sn3z Reviews

The Final: Attack on Wembley (2024)

Horrible hooligan culture

[2/10 · 14 May 2024]

This documentary made me sick and things like this is why I can never support England even though I've lived here all my life.

The glorifying of England thugs in this made me sick yo my stomach, the filmmakers have no clue and should give up making this dirge for netflix money immediately.

Don't watch this if you're proud of being English. It will make you sick and we should never host another tournament ever again.

Why have finals this late in the day when everyone does nothing but drink all day. I am soooooioio glad England lost, Italy were the better team anyway. These fans broke in and robbed people of their rights to watch the game.

Civil War (2024)

I was incredibly depressed afterwards

[8/10 · 15 April 2024]

If anyone has seen an Alex Garland film before they will know what to expect. A clever and insiteful piece of work that causes you to think and will stay in your brain long afterwards.

Of all his previous work this one is probably the simplest to follow but no less powerful. It is a road trip through war torn America using a "what if" scenario.

What if, and let's not beat about the bush, Trump gets in and disbands the FBI and changes the law so he has a third term.

What if some states, and it doesn't matter which ones, even though here it is two of the largest Texas and California. What if the states decide to go to war with him.

It's crazy sci fi stuff but wrapped in a realistic war setting. I honestly thought I might enjoy the bang bang explosions at the end, which feel like they were in there to make the film more marketable. They do look great and gunships blowing up Washington is video game stuff but it made me quite sad that this could happen, and with recent events on the news it could happen sooner than we think.

A great film and one of Alex Garlands more accessible efforts.

(Ex Machina is still my favourite)

Fair Play (2023)

Something different and incredible

[9/10 · 17 October 2023]

Fair Play is a film I have been wanting to see ever since I heard the premise of it from an early Sundance review. Woman gets made her boyfriends boss getting the promotion he thought he was going to have. Perfect. Let the sh1tshow begin.

The best part of this film is that it is a social commentary piece second and an erotic thriller first bristling with sharp dialog and an even sharper plot. If you like Succession you will love this as it has a similar vibe. You know the one, quality.

I won't ruin it for you but think of all the erotic thrillers you have seen in the past and how they accelerate until they reach a final huge conclusion and every second of it is a blast.

The leads are excellent as are the supporting players and there are twists and turns galore.

Get it on your TV and enjoy one of the films of the year.

Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023)

Chris being Chris

[10/10 · 5 March 2023]

Well what can I say, Tamborine was good but this is just superb. Will may have slapped Chris but Chris definitely slaps him back in this special.

We waited a whole year to hear what he has to say about the whole ridiculous episode and finally we get what we want.

Chris has always been a guy to put a different slant on things and to make you see issues in a different light. You learn as well as laugh, well some issues anyway. I mean the transphobbic stuff was embarrassing and will age as well as Eddie Murphys old gay material but well you can't have everything and tbh I'm just here for the hating on Will Smith stuff. Enjoy.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

Absolutely excellent fun

[8/10 · 14 September 2022]

Now I'm no Marvel fanperson. Let me say that right now. As much as I like some of the film's and shows there are some that really irk. She hulk is not one of them.

Here comes a another Disney plus show that does pretty much what it sets out to do. Entertain. I didn't know when I went in that it was going to be so light hearted and fun and tbh judging by the trailer I didn't really care much for it. Hence the late review.

This show was such a lovely fun surprise for sure and had some brilliant cameos even though we're only halfway through the season and there are more to come.

Sit back, get the family around the TV and enjoy. It's perfect Friday night TV suitable for everyone which is really missing these days.

F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

So much fun

[9/10 · 14 June 2021]

This is the perfect film in these times. We don't need more downbeat end of the world stuff man, we need Fast 9.

The film hits the ground running and doesn't let up and if you have enjoyed the franchise then you'll love it all

It also benefits from NOT having the distractions of Rock and Statham. They were too big and ruined previous films with wanting equal billing. Anyway Han is back so for la familia! Forza!

Nobody (I) (2021)

Soo immature

[4/10 · 4 May 2021]

This film man. This film.

I love Bob, I've followed him since he was doing comedy in the 90s and through breaking bad and Saul.

He's a very good actor indeed but this film is utterly dross. Sometimes I wonder if 14 year old boys are writing films these days because they make no sense and are full of boring violence.

The plot is nonsense and the premise is borrowed from John wick and Taken but done so badly.

Avoid this film if you are over 16 years old.

The Assistant (III) (2019)

Exceptional filmmaking and great horror movie

[9/10 · 30 April 2020]

This is basically a dramatisation of what it was like working for a Weinstein like producer who has absolute power to hire and fire as they please and can talk to people and abuse them as much as they like because they make people stars.

