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michaelquinn1966
Reviews
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Well that's Three Hours I can't get back............
I'll preface this review by stating I loved the first three John Wick films especially the first one and was very much looking forward to number four.
The premise "too much of a good thing, can be a bad thing" very much applies to JW chapter 4. What a way to decimate a franchise. This latest instalment was three hours of the same fighting scenes redone time and time again only difference a new city, three hours of a nonsensical story that just made nonsense and was basically just recycling scenes from the first 3 films.
An hour or so into this film I was ready to quit, it was just mind numbingly boring and ridiculous
A Blind Assasin - who can't detect a person five feet in from of them but manages to defeat anyone who came his way
Halle Berry looking really rough and minus a dog, what was the point of this character
A $20 million open contract on John Wick, yet he moves around the world unhindered until they basically redo the first 15 mins of the third film but in Paris when all of a sudden they need yet more fighting scenes
A ridiculous and pointless omage to "The 1979 Warriors movie". Broadcasting over radio to French gangsters and Assasins in English.............. wtf 😬
I could go on and on with everything that was wrong with this film but let's get to the good points
.............................
There isn't a single one, this is just a terrible, terrible film and would have been a horrible way to end the franchise if news of a fifth film entering production and I can only imagine how bad that is going to be.
So ignore all these high mark reviews as they are quite simply lying and watch this train wreck at your own peril.
Andor (2022)
Rogue One lite
The five stars is an average rating for the three episodes
Well it took its sweet time to get going but finally in episode 3 the show became watchable. The first two episodes were painfully slow and filled with pointless filler that brought nothing to the story, could easily have been condensed into a single episode.
Episode 3 was much better and the gritty realism that Gilroy brought to Rogue One, finally started to shine through in the shows writing.
Individual Episode rating-
Episode 1 - 4
Episode 2 - 2
Episode 3 - 9
Hopefully episode 3 will be more indicative as to how the show will continue in future but it is early days and this is still Disney, so I won't get too excited yet.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Game of Thrones...........Light
Ok so it's only one episode, so people should be cautious with the overly negative and the overly positive reviews. However, it's hard to look past the following when giving this show a rating
Firstly, the first episode of House of the dragon is not a patch on the first episode of Game of Thrones, anyone who says it's as good as or better is talking utter rubbish and that isn't an opinion it's a fact
Secondly, what is it with the CGI in films and tv shows these days. Nothing looks real, the stone of the walls and Castles, looks exactly what it is, a computer rendered graphic, same with the crowd scenes, so, so poor bit I expect nothing else these days.
Thirdly, there isn't a single character from the opening episode who interested me whatsoever. In comparison to a game of Theones were there where multiple characters that piqued ones interest, right from the offset
Fourthly, Sex and violence........ the sex, try as they may, it was just boring. If they are not going to do it properly and convincingly, then why bother having it at all. The violence, about the only thing in this episode that they got right. It was graphic and bloody, just as this type of drama should be, so thumbs up for that.
I'll hold off on any proper judgement until at least three episodes have aired but I will be shocked if it gets much better but hey, I've been wrong in the past.
Prey (2022)
"Prey" for no more
Ok I've given this a five star rating for the following:-
Beautiful cinematography, fantastic use of the natural scenery
Being able to watch with Comanche as the audio track. This at least made the experience bareable
Some much needed screen representation for American Indians. Though this film, sadly did little to show them in a good light
The Dog, best actor on the screen
Now for the bad
The wokeness was palpable............
The valiant female who was so much smarter and stronger than every male character including her brother who eventually bowed down to her greater ability.
The Patriarchy was at it again, the evil white men killing and destroying everything around them and the misogynistic braves stopping the superior female from being all she could be
Having a strong female lead is fantastic when done right T2, Aliens, Atomic Blonde ect bit this one was just so off, it wasn't even funny bad.
