vicesquad1 Reviews

A Star Is Born (2018)

Typical syrupy American over sentimentalised schmalz with a dark secret hidden under the carpet.

[1/10 · 25 November 2018]

HANDS UP who told Lady Ga Ga that she could act !!!

Come on, don't be shy... just say out loud.. "I admit it, I admit that she's a famous singer so we thought it would drive thousands of Lady Ga Ga fans to the cinema if we put her in our film about a poor-ikkle unknown female singer".

Of course there wouldn't be any mention of Lady Ga Ga's unnecessary wearing of fur or other dead-animal products in the promo & marketing for this supercilious, wet blanket of a film... and we adults all know that none of the kids who admire her so much would let a little thing like severe lack of acting ability or animal cruelty get in the way of enjoying this cold-turkey!!!

Ex Machina (2014)

Slow, brooding and darkly sexy thriller....

[8/10 · 19 May 2015]

I enjoyed this film, it appears to be a joint effort between Channel 4 Uk and Universal films where the combination works well, allowing the filmmaker to keep control over his vision yet giving him a budget to make something over the normal indie film scope.

E_M is a dark, brooding and sexy Sci-Fi with minor elements and inspiration from the films, 'The Stepford Wives','A.I' and 'Space Odyssey' - this film has an undercurrent of awkwardness and paranoia not often captured in Hollywood Blockbusters and is perfectly articulated in writing, direction and acting. if you are looking for a bombastic remake of T2 or I Robot you will be disappointed, this film is far more subtle and adult in theme and I think is very well done. The claustrophobic atmosphere and brooding tension of Duncan Jones', 'Moon' is more like this film in feel.

Young kids, lovers of all-guns blazing simplistic Sci-Fi Blockbusters will not particularly enjoy this feature, but I recommend to people who read Sci-F or perhaps have the time and brainpower to invest in a great film that delivers perfectly in it's brilliant conclusion.

The Conspiracy (2012)

Flatlined....

[5/10 · 1 February 2015]

Great idea, making a conspiracy film about film makers making a conspiracy film... BUT it just goes nowhere... like a shaggy dog story told by a reasonably good story teller conspiracy is let down by a plot that gets thinner and thinner until there is nothing left to bite into. Yes, it's a reasonably entertaining film, I have spent many worse 1hour 20 odd minutes in front of a TV screen my life but when the punchline to The Conspiracy comes you simply think "why?"

This film could have been so much more - imagine the awesome film Seven ending on a weak note. I hope someone takes the idea, forms it into something solid and makes a worthwhile film.