andrewdrumm911 Reviews

Ben-Hur (1959)

Long runtime but worth it. An epic!

[8/10 · 8 August 2018]

I had been meaning to watch this for a long time but had been put off due to the runtime. I finally decided to sit down and watch it as it was recently covered on the "Unspooled" podcast (which is fantastic) and im so glad I did as it was fantastic.

The runtime went much faster than I expected and there were very few times I felt it dragged. The acting was absolutely superb and the character development was very moving and memorable throughout.

Without a doubt the best part of the movie was the set designs, environment and authenticity of the time. Most classic movies age poorly and it's clear that special effects would help improve these, but I actually think the lack of special effects is what makes this movie what it is.

The horse racing scene is one of the most memorable scenes I've ever scene watching films. The grand scale of the stadium, the crowd and the filming of the actual race is unbelievable. It is beautiful to watch but also brutal and scary. The destruction and injury that occurs is so natural that it makes it hard to watch in the best if ways.

There was much more religious tones to the movie than I expected and to be honest I think it was a little bit of overkill in that area, particularly the second half of the film.

While many will be put off by the runtime, this is a must see movie that will stick with you forever and I do think it's the single most well shot and set epic I've ever seen. The scenery, sets, crowds and authenticity really is something to behold and this strongly deserves to be known as one of the best movies of all time.

Have given it an 8 rather than a 10 due to the length (could have been about 30 mins shorter), the amount of religious tones that come into it which becomes a bit too much in my opinion, and lack of rewatchability as I don't know if I ever will rewatch it. Despite that though it's a classic everyone should see once.

Midnight Run (1988)

Great chemistry and an easy watch

[8/10 · 6 August 2018]

Much more of a comedy than I was anticipating, this is a very easy enjoyable watch which is cemented by fantastic chemistry between the two leads.

I was expecting a lot of action and drama but almost the entire movie they don't build any suspense and even through what could of been the most tense scenes of the movie, the music always keeps it at a comedic and less serious tone.

While I had my doubts about this working early on, this did actually work by the end as it differentiated itself from similar movies and I found the two hour run time flew by.

De Niro and Grodin had great chemistry from the first scene on and the backstabbing and banter throughout was very well done.

I think the most unusual part of the movie was the music choices by having almost every song or piece of music be very upbeat rather than suspenseful. This differentiated this and created a unique experience that made it an easy watch.

There were some nitpicks, such as Alonzo Mosely almost never enunciating his words which made it hard to hear, and the fact that I don't think I've ever seen so many one punch knockouts, but the chemistry and tone of the movie creates an enjoyable experience where you don't take it all too seriously.

It certainly wouldn't win any awards for great movies but it is an enjoyable classic where if you are looking for a way to kill a couple of hours with an enjoyable comedic movie then this is a great choice.

Irreplaceable You (2018)

So much potential. So little follow through

[4/10 · 5 August 2018]

The premise of this movie had me very excited to watch. I am a sucker for chick flicks, romance movies and tear jerkers so this looked like it would be right in my wheelhouse. Unfortunately this never reached the heights it had the potential to go.

The movie is constructed as a tear jerker but while it gets close at times, they never do a good enough job of creating a close enough relationship with us and the main characters for us to care enough as we would in other great sad movies.

While Gugu Mbatha-Raw is fantastic in this movie, Michael Huisman's performance really drags the movie down as he is infuriating with a lack of emotion about the situation, both lack of sadness but also anger at Abbie's decisions and he just doesn't care enough which makes it hard to invest.

The decision in the middle of the movie that Sam makes is just plain stupid and left me not wanting him to end happy at all. The movie tried too hard to be different when they already had a great idea with a fantastic actress that would have worked if they hadn't tried too hard to be unique.

The supporting parts were well done, particularly Christopher Walken, and I connected much more with his and Abbie's relationship in the movie than I did with Abbie and Sam's.

A final nitpick was that they made the strange decision not to have Abbie appear physically sick at all. Her appearance barely changes throughout and it just makes no sense and once again loses an opportunity for us to connect.

Some great acting overall but it gets dragged down by a bad performance from Michael Huisman and poor writing. So much potential and it is my favorite type of genre but really disappointed with the outcome.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

A favourite of a generation but not of this one

[2/10 · 4 August 2018]

There are many movies of my generation that looking back are either mediocre or downright terrible that I will always love as I enjoyed it at the time or it meant a lot to me when I first saw it. This movie was before my generation and I had heard how it was a classic and I must see it. Now that I have I don't see how anyone who doesn't have an emotional connection with it from when it was released thinks this is in anyway a smart, funny movie.

While obviously for these movies you need to suspend reality to enjoy it, this is just downright ridiculous and the storyline is almost non existent other than an excuse to pick some famous historical figures and merge them in the modern world. The collection appears to be random and the majority of their portrayals are just stereotypes. In particular the use of Napoleon was absurd and the lack of amazement at the new world was in the back of my mind the whole time.

I love ridiculous movies but this one just felt like a stoner comedy with hardly any jokes and just lazy humor. I was incredibly disappointed in this movie.

As I said, if this came out when I was a teenager then I may have connected to it and found it charming. However as someone who is watching for the first time, it hasn't aged well and I would be surprised if many others felt the same way.

Might be worth a watch as it's referenced a lot of pop culture but I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a good film!