One moment she is weak and can barely hold her own against one man, the next moment she is like an MMA fighter on speed taking out multiple large men in one go and also managed to outfight and kill massive 7ft Predator like it was a small child
She is the tribes most skilled tracker but walks onto a bear trap, which should have broke her leg but barely bruised it and then also walks straight into a pool of quicksand and miraculously manages to pull herself out despite being up to her neck and having zero upper body strength
Tried to take on a massive Bear by shooting it with tiny arrows.
Has the ability to take multiple hits to the head, be thrown to the floor by men much larger than her and a Predator but still managed to shake it off like it was nothing. She also took a couple of blows from the Predators alloy shield which was made of a metal so sharp and tough it sliced through a tree and went into rock like it was cheese but didn't even dent our invincible female warrior
An underpowered Predator, they took away its shoulder cannon, well it was nearly three hundred before Dutch had to face one so their technical ability mustn't have been up to that level (even though they had mastered interstellar travel, invisibility cloaking, smart laser guided bolts fired from a rail gun type of device, advanced medical treatment, flying mines and the like).
The Predator, a species which has mastered interstellar travel was also so dumb that it fired it's laser guided bolts without having control of the laser guidance system and ended up killing itself because the cunning female had aimed it at him
No explanation as to why the Predator was there, it appeared as though it's spaceship was damaged or maybe it was just not up to code. If it was there to hunt, was this supposed to be the first time they visited earth because why was it going after Wolves and Bears when their were so many humans around
As with just about every film these days which uses it, the CGI was painfully bad
Very one dimensional characters, the Commanche Braves, The French Fur traders were literally by the numbers characters. I thought her brother might be different as he was the tribes best warrior but in the end he becomes just another Commanche warrior who is over shadowed by the greatness of the teeny, tiny female warrior, Hunter, tracker, herbalist, Medic, Commanche chief, Humanitarian, animal whisperer and Alien Hunter.
By going back in time with "Prey" in an attempt to re-energise the franchise might have been a good move if they had an actual decent script and decent actors but unfortunately in this case, "Prey" just went back to the future and gave us the same nonsense that all the sequels have given us
As with the terminator franchise, the Predator franchise needs to be killed off for good, this is just throwing good money after bad.
Uncharted (2022)
Oh dear, here we go again
Just like Red Notice, there isn't an original idea in this very, very crap film. Just like Red Notice, they have stolen themes from just about every action adventure film you can think off, including a Goonies rip off which is just too much to bear.
This is just another crap film in a long line of crap films that have been produced in the last five or six years.
They really have run out of ideas or simply can't be bothered with anything that might be new and refreshing because they just have no clue how to make something that might be actually entertaining
On a side note, whoever was in charge of casting this film needs to find a new career path because it might just be the worst film cast that I can remember seeing. Tom Holland, showing once again what a poor, poor actor he is and Whalberg, well he was just once again playing Mark Whalberg and don't even get me started on the two main female characters, words fail me.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Really, what was the point.........
After the 2016 debacle, the Ghostbusters franchise needed a major palate cleanse but this most definitely wasn't it.
Somebody watched Gremlins, The Goonies, some first season Stranger Things and then melded them into a Ghostbusters script with a load of boring kids as the main leads and as expected you ended up with a mess of a film with some nice SFX, a few funny moments, the expected cameos from original film cast members and then nothing.
The best part of the entire film........ a lovely mid credit scene with Sigouney Weaver and Bill Murray, other than that, it was instantly forgettable.
If you loved the original film, watch Afterlife for a bit of nostalgia but only if you have nothing better to do.
Wrath of Man (2021)
Watchable......... just
The first 45 minutes of this film I wondered if Ritchie had someone else directing because it just didn't feel like one of his films, it just felt like the usual Jason Statham action flick.
The film then shifted in tone and the chapter delving into Statham's characters past and the reason for his "wrath" felt very much like a Ritchie film and was quite an enjoyable watch
Then it seemed to shift back to some anonymous director for the finale as we were back into bog standard Statham action territory
Action scenes were reasonably done, not HEAT or The Town level of good but decent enough, the double cross was predictable and the final scene was very underwhelming.
Overall it is worth a watch but it's a film you would never revisit, certainly not a Guy Ritchie classic.
