michaelant555 Reviews

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

How Is The Popularity Of This Movie Declining

[10/10 · 9 July 2023]

Rocket the raccoon gets injured and the crew have to retrieve a pass-code from his original maker in order to save him. Obviously this isn't an easy or straightforward process and things go sideways... a lot.

I never give movies 10/10, but I made an exception in this case. This is what movies are supposed to be; wild, entertaining, emotional, and epic and this hits all the right notes for me.

If you read any bad reviews of this movie then the people giving them are projecting and exposing their own nitpicking, negative mindsets. Just stock up on popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Also, those of you who are awake will recognize the underlying narrative that knocks the global control of the "Illuminated" ones and child trafficking.

Only Murders in the Building (2021– )

Season One, Brilliant. Season Two, Even Better

[9/10 · 9 September 2022]

This feels like a low-key arty indulgence, but it has a wonderful comedic and addictive presence that worms and warms its way into your heart as the season(s) unfold.

Tenants in a building end up deep in a murder mystery and make a podcast about it.

The only thing that leaves me a little sad about this is that Steve Martin's energetic and hilarious comic genius is played down and suppressed, probably so everyone else has a chance to shine.

Selena Gomez really shines like the star she is. Such beautiful and natural talent. She plays a cynical and somewhat acerbic millennial that confounds the ageing characters of Steven Martin and Martin Short.

The Harbinger (I) (2022)

Watchable

[5/10 · 3 September 2022]

A family moves to a new town with a seemingly autistic daughter and the people in the neighbourhood start committing suicide. Who's causing it? Who's the Harbinger?

I went into this with very low expectations because no one had written a review and only 115 people had rated it but I managed to watch it until the end.

Low-budget supernaturals usually get switched off after about 20 minutes but I got through the whole two hours in one sitting. There's no backstory. The whole situation is unexplained and gradually unfolds over the course of the movie. The special effects are low-budget but not too cringeworthy.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

A Ballet of Violence and Revenge

[8/10 · 19 September 2021]

I gave this 8 stars because I watched it and didn't get bored. It takes a good film to stop me from switching off these days. It was a fun film in the vein of John Wick.

A young girl follows in her mother's footsteps of becoming an assassin for a powerful firm and after she kills the son of another powerful mafia mogul she has to fight for her life when her firm throws her to the wind for breaking protocol.

She finds help in the form of a group of lady assassins who run a "library" (an elaborate weapons stash) who were her mother's sisters-in-arms. Plus, she has to take care of an 8 (and three quarters) year old girl whose father she kills and who becomes her apprentice along the way.

Some might complain it was too unbelievable but, they probably give a boy who got superpowers after being bitten by a spider, and a man who turns into a green monster when he gets the hump, 10 stars.

Movies should be about good quality acting that keeps us entertained for a couple of hours... and this does just that.

A good film, obviously helped by the presence and great acting of the beautiful and sexy ginger, Karen Gillan.

Out of Shadows (2020)

Needed Shot of Truth

[10/10 · 18 April 2020]

This very well-constructed documentary exposes the truth of what has been going on for many years behind the scenes of our perception of our mainstream existence.

This is a great time to be alive to witness people being woken up and finally getting to see what's been happening behind the veil of our reality. Let this documentary be the beginning of your journey into this story and not the end.

There are so many more truths to uncover and so much more shocking information to learn.

Jexi (2019)

Hilarious Comedy With Adult Humour

[8/10 · 5 February 2020]

The concept of a talking phone is completely unrealistic but, it's meant to be. This doesn't take itself seriously in anyway - apart from delivering endless, seriously funny dialogue and scenarios.

So, anyone trashing this movie in reviews for being silly is a complete moron with no sense of humour and no concept of 'having a bit of fun'.

The Drone (2019)

Genuine Review Here

[6/10 · 16 October 2019]

A serial killer who uses a drone to spy on women before killing them is being chased by the cops and ends up dying. His spirit enters the drone which then takes on a life of its own - like Chucky. The drone ends up in the home of a young couple who begin to notice strange things beginning to happen in the house.

It's a cheesy, comical B movie but, the acting is fine, it doesn't take itself seriously, the characters are likable and believable, and the story doesn't hang about. I enjoyed it.

6/10 from me.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Globalist/UN/Liberal Left Extinction Narrative.

