Such a great idea, excellent performance, human an robot and good cinematography. I would have given it 9 stars if it hd been edited down by 30 minutes, but having said that if you find it slow, persevere because the ending is well worth the wait.
Reviews
14 Reviews
Star Trek: Picard
(2020–2023)
It's Soooooo Ssllooww!
6 March 2020
There's some good ideas here, good performances and nice callbacks to fan favourites, but it's just so slow. I gave up after episode 5 because I hust couldn't be bothered any more. If it was all edited back be two or three to one so you had say 4 episodes instead of the planned 10 then maybe it would work, but right now I'm falling asleep just waiting for something, anything, to happen.
Really disappointed.
Really disappointed.
Class
(I) (2016)
Disappointed
24 October 2016
OK, I'm not their target market (clue: I saw the first episode in 1963 when first broadcast) but I am a NuWho and a Torchwood fan and though understanding this is aimed at YA, I was disappointed.
Some positive marks in that going by the first two episodes the aim is to probe the characters reaction and, let's face it, PTSD in the face of some pretty horrible events. This is something Dr Who has not paid that much attention to so far and it is worth pursuing. But did we really need the graphic gore?
Character-wise I suppose I'll have to let them have their teenage angst because that's who it's aimed at, but for we grown-ups the standout character is of course, Miss Quill. She's a scream and probably the main reason some of us will persevere a bit longer.
So, I'm going to give the next couple of episodes a try in the hope it doesn't come down to "monster of the week" and that the characters gain some strength. In the meantime, I'm watching NuWho Series 1-9 through again in desperate anticipation of the 2016 Christmas Special.
Some positive marks in that going by the first two episodes the aim is to probe the characters reaction and, let's face it, PTSD in the face of some pretty horrible events. This is something Dr Who has not paid that much attention to so far and it is worth pursuing. But did we really need the graphic gore?
Character-wise I suppose I'll have to let them have their teenage angst because that's who it's aimed at, but for we grown-ups the standout character is of course, Miss Quill. She's a scream and probably the main reason some of us will persevere a bit longer.
So, I'm going to give the next couple of episodes a try in the hope it doesn't come down to "monster of the week" and that the characters gain some strength. In the meantime, I'm watching NuWho Series 1-9 through again in desperate anticipation of the 2016 Christmas Special.
Tomorrowland
(2015)
It could have been so much better
29 May 2015
I don't often review and I'll keep this one short. The film is well made, well acted - even George Clooney who I don't have much time for. Special mention of Raffey Cassidy who played Athena and of course Britt Robertson who played Casey.
Direction and special effects were great but something was lacking the in the writing. There was no 3D but it wouldn't have added much. You got the moral but had it preached to you: A better written film and it would have been crystal clear and you could have had a better ending. In short, it's a great idea and technically very good but as a complete story it could have been so much better.
I'd say wait to rent the video.
Direction and special effects were great but something was lacking the in the writing. There was no 3D but it wouldn't have added much. You got the moral but had it preached to you: A better written film and it would have been crystal clear and you could have had a better ending. In short, it's a great idea and technically very good but as a complete story it could have been so much better.
I'd say wait to rent the video.
Disappointing and way too long
8 July 2011
Very disappointing after the first two. Transformers 1 was fun. Transformers 3 has great effects and some cute ideas, but it becomes hard to distinguish sides at some points and it soon degenerates to just plain mechanised violence.
I often go to 3D movies on the basis that if the movie itself isn't that great at least I can enjoy the 3D effects. Once again, a disappointment. The 3D is ordinary. Not up to what we expect these days and certainly no "Coraline"
It's two hours too long and it's just not fun.
Not what we expect from Mr Spielberg. "Can do better".
I often go to 3D movies on the basis that if the movie itself isn't that great at least I can enjoy the 3D effects. Once again, a disappointment. The 3D is ordinary. Not up to what we expect these days and certainly no "Coraline"
It's two hours too long and it's just not fun.
Not what we expect from Mr Spielberg. "Can do better".
BoyTown
(2006)
Hard to fault
26 October 2006
I'm not going to say anything much about plot and content - You should see it and I don't want to spoil a minute of it for you.
