mcfrood-27885 Reviews

Asteroid City (2023)

Enjoyed this but not Wes' best - characters were a little light on

[8/10 · 10 April 2024]

The aesthetic of Asteroid City - as is to be expected from Anderson - is magnificent. The use of juxtaposition to keep the viewer alert, the stylised stage-like design, the subtle humour interwoven visually, in unexpected action, and dialogue are all halmarks of the greatness of Anderson.

However, as other reviewers have mentioned, unlike Budapest, or most notably Darjeeling Limited - whose characters were engaging and beautiful - Wes has sacrificed style over content here. There are a small but notable number of exceptions - a scene with Father and Son, and the scene with Schwartzman and Robbie for example that cut through. However overall I wasn't as connected with the characters as his other films.

It's an all star cast mind you - you keep going Wow! And Wow! And it certainly can be described as an epic ensemble, but that's perhaps where it might have sacrificed the depth for the wow factor.

Still loved it and enjoyed it - if you live Wes' style you will too - but not his best.

3 Body Problem (2024– )

Brilliant in Concept and Execution - Great SciFi

[9/10 · 1 April 2024]

So desperately needed some serious hard core Sci Fi and this delivered

From concept through to execution, just a materful piece of work.

Brilliant narrative with twists I didn't see coming (I haven't read the book).

Great cast with some outstanding performances.

Well paced and believeable dialogue, which with solid performances leads to great characters.

Good use of CGI but doesn't dominate the narrative or overshadow the characters.

Great pace - glad to a sci fi series not suffering from Netflix disease (20 episodes stuffed full of filler) - keeping up the tension while still allows space for character development.

So much going for this.

Hope Season 2 lives up to the high expectations delivered by Season 1.

Been hanging out for something this good since finishing The Expanse.

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Completely missed the point of the concept

[2/10 · 1 April 2024]

Proving that because a sequel can be made, doesn't mean it shouldn't.

Completely missed the point of the Equaliser concept. A lone mysterious stranger helping random people in need, to solve particular unusual problems.

Instead we get a revenge film.

And oh god - haven't we been here a million times before? Former deep CIA operatives (assassins) cut free post Cold War, treated like flotsam and jetsam by their country turn to private mercenary work (i.e. Become hitmen for hire to the highest bidder). Boring! Done a hundred times before.

To go from such a brilliant first film that nailed the concept and the character, to this predictable piece of flotsam and jetsam with it's even more predictable finale. Sigh. What dissatisfaction.

Not sure I've ever been this disappointed in a Denzel Washington performance. Let's just hope he's using the proceeds from this terrible film to fund an orphanage somewhere, or fund another film project somewhere else that is credible.

Greenland (2020)

The Great Insulin Runaround

[3/10 · 30 March 2024]

Pretty Awful.

Nothing new here. Same end of world special effects.

Same themes from other apocalyptic movies.

Humans panic.

Humans do bad things to each other.

Everyone around gets killed, however our "heroes" are missed by millimetres.

The roads are blocked, but our heroes always find a way around.

I get suspension of disbelief. It's required for disaster/apocalypse movies.

But if this had done anything different (except point to the plight of Type I diabetes) it would be easier to suspend this disbelief.

Just lots of running, heaps of screamimg, crazy fast driving, finishing with some quality running. Oh there's a boom too. And some pictures of molten iconic landmarks - Sydney Opera House makes its usual appearance. Oh and the scientists get it wrong. Humans can overcome extinction level events because we are resilient to sonic shickwaves, 500°C fireballs, 1km tall Tsunamis, seismic shifts in the earths crusts. With a bit of internal willpower, we can overcome anything! Hoorah!!! {I'm still searching for a punctuation mark denoting sarcasm l}.

Personally I'd be more interested in the story of after the Boom. Who's gonna manufacture the insulin?

Vanilla disaster movie.

Malbatt: Misi Bakara (2023)

Fantastic to see another country's perspective

[9/10 · 3 February 2024]

So refreshing to see another country's contribution recognised in a UN action, and for a different perspective than the US's.

The script was heart felt and showed the men's bravery, their faith, their pride in their country, their struggle with dealing with conflict in another muslim nation.

There were outstanding acting performances (perhaps not from some of the English speaking actors, but hey they only had minor parts).

Action sequences were well done, and the sense of the tight almost claustrophobic feeling of those narrow streets added to the tension.

I am glad to see the producers made the time to tell this important Malaysian story, and shared it with the world.