Red Notice (2021)
I've seen this somewhere before.............
The whole film is just a rehash of every movie cliche ever put on the screen, nothing was a surprise, every 'TWIST' was so predictable because you've seen it before a hundred times.
I'm not even going to review the film because it just isn't worth it because it's just more of the same rubbish from Netflix Original Movies.
Watch it if you really have nothing better to do but in reality it will be a just a waste of your time.
Memories of a Dead End (2018)
A simple and beautiful film
What a delightful treat of a film about the friendship of strangers
The whole film is beautifully shot with just natural acting from a small mixed cast of Korean, Japanese and Chinese actors. The leading lady is the lovely sooyoung Choi best known for her parts in 'So I Married an Anti-Fan and Run On.
As I said in the title it is a simple film Yumi (Sooyoung Choi) arrives in Nagoya, Japan looking for her long term boyfriend and fiancé who is working there but has stopped contacting her, she finally tracks him down and finds him living in an apartment, married to a Japanese lady. After the shock of this she she goes to leave Nagoya but instead ends up at a small Cafe/guest house down a dead end road. Here she meets the owner Nishiyama and a colourful group of locals and guests, who through their friendship and kindness help yumi to heal her broken heart and bring some happiness in her life once more.
And that's the film, there is no Romance no drama, except when she finds out her fiancé is married, it's just a simple but lovely film, perfect if you just want an hour and half escape from the drudge of normal life.
Shuang cheng gu shi (2018)
An emotional roller coaster
Ignore all the negative reviews this was a delightful drama, which showed us life in two completely different cities. Be warned there are some real tearjerker scenes, so keep the tissues handy. The cast are great, especial the actor who played one of the two female leads father. The two leading ladies are a delight to watch and the way they portray a more traditional Taiwanese woman and a Taiwanese American is excellent
All in all worth worth a watch.
Sarangeui bulsachak (2019)
Quite Simply Perfect
To say I have become hooked on K-Dramas and films is a massive understatement and in the last few months I have lost count of the number of dramas I have watched. I keep thinking I've seen the best they have to offer, and then another series comes along and blows me away. However, with CLOY, we have been given something really really special, 16 episodes of sheer TV perfection, I haven't come across any tv show English language or foreign that has such brilliant casting, writing, acting, cinematography it literally doesn't put a foot wrong. The two leads were amazing, especially Son Ye-Jin who is one of my favourite actresses and their chemistry was palpable. The storyline is unique with wonderful romance elemements mixed with lashings of top notch action, comedy and thriller scenes. I can't not praise this series enough and I can say in all honestly I was more than a little devastated to say goodbye to these wonderful characters. Do yourself a favour, forget about the crap served up by American and British TV and really check out what K-Drama has to offer, you will not be disappointed.
Widaehan Yuhokja (2018)
Worth a watch
If like me you live K-Dramas then Tempted or the Great Seducer is well worth a watch.
The female leads are excellent, Moon Ga-Young is excellent as the crazy narcissistic Soo-Ji but I especually loved the performance of Park Soo-Young or Joy from the K-Pop group Red Velvet as she is probably better known. This is the second drama I have watched her in (The Liar and his Lover being the other) and find her quite adorable to watch and I am surprised by a lot of the negativity about her performances to date. I think she is a decent actress who will only get better with each role she takes on. Also, she has one of the best heart melting smiles you will ever find, so look forward to seeing more from her in the future
As for the show itself it's a new take on Dangerous Liasions/Cruel Intentions and the plot follows in a similar way. However, there are a number of sub plots which make this drama stand out and if it wasn't for what I felt was a very rushed ending, I probably would have given it a ten
All in all a very watchable K-Drama and well worth the time invested in watching.
Oechul (2005)
A simply beautiful film..........
