What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote: 27 Oct 2018, 11:34 I re-watched that a few weeks ago. I`d go for the same rating (3/5), though partly for different reasons. Loved Bronson and thought the fist fights were very good, but Coburn`s character got really irritating towards the end. In good writing conflicts arise despite characters doing their best, not due to characters doing the exact opposite from what they should...
Coburn gambling his money away on dice (rather than pay his debt to gangsters) didn't ring true to me. Until then his character is presented as quite sharp, a cocky hustler, not a down-on-his-luck loser who can't help but fritter his cash away. Also, he doesn't deserve Bronson's help in the end, and I didn't believe there was enough of a bond between them to make it satisfying. You get the impression that Coburn hasn't changed and is still a dick. Jill Ireland's part was evidently severely reduced (much to Charlie's chagrin) and she makes no impact on the film.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The First Purge (2018) **
Fourth instalment of the action-horror series: a prequel in which poor black folks are hunted by government-hired mercenaries posing as white supremacists. Why? To keep the undesirable population down and ensure The Purge experiment a success. Our hero? Er, a charismatic (black) drug lord. Uneven film front loads its heavy-handed political commentary, before settling for a series of undistinguished, ultra-violent encounters. There is acknowledgement early on that the drug dealer is a menace to his own community, but that's swept under the carpet in time for him to turn into Rambo. By the end he's the neighbourhood saviour. No joke. The more seriously you take this pandering, frankly racist nonsense, the more offensive it is -- and I happen to have sympathy with the filmmakers' political stance. Oh, and a cuddly toy to anyone who can find a moral white character. Marisa Tomei (the only name in the cast) is wasted as the psychologist who came up with the concept.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Shining Through (1992) **½
Most critics didn't like this WWII spy melodrama, but I found it enjoyable enough.
The hokey script's occasional holes and flashback structure
(not to mention a rather unnecessary narration)
detract from the more successful pulp elements and costly period atmosphere.
Melanie Griffith is miscast as a half-Jewish spy
(apparently the filmmakers turned down Debra Winger).
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Night Of The Demon 4.5/5
Superb b/w british horror/thriller puts todays modern equivalents to shame- it's brisk 96 minute running time flys by as skeptical Dana Andrews refuses to believe he'll die 3 days from being tricked into accepting a cursed parchment. Based on Casting The Runes, the new Indicator SE is a thing of beauty.

Christopher Robin 3/5
Not my cup of tea but a very charming for all ages live action Winnie The Pooh tale as he reconnects with an adult and very stressed Christopher Robin. Weak link here is Ewan McGregor in the title role, i just couldn't take to him the miserable sod .

Halloween 2.5/5
A Rare foray to the cinema to see this new sequel which ignores all previous entries and serves as a direct sequel to the original. An ageing and looking it JLC is back complete with daughter & granddaughter but i found this a fairly generic slasher,with bland characters and in the end, rather predictable. It's a massive hit though, so what do i know.? Nice to hear the slightly updated iconic score back though,as well as the retro credits.
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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers **½
Competent slasher gets an extra half star for being the most watchable of the sequels.
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Bridge of Spies (2015) ***
Good cold-war drama from Steven Spielberg with Tom Hanks reliable as usual.

Enigma (1982) **½
Another cold war spy drama. Quite good, but needs a bit more suspense.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Rolling Thunder (USA, 1977) [DVD] - 4/5
Excellent, gritty action thriller about two Vietnam vets who return home after enduring years of torture in Vietnam. Screenwriter Paul Schrader famously complained that the studio had turned an anti-fascist story into a fascist movie. I think he was going too far; some of his intended commentary may be missing from the film, but anyone with a brain could only interpret the movie as a powerful, critical portrayal of two men who have lost their minds. It may not be another Taxi Driver, but as an action film it is interesting, well acted and well directed.
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Mission: Impossible (1996) ***
The sequels may have surpassed this in terms of action sequences,
but in terms of spy thriller this one remains the best.
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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) ***
Really enjoyed this.
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Mile 22 1.5/5
Elite black ops team are tasked with getting police officer Iko Uwais to a helicopter and to America, on their way they have numerous obstacles trying to make sure that doesn't happen. Really poorly done actioner, Mark Wahlberg is a charisma free zone in the lead, Lauren Cohan is gorgeous but no movie star, Iko Uwais has a couple of ok fight sequences but in the main the action is really poorly edited. Ronda Rousey, ex-UFC champ cannot act for toffee so you assume she's here for some combat sequences? think again..

