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Fallout (2024)
I accidentally binged it... and don't regret it.
I've played a few of the games this is based on and figured this production would go one of two ways. Thankfully, it went well.
Firstly, for fans of the game, it's Easter Egg galore and very faithful to what I know of the game series. The series focuses on a handful of core characters with some worthy supporting roles for secondary characters which also feels very inkeeping with the game. As, too, is the violence... a lot of violence, which may be off-putting for some.
The plot is game-level generic with some predictable twists and turns, but it works really well in this format; it's not a preachy story with bad attempts at political commentary or subtext - it's a straight-up post-apocolyptic survival story, where few people are good or bad, but a blur of both as they struggle to survive in a ruined wasteland.
I recommend it to fans of the game and to people who broadly like the genre.
Damsel (2024)
Perfectly adequate fantasy action with strong female lead.
Action fantasy is one of those genres where films are relentlessly pumped out, so much so that many of them completely pass you by unnoticed. Damsel is, in my view, comfortably above average, but its real benefit is in the lead actor/character.
Millie Bobby Brown in Damsel is a very capable actor, but I think she is a bit let down by the directing and the script. Strong female leads in these films (who aren't horrendously over sexualised) are lacking, and she does a damn fine job of addressing some of that gap. Her role was definitely the best thing about the whole film in my view. The soundtrack is a close second.
There are quite a lot of downsides, though. The plot is fairly flimsy and its changes in pace can be odd. I don't think production really knew who they wanted their audience to be. It's a bit too mature in themes for some younger viewers, but also lacking in depth for older viewers.
If the intention was for a non-challenging, female-led fantasy action with the propensity for a wide-ish market then those boxes have been ticked. It's ideal for passing a bit of a rainy afternoon or evening. But I don't recommend going out of your way to watch it, and I think few will find it memorable.
Shôgun (2024)
Lots to love
I don't know enough about Japanese history to be able to comment on its accuracy, so this review is just about the entertainment aspect.
Two episodes in and I'm hooked. I love the writing, casting, directing, cinematography, the plot(s), the balance of CGI/sets, soundtrack and pace. It's even made me want to go and learn about 17th Century Japan in detail.
I have few criticisms of it, but if I were to pick a main one, then it would be the speed that some of the key players are introduced. Being the ignorant Westerner that I am, it's a bit of a struggle early doors to keep up with all the names and places.
If you don't mind something that's, at times, a bit brutal and if you're better able than me to keep up with the names, then I think this is well worth a watch and highly recommended it.
Napoleon (2023)
How did they make Napoleon so boring?
To cover the good bits first; a pretty good soundtrack, moments of great cinematography and a decent level of casting/acting.
Now onto the negatives; I appreciate that it isn't a documentary (aside from names, historical accuracy clearly wasn't on the cards), but if you're going to rewrite history, at least make it more interesting than the real events! It is possible a credit to the film that they've taken one of the most interesting people to have ever lived, and make him so dull!
All the things that made Napoleon so significant - his diplomatic attitudes, his constant belittlement by people and powers that thought themselves better than him, his brilliance as a general, luring his enemies against his defensive positions, his remodelling of the army, the military meritocracy he imposed - none of it features. Instead, the makers seemed to decide to do away with anything of any interest, and make Napoleon into an unenviable dullard. And I think people who aren't familiar with Napoleonic history will be equally bored.
I expect history buffs will almost be outraged at the character assassination, the total ommitance of his bonds with his generals, portraying him as someone who likes long and leisurely meals (despite being well known for the opposite) and generally coming across as quite pathetic.
The writing and directing was awful, the characterisations all over the place and totally inconsistent. It really suggests they took the first draft and just ran with it.
I regret seeing it and don't recommend it.
The Brothers Sun (2024)
Some solid entertainment for action series fans.
There's a lot to like about this series. Firstly, it's a good balance of storyline, characters, action and a bit of comedy. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but that doesn't mean there aren't some sad moments in it either.
Next, is the good choice of casting. It isn't necessarily a great cast, but there's a good blend of established actors while clearly also proving a good opportunity for some new talent.
