mrglenngrant Reviews

Civil War (2024)

Nothing surprising.

[5/10 · 15 June 2024]

This is another film that I was really looking forward to seeing .... that was ultimately a disappointment.

It had everything that you would expect. A slightly jaded, tortured character (with side-kick) and a fresh new rookie-type, drama, character deaths, excitement, etc etc. It just didn't hit the mark for me.

Pretty much the whole film was just one set-piece / mini-adventure after another .... with some character moments in between to make you care about them. I found Jessie to be slightly annoying, if I'm honest.

At the end of the film I had a huge 'so what?' moment. What was the point in it all? An ok, ho-hum film.

53/100.

Air (I) (2023)

Excellent kinda biopic

[8/10 · 11 June 2024]

This was an unexpected pleasure.

I like pretty much all Matt Damon films but I'd never even heard of this one. It popped up on Prime so .... what the flip. What a really good, well made film.

The performances are altogether excellent. What could have been a very dry and boring subject matter was actually quite compelling and kept my attention throughout.

I also liked all the period throwbacks so props to the production design and the sound/music departments.

Nike get a bad rep for their child labour, I believe, but this film (unsurprisingly) paints them in a very good light .... eg pointing out that they've given over 2 billion dollars to charity.

But, man - Michael Jordan has made a shedload of cash from a trainer!!!

79/100.

Replicas (2018)

Amazing...!

[4/10 · 11 June 2024]

... that I made it all the way through this quite ridiculous movie. I audibly groaned in so many places.

To be fair, the story itself was right up my alley .... it was just the execution of it that really let this film down. That and the acting. I'm really not sure at all how Keanu Reeves gets work in Hollywood. Man, he's bad. Even the way he 'runs' in action sequences is as juddering and lumbering as his speech.

The movie wouldn't have been as bad if they had just sense-checked a few things .... like eliminating Zoe from their memories. What about everyone else's memories? What about the endless photos and online presence there must have been of her? And why no explanation of the family missing over 17 days of their lives? Stupid.

So ... good idea for a science-fiction film but badly made.

43/100.

Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Outstanding

[9/10 · 10 June 2024]

I so wanted to see this film in the cinema but missed it when it was out - and having seen it now, it makes me all the more sad at having missed it in "all its glory".

The story is shocking and fabulous. The performances are outstanding. The production is wonderful. The comedic moments are absolutely spot-on. It's just a great, great little film about a previously unknown chapter in British life.

Olivia Colman is just amazing ... as is Timothy Spall - who as her father plays the patriarchal monster to perfection such that I would happily have punched him in the throat repeatedly for days for being such a despicable man.

My only minor bug-bear - and the only thing that prevents the film being a 10 for me - is probably absurdly non-pc in this uber-woke world we live in but I take issue with the insertion of Indian and black actresses and actors into a historical story when the real-life people they are portraying are not of that descent. Just why? I understand the 'best actors for the role' mantra but in this instance the (large) cynical side of me thinks it is to satisfy the percentage of the population who would otherwise complain at an all-white cast - which would be accurate and true to the period.

Putting that historical accuracy quibble aside, it's a wonderfully sensational - and genuinely gripping - film with great performances from all the principals.

93/100.

The Pianist (2002)

Schindler's List companion piece

[8/10 · 28 May 2024]

Excellent film .... enjoyed it thoroughly.

It's an extraordinary .... and at times unbelievable .... tale of his survival and close calls and near misses in war-torn Warsaw. I couldn't help thinking that some of them were taking liberties with the truth a bit though - they just seemed far too coincidental and fortuitous.

The brutality was .... well, brutal. I can't imagine how a German must feel watching this kind of film. Must be very uncomfortable,

The depiction of Warsaw was amazing. Truly a city in tatters and finally in ruins. I'd love to know how they did that.

Maureen Lipman!! And the German who helps him at the end could be Ewan MacGregor's twin brother.

81/100.

Alice, Darling (2022)

Very average.

[5/10 · 25 May 2024]

This could have been a powerful story about a woman reclaiming herself from an abusive partner .... but the way the story is told makes the movie a bit weak, in my humble opinion.

I didn't like the way that the abuse she suffered was only kind of hinted at. We never really got to see the real reasons behind the way she felt .... with only flashes and snippets of psychological abuse from Simon.

With that, we're left to fill in a lot of the blank spaces .... which I realise some people prefer but I'm more in the camp that actually seeing it would have been more effective and powerful.

I - as a man - am also guilty of not understanding why she would put up with his crap anyway - which also lessens the impact of the film and the story. To my simplistic little brain the solution is easy. Just leave him. Why put up with this when it clearly has such a detrimental effect on you?