Working in an everyday firm may net you a better position. A partnership or a place on the exec team perhaps but you'll never be a bonafide movie star. You'll never make movies or produce them or work in the glamour of Hollywood and this means the boss of a normal firm can rarely behave like a top showbiz producer. The average firm isn't run like this.

There must be so many skeletons in Hollywood and so many people got stepped on or did the stepping to get to where they are. The lead in this film for example starts at the bottom enduring the horrors of her boss just so might have a hope of a big job in future. Sure she might get it but she'll carry the weight of the pain of what she saw and heard with her.

On her deathbed in her huge mansion she might even ask if it was all worth it. It wasn't.

Extraction (2020)

Cliche ridden John Wick Raid rip off

[7/10 · 26 April 2020]

The problem with giving your stunt action guy a directing gig is that of course the action sequences will be great. There will be loads of Steadicam one take shots and loads of camera floating between cars in a seamless fashion shots so yes so far so spectacular. Where this whole movie falls over is plot, story, character development, chemistry between the cast, dialogue you know, everything else.

This film borrows a lot from The Raid and John Wick for its action sequences and they are really satisfying and unpredictable but I do wish the story and dialogue had someone to give it a spot shine. I didn't feel invested in the characters even Chris H, who normally makes everyone he plays likeable, looks like he's finding it hard to project what this guy is about.

I haven't finished the film yet as 2 hours of this is way too indulgent and I there are a lot of needless scenes with everyone looking a little bored.

It's nice to see a 6 foot white guy save brown people though. He's so pretty and good at his job and the browns are so goddam ugly and corrupt ;-)

They should have employed some big name Bollywood stars to make this a proper international production and got someone better to write snappy fun dialogue and who knows it might not have gone straight to Netflix.

7 stars for that car chase alone though.

South Park: Band in China (2019) Season 23, Episode 2

These guys don't mess around

[10/10 · 9 October 2019]

A fantastic episode calling out China for all it's human rights violations and generally selling it's people out for profit over everything.

How a country can treat people like it does and get away with it is unreal. It does so many things wrong and practically nothing right. I will never visit it

This episode calls out Disney in a big way at it's about time. The selling out of Marvel and Star Wars for money is a travesty especially when you think about how much love and attention went into drawing those comics or making the first movies.

South Park rules and I'm glad they got banned. I feel sorrow for people living in China being exploited for profit then for those profits to be used to buy up the world's resources in poor desperate countrys. Gold, diamonds, bitcoin, jobs are iall going east and all we care about what the next phone will be.

Hong Kong is fighting a losing battle and China will never see a revolution while it's permanent president is in power.

:(

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

Hobbs and Sh**

[4/10 · 6 October 2019]

Wow they made a terminator half android bad guy who is very hard to kill. It makes sense, Statham and The Rock need a tough adversary so why not make him a robot thingy killer. Have Idris play him. So far so good.

Now make Statham and Rock totally unhurtable too. As Daffy Duck would say 'Whoops'. Why do modern action films do this, I haven't seen new Rambo yet but I wouldn't be surprised if that is the same. These 'human' good guys can take a punch and survive explosions as well as any terminator John wick and it's ruined the whole film.

There is zero tension here too. Zilch, nothing. Action films slowly build tension until we get to the big finale. Look at the best action movies, Total Recall, Commando, RoboCop, Die Hard, Raid, Lethal Weapon, Predator, Oldboy, Under Siege, Bad Boys etc etc. The tension builds from the back and it gets harder and harder for the heroes until it all explodes at the end. Not in modern action movies. Nowadays action is something that just happens between dialog. Boring.

The stunts are crazy and the human heroes can out jump and out drive any super charged android and the plot is ripped from Avengers with the bad guy wanting to wipe out and rebuild mankind. Are these screenwriters trying to tell us something not very subtly.

Anyway. Watch this film. Put your brain on hold (you should never put your brain on hold) and enjoy.

If you like it then you deserve it or you're 10 years old.

The Irishman (2019)

Gangster Avengers born for Netflix

[7/10 · 29 September 2019]

This film is super long. Too long to sit in the cinema for as fantastic as it looks. I ran out of snacks, I was so gripped I didn't go to the toilet which meant my bladder was bursting only adding to the tension.

This is pretty much the Avengers of the gangster movies where all of your favourite people are in one film written by the best writer and directed by the best director. Only Walken and Woods are missing.

Making de niro young kind of works and isn't as distracting as I thought and Pacino is fantastic. If you expect Pesci to be the nutjob he was in the other Scorsese movies then think again and this is no bad thing. Pesci is one of the best actors alive with a fantastic range and this movie proves it.