It's not often you see a movie you can't fault, but "Boytown" is one of them. Great premise, top writing and directing, well acted with the perfect comedy timing you'd expect from this group of Australian (OK, and British ex-pat) veterans. The songs for women of "their generation" had my wife and I rolling in the aisles.
It's a masterpiece of stereotype satire, and an interesting comment on what happens to rockers when they're closer to the rocking chair than the rocking cradle.
The ending was a surprise (although I had been warned by my son), but somehow it seemed like the best way to end and it neatly eliminated any prospect of the pathetic sequel so many American films seem to spawn. Go and see it, and don't listen to the negative reviews - they must have been watching some other movie of the same name.
It's not often you see a movie you can't fault, but "Boytown" is one of them. Great premise, top writing and directing, well acted with the perfect comedy timing you'd expect from this group of Australian (OK, and British ex-pat) veterans. The songs for women of "their generation" had my wife and I rolling in the aisles.
It's a masterpiece of stereotype satire, and an interesting comment on what happens to rockers when they're closer to the rocking chair than the rocking cradle.
The ending was a surprise (although I had been warned by my son), but somehow it seemed like the best way to end and it neatly eliminated any prospect of the pathetic sequel so many American films seem to spawn. Go and see it, and don't listen to the negative reviews - they must have been watching some other movie of the same name.
Beautiful Creatures
(2000)
Complete Waste of Time
25 March 2006
We sat through "Beautiful Creatures" in the hope that it would get funny or at least get better. It did neither. On DVD in Australia it's rated MA15+ but probably should be R for violence and drug use. What a waste of two great female leads! The scenes of physical abuse, threatened violence and forced drug taking are appalling. This film has absolutely no redeeming features and is a waste of film stock. It adds nothing to the human condition - not that every film has to do that by any means, but it doesn't entertain or amuse either Take my tip, just don't bother. An this is coming from someone who can usually find something good in any film.
War of the Worlds
(2005)
Way better than I expected.
25 July 2005
Well I expected this version of War of the Worlds to be complete rubbish, but I was pleasantly surprised. Tom Cruise was excellent, although I thought Dakota Fanning overrated. I probably shouldn't say it but I didn't recognise Tim Robbins at first - which says something for his performance.
Plot: Well pretty much all you need. Effects: Excellent - very convincing and truly menacing. Performances: See above.
BUT, I still reckon that if you really want to capture "War of the Worlds" listen to the Jeff Wayne musical version. Pity the music is probably too dated now to make it a movie.
Plot: Well pretty much all you need. Effects: Excellent - very convincing and truly menacing. Performances: See above.
BUT, I still reckon that if you really want to capture "War of the Worlds" listen to the Jeff Wayne musical version. Pity the music is probably too dated now to make it a movie.
The Butterfly Effect
(2004)
Well worth staying with it
3 June 2005
This is one of those movies that for the first half you're sitting there watching it thinking "why am I sitting here watching this?". The first half is not actually boring, but it is pretty unpleasant.
And then it kicks in and things start to happen and you realise that you have got a top level "ideas" science fiction (as opposed to "science fantasy" movie on your hands. If you like timeline changing stories then this is for you, but you will have to get past the grittiness.
This film is way out of character for Ashton Kurtcher and I notice he is one of the producers. An excellent performance. He was so good I thought he must have been Canadian - but he's not. Like Captain Kirk, he's from Iowa. (There is absolutely no relevance in that statement).
I see there's a "Butterfly Effect 2" in production. I'm not sure that's a great idea as it's one of those stories that is complete and self contained. Let's hope the sequel doesn't go the same way as most sequels of "original ideas" films - a pale echo. I'll let you know when I see it.
And then it kicks in and things start to happen and you realise that you have got a top level "ideas" science fiction (as opposed to "science fantasy" movie on your hands. If you like timeline changing stories then this is for you, but you will have to get past the grittiness.
This film is way out of character for Ashton Kurtcher and I notice he is one of the producers. An excellent performance. He was so good I thought he must have been Canadian - but he's not. Like Captain Kirk, he's from Iowa. (There is absolutely no relevance in that statement).