I also didn't understand what the reasoning behind the missing girl sub-plot that seemed like it was going to be really important at some point. Like it was going to turn out that Simon was the abductor/killer (which would have been far too obvious but you get my point).

49/100.

The Idea of You (2024)

Shades of Notting Hill

[7/10 · 20 May 2024]

As the tagline says, this really gave me Notting Hill vibes when I was watching it. Unfortunately it didn't come close to it though.

The story had a lot of similarities. Famous person meets average, regular person (at the shortest band meet and greet ever in history!) and attempts a relationship which does not go well. The addition of the daughter brought a different dynamic ... but I think it was a mistake to have the large age gap. Some of it did feel a little bit icky and validated a lot of the backlash that was displayed in the movie - but maybe that's just me and my problem.

It was an average movie that gets extra marks for having Anne Hathaway in it. :)

69/100.

The Fall Guy (2024)

Silly story ... good film.

[6/10 · 18 May 2024]

Saw this at the movies and enjoyed it.

Adri was disappointed that it wasn't Lee Majors but then I pointed out that he was about 80 years old and she saw the error. It was great to see him at the end in the cameo though. Apparently he was also with his co-star (Heather Thomas) ... who looked like she'd had waaaay too much work done.

As for the film itself. Wow there was a lot of action. Some of it was good and some of it was not. I felt like they were trying a bit too hard at times .... but then it is a film about stunts and stuntmen.

The story itself is ridiculous, of course. It could have been taken from an episode of the original series it's so silly. Good fun though.

I nitpicked about the fact that Colt just turns up on set and walks into a car to perform a really dangerous stunt - without the weeks if not months of planning required. Adri was shocked that was what I thought was unbelievable about the film. Touche Adri.

61/100.

The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006)

Just bad. And cheap.

[2/10 · 16 May 2024]

I so wanted to like this.

The original is a modern classic and I love Erica Durance from my Smallville re-watch ... but this "sequel" sullies the name of the original film.

For a start ... why is it "Butterfly Effect 2" in the first place? It has none of the original cast and bears little resemblance to the first film. Where are the blackouts, for example? Everything seems to be done so differently!

I read that this went straight to DVD and it feels exactly like that kind of movie. The direction is bad and overall it just seems a bit amature-ish.

Nick - the main character - was an idiot. It seemed so easy to me to correct his wrong-doings and have his perfect life ... but the film chose not to. The jumps back made little sense.

On the plus side, it was only 90 minutes long. And Erica was in it so extra points for that.

23/100.

Cell (I) (2016)

Another disappointing King adaptation

[4/10 · 1 May 2024]

Next in line for my Stephen King book watch is one I was quite looking forward to. I was fearful when I saw the short runtime and it tuns out the fears were justified.

The adaptation follows the book reasonably faithfully. The start is different, Tom's background is different, some characters are different and ... of course ... a lot of details are left out. I wonder if I'd have thought it was a better film if I hadn't read the book?

The effects are good. The acting is good ... with the material they have to work with, which is a bit cheesy.

The biggest complaint is the ending - which seems to give the viewer a choice of endings? Maybe? Did he blow it up or is he imagining that he blew it up? I don't know ... hence the low score.

37/100.

The Infinite Man (2014)

Hurt my brain.

[6/10 · 8 April 2024]

This is another in the list of time-travel films that you should watch that I found a while back on the old interweb. I found that it appeared on Amazon so gave it a go with perrin one evening.

We both enjoyed it ... but both found that it was waaaaay too confusing to be truly enjoyable.

The film starts out well with a few funny moments that made me at least snigger out loud. The nerdy guy comes across well - as does his girlfriend. Curious that these two make up 2/3 of the total cast in what is obviously a very low-budget affair.

It's when they start running into multiple versions of themselves that things go off the rails a bit. It's an interesting notion but I/we felt that there wasn't enough in the way of clues or explanation and most of the time you weren't sure who was talking to which version of who.

There werre a couple of good reveals towards the end ... but not enough to rescue the film overall.

57/100.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Beautiful film with great performances

[9/10 · 6 April 2024]

This is the next up in the 1000 films to watch before you shuffle off to heaven (or hell).

What a sweet and lovely film it is too ... although afterwards I couldn't help wondering how this was pitched. "I've got an idea for a film about this idiot ...".

Tom Hanks is perfect in the role and is very deserving of his Oscar. The supporting cast are great too - although there aren't that many of them.

The only bit that I didn't like was the post-Vietnam protesty bit. Also, Jenny was such a bee-atch to Forrest. She didn't come across well to me at all so she got what she deserved.

Great film though. Very re-watchable.

85/100.