Lastly, I have to credit the writing and the plot. While kung fu action stories can sometimes struggle to present a good good story, particularly to Western audiences, the way they've embedded some family values marks it out as more than the average martial arts production, with a couple if twists to stop it from becoming stale.
That said, there are a few points which I think prevent this from being a classic; some of the twists are pretty predictable, the comedy can skirt around the generic, and the story isn't all that original.
However, having watched it through, it's a good but of entertainment which I'd recommend to many people and, importantly, I believe it has re-watch appeal, although maybe not and time soon.
The Witcher (2019)
Series 1-3, starts well but bit of a decline.
I'll keep this spoiler free, and for some context I've not read the books and I've only played one of the games. I'd consider myself a fan and great appreciator of the franchise, but not a hard-core fan who knows all the lore etc.
To business then... Series 1 good points include lots of well defined, clear characters, a fair balance of sets without over reliance on CGI, interesting cross narratives and it seems to be written with respect to the audience members intellect (assuming they're not looking at a phone for half the story). It is something that those unfamiliar with the franchise will need to concentrate more on while you get used to names, places, nations etc. If I had to criticise it for anything, it would be that they occasionally lean a bit heavy on some comic relief from certain characters, but overall I think it was a very good first series.
Series 2. It definitely started well. Some good new characters, many of whom I expect proper fans of the franchise would had appreciated. But unlike the first series, I did find myself willing the story along at points. I like it when a story isn't all about action, and that time can be afforded to good dialogues and narratives for better character depth and development, however there were a couple of occasions where I realised I'd stopped listening for a minute. It did pick up again at the end, which probably made up for the lull. On balance, a good series and it had a lot to live up to from the first, but I think it was a slight letdown because of such a high bar from series 1. And one of the final scenes was great - feltna good sense of anticipation to see what would come next.
Series 3, which I just finished. So much of the story felt forced. The characters seem to lose their individuality and their behaviours are just to move the story along. The individual storyline of each character appears to be gone and they're all united in common (but slightly dull) purpose. Lines become more cliche, plot points and twists become more predictable and, worst of all, the writers have dumbed it down - there's a prolonged period where a character is alone in a desert and they can't just act like they're thirtsy, they have to say it aloud... while they're alone... with no one to hear them.
In summary, I think it all started very well, and I know I'm not alone on thinking it's taken a disappointing decline in quality. I hope series 4 is better, but if not then I think that'll be it for the Witcher for me.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Not what I'd hoped for.
I wanted to wait until series one was over before reviewing... and I'm not sure I think any differently now than at the end of the first episode.
The main issue for me is how many characters they cram in; Sauron, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Celebrimbor, Isuldor (apologies for the spelling). But then the story still seems really strung out. There's a lot of not much happening despite having about everyone they can in there who feasibly could have been alive.
I think it's hard to care too much about the characters. A lot of the keys ones are very stereotypical, presumably to make the accessible, and their interactions seem forced.
All that said, there are some good points; the acting quality is generally good. Visually it's very nice. While there are some familiar faces they haven't replied upon a-listers and instead given some big roles to lesser-known actors. It's not wall to wall action.
All said and done, I think it's a good effort with a lot to live up to, but they may have missed the mark and it might be hard to draw a series 2 crowd.
The Last Kingdom (2015)
A good opportunity slightly missed
First off, if you're a history buff, know this is very losely based around some people and points in history (a bit like Gladiator by Ridley Scott or Zack Snyder's 300) and is by no means a telling of history.
Having waited until the final episode to make judgement, there are many positives. The production quality is reasonable and the opportunities given to fill roles with more amateur actors is admirable.
Things which are less good; there are often long periods of predictable and cliche dialogue and moments which, presumably meant to be suspenseful, are quite dull and I found myself willing the director to move on to developing the story. Fight scenes which one assumes are meant to denote tension are regularly overly choreographed and lose any suspense.
Overall, it's better than many things based in medieval history with some positives and a fairly well decided end point. But I don't think it's one which will be remembered and I don't think it's one that people will be talking about in years to come.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Better than many other Star Wars spin offs
To give some context; I'm a big fan of the original trilogy. I thought the prequels were very poorly done and the sequels were OK at best.