I see there's a "Butterfly Effect 2" in production. I'm not sure that's a great idea as it's one of those stories that is complete and self contained. Let's hope the sequel doesn't go the same way as most sequels of "original ideas" films - a pale echo. I'll let you know when I see it.
Shaun of the Dead
(2004)
Goreat Fun!
3 June 2005
Well lots of reviewers have told you what it's all about, but is it any good? The short answer is "Yes", the long answer is "Yes indeed". Good script, well delivered and directed, with good cinematography. And if the extras footage on the DVD are any guide, well edited too (they don't add anything to the film). Good performances all around. Gets your attention from the first scene and holds it - I guess this comes from the writer/lead actor's background in sketch comedy.
I've got a feeling that this is one of the films you'll see a second and third time and spot all sorts of things you didn't notice the first time around. Keep looking for details in the background.
Comment on language: I'm not a fan on the use of the "f" word, and in this film there is plenty of it. But in this case, unlike a lot of films, it's appropriate and it works and didn't offend anyone in our house. The hero is being attach by a shirtload of zombies, after all!
I've got a feeling that this is one of the films you'll see a second and third time and spot all sorts of things you didn't notice the first time around. Keep looking for details in the background.
Comment on language: I'm not a fan on the use of the "f" word, and in this film there is plenty of it. But in this case, unlike a lot of films, it's appropriate and it works and didn't offend anyone in our house. The hero is being attach by a shirtload of zombies, after all!
Lost in Translation
(2003)
What were they thinking?
3 June 2005
I'm sorry, I heard that this was a great film, that Bill Murray was excellent and that it was a "must see". I didn't see the cinema release a only just caught up with it on DVD.
What a disappointment! The response in our household of four educated, intelligent individuals who enjoy deep, thought provoking stories as well as light comedies, was unanimous: A complete waste of an hour and a half. The whole film is dull, boring and pointless. We got to the end and looked at each other and said "why did they bother?" I'm trying hard to say something positive about this movie. There we a few (all too few) funny moments and Bill Murray's casting out of type was a good move. Um. Er. That's it. The rest was a waste of talent. The cinematography was below ordinary. The Directing was OK but nothing could hold up the script that didn't have a great premise to start with.
So don't bother to see this one, just wonder if the 47,000 people who voted for this film, most of whom seemed to have had a good reaction, were seeing a different movie of the same name.
"Lost in Translation: should have been lost in the cutting room.
What a disappointment! The response in our household of four educated, intelligent individuals who enjoy deep, thought provoking stories as well as light comedies, was unanimous: A complete waste of an hour and a half. The whole film is dull, boring and pointless. We got to the end and looked at each other and said "why did they bother?" I'm trying hard to say something positive about this movie. There we a few (all too few) funny moments and Bill Murray's casting out of type was a good move. Um. Er. That's it. The rest was a waste of talent. The cinematography was below ordinary. The Directing was OK but nothing could hold up the script that didn't have a great premise to start with.
So don't bother to see this one, just wonder if the 47,000 people who voted for this film, most of whom seemed to have had a good reaction, were seeing a different movie of the same name.
"Lost in Translation: should have been lost in the cutting room.
Sorry if you didn't like it!
3 May 2005
I wasn't going to put a comment in about this movie as I thought the responses would be universally (or at least galactically) positive. I was very surprised to see the comments so polarised pro and con.
Personally I loved it. What wasn't changed was great, and what was changed was pretty well always for the better. The increase in Trillians part was a good move and made her a little less two dimensional, and the love interest added a necessary positive feel to the story.
Like many, I was surprised by some of the casting, but the result worked very well. After seeing the Vogons I'll never look at a Wizard Home Loans ad the same way again.
Yes, it's different from the original story, but Douglas Adams kept changing and improving things with each successive medium change, and it's fair enough for him to have continued that change. I suspect that those who didn't like the film felt a bit like the adult who goes to visit a place familiar in childhood and is disappointed because it's not the same as they remembered it (OK, in this case it ISN'T actually the same). But to these moviegoers I say, give it another chance. Go and see it again, but try to leave behind your preconceptions about what it should be like.
