The Colony (2021)
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum this film also known as Tides stars Nora Arenzeder, Iain Glen and Sara-Sofie Boussnina. In the near future interstellar colonists return to Earth after an ecological disaster.
There is nothing really new or original in this sci-fi film but it does a decent job of combining familiar elements. The locations provide some really nice visuals that are eerie. Well made for what it is.
3/5
After Launching (1898)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. We see a yacht sail past the camera.
Like most early shorts from the Edison catalogue there is not a huge amount to this film. At the very least the film does a decent job of capturing the subject moving past to give some movement to the image. A pretty average piece for the period.
3/5
Plan A (2021)
Directed by Yoav & Doron Paz this film stars August Diehl, Sylvia Hoeks and Michael Aloni. In 1945 a group of Jews that survived the Holocaust plan their revenge.
This appears to be very much a fictionalised version of historical events. As interesting as the plot is it would have benefited from sticking more closely to actual events in my opinion. With what we have here this film is not really worth seeking out.
3/5
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
Directed by Will Gluck this sequel stars Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and the voice of James Cordon. Peter Rabbit wants to take part in a city robbery.
To be honest this film is a bit of a mess, it breaks the fourth wall then commits to everything it says is a sin. It feels like the script completely lost sight of the source material at times. All in all a weak effort.
2/5
Panorama of George Railway (1900)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. We see the view as a train passes along by some cliffs and some water.
As views go this is a pretty decent one which is well captured for the period. There is not a huge amount to this film beyond the view offered so do not go expecting too much. A decent piece of early cinema that would amount to home video now.
3/5
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton this film stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang and Tony Leung. A young man returns to China to try and find his sister.
On the surface this is a fairly fun film filled with some fantastic visuals. Scratch beneath the surface however and it quickly becomes clear the protagonist has no personality or character arc. I can not help but feel this was a missed opportunity in need or a re-write or two before it went to the big screen.
3/5
Fatman (2020)
Directed by Eshom & Ian Nelms this film stars Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. An angry child hires an assassin to kill Santa for giving him coal.
I am not entirely sure how large the market is for this film but I found it to be pretty fun. As something of an oddity, a dark Chritmas film aimed at adults this is a decent little film. I doubt this will ever be a Christmas classic however it is better than a lot of the overly sentimental crap you get this time of year.
3/5
The Stand In (2020)
Directed by Jamie Babbit this film stars Drew Barrymore, Michael Zegen and T.J. Miller. The stand in for a movie star finds her life ruined when the movie star she looks like throws away her career.
There is a decent amount of potential in this prince and the pauper style set up, unfortunately it never really goes anywhere. The script feels like it needs a few more drafts as the characters appear to switch personalities for no reason. In the end a real let down.
2/5
Falls of Minnehaha (1897)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. We see a single static shot of a waterfall and some people standing in front of it.
There is not much to this short but it does capture the waterfall nicely. The people are a little bit of a distraction if I am honest. Without much context there is not a lot to make this short stand out.
3/5
The Grand Duke of Corsica (2021)
Written & directed by Daniel Graham this film stars Peter Stormare, Timothy Spall and Olwen Catherine Kelly. An architect travels to Malta and gets commissioned to build a mausoleum for a dying man.
To be honest I am not sure what we are supposed to take from this odd film. The content definitely takes its influence from mid century Italian cinema in an unusual mishmash. I did enjoy what I saw even if I did not understand it completely.
3/5
Hide and Seek (2021)
Directed by Joel David Moore this remake of the Korean film of the same name stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jacinda Barrett and Joe Pantoliano. A rich property developer this his half brother is back stalking him.
I have not seen the Korean film this one is based on but I hope it is better than this film. This is a poor effort that is overly drawn out at times. I really am not sure what message we are supposed to take from the film, the implications of the plot are not exactly good.
2/5
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Written & directed by James Gunn this film stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone and Viola Davis. A group of super villains are sent on a mission to destroy an alien starfish.
Some people claim this film is better than its predecessor but I actually think it is worse, not that I can remember much of the original Suicide Squad film. The script is plodding and relies far too much on telling over showing for the small amounts of character we get. All in all yet another disappointment from DC.
2/5
Launch of Life Boat (1897)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. We see a life boat lead by Capt. Joseph Hodgson launched.
This film shows what it claims to but not with any great image quality. It is a bit hard to make out any details at all. There is not really a huge amount to this one.
2/5
Vanquish (2021)
Directed by George Gallo this film stars Ruby Rose and Morgan Freeman. A young woman has to pick up cash for a dirty cop.
After the longest title sequence in history we get the laziest film I have seen in a long time. Very little of the script makes sense or is of any interest. About the best part of the film is the name “Vanquish” everything else is terrible.
1/5
The Champion of Auschwitz (2020)
Directed by Marciej Barczewski this film based on real events stars Piotr Glowacki, Jan Syzdlowski and Grzegorz Malecki. A Polish boxer held prisoner in Auschwitz gets involved in boxing matches to entertain the guards.
The protagonist had a remarkable life which unfortunately is not really captured in this film. We get only a glimpse of what could have been a really great film here. Just not the film the story deserves.
2/5
Run (2019)
Written & directed by Scott Graham this film stars Mark Stanley, Amy Manson and Marli Siu. A man borrows his son's car and spends the night joy riding.
This film really captures something of the small town depression and mid life crisis. While the plot is not overly original it is well done. You may have to turn on the subtitles because some of the Scots English can be hard to catch while watching this film.
3/5
No Man of God (2021)
Directed by Amber Sealey this film based on real events stars Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby. An FBI agent goes to interview Ted Bundy.