Road House (2024)

Sacrilegious remake

[5/10 · 24 March 2024]

I love me some Jake so I was looking forward to this movie dropping on Prime. After watching it, it seems the universe has played a cruel joke.

Jake does ok ... let's start with that. He obviously put a lot into this role and his performance stands out. It's just a shame about what he had to work with.

The story is an off the shelf baddie drug lord etc etc etc. The script is pretty bad with some real mature cheese asides thrown in for what I assume is some comedic effect.

The acting aside from Jake is pretty bad too. And Connor MacGregor takes you so far out of the movie with his stupid grinning face and his walking like he's just filled his pants. What on earth was Doug Liman thinking with these directorial choices?!?

It was always risky to remake a classic movie such as Swayze's original. It had style, charm and much better characters and story. This is a very poor knock-off and only goes to emphasise how good the original was/is.

46/100.

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)

An all time favourite ...

[9/10 · 19 March 2024]

I watched this again almost 40 years after I remember watching it for the first time with an old girlfriend while babysitting her little sister. Great times.

It's got the feel of an old TV movie but we rented it from the local shop (next to Lindsey's hairdresser's) .... which had recently started to rent out VHS movies. Great times.

The film itself is incredibly cheesy and looks to have been made on a shoestring budget ... but I love it. The twist at the end - which is hardly a twist because it can be seen coming from as soon as it's set up - is terrific, regardless.

I was interested to find out that the lead actress was also Stringfellow Hawke's love interest in the Airwolf pilot - another defining show from my teens.

Not as much fun second time round but a joy to watch again. Really takes me back.

90/100.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

A true gem.

[8/10 · 17 March 2024]

The latest entry from the 1000 films to see before you ain't seeing no more has this classic from the 90's.

I don't think I've seen it since the 90's so me, Indy and Adri all sat down to watch. I really liked it. Indy really liked it. Adri slept through large chunks ... natch.

The story is great. The characters are great .... even though Thelma does get really ditsy a little too often for the story's own good. It's a detriment to her that's she's portrayed as having only half a brain at times. Also, men in general do not fare well at all - which is a bit 'in your face'.

I'd forgotten that there are some genuine comedic moments, which were great. And Brad Pitt's role gave no indication of the megastar that he was going to become.

The scenery is jaw-dropping and took me back to our travels round the southwest. So amazing.

Indy and I were discussing that even if you haven't seen this movie ... *everyone* knows the ending.

83/100.

The Big Chill (1983)

Mildly entertaining.

[5/10 · 14 March 2024]

A 1980's entry from the list of 1000 films to see while you're still able to see them ... and wow does it look and feel like the 80's!!

Firstly, the quality is really bad. At multiple points I couldn't make out what people were saying because there were stupid rock 'n' roll songs playing in the background and the sound mix was awful.

Secondly, it's like they went overboard to fully embrace the clothes and hairstyles of the early 80's. Just wow.

The film itself is an exercise in navel-gazing. A bunch of friends meet up again after years at a mutual friend's suicide and moan about stuff. Then - at the end - there's consensual surrogate husbandry. Totally weird.

Despite the excellent cast this was a bit of a struggle to get through.

45/100.

Deliverance (1972)

Creepy and iconic

[7/10 · 13 March 2024]

This is the next 1970s entry in the 1000 films to see before popping your clogs and it's a lot more understated than I remember from years back.

I had it in my head that there were a lot more than 2 mountain men baddies and a lot more action. Instead, there's a fair amount of canoeing and paddling sequences.

I also thought that Burt Reynolds was the main character ... but he spends most of the film unconscious with a (really nasty looking) broken leg. In my mind everyone was killed apart from him! Maybe i was thinking of a different film entirely.

And I forgot that John Boorman directed it and that Charlie played the young boy at the end! Cool!

It's a creepy film and - don't take this the wrong way, mountain folk - but it's not hard to imagine this actually happening in real life.

74/100.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Almost perfect.

[9/10 · 11 March 2024]

Next up in the 1000 films to see before you sleep for good list and my what a great film. A real classic western.

Two legends together for the first time - although I still don't really see what everyone else sees/saw in John Wayne.

This film is impeccably filmed in terms of sets, scenery and the use of light. I wondered at the start why it was black and white - given that it came out in 1962 - but the use of shadows etc I just don't think could be pulled off otherwise.

The story is fabulous ... although there is a bit of a lull towards the end after Vallance is killed when statehood and politics rear their head.

Lee Marvin really goes to town with the evil baddie tropes.

The twist at the end is a corker ... although as a completist, my only regret is not finding out what killed Tom. Not important to the story, I'm sure but a little more of what happened to him in later life would have been nice.

86/100.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Too long. Too boring.

