macca197338 Reviews

Maleficent (2014)

A Good Night Out

[7/10 · 29 May 2014]

I went to the Cinema last night with the Wife and the Kids on the UK opening night for this movie.

I certainly enjoyed it and to quote my kids:

The 8 year old: "It was great, it looked beautiful" The 13 year old: "Yeah it was good, predictable though"

I think that sums it up, it's beautifully made, laden with good quality CGI, expansive outdoors views, highly imaginative fantasy terrain which makes the magical element believable and acting that is a cut above the norm throughout. The story ticks along at a good pace without dwelling long enough for you to get bored, but ultimately it is predictable.

The story line is the only real problem with the film, which whilst a radically different take on the traditional "Sleeping Beauty" tale, is ultimately a safe steady affair with no real surprises or shocks. As a result this movie will never rise above mediocrity and therefore the tag of just being "enjoyable".

So its worth spending your money to see in the cinema and to pay the extra for the 3D. It may even be worth buying the DVD for your 8 year old daughter. But although I enjoyed it and I am glad that I went, I doubt I will be watching it again for a while.

Blue Thunder (1983)

A dated but worthy movie

[7/10 · 4 December 2013]

This is a typical 80's action movie. Actors only open their mouths to move the story line along combined with a fairly contrived/predictable storyline. So why do I still enjoy it? it is simply that the film makers manage to do the basics well. The storyline is sound and probably even more relevant now, 30 years on, than it was when it was first made. The acting line up is excellent, with Roy Schneider, Malcom McDowell, Warren Oates and Daniel Stern. The film is well made with a good script, crisp editing and good cinematography.

But above all, I love the helicopter battle at the end.

Plus I always love Malcom McDowell as a bad guy.

A simple synopsis for a simple, well structured and fun 80's movie. It doesn't challenge, it doesn't make you think too much but it delivers a fun experience. It's so 1980's!

Dredd (2012)

A satisfied fan of the comic.

[10/10 · 31 January 2013]

I prefer reading the non-professional critical reviews on IMDb as they deliver a far more balanced and realistic view of a film than the self-proclaimed artistic minders who pontificate in the press, looking for the next Academy award winning movie.

Dredd is one such film which I feel has had an unjustified hard time. The critics have missed the point, this movie is an excellent representation of the comic strip and will be appreciated by the fans while not making any friends at the Academy.

As a 2000AD fan, I watched with much derision the Stallone version. To give that movie's art department its due, it had studied the comic books and gave a visually stunning movie, it was just a shame the writers and the actors had not done the same and left me extremely disappointed.

This version however ticks all the boxes. It provided a believable setting for a near future hell, while providing enough similarities to the comic to remain faithful to its origins. Dredd was portrayed brilliantly by Urban – the helmet remained on and there was no tinkering with the character. Dredd has no learning curve, he has no emotional outlet and he has no self-doubt but at the same time there were elements that displayed that he was human, albeit in the form of acerbic one word comments or dismay at the "overkill" of his adversary.

Given his single minded determination and limited character development potential, he had the perfect foils for this in both his partner Anderson and the real psycho bad-gal Ma Ma. Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey both turned in quality solid performances and gave the film the necessary variation in theme required and the story more layers than most "shoot-em up" movies.

The violence was graphic, appealing to the gore fest fans and precluding me from letting my 12 year watch it and to some degree must have pushed the movie away from some of its core audience, unless 2000AD market is now middle age comic readers who fail to grow up – such as me.

So I really enjoyed it and hope that it performs well enough to justify a sequel. It runs quickly, provides tension and does not require you to think much unless you want to, in which case there is something there for you to ponder. It is a superior action flick, giving you a healthy dose of dark realism whilst letting you escape for a couple of hours your own world and making you appreciate it more when you get back to it.

The Thing (I) (2011)

As stand alone movie it was good

[7/10 · 5 December 2012]

I love the Carpenter original, so took very little notice of this movie when it came out, thinking it would be another poor "remake". However having watched it last night I was very pleasantly surprised.

I've read other reviews about the lack of claustrophobia, the prominent use of CGI and the lack of character development, but I disagree. This is a different movie, being a prequel, in a different era. The horror movies of the 70's and 80's were fashioned primarily due to limitations in special effects and the cost. Carpenter's original was no different.