I won't spoil the climactic scene in the movie for anybody, but I thought it was absolutely classic Adams! A Sequel "Restaurant at the end of the Universe" - Let it be Soon!
Personally I loved it. What wasn't changed was great, and what was changed was pretty well always for the better. The increase in Trillians part was a good move and made her a little less two dimensional, and the love interest added a necessary positive feel to the story.
Like many, I was surprised by some of the casting, but the result worked very well. After seeing the Vogons I'll never look at a Wizard Home Loans ad the same way again.
Yes, it's different from the original story, but Douglas Adams kept changing and improving things with each successive medium change, and it's fair enough for him to have continued that change. I suspect that those who didn't like the film felt a bit like the adult who goes to visit a place familiar in childhood and is disappointed because it's not the same as they remembered it (OK, in this case it ISN'T actually the same). But to these moviegoers I say, give it another chance. Go and see it again, but try to leave behind your preconceptions about what it should be like.
I won't spoil the climactic scene in the movie for anybody, but I thought it was absolutely classic Adams! A Sequel "Restaurant at the end of the Universe" - Let it be Soon!
The Extra
(2005)
See it! - Don't believe the reviews!
21 April 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This seems to be another one of those movies that you can't help but think the reviewers were watching a different movie.
I went to see "The Extra" opening night at the local Hoyts, despite a bad review on Sydney ABC radio 702, and was pleasantly surprised. "The Extra" isn't side splitting, but it is funny. Nice story, good performances, Australian comedians doing what they do best. The good guys are people you can relate to, and the bad guys are people you can laugh at - what could be better?
Best scene(s)? Jimeoin dancing in the gay bar. Scene you could see coming but it didn't matter? The caravan runaway. Wait for the climax at the after party - it delightfully slams home everything Jimeoin was saying about extras being invisible.
Do yourself a favour - go and see it.
I went to see "The Extra" opening night at the local Hoyts, despite a bad review on Sydney ABC radio 702, and was pleasantly surprised. "The Extra" isn't side splitting, but it is funny. Nice story, good performances, Australian comedians doing what they do best. The good guys are people you can relate to, and the bad guys are people you can laugh at - what could be better?
Best scene(s)? Jimeoin dancing in the gay bar. Scene you could see coming but it didn't matter? The caravan runaway. Wait for the climax at the after party - it delightfully slams home everything Jimeoin was saying about extras being invisible.
Do yourself a favour - go and see it.
The Polar Express
(2004)
What, there's a 3D version?
19 November 2004
Polar Express has just opened in Australia and we saw it the other night. It is visually the most amazing thing I have ever seen. (We saw Final Fantasy just to see the CGI). It was also refreshing to see a movie where somebody actually understands how a steam locomotive is operated. Now you tell me there is a 3D version?
Fundamentally it is like one of those beautifully illustrated children's books, but it moves and it talks. Ostensibly it's about Christmas and the Santa Claus thing, but it's really about the wonder of childhood - those who have it, those who don't and those who missed out. There are flaws, and you can be PC about some things - it ignores the Christian background of Christmas - which is fine by me (let's not get into pagan roots, shall we?) and it's PC about other things, but I am happy to overlook this, because I can hear the bell!
If you haven't seen this movie, don't be put off by other user comments - they don't hear the bell. Go NOW - don't wait until it hits the rental market. Maybe you'll hear the bell too?
Fundamentally it is like one of those beautifully illustrated children's books, but it moves and it talks. Ostensibly it's about Christmas and the Santa Claus thing, but it's really about the wonder of childhood - those who have it, those who don't and those who missed out. There are flaws, and you can be PC about some things - it ignores the Christian background of Christmas - which is fine by me (let's not get into pagan roots, shall we?) and it's PC about other things, but I am happy to overlook this, because I can hear the bell!
If you haven't seen this movie, don't be put off by other user comments - they don't hear the bell. Go NOW - don't wait until it hits the rental market. Maybe you'll hear the bell too?
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