[3/10 · 28 July 2019]

Another film destroyed by the Hollywood ideological BS. I am SICK of watching blockbusters that I've been looking forward to only to find that they've been hijacked and contaminated by the Hollywood/ UN/ liberal narrative. This is RIDICULOUS. I was bored, anyway, and then when that BS came into I just couldn't stomach watching any more. KEEP YOUR POLITICAL AND LEFT-WING IDEOLOGICAL CRAP OUT OF OUR FILMS.

Muse (II) (2017)

Just Do Not Bother. So, So Slow And Boring

[3/10 · 22 March 2019]

I read a couple of reviews that praised this that weren't shill reviewers so I thought I would give it a go. I persevered for nearly 40 minutes. I felt like a martyr for getting that far - and then I just could NOT take any more. I skipped through the rest in about 5 minutes which didn't produce anything much more interesting and I had such a wave of relief when I saw the credits begin to roll.

I've given it a 3/10 for the acting but it lost the other 7 for the directing and writing. Absolutely ludicrous and awful, awful, awful. It's just SOOO boring. Just don't inflict this on yourself unless you 're one of those eccentric, middle-class, pretentious art lovers then you might find some kind of delusional arty wonderfulness in this - if you've sucked down enough codeine or Valium.

Boo! (II) (2018)

Barely Watchable

[3/10 · 19 March 2019]

Dysfunctional family gets a Boo! Package left on their door step just before Halloween and their young son warns them that it's real. His father tells him it's nonsense and just an urban legend - and so it begins.

I watched this all the way through so I could write an honest review of it. I will say I didn't hate it. There was enough sensible character development and conversations that didn't patronize the viewers but the story-line, some of the acting, and the direction seemed pretty lame and amateur at times.

There were some okay horror elements and there were some cheesy ones and although the third act was fairly fast-paced and horror oriented it was all pretty amateur. I can't give this any more than 3/10. I wouldn't feel fair rating this any less than 3 but I can't in good faith go any higher. It certainly does NOT deserve the 8, 9 , or 10 stars that the people involved in this movie have given it. Ignore those reviews.

Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy (2018)

Decent Enough IP Man Spin Off

[6/10 · 14 March 2019]

IP Man's opponent in the last movie moves to a new place in Hong Kong and runs a grocery store with his son. He has stopped teaching and practicing Wing Chun but he soon finds himself on the wrong side of a local drug/mafia gang and has to utilize his skills again.

I didn't have high hopes for this especially after reading the reviews but I watched it so I could leave a genuine review for others. It turned out to be actually quite good apart from a few of the minors character's acting skills were a bit painful but I managed to overlook that. It was a kind of generic Honk Kong, Kung fu, by the numbers movie but even though it was 1 hour 47 minutes long I didn't find it boring.

I think it has the right balance of fight scenes and drama and the story is engaging enough. The presence of Dave Bautista definitely helped breathe more life into it. I feel it's a genuine 5-6/10 so don't pay any attention to the 1 star ratings and reviews.

The Final Wish (2018)

Slow But Picks Up In The Last 40 Minutes

[5/10 · 9 March 2019]

There are a lot of 1 star reviews here. It doesn't deserve that.

A struggling (and a pretty self-absorbed) lawyer who's dad has just died gets called home. Among his dad's things is an old urn (or something) with a Devil's head on top. As he starts making wishes he doesn't realize they're coming true until he begins seeing the pattern.

For the first half it's very slow and kind of uneventful which probably put some people off and there are some quite eccentric moments involving his mother but this is nowhere near as bad as some people are making it out to be

I can see how someone might give this 4 stars but certainly not any lower. I've given it what I think is a genuine 5. I managed to sit right through it , anyway which is a pretty good indication it isn't THAT bad.

Replicas (2018)

Passable Sci-Fi Thriller

[7/10 · 24 December 2018]

Keanu Reeves is a bio-technology Scientist whose team is experimenting on transferring the mind of a dead person into a robot brain. After he loses his family in a car accident he applies his particular skill set to rectify the situation.

This isn't a block-buster but neither is it a typical B movie. I wanted to give it 6.5 but I wasn't sure whether to round it up to a 7 or round down to a 6. For the good acting and the believable responses (which too often defy all sense of human reasoning in movies, these days) I rounded it up to a 7.

Halloween (I) (2018)

Laughable!

[7/10 · 16 December 2018]

To start with I want to have a gripe. The sickening and insane Hollywood liberalism indulgence about transgender and globalist food choices (Vietnamese sandwich scene) actually spoiled the film for me. That aside, the acting was good and it kept the original Halloween feel. The films starts with a couple of investigative journalists who want to do a story on Michael Myers who is "currently" :) in Prison. They track down Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to get information on Michael and we get to see a bitter, angry, and vengeful old lady still obsessed by her memories of her encounter with Michael in 1978. She's still itching to get her revenge on him. The reason I wrote Laughable! for my heading will become apparent when get to the final act. I've given it a 7 because it wasn't a bad film but I feel 6.5 is more appropriate for this.

