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martinjwolfenden
Reviews
A Very British Christmas (2019)
What on earth?
When this began I thought I was watching a commercial for something. To say that the production values are negligible would be an understatement. It looks like it was shot on an iPhone, the sound design...well there was no sound design. The script seems to have been written by a twelve year old. The actors don't seem to have received any direction at all and their fluffed lines have made it into the final cut. Think Acorn Antiques in high definition and you're somewhere close. On top of that not a single character is properly introduced to the audience. They are just there and talking and no attempt is made to tell you who they actually are or what their motivation is. It genuinely feels like an over long advert that never quite gets round to telling you what the product is. As a Yorkshireman this is just an embarrassment. We can do better than this.
Your Christmas or Mine 2 (2023)
Oh dear.
You often see people on here complaining that something is badly written or acted when they know nothing about either. This film was well acted and the dialogue was reasonably good. However the plotting was incredibly lazy. People simply don't behave in the way written. It is more like the plotting of a farce rather than a 'comedy' drama. The best things in it are David Bradley and Jane Krakowski who are woefully underused and their characters wholly under developed. Other characters are either stereotypes of cyphers. In short this may be a good film if you're drunk but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it.
Weekend (2011)
Just wow!
I happened upon this film on the BFI player and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
It is astonishingly real. As a gay man from a Northern English city I can attest to the realism of this film. At times it felt like I was watching a documentary.
The acting was second to none and the chemistry between the leads was just right. You can feel the lust and need for each other without this ever becoming all about sex or all about a neediness on either part .
The rawness of the camera work and sound only led to the sense of immediacy. These kinds of film don't come along very often. I'm only sad that it's taken twelve years for me to see it.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Truly Apalling
No plot, no real story and dialogue written by a three year old in crayon on a bus window. In fact it felt like Tron, if instead of being sucked off into an 80s game cabinet, Jeff Bridges had ended up in an colourful children's game that teaches them to count and recognise letters. No zooming around on light bikes but plenty of Herby the Rainbow Unicorn showing you how to spell S***t.
I'm not sure what has happened to poor James Cameron. I mean he's always been an average director whose ego often outstrips his talent but this has to be a career low. Which is saying something, as this is the man who made the first Avatar. Which was basically the 'great white saviour' trope applied to Smurfs. Stay at home for this one.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Loved This!
Unlike the previous Matrix movies. This pokes some fun at the seriousness of tone that pervades those movies and seeks to move the story away from the whole 'chosen one' trope.
In Hollywood at the moment we are seeing a move away from that particular trope towards groups of friends sharing powers, which I think is a far better way to view the world.
There are some real laughs in this and I think that is simply down to the ages of the film makers and Keanu Reeves himself. Those of us who are now middle aged tend to take the world less seriously and put away our teenage/20s angst, and this tends to lighten the tone of things we're involved in. In short I really liked this film.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
LOVE IT!
This was incredibly good fun. It reminds us that sometimes just producing a light hearted fantasy is just the thing for these dark days. Am not really interested in what the neck beard guys think because this is not for them. This is for those of us who love the MCU. The final episodes Blazing Saddles like ending had me roaring with laughter and one simply can't fail to adore Tatiana Maslany's Jen. Hope she gets some time in a future Movie but for now I'll hope for a second series ASAP. I may not have known the man but I can almost guarantee that Stan Lee would have adored this. I reckon it would have been right up his street.
Horizon: Forbidden West (2022)
Tedious
Am sure some people will enjoy the mind numbing tedium of this game. The sneaking up on robots, who spot you immediately and see you straight back to the beginning of the level. Terrible.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
A Revolting Film
No joy, just a grind of death and misery from the beginning. There was no need to drag these films into the dark excesses of the Harry Potter universe. Especially is such unhappy times as these. Allow kids some joy. Rather than slitting the throats of cute CGI creatures. Truly revolting.
What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)
Utterly Sublime
This was a quiet moment in a busy life. A beautifully crafted piece of art.
Black Beauty (2020)
Not an American Story
The moment I heard an American voice narrating I turned it off.
Loki: Lamentis (2021)
Great bridging episode.
A great episode which introduced us properly to Sylvie and asked questions that will be answered in the rest of the series. Have been laughing at a few of the comments on here. Some people simply don't know how writing and plotting works and find this kind of thing a little too challenging. It's OK my darling. You enjoy a nice glass of milk and let the grown-ups tell you a story.
Search For The Truth (2017)
Rank Amateurs
If they spent more time listening rather than bellowing into the dark like a bunch of drunks and reacting like frightened children whenever they actually hear something, they may actually get some results. As it stands they are being deeply disrespectful of the people they are trying to contact, their research is cursory at best and their knowledge of the subject seriously limited.
7500 (2019)
One Huge Flaw
If the pilot had simply disconnected the intercom between the cockpit and cabin the hijackers would have had nobody to threaten.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
4:3 Ratio! No thanks.
Keep your 4:3 ratio! You're wasting my TV screen.
Come back when you've learned how to use a big boy format.
Star Trek: Discovery: That Hope Is You, Part 2 (2021)
Excellent Episode
It goes without saying that I disagree with the majority of the reviews on here.
Sadly those reviewers will only be happy if Star Trek: TNG had a shot by shot remake. This is a Star Trek for the present day. These are complex and dark times that we will eventually get through and Star Trek is reflecting that.
The episode was excellent and the writing perfectly good. It gave us hope for the next series and we need hope right now.
At the end of the day, if Star Trek has outgrown you then stop watching. The rest of us will go forward without you.
Muppets Now (2020)
What the hell happened to Kermit!?
He sound nothing like Kermit. Did they just ask a Netflix exec to stand in or something?