The Irishman is lovely to look at but for god sakes take a leak before you go or wait for its Netflix debut where you can watch it with whiskey and pause it for comfort breaks.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

Entertaining blockbuster

[7/10 · 22 September 2019]

Hmmmm are Marvel films getting a little tedious. It's a question that keeps me awake at night. I walk to the bus thinking it and I sit on the toilet thinking it. Am I getting superhero fatigue? Probably. I am pretty old after all.

Marvel's final Spider hyphen man film was a thoroughly entertaining movie though I must say. Sure the cast look nowhere the 16 year olds they are playing and sure the effects are getting a bit samey but Jake is here and he adds a lot of class.

The plot has a great twist and the way the movie carries on from Endgame is done very well but then it should be. Hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of man hours means everything is going to be tight and polished and it doesn't even pander to the East Asian market like most modern blockbusters.

Give it a whirl if you like this sort of thing. Blah blah blah.

Succession (2018–2023)

Absolute animals

[10/10 · 17 September 2019]

The creator of this co-wrote Veep, The thick of it and Four lions and if you like those (I love them) then Succession is totally for you.

Basically it takes all the nastiness of the above four and turns it up a notch proper HBO style. Line after line of put downs and nastiness and total effing entertainment I tell you.

The acting is superb with Brian Cox having a ball in a role with real meat on the bones. I have to say that the whole cast look like they are having a great time and it's a superb ensemble.

So as I said before, if you like sarcastic dialog and witty put downs and nasty people being nasty to each other then enjoy this show.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Soooo boring

[4/10 · 15 September 2019]

Now I'm not an X men fanboy so all the different movies didn't really bother me and I found them all pretty entertaining even the last mad one.

This film on the other hand put me right to sleep. I've complained in my previous reviews that Hollywood blockbusters are all pretty much terrible and I should give up but I still persist. I have an abusive relationship with them.

Dark Phoenix looks cheap. The green screen backdrops look green screen, accents waver, the action is boring, the plot is dull, the actors look half asleep and the whole effing car crash hinges around Sophie Turner's performance which in a nutshell, is wonky. Her acting is pretty bad and her accent is pretty bad but then the whole flipping movie is pretty bad. No wonder Jennifer Lawrence goes AWOL.

Give it a miss. In fact give every movie made this year a miss.

Hotel Mumbai (2018)

Unfortunately really entertaining

[8/10 · 5 September 2019]

I know that you shouldn't find real tragedy entertaining but if they keep packaging it like this with lots of gunfire, explosions, loud tense music, obvious bad guys and obvious good guys, then what can I do?

Our whole lives as moviegoers we have been getting entertained by real death and mayhem movies. I had a friend who used to use the Saving Private Ryan beach opening as a demo for his home theater system. 'Listen to the explosions!' he'd cry. United 93 was dramatic as hell and I cried at the end but was also excited by it.

Hotel Mumbai is entertaining as hell and sad as hell but soooo goddam entertaining. It's like Die Hard without a Hollywood hero.

Enjoy it because as soon as you turn a real life event into a high budget movie it's message is lost and it's just my Friday night disposable movie fodder. :(

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

John Wick 3 now this

[4/10 · 27 August 2019]

What a cast! All of my favourite movie and TV stars in a monster movie! Then it all went down the toilet.

I'll tell you what happened here. The brilliant first movie didn't show the monster enough so Xbox and PS4 players complained. 'Where is the monster' they cried. 'I'm used to instant gratification' they squealed. I know I am being hard on gamers and I'm pretty scared about being swatted but wtf happened to this film. The execs must have screamed at the director to show all the monsters in one go and they cra4pped out this mess.

A total waste of cast and money in a weird film where the main cast all are blessed with John Wicks terminatoriness. They can jump out of choppers and run away from laser blasting three headed dragons pretty easily. All the others are monster meat.

I dunno why I bother with blockbusters anymore... or sequels.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Got switched off after 30 minutes.

[5/10 · 25 August 2019]

This is one weird film. When it started I wondered why I liked John Wick but after 10 minutes and a fight in the library I thought 'ahhhh this is why'. Then after the second fight with knives then a third in the stables before any semblance of a plot I thought 'okay this is stupid now, I can't take another 90 minutes of inconsequential fighting and murdering in some pretentious no police hit man world'. Off it went.

The John Wick trilogy seems to be mirroring the Matrix trilogy. A brilliant first entry, a decent second one then a wtf third. The whole essence of John Wick is gone and has been replaced with some sort of Terminator Wick.

So off it went and Godzilla King of Monsters went on and 20 minutes later that was off and we watched Okja on Netflix instead.

5 stars for the top creative murdering action.