Tales of Frankenstein (2018)

Surprisingly watchable

[7/10 · 28 October 2018]

Four spin-off stories from the Frankenstein genre. It's definitely a cheesy movie with cheap props and it was pretty much like watching a theatre production on film. I wouldn't normally give this type of movie more than 10 minutes before switching it off but there was something about it that kept me watching. It has a subtle humour and really doesn't take itself too seriously - plus the stories kept the feel or the integral essence of the original Frankenstein movies, as well. The cast did a really good job and they all played their parts very well. The directing was also very good and sincere in that it didn't allow the stories to get boring or stagnant and I feel a bit mean giving this a 6 after the effort that was put into it so I'm going to give it a 7 instead.

Malicious (2018)

A Watchable Horror

[6/10 · 20 October 2018]

Okay, so this isn't perfect by any means but I managed to watch it to the end and I even managed to bring myself to give it a 6/10 rating. A pregnant couple move into a faculty house when the husband gets a job in the area as a math teacher. When they get there they find a gift has already arrived for them; a fertility box which can't be opened - until the wife opens it... Anyway, at the husband's new school he meets the head of the department, an enigmatic, blind guy who has other, more paranormal interests outside of academia. The drawbacks of this film to me were that it was predictable (which is okay if it's filmed and directed well - and this wasn't too bad) and the other thing is the husband...he's a bit 2 dimensional and doesn't display enough emotion or good, realistic reactions to the events that transpire (not the actor's fault. It's the fault of the director). The pros of this film are that, although it's a painted by numbers horror, the characters and acting are good and the there were enough interesting and quite well-done moments of horror throughout to sustain my interest which has become extremely fussy these days (being 50 years old). Overall: Not bad! A bit flat in places but a half decent offering. It's more of a 5 but I gave it 6 because I got to end without feeling too much frustration.

The Terror (2018–2025)

One Episode In And This Is Brilliant

[9/10 · 5 April 2018]

Two British Naval vessels charting unexplored territory are trying to reach their destination before winter sets in. The captain is a very religious and prideful man who has faith that God will take care of them and see them through...but there's a dark and foreboding presence around them that runs very contrary to the captain's sense of divine optimism.

I thought, after reading the write up on this about Royal Naval vessels in the Arctic in 1845, it sounded like a bit of a dull period drama - how wrong could I be? This is a great and masterful piece of film making! Best I've seen in a long, long time and it has an extremely good cast. It has a tingling atmosphere with a supernatural sense of "something's not right" which builds as the first episode progresses and it culminates in a very satisfying way that inspired me to write a review on this, immediately, to get people on board (if you'll pardon the pun). I'm going to watch the second episode, now, straight after posting this review.

Redwood (2017)

Irritated me...

[4/10 · 26 March 2018]

A couple go into the woods for a camping trip and are told to stay away from the gray zone areas and stick to the green zone. It's pretty simple, really, but you know how these things turn out - in a moment of stupidity and after being warned a couple of times the guy's like, "Hey! I know, let's take a short cut!"...Next thing you know they find themselves in vampire territory.

Very Low-budget horror where the fear is generated by a combination of over-acted emotions and creature screams. You don't see much of the creature and when you do they're extremely lame and cheap. The only thing that saved this for me was that it wasn't a found-footage film. I saw the 6/10 rating so I was expecting something good but I ended up very disappointed.

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Same Old Bunch Of Losers Spreading Hate...Get A Life!!!

[7/10 · 18 March 2018]

I enjoyed this and I managed to watch it in one sitting which, for me, is a sign of a good film. Do not listen to the immature and vindictive losers giving this 1-3 stars and saying it's not scary. It's a good quality horror film and a fitting episode in the Insidious series. I despise cheap jump scares in horror films but although there is quite a few jumps in this I didn't find them annoying - maybe because the film doesn't rely on them.

