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joejhrobinson
Reviews
Glass (2019)
Has some strong points, but overall falls flat
I feel very similarly about this film and Unbreakable. It isn't a bad film, but it just isn't a good one either. Some of the performances are commendable, in particular James McAvoy, who takes a deserved centre-stage in Glass. We see more of his personas than we did in Split, which works in the films favour, as this provides much of the entertainment. However, the movie almost feels too full. There are so many characters that many find themselves with nothing to do, in no way serving the plot. While Anya-Taylor Joy's performance is solid, it feels wholly unnecessary, almost like Shyamalan felt pressured to include her in the plot. Like with Unbreakable, my main issue is with the plot and pacing, both of which are very weak. If not for the talent of some of these actors, it could have turned out a complete mess. Overall though, the performances are just about enough to make the movie worthwhile, especially for fans of the first two installments.
Beautiful Boy (2018)
Incredible Central Performances
This movie seemed immediately interesting to me when I saw the first trailers. I'm a big fan of both Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, so I had high hopes. Often, when I build a movie up too much before seeing it, I end up being disappointed, but here I'm glad to say that wasn't the case. The two central performances were nothing short of incredible and you genuinely believed the relationship they had. Some characters make some very questionable decisions, but what's really great is the fact that they remain likeable and understandable throughout. You feel for each and every character on a deep, emotional level. I was genuinely rooting for them and, as you become more familiar with the characters, the scenes of heavy drug use become harder to watch, because you really want to see them come out the other side unharmed. It's a subtle movie, but nevertheless I highly recommend it.
Unbreakable (2000)
Good acting, bad script
Unbreakable isn't a bad film. It's shot well, contains a couple of solid performances and has a very entertaining final act. However, it has several fundamental flaws, which really take away from the overall experience. Firstly, the script is very weak, being filled with exposition and just generally falling flat. This is particularly evident in the scenes where Samuel L Jackson's character, Mr Glass, is discussing comic-books. The script attempts to make them appear like some great art-form, but ends up making them sound ridiculous, as the characters over-analyse every panel. Some scenes come across as very out of place, namely the one where Bruce Willis' son threatens to shoot him to prove he has superpowers. It honestly feels wacky and unnecessary. For me, it feels like the script is trying desperately to imitate other movies, but never quite manages it, resulting in corny exposition delivered in an overly serious manner. I really wanted to enjoy this movie and, while I did to an extent, this flaw was difficult to get past.
Brideshead Revisited (1981)
Anthony Blanche: Absolute Daddy
Nickolas Grace is on point here (as always). While not up there with the likes of Zookeeper or Grown Ups 2, this is a HILARIOUS outing with this GODLY man. Mmmmmmmm tasty!!!!!!!!!!
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
Paul Blart: daddy cop
Kevin James is on point here (as always). While not up there with the likes of Zookeeper or Grown Ups 2, this is a HILARIOUS outing with this GODLY man. Mmmmmmmm tasty!!!!!!!!!!
Departures (2008)
All round incredible tv show
When it comes to Tv shows and especially travel shows, I can be super hard to please. Most seem fake and scripted, and it's painfully obvious that the presenters have a massive crew of staff behind the camera.
Departures is one of the few exceptions. This is a show about two normal guys and their cameraman (who is also one of their friends). They aren't massive Hollywood stars or comedians, feeling pressured to make jokes at every point. Their reactions are genuine and the relationship between Justin and Scott feels so natural. This show makes it abundantly clear that these are real people.
I have never seen a show that so perfectly captures the experience of traveling. They don't just concentrate on the good things, but instead will present to you the problems alongside them, which makes the whole thing feel more genuine.
It kind of reminds me of a travel vlog, but Departures was created before the whole YouTube travel scene took off (to the best of my knowledge). Maybe it partly inspired it. I'm not sure.
Anyway, I don't have much more to say about this show except that you should watch it and experience it for yourself. This could easily be my favourite tv show of all time and I would recommend it to everyone I know.
Dèmoni (1985)
Both awful and amazing
Demons is one of those movies that is so bad that is might just be the greatest thing ever created. It has so many problems, but does that matter? No, of course not. You don't watch a movie like demons if your looking for high art. You watch a movie like demons for a fun and stupid time.
So, the basic plot of Demons is that a masked man hands out a bunch of tickets for a movie and a bunch of people turn up to this old, dilapidated cinema. This is the body count and believe me, there will be a lot of bodies.
Our cast includes a bickering couple, a blind man who is for some reason going to the cinema and a pimp, who may just be the greatest character in the history of cinema. There's also a woman who dresses like a leprechaun. I don't really know why she's in the movie.
On the way in, a woman gets scratched by a sharp object and gets turned into a demon. I have to admit, though most of the acting in this movie is pretty shocking, the first woman who turns into a demon actually gives a really good performance. She's genuinely quite scary.
Then, everyone dies. This couple having an affair gets strangled. The blind guy gets his eyes gouged out. Some poor woman gets scalped. Needless to say, the gore factor is really cranked up at this point. Sadly, it is at around this point that we lose the pimp.
There is also a strange tonal shift in the form of a side plot where we follow a bunch of punks driving round the city. They eventually enter the cinema and let all the demons out, but this whole section still seems strange and a bit out of place.