I am not too sure how close this film actually sticks to real events, it certainly seems to have tweaked things in more than one place. The highlight of the film is Luke Kirby giving a really good performance as Ted Bundy. Of the films on serial killers and their interviews I do not think this one will stand out in the memory.
3/5
Another Round (2020)
Directed Tobias Lindholm this film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang and Lars Ranthe. Four teachers decide to test of being permanently buzzed improves their lives.
While I enjoyed a lot of this film I was a bit confused as to what sort of message we are supposed to take from it. Fun but not clear enough for me liking, I would have preferred a revised ending. Mad Mikkelsen makes anything watchable and carries this film well.
3/5
The Unholy (2021)
Directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos this film based on the novel “Shrine” stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown and William Sadler. A disgraced reported stumbles onto a religious miracle.
The plot of this film is a familiar mix of religious nonsense that has been covered in many horror films before. What really lets the film down is that the CGI used is pretty terrible. Unfortunately not a good genre piece.
2/5
Surf at Monterey (1897)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. We see the waves crashing over two rocks on the coast.
This is a number of short clips that are cut together into a film that runs less than a minute long. I found the cuts distracting and would have preferred a single shot to capture the churning nature of the sea. Not my favourite of the early Edison catalogue.
2/5
Notorious Nick (2021)
Directed by Aaron Leong this film inspired by real events stars Cody Christian, Barry Livingston and Kevin Pollak. A one armed man wishes to become a wrestler then an MMA fighter.
I am sure there is a really inspiring story in here somewhere but the plot is incredibly simplified and the writing very wank. I think what annoyed me most is when the protagonist has his moment to speak for himself stolen by his mother and we are supposed to see that as a good thing. All in all a real disappointment.
1/5
The Last Bus (2021)
Directed by Gillies Mackinnon this film stars Timothy Spall and Phyllis Logan. An old man attempts to travel from John O'Groats to Land's End on public buses.
The best part of this film is Timothy Spall's performance, he does a great job of capturing the physicality of an old man. Unfortunately everything else in the film is pretty bad. There far too many “and then everyone clapped” moments and the ending is oppressively over doing it.
2/5
Fisherman's Wharf (1897)
Directed by James H. White this is an early short film. A fisherman's boat comes into the wharf at San Francisco.
What I like about this film is the way it captures the weather of the day, you can really see the wind on the sail. There is not a huge amount to this short but it is a nice little moment captured for all time. A decent watch for the period.
3/5
Blade of the Immortal (2017)
Directed by Takashi Miike this film based on the manga of the same name stars Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki and Sota Fukushi. An immortal samurai becomes the bodyguard of a twelve year old girl who wants revenge on her father's killers.
I found this to be an enjoyable martial arts slaughter-fest. There are some mumblings about the nature of revenge and immortality in the script but they do not go deep enough for my taste. Enjoyable though likely forgettable.
3/5
Nowhere Special (2020)
Written & directed by Uberto Pasolini this film stars James Norton, Daniel Lamon and Valene Kane. A single father with a terminal illness has to find a new family for his son.
Made with the lightest of touches this film is brutally sad through out. It is crushing to watch a dying man struggle to do what is best for his child who is too young to really know what is happening. This film is completely heart breaking in the best possible way.
5/5
Wander (2020)
Directed by April Mullen this film stars Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, Heather Graham and Katheryn Winnick. A mentally ill conspiracy theorist investigates a murder in a small American town.
With a surprisingly good cast this film is a massive disappointment. The plot is a half baked X-Files episode reject that never goes anywhere interesting. Filled with bad ideas poorly executed.
2/5
Crime Story (2021)
Written & directed by Adam Lipsius this film known by a few names stars Richard Dreyfuss and Mira Sorvino. A retired mob boss is robbed and tries to get his money back.
Once upon a time Richard Dreyfuss was staring in great films, unfortunately that time is long since past. Both the plot and tone of this film are pretty badly done meaning the cast can do little to save the film. Definitely not worth watching even for the biggest Richard Dreyfuss fans.
1/5
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Directed by Adam Wingard this sequel stars Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown and Rebecca Hall. Godzilla and Kong face off in a big old monster battle.
If you thought the one thing that monster films were lacking was some hollow earth nonsense then this is the film for you, otherwise you are going to find this film lacking. There is absolutely nothing in the way of character or metaphor to patch the holes between monster face offs. I really need a bit more from films than what is on offer here.
2/5
The Surrogate (2020)
Written & directed by Jeremy Hersh this film stars Jasmine Batchelor, Chris Perfetti, Sullivan Jones and Brooke Bloom. A woman agrees to be a surrogate for a gay couple but things become far more complicated than any of them expected.
I expected this film to be fairly predictable but it takes an impressive voyage into issues on race, ableism and LGBT topics. The situation Jeremy Hersh gives himself to handle would be very easy to mess up yet the film never makes a misstep. I was so impressed with how this film managed to cover so many delicate topics without getting preachy.
4/5
Wildlife (2018)
Directed by Paul Dano this film based on the novel of the same name stars Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal and Ed Oxenbould. In 1960s Montana a 14 year old boy watches his parents marriage fall apart.
While it is well made there is nothing that original about the plot. Where the film really shines is in the direction, there are some lovely shots of that really make the film. There are also good performances from the lead cast members.
4/5
Trauma Center (2019)
Directed by Matt Eskandari this film stars Nicky Whealan, Bruce Willis and Tito Ortiz. A young woman with a gunshot wound limps round a hospital while waiting for Bruce Willis to come and save her from corrupt cops.
There is very little to the plot of this film both in terms of content and originality. If Bruce Willis is even trying is hard to say. All in all this is a weak effort best ignored.
2/5