I have become engrossed with Korean cinema and television of late and have watched many wonderful dramas and films but April Snow for me is on another level
It's just a beautiful love story, about how fate can bring unexpected love into your life. The film has very little dialogue but the chemistry between the two leads is a beautiful thing to watch, that matched with the slow burn building of their relationship and excellent cinematography just enhance the experience
It was also very refreshing to see such sensual and erotic love scenes, they were very well done and I would compare the first one to the lovemaking scene between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight, which for me is the absolute pinnacle of a sensual love scene put on film but this comes very close to it
I also loved the ending, which I believe makes it very clear that they end up together in the end, with a reversal of their conversation at the beach before they head to the hotel room for their first encounter.
Some reviewers have panned the film but for me it was just about perfect and a must watch for anyone who loves Korean cinema as I do.
Nobody (2021)
A palet cleanser
If like me you are sick to death of just about every recent film boring the socks off you with its message and forced diversity and very little else, what a refreshing change to watch a film that simply is what it is........ a fast paced, very violent, very entertaining action film that barely has a woke bone in its body
It's a cross between John Wick, RED and just about every John Woo film you can think off and just as entertaining.
Its hour and a half run time never drags and it has the added bonus of Christopher Lloyd enjoying himself like never before.
Well worth a watch , which in this day and age it's high praise indeed.
Black Widow (2021)
What was the point.......
I had hoped this would be a decent addition to the MCU that would finally flesh out Black Widow and answer some of the many questions about her past, especially what went down in Budapest but alas, it was a forlorn hope and in the end it turns out to be another boring, generic woke piece of rubbish from Disney.
Why make a Black Widow film, if she wasn't going to be the main focus, it sort of defeated the whole purpose and was a massive disservice to what Johansson had done with the character up to that point, instead stumpy Florence Pugh gets the limelight, I presume because she is going to be in the Hawkeye tv series judging by the end scene they slotted in.
Really don't waste your money or time with this pointless enterprise.
Bosch: Por Sonia (2021)
4 stars just for season 7, they gone and did a Game of Thrones
Bosch has been one of my all time favourite shows ever since I saw the pilot as part of the Amazon pilots season,
The first six series were 60 episodes of as near to perfect TV as you can get, brilliant characters, who grew better with each season, excellent storylines, whose many threads were woven with care and tied off neatly or left dangling to be revisited in the next season. I have already watched each season multiple times and enjoyed them as much as the first time of watching.
Now we come to season 7, the final season......... I was sad the show was finishing but so looking forward to seeing more fresh Harry Bosch. Then I noticed they had reduced the final season to 8 episodes, alarm bells started ringing, i mean for a show as intricate as Bosch, losing two episodes is a massive deal and some fears came to pass......
Season 7 was a just massive disappointment, it felt just like the last Season of GoT, in that the writers appeared to be in mad rush to get it finished. The story arch was overly covaluted, filled with stuff that just didn't go anywhere, like the the female drug lord who seemed like she would be the big bad, gets killed after a couple of episodes of doing nothing
The Las Vegas mobster, gets arrested, then promptly disappears, the hedge fund guy, gets arrested and disappears
Irving turns into the very thing he has alway hated
The Jerry edgar storyline was just pathetic. Also, as much as I've enjoyed Maddie Bosch, there was far too much focus on her and her private life, it just wasn't needed and the same goes for the Billets storyline, seriously what was the point
The whole series was a mess and the way Harry kidnapped a federal witness, blew up a massive RICO case and then resigns just so they can shoehorn him into this proposed spinoff series was just a disservice to the character. Bosch is nothing if he isn't a cop.
All,in all they just phoned the series in and its just indicative of the very poor TV and filmmaking that is going on at the moment.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Exactly what I expected, another piece of crap
So basically, they have stuck every cliche from every sci-fi action film of the last 40 years in a bucket, mixed them all together, dumped them on the floor and hey presto, you have your script
A totally nonsensical film that disappoints on so many levels
Why would you send millions of people to their deaths in the future, instead of using the 25+ years before the aliens appear to prepare to do battle against them, knowing exactly were and when they first appear
How did no one in the future work out that the aliens didn't arrive but were already here,
Why when a soldier comes back from the future with something that can kill the aliens but also the location and reason why they were never discovered before their arrival does the government which has spent billions of dollars and sacrificed millions of lives just ignore him
Having fought the aliens for years why were they still sending people from the past with weapons that could barely scratch them. Where were the grenade launchers, squad weapons like the SAW, Grenades, C4, claymores, rocket launchers
Why was the weapoary in 2050 still so much like the weaponary from 2022
So they find the aliens all cocooned and inactive in the alien ship, so instead of just planting enough explosives to level a city block, get clear of the ship and blow them to kingdom come, they wake the aliens up and allow some of them to escape and end up killing 75% of their team in the process............ WHY??????