Outside of the nine main features, I thought the Mandalorian (2 season in) have been a big boon, Rogue One was a very neatly executed stand-alone production, but otherwise everything else has seemed to totally fail in capturing that original Star Wars feel and appears a desperate attempt to cash in on the name for the sake of money... which leads me to The Book of Boba Fett.
Arguably one of the most interesting secondary characters from the original trilogy part of his appeal was in the mysteries about him - who he was, his background, how he became a bounty hunter, how he ended up working for Vader etc. Between these mysteries, his gadgets, his ship, freezing his captives he was, in one word, cool.
This series (5 episodes in) has sadly, in my view, turned him from cool to a bit boring.
I'm hoping the production team are leading up to something that will make me take this all back. But I was hooked on The Mandalorian after a few minutes. 5 episodes in to Boba Fett, and I'm still struggling to get into it.
For original trilogy Star Wars fans I would say give it a go, but do so knowing it does fall short of a lot of the competition.
Black Widow (2021)
Russian bad guys played by British actors still happening in 2021
I found this all very contradictory and I'll getbwhat I didn't like out of the way first;
Despite being quite modern with its strong female cast and characters it is also very old with evil Russians who live in squalor amongst pigs (literally in this case), drink heavily, don't shave and don't wash etc.
The attempts at dry, quick-wit comments is akin to 30 year old James Bond titles which they seem to allude to without shame which really doesn't work well with a Disney production trying to plug family values while killing and blowing up dozens of people.
The story and characters lacked depth to the point that a few people (fewer than 6) left the showing I was at and didn't come back.
Personally, the most disappointing thing for me was the amount of explaining the characters were doing for the sake of the audience - it came across as if Disney/Marvel were worried about how dumb their audiences might be.
On to the good points...
While still very action driven, they seem to be learning their lesson about dragging out prolonged action scenes, although characters do keep coming across conveniently discarded guns, parachutes and the like. The music score was pretty good. There was a nice blend of some young/new and old actors.
On balance they did pretty well for a Marvel/Disney production and it will probably keep the fans who are familiar with the rest of the franchise happy. Although if you take it as a stand-alone film and measure it against wider cinema then it's pretty weak and unmemorable.
Black Sails (2014)
A most worthy expansion to Treasure Island
This is probably the most intelligent blend of a classic story with reality.
The writing very eloquently dispells a lot of the myths about pirates, frequently taking real people from pirate history and neatly nitting them into a prequel to one of the most well known (if not *the* most well known) pirate stories.
There are times when it can be a bit slow paced, and times when there's a bit of an anti climax, but it works so well in this production because, well, that's exactly what happens in the real world! This makes the story so much more believable and interesting.
The characters, some from fiction and other from history, are so well portrayed. Most importantly I found them consistent in their behaviour, beliefs, attitudes etc which may sound like a daft observation, but often lazy writers will make characters act out of character to create the drama - there's none of that here.
There were 3 main things I loved
1. The audience isn't treated like idiots - they don't have to explain everything to you each step of the way
2. I was left wanting to learn more about the real pirates
3. I genuinely cared about many of the the characters.
It's not for everyone and I don't think it's meant to be, but I absolutely loved it.
Holmes & Watson (2018)
Couldn't get past the first 20 minutes
I tried watching this with the girlfriend. We both like Will Farrell & John Reilly and we know their films can be a bit hit & miss but we've never found one of their films unwatchable before.
I feel a bit mean leaving a review, but as I believe I can count on one hand the amount of films I've not been able to finish (this being among them) it seemed fair to warn people off.
Really not sure what they were thinking with this but we were 17 mins in before we decided we really couldn't be bothered with any more.
Mortal Engines (2018)
Visual feast lacking depth
To start with, there are definitely good points to this film; the visuals, the soundtrack, the camera work for example. Even the general premise seems quite original for cinema. And I was left with a feeling that there's a lot more to the world it's set in and the characters that you meet but you never get to find it out.