Mister Organ (2022)

When a docu tips into self-indulgence

[2/10 · 3 February 2024]

So, while this started of strong, a bit passed the halway mark, the documentary maker asks the question of an unseen friend, should I continue? It's semi-rhetorical because he answers along the lines of "I have to, I am making a film after all." That for me sums up this doco. It was only finished because it was started. The second half of the dick drags on and becomes increasingly self indulgent, and the viewer is left asking the question, would this film have been bothered to be more than a 20 min article in a current affairs show of the filmmaker hasn't lost in court to the antagonist? No doubt the main subject is a troubled individual, and a spreader of misery, and potentially diagnosable with a narcissistic disorder (something hardly touched on at all, and a massive missed opportunity for exploration with a qualified psych), but does he warrant an 1½hr plus expose? IMO No Way. I also feel the doorstepping ambush style of journalism, seemed at times petty and didn't endear me to the film maker. Beside the physical resemeblance definitely not a Theroux (the comparisons other reviewers have made). Overall this documentary proved to be twice as long as it needed to be, seemed too personal (maybe bordering on vindictive, not that the antagonist was a nice guy, but no criminal mastermind), and completely missed the opportunity to broaden its scope beyond the film makers own interpersonal tangle e.g. Exploring the damage that narcissists can reek - particularly to vulnerable individuals in society, thus resulting in a product that was both self indulgent and inevitably ends nowhere.

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

So close to brilliant but just couldn't make it

[6/10 · 1 November 2023]

I am a huge, huge fan of Sergio Leone, and I honestly believe if he were allowed to make the three 2hr movies he wanted to they would have been a masterpiece. But even the 3hr 50m version still feels disconnected in critical points and narratively confusing, which conversely leaves other scenes feeling bloated and on the border of melodramatic. And unfortunately the beautiful score of Morricone just adds to this, with long melancholic scores in 5he wrong place. While recognising the zietgiest has changed, I still find both the rape scenes off putting and detracts from being able to empathises with the main character Noodles (De Niro). What saves this film is the brilliant performances (particularly Woods), amazing production values, and Leone's spectacular cinematic eye. If only this was given the three movies it deserves, I believe this would not only have been Leone's masterpiece, but would have surpassed Lean's Lawrence.

Black Mirror (2011– )

Season 6 - OK but Suffering from Netflix Disease

[8/10 · 30 July 2023]

So while Seasons 1 to 5 have been punchy, and captivating from the first to last second, Season 6 is suffering from Netflix Disease i.e. Pad it out with narrative filler to get it out to 40 min (the longer you keep us watching, the less we are watching your streaming competitors).

So all but Ep2 has dragged from the start, and could have got to the not too bad endings within 20min.

Get the original UK writers in again and try a reboot. Short, sharp and punchy once more. Perhaps we'll get a few more episodes per season too.

Please, please save this awesome show by giving it back to the Brits!

Midway (2019)

Not bad, but could of been better

[6/10 · 4 October 2020]

So the naval air battles were well done (the CGI used to good effect) and generally the movie held true to the critical story it was trying to tell, but - I wish the Director and Screenwriters had sat down with Eastwood and his team to figure out why Flags of our Fathers and Iwo Jima just nailed, so this movie could have been nailed. Forget the 30 min Pearl Harbour intro, the cut away scenes to family life in Hawaii, the I'm not brave enough boss followed by an inspiring pep talk. This all detracted from what should have been the focus of the film... building tension. The Battle of Midway was a turning point not just in the War in the Pacific, but in modern history itself. The fate of the world spun on the point of a knife during those 48hrs and that's what this film should of aimed to make the viewer feel more acutely. It tried - and it was a decent go - but didn't quite nail it. But hey it was light years ahead of that horror show Pearl Harbour. Acting was solid, action well done, characters - mostly believable (I thought the Imperial Japanese characters - extremely well written), and reasonably historical accurate. Could have been 30 min shorter and more focused on building the tension, but overall - for those who enjoy a war drama, it did its job.

War of the Worlds (2019– )

Ponderous, Plodding, Painful

[1/10 · 29 September 2020]

What promised to be an exciting retelling of the century old story in the first episode - with the added advantage of an anglo-gallic collaboration by the 3rd episode had slowed to a snail pace of overbloated scenes, introverted dialogue, with characters I could increasingly care less about. By the 7th episode I was figuring how I could play it on Fast FWD (but unfortunately the streaming service I watched it on would not allow this). The seaso