California’s Venice Beach is this movie’s playground.  The humor and action has a street vibe worthy of Lou Reed’s song ‘Walk On The Wild Side’. Plus a sharp sense of fun that delicately satirizes Hollywood stereotypes.  As well as using gangster and drag queen clichés as its playthings, the script even has Bruce parodying the all American cop hero he is so much associated with. 

 

This is Bruce back into cheeky comic form similar to his Moonlighting character. Bravo Bruce!

 

 

Pleasing SciFi thriller about a few survivors facing an alien invasion.

Lots of action and awesome post-apocalyptic African locations. Exciting special effects delivered far more effectively than Hollywood’s usual boring overkill, and on a far more cost effective budget.

 

For the first half of this movie I was rating it highly. Then came the first schmaltzy moment and it half lost me when it broke the spell. It was as if the good directing force behind the movie had taken its hand off the wheel and handed over to a sappy juvenile.

 

Then the action continued effectively to a dramatic climax but along came the next schmaltzy moment. I won’t name it, watch the movie and the four spell breaking words will hit you in the face like a large wet fish.

 

The first mistake could be down to a loss of focus in editing but the second was definitely a directing and acting misjudgement. The Lightdrops quality control team were not involved with this movie, otherwise the hard efforts of the production team would not have been let down by a few avoidable silly mistakes.

 

Thrill-seekers prepare to be disappointed!

If you expect to get thrilled to the core from an old action-horror movie idea come back to life under a fresh and exciting look, then forget it.

The beginning of the film is intriguing enough to make you interested but after a few predictable and odorless efforts to put spark in the plot, nothing original happens. The monster is going to wake, and accidentally enough, it’s the main hero that is going to do it. There is plenty of predictable – and a bit silly – action scenes

.
Cruise manages to give an honest and amusing performance, so overall the movie is watchable but it could be so much better. If only the whole shiny wrap of the production had more interesting content from a better script.  Still, perhaps they can fix it for the unavoidable sequel….

Worth a watch on a dull day😊

 

 

Superlative!

 

A must see poetic masterpiece about the power of love amongst cruelty!

Nasty men with psychopathy issues will consider it emotional drivel, but real men will be moved to tears by this film’s beauty and exquisite pathos.

 

 

I have to; nay, I need to watch this movie again, even if it is only to hone my director skills.

 

 

 

Entertaining venture into the superhero universe.

 

The parody in this tale of Armageddon in Asgard seems to have been influenced by Deadpool. Good action accompanied by a bold and intelligent comic script. Many of the jokes steer close to being cheap shots but are intermixed into the dialog with such panache they avoid being farce.

 

If you update your superhero sense of humour and can get the jokes, it is a movie that soars near the top of the super hero tree.

Enough going on here to watch again.

 

 

 

The terrible mise-en-scene of a dull soapy book. A laughable plot and little chemistry on scene. As indifferent as the first one, utterly has no cause for existence.

 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

 

Hell-yeah’ this is how you make a movie!

 

And also how you write, direct and edit an intelligent screenplay. It is also how acting performances can enunciate sufficient sensitivity, nuance, depth, grit and passion to become elevated to the level of a high art form.

 

A masterful work of cinematography with more enjoyment per scene and far more thrill per buck than many a blockbuster with a bank vault of special effects. Bravo, bravo and three billboards of bravo to the whole cast and crew!

 

OMG! Is this a fluke, or does somebody out there actually know how to make the real deal movie art form with ultra-real nuanced drama and comedy?

 

 

 

 

Top class....action, acting, adventure, thrills, excitement, beauty, pathos, special effects, story, wow and wonder!

And at last a superhero movie that women will find awesome.

 

I was very skeptical when I sat down to watch this, however, the film is a pleasant surprise as it concentrates all the elements of success into a good story with a steady plot.  Plus we get a superhero who validates femininity, empathy, honor and who believes in the redeeming power of love.

We get beautifully choreographed action, imagery that stands out, smart cinematography, witty humor, and a romance that develops naturally with honest realism.

This movie leaves you wanting more since the plot gives us just a basic background into the origins of Wonder Woman’s existence. Although in some points the directing moves in very low-key tones, there is a freshness in the whole rendering of the Wonder Woman myth.

 

The excellent production team managed to create an outstanding visual background, especially the sets of the mythical land of the Amazons. The cast is flawless and Gal Gadot is fantastic in the leading role. Chris Pine is a charming hero and David Thewlis plays an unexpectedly powerful villain. This is a super hero movie that is on a level above the usual comic book flick. So… while waiting for Wonder Woman 2, watch and enjoy! 😊

 

 

Watch then forget.

 

The first Xander Cage movie had a lot more to entertain you with, and the main character seemed like an interesting guy. Sadly, there is not much left of him in The Return.

 

 

. . . If you are a fan of loud music and a badass mofo doing boring absurd stunts only made possible by special effects nerds clever enough to fool your sorry ass, then this is a watch that will help keep you stupid.