The downsides, sadly, are more numerous to me. The characters generally seemed to lack depth and I didn't really care about them. For those familiar with the term "chekhov's gun", you may find the plot devices rather lazily added. During the action scene(s) near the end, there's an almost unrelenting string of clichés used which I found became quite hard to watch. As far as the antagonist goes - I have no idea what his motivation was and, if it was simply power, why it was directed in the way it seemed to be.
Ultimately I think there were two main problems;
Firstly, I don't think they knew who the target audience was - it wasn't mature enough to be adult but I also couldn't see young children liking it (or being allowed to see it as a '12' rated film by BBFC). That really leaves teenagers which suggests to me they've underestimated them - there's nothing relatable I can see for them and the plot is too shallow for it to be escapism.
Secondly, it the story felt rushed and a hastily assembled event. It's like they came up with the idea of a moving city, then tried to build a story around it. If it had been made over several films and given the characters and story time to grow and develop, then I think they could have been onto something borderline classic.
Overall a nice idea, but lacking production.
Barbarians (2020)
Interesting history made a bit dull
One of the reasons Arminius and 9AD is remembered is because it was such a pivotal and interesting point in European history. So when I saw the trailer I was quite excited and was really looking forward to it.
Bearing in mind that the real attack(s) took place over several days with relentless hit and runs against the thinned out Romans, I felt a bit let down that the entire conflict boiled down to two scenes, spanning about 15 mins, in the final episode.
For an event that effectively halted Roman expansion westward, I was quite disappointed.
There are some good moments and for people with no knowledge or Arminius this may be of some interest. But for any history buffs I'd recommend that you don't expect too much as it massively underplayed the scale of the conflict and production has written out some of the key people and events.
Space Force (2020)
Underrated
Space Force is a lot less hysterical than amost American comedies featuring Steve Carell, with some very good performances, largely believable characters and some very human moments in the story.
If you're looking for slapstick and/or canned laughter, this may not be for you. And if you're a hardcore Trump supporter, you may want to give it a miss too.
If you prefer good characters to cheap laughs, then I'd say give this a try.
Lastly, the diversity in casting was a pleasant surprise and came across very naturally.
Really enjoyed it but probably won't be a classic
Norsemen (2016)
A well balanced comedy
A lot of comedies these days have rather inconsistent characters and plots as writers try to create conflict to fuel the drama and story, ultimately leading to unbelievable and shallow storylines. By contrast, Norsemen delivers a great blend of dark and surreal humour with distinct characters and plot.
The story that the comedy and drama is set around is well paced and well-defined characters with their own narratives (often not found in comedy) helps the viewer see the events and motivations from many angles.
Within all of this are some quite sinister and dark moments, as well as some quite sweet and sincere moments between key characters - this is quite unlike a lot of modern comedy but achieved very well.
Series 3 is about to launch and although I've thoroughly enjoyed the series to date, I'm hoping it doesn't become stagnant and will end on a high.
The Old Guard (2020)
Replacing drama with diversity
I'm a big fan of diversity in cinema - there is enough straight, white, (typically Christian) Americans going around saving the world from bad guys, who are generally British, German or Russian. So it's a nice change for a straight, white American woman to be doing it. However, in their rush to be diverse, the producers managed to make character with no depth at all - just a couple of light quips to make them appear witty when they just seemed as insincere as the production approach to inclusive cinema.
But when you boil it down it still fits the synopsis; "American leads band of misfits to defeat evil British guy" which is a real shame as the whole immortality aspect gave scope to do so much more.
Pros; It's a nice break from following around a gun-toting American MALE hero, and the American interpretations of what other countries look like don't fail to amuse.
Cons; Very obvious plot devices, the diversity comes across as artificial and insincere at too many points, it's still Americans defeating British bad guys, predictable throughout, cliche dialog, unoriginal and over-choreographed action... oh, and Theron in the 2,000 years of flashbacks has an American accent throughout - go figure.
To me, it also completely failed the test of being able to walk away from it and describe any of the characters by their personality. No depth, no substance. Too forced, artificial and insincere.