willtaylor-17443 Reviews

Morbius (2022)

Unbelievable

[2/10 · 19 November 2022]

Spellbinding. Jared Leto puts in a truly captivating performance as Dr Michael Morbius, leading a stellar ensemble cast with the likes of Matt Smith, Jared Harris and other people, the ideas of depth and range personified. Morbius is truly a one of a kind filmic experience, with a tightly kept, well-crafted script; frankly astounding CGI and a level of direction that must surely now become the summit all aspiring filmmakers will seek to overcome.

It would be easy to pick the low-hanging fruit on offer here, basing a review on a critique of the weaker elements of this film; this is something that I shall not be doing. Daniel Espinosa, boasting a catalogue of box office sensations such as 'Child 44', really pulls it off with Morbius, so much so that it was able to foster internet memedom, a celebratory embrace of Espinosa's cultured thematic approach - something too often lacking in the superhero genre.

Whilst for some the extravagance of the CGI in play may be a little jarring; I found that my viewing experience was only uplifted. The screenplay grabs you from the outset leaving no room to turn back. A masterful production from all involved.

The Wheel (2020– )

Wheely bad

[2/10 · 24 January 2021]

The only reason people watch this is because there is nothing else to do. An hour of spinning people around and around when we only get about 10 or so questions, with a possibility of no questions being asked for far too long with the ridiculous shutdown feature. Quite frankly The Wheel is a dull waste of time and money when it ought to be much better. Avoid.

Better Call Saul: Bagman (2020) Season 5, Episode 8

Sensational televison

[10/10 · 13 April 2020]

Utterly intoxicating from Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. 'Bagman' stands out as one of the greatest episodes of the series due to a triumvirate of perfection: cinematography, acting, screenplay all combing to produce a mesmeric piece of work.

You can almost feel for yourself the intensity of the sun beating down on Mike and Jimmy/Saul at times such is the nature of the spell cast upon the audience. Jonathan Banks and Bob Odenkirk are terrific in what is a perfect blend of higher than high stakes action and a profound character-centred approach.

With a new player in the game I cannot wait to see the fallout after what was a stunning chapter in the Better Call Saul series.

Chernobyl (2019)

Excellent

[10/10 · 13 April 2020]

Wonderful television. A fantastic amalgamation of the history, politics, science and drama; thus ticking all the right boxes from my own perspective. An intelligent production with writing that evokes a genuine sense of empathy with the characters portrayed.

The Platform (2019)

Nearly very good

[6/10 · 13 April 2020]

As many have pointed out, an interesting concept but a shame that the ending seemed rushed.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Dire

[2/10 · 13 April 2020]

2 hours of rubbish - I do not recommend this film.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Did I see the wrong movie?

[3/10 · 19 December 2017]

Honestly, I was apprehensive before the showing of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This was primarily because I was one the few people that were frankly disappointed with Episode VII - The Force Awakens; and, as a result I ignored all the build-up to prevent any feeling of regret this time around.

Sadly it didn't matter, because once again I left the cinema an unhappy man. I will start with the positives. There were indeed some stunning visuals - now I am definitely not a movie expert, but to the casual albeit big Star Wars fan, the locations looked on point - although I was distracted by the lazy Crait - Hoth and Ahch-To - Degobah similarities, just like the use of Jakku to be the the new Tatooine from The Force Awakens. Regrettably, this is where the positives end for me as these great visuals were not utilised at all - how I wish the original trilogy could have had this technology to enhance the action and lightsaber duels.

Speaking of lightsabers - the one thing I was looking forward to most in this episode was the prospect of seeing Luke Skywalker engage in a duel. We did not pay money to see Snoke's totally inept guards get killed by Kylo Ren and Rey all too predictably and a weirdly younger-looking hologram of Luke to duck under a hopeless swing of a lightsaber. Then to top it off the "twist" at the end was a pointlessly depressing way to destroy what was a truly legendary character - if the previous 2 hours + hadn't already done so. Although after Han's death it again was far too predictable.

Yet, I must tip my hat to the writers as one thing I didn't see coming was the death of Supreme Leader Snoke, to the detriment of the whole franchise. The great question of The Force Awakens was - Who was this mysterious all-powerful character - a brilliantly interesting addition to the franchise (too many are feebly bland - i.e. Rey). Well, that doesn't matter anymore - all those theories count for nothing because he was ridiculously killed off just to show how superficially "conflicted" Kylo Ren has become. I must concede - this left me furious.

Much has been said of Disney's attempt to ruin this galactic franchise - it's all too true: 'BB-8 what a great idea for a toy', how long till we see stuffed toys of the Porgs. There was far too much "comedy" - even though I did laugh when Luke merely brushed his shoulder after being shot at. I haven't even mentioned the frankly boring casino "lets free some horses rather than enslaved kids - Yay" sequence and the terribly uninspiring plot in general - the rebels are slightly out of range - let's just follow them for the whole duration. The Force Awakens may have disappointed me but it left so many questions as to where this new trilogy would go, now we have all the answers and I can safely say that this trilogy is heading nowhere and it's not a nice place to be.

Help us episode IX you're my only hope!