Just a bad, bad film and another example of how lazy the industry has gotten, more concerned with making sure they have included every type of race, gender etc, than in producing something that is watchable.
Watch it if you absolutely have nothing better to do but you will wish you hadn't bothered.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Another Netflix piece of crap
Do yourself a favour watch the opening scene and then switch this piece of crap off. Zack Snyder proving once again he should just leave filmmaking to those with some actual talent
I didn't think you could make a zombie movie this bad but Snyder has achieved it and then some. Terrible cast, terrible characters, terrible plot (if you can call it that), terrible acting, so basically just a terrible film........ in other words just another film from Netflix.
The Man from Earth: Holocene (2017)
Not a worthy sequel
As many have written, this film was an empty shell compared to the first film. No real point in reviewing it but if you enjoyed the first film as many have, then don't watch this as it will just leave you shouting at the TV
They could have done something very interesting with this sequel but the Bixby's son unfortunately hasn't a fraction of his fathers talent, which is a shame.
Chaos Walking (2021)
Lasted 15 minutes
If this is what passes for Film making these days, then we might as well give up. The effect they used for the noise was so annoying and distracting, Injust couldn't watch anymore than 15 mins and I imagine even without this, I doubt I would have lasted much longer. Tom Holland, the boy wonder is a very wooden actor as is his compatriot Daisey Ridley and then give them a nonsensical script, it is little wonder this film took so long to be released
Absolute train wreck of a film, avoid at all costs.
Debris (2021)
Meh........
What can I say, interesting premise let down by yet another box ticking exercise
Monster Hunter (2020)
How does this rubbish get greenlit
It has to be some sort of money laundering scheme because I can see no other reason how this piece of crap gets made.
I can't even be bothered to review the film because there is literally nothing to review
Terrible acting
Terrible storyline, if you can even call it a story
Terrible effects
Its just Terrible
If you want to waste an hour and forty-five minutes, maybe watch just to see how bad it is otherwise, you have been warned
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Literally Speechless
Before my short review let me say the first Wonder Woman film is one of my favourites, I saw it at a midnight showing the day it was released and loved every minute of it. So, to say I was looking forward WW84 would be an understatement...........
Well let's get to WW84, what an utter piece of rubbish, who in their right mind read this script and thought, wow this sounds like a real winner, it takes everything that was good in the first movie and throws it away to be replaced be a mishmash of sentimental, claptrap, made all the worse for some of the worst CGI, ever seen in a movie. I am trying to think of anything that makes it worth watching and I just can't, its just really, really bad and that makes me incredibly sad
The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020)
Oh Dear, How Sad, Never Mind.........
It was exactly what I expected from a tv series or film made these days, far too interested in getting their message out there and in the process totally forgot little details like the Plot, good dialogue, hiring decent actors but most of all make sure it entertains. Avoid at all costs, it really isn't worth your time
Ava (2020)
I thought I had seen the worst film ever already.....
I wrote a review recently of "The Last Days of American Crime" in which I stated it was quite possibly the worst film I had ever seen. Well, I can now safely say that "Ava" makes that piece of absolute rubbish look like a cinematic masterpiece. You would think a film with great actors like Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich and Collin Farrel couldn't fail, on how wrong you would be. What you get is another run of the mill story about an assassin, except this time there is literally no story. Nothing in the film makes sense, the dialogue is nonsensical, the actors are just phoning their performances in and the fight scenes, are well just poor. There isn't a single redeeming thing to say about this film.......... avoid at all costs