[3/10 · 10 March 2024]

Sheez I was really looking forward to this film. It had Marty and Leo and Bobby .... and I'm a sucker for a good Indian story. However ...

The story shuffles along at an absolute snail's pace. I could just never get interested or invested in it at all. The Osage are incredibly sympathetic characters but the way the film depicts them almost suggests that they weren't exactly helping themselves out. One of them even actually addresses this in the film by saying that they all marry white men now.

The film's getting a lot of Oscar love this year but I reckon that's all based on reputation. Not a great film.

27/100.

Silver Lode (1954)

Classic western

[7/10 · 9 March 2024]

This is another film from the 1000 films to see before you shuffle off this mortal coil list .... and I'm not really very sure why.

It's a good story .... with a few eye-rolling moments - like when our hero is found in the barn holding not one but TWO guns and no-one left alive to say what happened. How inconvenient.

The - as far as I can tell - utterly unknown cast do a good job. It's quite fascinating how the town is 100% in support of our hero at the start of the film and then how quickly they turn against him.

It's a short movie and the ending is quite abrupt. We don't get to see what our hero does after he is reprieved and the town say "sorry".

So a good movie ... but really one of the top 1000 ever?

73/100.

The Holdovers (2023)

Mediocre Oscar darling

[6/10 · 6 March 2024]

I was looking forward to this movie .... although I was a little trepadacious that it was going to be a 'critics' film. I think my fears were justified.

It's a very slow-moving story that I yawned through much of the time. The performance from Paul Giamatti is excellent ... but the others are just so-so to me.

The scenery is great and it does capture the vibe of that time.

The biggest issue that I had is that the growing bond and relationship that supposedly developed between teacher and pupil - who we all thought looked closer to 30 than 20, by the way - just didn't hit for me. I just didn't think that it was that well developed throughout the film so by the end of the film I didn't believe or buy it.

63/100.

Wild Strawberries (1957)

Beyond me.

[2/10 · 5 March 2024]

I don't get it.

My theory is that all these brilliant scores on Rotten Tomatoes and imdb are left by either a) critics or b) pretentious people .... fully realising that a great many critics are also pretentious people, but you know what I mean.

Much of this movie made little sense to me - or Indy, who was watching it for her International Cinema course - despite the synopsis sounding quite simple and interesting. Even knowing what the film was ultimately about didn't really help decipher what was going on.

I have to say that the highlight for me was seeing a very young Max Von Sydow. That just about sums it up.

Utterly forgettable. Only marked so highly because it was in Swedish - which I have a soft spot for - and so mildly interesting for that.

21/100.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Good old story

[7/10 · 4 March 2024]

So that's what Lana Turner looked like. I don't think I've ever seen her in a movie before.

Another instalment in the 1000 films to see before you shuffle off and this one was a good one. Given the age of the film I was quite surprised at the level of performance - especially from Turner, who I always imagined was just eye candy with little talent.

The story is good. I've never read the book but it was engaging and I imagine quite daring for the 1940's. Couldn't help feeling sorry for the very likeable old guy.

A lot of familiar faces in the cast, which was cool. This era of film surely was one of the very best ... they're just such a pleasure to relax with.

69/100.

Femme (2023)

Utterly unbelievable.

[4/10 · 3 March 2024]

Saw George Mackay on Graham promoting this some time ago and have been waiting for it to become available. It dropped this week on Netflix so I was really looking forward to seeing it. Sheez ... what a disappointment.

From the interview / chat I imagined that it was a revenge story. It's not ... but I'm not sure what it actually is. He clocks Preston in the gay place and then for some reason decides to strike up a relationship with him - even though he's a detestable excuse for a person. Ok, he kind of comes round a bit but still ... what's the endgame here?

The performances are good but it's the story arc that really lets this down. A very uncomfortable and baffling watch with no conclusion or redemption ... so generally just extremely unsatisfying.

37/100.

Father Stu (2022)

Good performances in rushed biopic

[5/10 · 3 March 2024]

This is quite the departure for Mark Wahlberg, I believe ... since I don't remember seeing him in such a dramatic role. That in itself made me curious enough to see the film that I also believed would be a really interesting biopic.

Having watched it, Wahlberg was very good ... although I do think that he was overplaying the 'I'm a total dick' persona a bit. Mel Gibson was excellent, as always ... as was the woman that I thought was Beverley De'Angolo, Jacki Weaver. I like to think that Stuart brought them back together at the end of the movie but this isn't made clear.

The film's religious aspects were too much for me - but then what did I expect. I just think they really overdid it with the scripture and preachy talk.

I looked up Stuart Long afterwards and - as I always suspect - the film takes a fair amount of liberty with his true story ... with large important parts of it left out.

53/100.