The punks enter the cinema, releasing all the demons, before being killed themselves. It is also around this point that the leprechaun woman randomly dies, so I guess that's sad.
The remaining survivors are killed off until only two remain. This is when we get one of the most glorious movie scenes I have ever had the pleasure to witness. One of our survivors, a buff jock, grabs a samurai sword, climbs onto a motorbike and minces all the demons. It's amazing and I will never be able to fully do it justice.
The pair of survivors escape through the roof and are confronted by the masked guy from the start, who gets killed almost immediately.
Just when the duo thinks the worst is behind them, they realise that the demons are now everywhere and everyone is going to die. Then the movie's lead, a young woman whom we have been following from the start gets brutally killed and the movie ends.
So that's Demons. Nothing that happens makes any sense, but I don't really care. One thing that always got me about this movie was the villain's plan. What was he trying to do? So, he invites a bunch of people to this cinema to turn them all into demons. Fine. But, his plan relies solely on the fact that someone will be idiotic enough to scratch themselves on the sharp object in the foyer. Also, what was the point of trapping the visitors in the cinema? Surely, if his ultimate goal was to release demons everywhere, it would make more sense to allow the guests to leave, so that the demons would also be able to escape. Trapping the visitors actually prevented the demons from escaping so he was actually contaaiming the outbreak. Anyway, this rant has gone on for way too long so I'm going to end it here. Demons is terrible, but you should definitely watch it anyway.
Lake Mungo (2008)
Solid movie with one of the best horror movie moments I've ever seen
I'm going to try to keep this short and avoid spoilers because I think it's best to go into this movie knowing as little as possible. Then again, I'm not sure how I'll talk about it without giving away one of the pivotal plot points.
When the movie begins, it looks like garbage. Not the acting or the script, but purely the quality of the footage. When I first started it, I wasn't entirely convinced, but as the story proceeds, I found that this really added to the atmosphere of the movie which, as a matter of fact, is excellent.
The tone of this movie is super depressing, but that's exactly what it's going for. It isn't trying to be fun. It's trying to really play with your emotions and let me tell you, it really does.
The depiction of grief in this movie is excellent. The emotions that the characters are expressing feel so genuine and this has a real impact on you as you watch this film. The acting is superb and you grow to feel very close to these characters.
I must also admit that this is one of the only horror movies that has genuinely scared me. Most of the movie is creepy, but there is one particular scene near the end of the film that literally made me jump out of my seat. I had to pause the film for a solid minute. Normally, I hate jump scares, but this was so perfectly executed that I didn't care one bit.
I won't try to pretend that the movie has no flaws. Some of the plot lines don't really go anywhere and there is one twist in the middle which is sort of annoying, but overall, Lake Mungo is a very effective movie, which all horror movie fans should check out.
Ghost Stories (2017)
Not really that impressive
I know I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I really wasn't much of a fan of Ghost Stories. I have heard so many people rant about how it's a fine example of British horror, but honestly, I really don't see it.
The performances are pretty solid and the movie mostly looks decent, but for me, the majority of the movie was boring and pointless.
The strongest portions are those that follow our protagonist, played by Andy Nyman, as he follows the leads given to him by an old man, which he was unable to solve. The setup isn't too bad and shows some promise, but when we get down to the actual cases, things begin to fall apart.
The first case is one focusing on an aging man, played by Paul Whitehouse, who used to be a security guard in an old abandoned factory. The entirety of this segment basically consists of Whitehouse walking around a bit, then getting attacked by a ghost-thing. That's pretty much it. So after I watched this first section, I was kind of underwhelmed, but I stuck with it, hoping the next case would be more intriguing.
Unfortunately, it really wasn't. The next one involves a young man, played by the talented Alex Lawther, who runs over the devil in his car. The premise isn't awful, but the story goes absolutely nowhere and ends with Lawther getting attacked by an evil tree-monster.
The third story is by far the most boring and follows Martin Freeman as he readies a nursery for his unborn child. He walks around for what feels like an age, before he has a vision of his wife and the story ends. There's an okay scene where Freeman shoots himself in the head, before we move on to the final story.
This one, unlike the others, concerns Nyman himself, as he returns to the old man. This section begins pretty terribly, as the old man pulls off his face, which we could all tell was obviously a mask since the beginning. Martin Freeman is revealed to be under the mask, but... isn't he dead?! Wow, what a plot twist!
Though the opening of this story isn't great, I actually found this to be by far the most interesting portion of the movie and I won't spoil it for anyone who's going to watch it (though I am aware that I have spoiled the entirety of the movie up to this point). Funnily enough, I've heard many people say that this last section was their least favourite part of the film, but for me, it was the only part that actually had a worthwhile story. The big twist at the end isn't anything particularly new, but to be honest, I didn't think it was that bad.
While there are much worse horror movies than Ghost Stories, for me, it mainly came across as a mediocre anthology movie, with little of any genuine interest, outside of the final story. I feel like the movie does a good job at disguising how little plot there actually is, so I really wasn't much of a fan (but I know a ton of people who loved it so maybe I'm just an idiot).