Meet the Spartans (2008)

Good Campy Comedy

[6/10 · 16 March 2018]

After reading these reviews I am left utterly speechless at how so many human being can be so cruel, heartless, and narcissistically deranged enough to give this a bad review. This a good spoof comedy worth at least six stars. If you see a review giving it one to three stars then you have to realize these are not good people. They are uptight morons with absolutely no sense of humour and no common decency. When you go to a theater to see a pantomime like Cinderella or Jack And The Beanstalk, etc, you know you're going to get a well acted production that follows the main story but with loads of zany pop culture and comedic extras thrown in - and this is exactly like that. It's a pantomime of 300 that keeps to the main story of the Spartans but incorporates loads of campy madness and fun around it. It's not really laugh out loud funny (maybe in one or two places) but it is entertaining and it is very well done. I will say, though, that you may not want to eat your dinner while watching this.

Hold the Sunset (2018–2019)

Anti-Brexit Propaganda From The BBC

[11 March 2018]

If you're an avid Remoaner who is pining for the UK to rejoin the EU then you will no doubt wallow in the subtle, and not so subtle, innuendos peppered throughout this program. Even the theme tune, 'Have I The Right' by The Honeycombs is blatantly Remain-oriented. The only thing I found redeeming about this, as a Brexiter, is that it's completely unfunny and not likely to attract many viewers. The fact that the brilliant John Cleese is in this is the only reason I didn't give it a negative rating. I decided to abstain from voting instead of giving it a negative one.

Selfie from Hell (2018)

Atmospheric Horror Overdrive

[4/10 · 21 February 2018]

Girl has her cousin coming to stay and is supposed to be bringing her new boyfriend. Boyfriend's ill so he didn't come and her cousin is distracted by something sinister going on in her life connected to the dark web...

This goes all out for horror atmosphere and, by and large, succeeds in this endeavour, though I do find jump scares a cheap, unwelcome, and unnecessary tactic in horror movies.

The acting is okay, certainly nothing that would warrant a bad review.

The writing and directing were a bit irritating like, for horror effects, leaving rooms in the dark when any normal person would put a light on - especially if there is any chance there's a demonic presence in your immediate vicinity. Also, if you have someone visiting it would be polite to call an ambulance if they are catatonic. It's those kind of details that see the rating stars dropping swiftly by the minute as the movie unfolds.

Would I recommend it or watch it again? No.

This is all about horror sequences so if you like that and don't worry about the mindless plot holes and irrational behaviour then give it a go.

One other thing that springs to mind is the music score which at one point I think they actually tried to drive the viewers mad with a ridiculous heatbeat-like clanging sound that was far too loud and went on for so long that I had to remove my earphones.

Still/Born (2017)

Not bad but falls apart towards the end

[5/10 · 11 February 2018]

A woman is having twins and the second one is still-born. When she gets home strange things begin happening and this turns into a quite a good horror film with subtle flavours of Paranormal Activity and The Grudge. So why then only a five star rating? It's the third act! Unfortunately, a few things happened which just made me shut off emotionally and shake my head in disbelief.

The first and second act I would give a six and the third act a three or four so I've given it an overall five stars.

I don't regret sitting through this and it has quite a lot to offer horror fans. The acting is good and it's pretty creepy all the way through so I would definitely recommend it - just remember it has five stars and not six or seven.

Ouija 3: The Charlie Charlie Challenge (2016)

Very low budget but still very watchable

[5/10 · 16 January 2018]

I enjoyed this movie and I don't why it has such a low rating. Okay, it's a very low budget offering that won't win any awards for script or effects but it doesn't take itself seriously and it's a fun watch...just don't have your expectations too high. I would watch it again and that says a lot because I do not watch bad films twice. I haven't bothered writing anything about the plot because that's been covered in other reviews and I just wanted to reassure people that most films with a 2.4 rating are probably pretty frustrating and unwatchable but this one isn't. It's actually quite good for a really bad film.

The Loved Ones (2009)

I Hated This Film

[4/10 · 13 November 2017]

This is about a guy in high school who gets asked to the prom by a girl but he turns her down because he's already seeing someone else. Turns out he turned the wrong girl down.

I don't mind gore and I don't mind psycho killer films, though they aren't my favorite horror flavor. I just don't like films that are so, so, slow and drawwwwwn out. I ended up fast forwarding this around the 50-minute mark just to get to the interesting bits and then on to the ending. I couldn't put up with it anymore. There are good bits and funny bits and the acting is okay for the most part, but I found the in-between bits so irritatingly boring and a drawn out snoozefest of artistic and pretentious film-making. In short - it did my head in!

I've given this a generous 4/10. I wanted to give it 2/10 but I thought I would have been rating it with my emotions rather than with an objective mind. I honestly think the 6.7 rating for this is far too high, but then, that's only my opinion. A lot of people really seem to like this film.