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smokmeakipper
Reviews
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Best resident evil film - but that's not saying much
Per the title it is the best resident evil film to date but that's not saying much given how poor the previous films have been this at least attempts to follow the story of the original games no super powered Alice character here that didn't feature in ANY of the source material here thank goodness.
Frankly it's an odd choice to try and mash RE1&2 together as if they happened concurrently, it doesn't really work and unless you're a fan of the games I can't see much of the film making much sense, they also missed so many opportunities I presume due to budgets but right at the start Jill says "what would be worse being eaten by a snake or a shark" clearly referring to Yawn & Neptune - nice bit of fan service but they don't feature in the film.
It's not a BAD film as such it's just very rushed, was it enjoyable - yeah I think so. Would I recommend it? Well not really no.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Captures the magic so far
I'm guilty of seeing the Jackson films before having read the books, I have long since read lord of the rings and the hobbit. Though still unclear on the origins of all the characters this series winds us back before the creation of the rings. I'll also admit I have never read the silmarillion I don't know the full back story of the characters in this series so I cannot say if it is 'faithful' and as we know for all book adaptations for various reasons scenarios don't really play out well on the screen but I really enjoyed the first season, I'm intrigued to see where it goes and how it develops new though of course I know the 'end game'
We get to see much that went before in the prior films and the magic is still there, the grand cities the eleven architecture, seeing the mines of Moria in their prime the music and the battles. The soul is there with themes of good and evil, love and friendship and so on I'm not really sure what there is not to like if you are a fan of fantasy and LOTR.
Scream (2022)
Better than expected
I'd expected another re boot but it was decent for what it is, I grew up with the 90's slasher genre I like the horror movies where the villain is simply a person; not super human, not a creature but a mortal person.
Whilst this doesn't bring anything new to the formula or cinema in general but you have to bear in mind what it is and to that regard it follows the acts as laid down by Wes Craven, follows the rules and throws in a heap of self awareness though too much in the final act. As a bonus it treads the line of nostalgia well.
All in all a decent slasher flick bringing the iconic ghost face back into popular culture.
Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)
Not hitman
Decent action flick but it's not Hitman, of which the premise is being a silent assassin he has his mark gets in takes them and leaves unbeknown to all around which could also make a decent film for what it's worth.
This version of hitman is more like Rambo all guns blazing which makes a decent action flick but has little to no relation to the source material.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
T2 with gender reassignment
It's not a bad film but it is pretty much T2 with the male cast replaced by a female one, again not a bad thing but it doesn't bring anything new to the franchise.
Odd way to recon the previous 'sequels' though, it seems they just can't stick to a plan for the franchise.
The Ladykillers (2004)
Bad enough to write a review
Browsing films on a Monday night after work looking for something funny in the comedy section and I read in the synopsis:
"Hilarious original performances", "laugh out loud comedy", "EXPLODES with outrageous wit"
That's the one for me I thought!
I've just watched a drab heist film. It's not *bad* it's just not funny. The only redeeming feature of the film is the only likeable character Marva Munson played by Irma P Hall.
If you're looking for a comedy do yourself a favour and pick something else.
Sinister (2012)
Decent atmospheric horror
I didn't know anything about this film prior to it popping up on Netflix, I just had an Inkling for some late night horror, premise seemed good stick it on.
It starts off with feelings of a real crime thriller and some chilling footage especially with the 8mm film recordings which are the true star of this film, some proper creepy first person footage not of the the hostel / saw variety but certainly makes for uncomfortable viewing. I was expecting the story to progress and the killer to be identified and caught until (for me) it took a disappointing turn to be supernatural story (Not really my thing) it just took the shine off it for me. It didn't take long to clock who the true killers were after that, didn't stop there being some genuinely creepy segments particularly the freeze frame on the laptop but it all became a little predictable from then onwards. Creepy; maybe. atmospheric; definitely. scary; debatable.
I must say though a movie for those with a decent home cinema set up, my Atmos set up certainly gave it another edge for me, creaking floor boards over head.... shudder.