jjgurd Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Incoherent shambles and Warriors rip off

[2/10 · 30 June 2023]

Where to start. The director clearly decided the action needed to be nonsensical and implausible. The lazy rip off of the Warriors narrator style hunt, even copying it's 'boppers' epithet, was pathetic. It lacks the style and charm of Warriors.

I tried to like this. I was a big fan of the John Wick series until 3 which started to run out of plot ideas but this is a stretch too far. The Marquis character is laughably lame, just a cliche rich boy with a trumped up ego (not to mention the poor French accent - just use a French actor!).

This film should have been 1h30, they really had to work hard to get it to 2h40! I also really like Keanu but damn, his martial arts skills are like an arthritic pensioner.

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Beautiful road movie

[9/10 · 6 March 2020]

Perfect Friday night film. Heart warming, soul searching film that challenges you to look beyond the surface to understand people's beauty and soul. Wonderful chemistry between the actors and refreshing to see a lead role given to an actor with Downs Syndrome.

Cold Ground (2017)

Started well then descended into nonsense

[4/10 · 7 December 2018]

I really liked the style and pace until the film rolled out the cliches, like people wandering off in the dark in the woods when there's a viscous predator loose.

To cap it all off the cameraman begs his wife to cut off his injured foot to save his leg but when she removes his sock, it's not even bruised! That's when I realised the film had lost the plot, figuratively and literally.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Beautifully shot throw back to old film noir days

[9/10 · 31 August 2015]

I stumbled upon this by accident and am delighted i wasn't put off by the slow start and gave this film the attention it deserved.

It's a slow placed, stylistic and beautifully shot film about personal redemption and moral lines. There is minimal dialogue but that works well for film noir. The focus is on atmosphere and a stunning soundtrack to bring the emotions of the characters to life, rather than words.

If you like fast paced action horrors, this won't be for you. If you want something more subtle without graphic gore but subtle emotional horror played out through flawed, though slightly clichéd, characters, then this film is wonderful.

I hope you enjoy it.

Gravity (2013)

Over-hyped and underwhelming

[2/10 · 9 March 2014]

I really don't get why this film has rave reviews. OK there are some neat special effects and a few head-spinning moments but.... I was expecting to be blown away, instead i spent most of the film irritated by Bullocks' character and annoyed by how much of the storyline has been borrowed from films like Apollo 13. The ending was all too predictable and left me thinking this was a wasted opportunity to to let the audience walk away with questions to answer rather than a neat wrap up. Massively disappointed. Perhaps if i watched it purely for the visual effects i would feel differently but i was hoping to be engaged on other levels as well.

The Book of Eli (2010)

Unoriginal, weak plot, poor characters and pretty average acting

[1/10 · 21 January 2010]

In expectation of the soon to be released film version of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road', the post-apocalyptic story behind The Book of Eli grabbed my attention.

Having watched the film, I now think I wasted 2 hrs of my life. The plot is a poor rip off of The Road, just substitute a few characters but the general story is incredibly similar. The only difference is that this film seemingly has no real point, no satisfactory conclusion or end point and no soul. Uncanny then that it was released around the same time.

The characters and visual effects have been 'borrowed' from Mad Max, the plot from The Road and strung together with a barely creditable performance from Denzel Washington. There are some completely random and incongruous cameos from respected actors like Michael Gambon and I'm guessing by Malcolm Mcdowell's involvement (seemingly using the Doc from Back To The Future's stylist..) that his pension is running short. Add some eye candy to entice those who don't need compelling plot or credible characters, season with some basic and uninspiring visual effects and you've got The Book of Eli.

About the only positive for me was that the cinema was warm on a winter's night and I quite enjoyed the pick'n'mix. Tom Waits gets the nod as the best acting performance but he didn't face too much competition.

One of the worst films I've seen in a long time. I know post-apocalypse films are meant to be bleak but this was simply void of anything to engage my mind or offer anything of interest.