Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has had an odd time at the movies. So far 3 actors and as many directors have had a go at him, with varying degrees of success. Hunt for Red October might come up in conversations more often, but it’s hard to get past the silliness of Sean Connery pretending to be Russian (and speaking worse Russian than Baldwin’s American character). … Continue reading Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Edward Zwick’s second war-based movie (following the successful GLORY) is almost as good as his first, and every bit as watchable. I have particularly liked stories that use different viewpoints to tell the same story (hence creating different versions of the same story). These types of movies stemmed no doubt from Akira Kurosawa’s epic RASHOMON, and while films that use this strategy rarely live up … Continue reading Courage Under Fire (1996)
This magical 7-minute animation short feature is written and directed by Taylor Meacham, of DreamWorks Animation, and it premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France in June 2020. lInspired by his Father, Meacham shares how an Adult has the precious opportunity to give a Child the ability to dream of their own possibilities. The retro feel of this story is perfectly set … Continue reading To: Gerard (2020)
Have always loved Michael Morpurgo’s books/stories, it was the case from an early age when reading it in primary school and it still is now with no change, and ‘Mimi and the Mountain Dragon’ is among his biggest delights. Beautifully written, rich in emotion and impossible to endear to or be touched by, if anybody has not read it they are seriously missing out and … Continue reading Mimi and the Mountain Dragon (2019)
In the wake of Harry Potter the popular Lemony Snicket books have been rushed into production and considering the less than promising prospect of Brad Silberling directing and Jim Carrey starring, I didn’t really hold out much hope. It turns out that the film is surprisingly good and apart from The Incredibles this was the only big budget Hollywood film I truly enjoyed this year. … Continue reading Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Resurrection is intended to be a dark and creepy ninety minutes of serial killer heaven so probably the first thing that will jump to mind is ‘that other movie’. You know the one I’m talking about. As such, its bound to suffer the wraith of armchair critics everywhere, but if you can keep your expectations in check, you’ll find a decent flick that stands on … Continue reading Resurrection (1999)
I was lucky enough to see this at the London Film Festival, where the film was preceded by a (Zoom) interview with the co-directors and producer. It gave some background information, including the score, new animation techniques, and the challenges posed by the pandemic, that really helped to appreciate the film more. (Seriously, there are some amazing things done with animation.) Pixar has once again … Continue reading Soul (2020)
The movie was disappointing enough, but the only reason I came here to make a review is to comment on the bs propaganda that the critics are making. Variety says the movie was out of control, depicting the enormous talent of Jenkins (…talent to destroy a film). I think somewhere on RottenTomatoes someone said this was one of the best superhero movies ever (Can anyone … Continue reading Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
The vast majority of the time one hears the words ‘government contract’ it is safe to assume it is not the best and brightest people who are volunteering to go for extended periods of time to locales termed war zones. Sure, there are those altruistic few who take up the charge to make the world a better place, but routinely, it is just someone willing … Continue reading The Whistleblower (2010)
Right, well I had virtually no idea what I was getting into when I sat down to watch the 2020 movie “Monster Problems” (aka “Love and Monsters”). But I must admit that I was genuinely interested in the movie given the presentation of the poster. And now that I have seen the movie, I must just say: wow! “Monster Problems” was definitely a wonderful surprise … Continue reading Love and Monsters (2020)