This is a different time with technology available to give the monster the justice it deserves. Lets face it, how many of us watched it with that voyeuristic intention of seeing just what the CGI wizards would do with it? The story moves with pace, but again, the majority of viewers will know what the beast is about, so why slow it down?

If I did have a complaint was that in parts it couldn't make its mind up if it was a prequel or a remake. The Rec Room scene was far too similar to the original from the collapsed team member, the resulting carnage and the squaring off between the team as to who was and who wasn't infected.

My other irritation was a somewhat contrived story line designed to tie in the ending with the start of the original while delivering a "happy ending" for the heroine. Tell me, why would you run off chasing the The Thing back to its ship and leaving Lars, the big Norwegian work horse who seemed to produce flame throwers, grenades and assault rifles from thin air, locked up? To tie up this loose end there was merely a throw away line as Lloyd and Carter speed after the Sander in the snow mobile where Lloyd asks if Carter had killed him. It was there purely so that Lars could be found in time to chase after the escaping dog.

This aside, if you take it for what it is, it was a quite enjoyable movie with decent effects, good acting and an adequate story and script. I was certainly left with fewer questions than after watching Prometheus!!

Dolls (1986)

This is how you make a Horror Movie!!!

[3 November 2011]

As a kid, horror movies used to scare me to death. My parents claimed I had too active an imagination and they were probably right.

Had I seen this film at the time I would never have slept with a doll, toy soldier or cuddly toy anywhere near my bedroom.

This film is a little gem. Little referring to the short running time, the gem refers to its quality. For such an obviously low budget movie it manages to punch very much above its weight.

Stuart Gordon pulls together a good cast of character actors, none household names but all fit that "oh, that's the one from..." category. The film runs smoothly and at a quick pace but does not leave you feeling rushed.

The effects are extremely good for pre-CGI and again Gordon uses the "less is more" adage in the early stages, with the dolls often out of sight. Even now, when the dolls move their eyes and smile, it sends a shiver down my spine.

There's plenty of blood and a bit of gore, but this is not a gore-fest movie and relies on suspense, atmosphere and your imagination to develop the chill factor.

Overall I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone who has only an hour and a quarter to spare!!!

Ironclad (2011)

Certainly worth watching

[27 July 2011]

Firstly I am quite realistic about my expectations when a historical movie is made. Real history does not generally run smoothly nor is it engaging enough to fit conveniently into a 2 hour movie, so I refuse to nick-pick a screen writer for adding a little poetic license into a script or for the costume designer who doesn't have the time or resources to get the actors "just right".

With this in mind, I found the story enjoyable and it ran more or less historically and at a good pace, I was certainly never given enough pause to consider boredom. The fight scenes were very good and I agree with other criticisms on the reviews about the shaking camera making it extremely hard to concentrate on what was happening.

There was plenty of blood, limbs and sliced heads to appeal to the gore fest/action fans but it seemed to accurately reflect the face of medieval warfare with its close and gruesome nature.

The cast were a list of well known and respected actors, all of whom put in a good display with what they were given with Paul Giamatti's rant about the divinity of Kings being especially engaging.

Overall its not a classic nor will it win awards, but for a couple of hours action based escapism it is certainly worth the effort of watching and is far superior to a number of bigger budget Hollywood contemporaries.

Wizards (1977)

I still thoroughly enjoyed this unique trip down memory lane

[9/10 · 14 September 2010]

I recalled seeing this film as a kid in the early eighties on one of the first VHS video recorders and loved it then. We hired it over the weekend and I must have watched it 4 or 5 times with my family and friends.

20+ years later I came across it again when I was looking for a copy of Bakshi's Lord of the Rings for my son. Was it that good? I suppose technically its not that great, but it has a lovely unique premise and style combined with a certain charm. The main character Avatar is a gem of a creation, oozing empathy, realism and fatality - not bad for an animation feature.

It might ramble at times, overloaded with supposition and then periods of slow activity and isolated "sketches" of events which do not seem to add much to the story. But there is still plenty of action and "big" battles to keep the kiddies happy with a fair few surprise events befalling the characters.

The cons to the movie might put people off, but despite them I still thoroughly enjoyed this unique trip down memory lane which was made when animation was dying in Hollywood.