The Meg 2/5
Jason Statham fights a giant shark. Ridiculous but passable entertainment.

Nightwing 2/5
late 70's horror has Nick Mancuso and an overacting David Warner tracking hordes of killer bats on an indian reserve.. slow moving and light on horror elements, quite talky.

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave 2.5/5
ok entry in the Lee Hammer Dracula series loses half a star for featuring the truly annoying weak as piss priest Ewan Hooper far too much. Nice and atmospheric otherwise.
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Skyscraper (2018) **
Dwayne Johnson and some Duct Tape star in this preposterous action blockbuster in which a one-legged security expert has to save his family from foreign bad guys in a towering inferno. Pot-boiler kills time for sure, but this makes the Die Hard series look like gritty realism in the credibility stakes.
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Virus (1998) **
Electrical pulses take over a Russian ship and turn its inhabitants into mutant robots, or something like that.
Silly stuff wastes a decent cast, but some may find it amusingly bad.

Mechanic: Resurrection (2016) **½
Jason Statham's assassin is backing doing assassiny things to save the gorgeous Jessica Alba from an old comrade.
It ain't art, but it's acceptable, violent escapism.
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The Equalizer 2 (2018) **½
Serviceable, if overlong sequel pits deadly Denzel against a team of rogue CIA assassins.
Slick and violent, but the script is run of the mill, and doesn't bear scrutiny.
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Loophole (1980) ***
Struggling architect Martin Sheen is lured into helping crook Albert Finney break into a London bank vault.
Thoroughly watchable caper, ending's a bit pat though.
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The Predator (2018) **
Not the turkey I feared it might be, but a disappointment all the same.
The action and effects never let up, nor does the profanity-laden, vulgar humour.
No suspense, no room for characters to breathe, this is every bit the franchise fodder.
It's as if Shane Black (co-star in the original) had no idea of what made that movie successful.
Boyd Holbrook (a new name to me) is no Schwarzenegger (or Danny Glover for that matter).
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Annihilation (USA, 2018) [Netflix] - 3.5/5
Interesting, visually striking science fiction horror ultimately falls a little short. For an intellectual film it features odd lapses in logic (e.g. the heroines are nearly killed by a giant river creature; the next morning they go downriver without a worry in their minds as if they knew what the script says) and doesn't feature as much depth as you'd wish. Still very good, but Garland's first, smaller scale film Ex Machina got more out of its topic matter.
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Final Score (2018) **
Derivative action vehicle isn't as good as Sudden Death let alone Die Hard.
Pierce Brosnan must've had some bills to pay for his 20 mins of screen time.
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Skin Trade (2014) **½
Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa team up to wipe out scummy human traffickers.
Better than usual cast, lots of crunchy action.
Closer to a theatrical feature than most DTV movies.
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Markgway wrote: 15 Nov 2018, 23:49 Skin Trade (2014) **½
Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa team up to wipe out scummy human traffickers.
Better than usual cast, lots of crunchy action.
Closer to a theatrical feature than most DTV movies.
It was a theatrical release in Japan. I remember seeing it in cinema and enjoying it, though it could've been a bit more exploitative. Seemed like the filmmakers didn't know whether to go for honest exploitation or not, and got stuck somewhere in the middle.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Die Hard (1988) ***½
UHD viewing of all-time action classic.
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Hacksaw Ridge (2016) **½
Visceral and very graphic battle sequences spotlight tale of WWII heroism.
Technically well-made as you'd expect from director Mel Gibson,
but the story didn't grab me the way I'd hoped,
and I found Andrew Garfield's lead character,
a religious pacifist, hard to connect with.

Ghostbusters (1984) ***
UHD upgrade.
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Turbo Kid (Canada / Australia, 2012) [Netflix] - 2/5
Post-modern post-apocalypse with the world's most irritating female side-kick is worth enduring for its super fun splatter effects.
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Speaking of irritating sidekicks, that Asian steward in Final Score takes the biscuit!
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San Andreas (2015) **½
BIG, LOUD F/X-dominated blockbuster is exactly what you expect it to be -- no more, no less -- as bad-ass helicopter pilot Dwayne Johnson aims to rescue his wife (the lovely Carla Gugino) and daughter (the lovely Alexandra Daddario) from a MAJOR earthquake (and subsequent tsunami). To complain about the predictable script and cheesy cliches is utterly pointless. If you're watching this at all you (should) know what to expect: 2 hrs of manipulative, brain-off popcorn fodder.
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Re: What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Goldstone (2016) **
Meandering follow up to outback drama 'Mystery Road' is more of the same.
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