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tonytangney
Reviews
Unhinged (2020)
Crowe is excellent
I'm deliberately overrating to compensate for the undeserved bad reviews.
This is very tightly written and, no, there are no plot holes. Crowe certainly knows how to convince as unhinged. It's very well done. It blessedly has no wokeness of any sort in it, just a straight up thriller. It has a quite brutal slaying of a lawyer which some might enjoy as karma . Also rather bravely it puts an element of the blame on the lady. Be polite on the road people.
Cooking with Paris (2021)
Best Cooking Show Ever.
I've never seen Paris Hilton actually in anything despite her fame. I also hate cooking shows. So I thought I'd give this a go. It's hilarious. The turkey episode had me in stitches. 40 years old, looks 25 and a master troller. Some sad sacks poured some hate in the reviews trying to feeling superior. I mean come on. It's Paris Hilton. You either love her or hate her. I think she's great.
Biohackers (2020)
Enjoyable. Aimed at Young Adult/Teens
A rather fantastical but entertaining series aimed at the younger demographic. Handy way to practice your German.
The Stand In (2020)
Not amazing but you have to credit Drew Barrymore's acting.
The story is a bit trite. A few laughs though so not terrible. Barrymore's performance is really very good I'll have to admit. Pity the script wasn't up to it.
Fyre (2019)
An illustration of how fake we are.
I felt very sorry for the workers in the Bahamas and the lady who owned the restaurant. The rest deserved what happened to them. McFarland is just an exaggeration of how fake we are as a society, pretend social justice and save the planet while being totally narcissistic and selfish. I do hope Karma punishes him properly.
This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist (2021)
Very enjoyable if you're unfamiliar with the case.
I'm not American so the whole case was new to me. Don't google it before watching it. It goes off on numerous tangents, very entertaining tangents involving the Irish mob, the Italian mob, the IRA and numerous art experts, lawyers, fbi guys, cops and journalists. I developed an appreciation for the main work stolen "Storm on the Sea of Gallilee" by Rembrandt. Its truly a beautiful painting even on TV. Imagine what it like in real life. It's all fun and non violent apart from a few mobsters who get clipped. Negative reviews from art barbarians and mob people. Lol.
Resident Evil (2002)
Deadly Virus Warning From 2002
Video game adaptation which stands the test of time. If anything it gets better with age. Considering the subject matter it has surprisingly few plot holes. Gradually becoming a horror classic.
Fear Street: 1666 (2021)
The worst actress was the lead actress.
I didn't mind the LBGTQ stuff. It's pride month and all. I didn't mind the Irish accents. The early settlers were West Country, Devon, Dorset etc and that accent is really hard for Americans. The Irish is easier to do. I didn't mind the murky darkness that much. I just couldn't stand the lead actress. She made a poor story awful. She's really bad enabled by bad direction.
Je8ileui bam (2021)
Very Korean
Very Korean supernatural horror. The main character always seems to start out really dour. Gore without being disgusting. Shabby without being dirty. High death rate of course. I feel Asian movies lose a bit of their essence in translation to English but this is still pretty good.
Fear Street: 1994 (2021)
Soundtrack OK, Rest not OK
A derivative low quality mishmash of other better teen movies. No actual 90s feel. Unlikeable whingy characters. It's very LBGTQ positive for pride month which will please some of the audience . There's 3 of them apparently.
Secrets of Great British Castles (2015)
Right on our own doorstep
After the horrendous time we've had the last few years semi imprisoned in our houses, what would be better than a really long holiday at home without the bother of vaccine passports, quarantines, or PCR tests. Where to go? Why not visit Dan Jones's great British castles. He gave me an appetite to visit them all. Steeped in history, mostly violent but not all, I learned a lot about my own heritage. One nice touch was the experts, some of whom were just the right side of eccentric. All very well done. Looking forward to a continuation of the series.
Tribes of Europa (2021)
Starts weakly but really improves episode by episode
This really is a show aimed at the teen/young adult demographic so allowances should be made by the oldies. In fact, there is hardly anyone over 30 in it. It's only 6 episodes long and doesn't really get into its stride until episode 2 so be patient with the first episode which is the weakest. It certainly grows on you after you accept the general premise and ignore that the world will not look like this after a collapse. Mad Max ish with fashion (Check out the shoes), suitable but not gratuitous violence, and the subtle depiction of sex that Hollywood could learn a lesson from. The mix of German and English really works. The writers took their time with the triple strand narrative. Moses and the young lad being the most interesting. Wokism is present but not in your face so that's a plus. This will go from strength to strength.
The Valhalla Murders (2019)
Delicious Icelandic Weather
Nordic noir where as usual the weather is the main star. It's a strong who dunnit with in-depth leads. It veers off in some odd directions and isn't exactly a barrel of laughs but I really enjoy looking at Iceland and its quirky people.
Grave Halloween (2013)
Logan Paul Forest
This forest is actually a real place. Logan Paul the YouTube personality got in hot water a few years back when he and his gang filmed suicide aftermath and were a little less than respectful to the body though really you see it was nerves. The movie is quite scary in a Japanese Western fusion way. The actors are decent even if the dialogue is a bit corny in spots. Otherwise, a solid horror. The lead actress is very attractive too which doesn't hurt.
Karppi (2018)
Especially for winter lovers
The Finnish (and a little Estonian) winter backdrops are the real stars in this quirky enjoyable series. They're wonderful to look at and beautifully shot. The acting is excellent from all concerned. It's nuanced and subtle. The leads are portrayed as genuine but flawed. Karpi is a good cop but a poor mother. Sakari is honest to a T but pretentious with his coffee and Italian food. The story is great with lots of twists and turns and is satisfyingly long. They reduced the series length to 8 in season 2 which was a little disappointing.
One has to always appreciate subtitles, no matter how good, always lose something in translation. That said, the language grew on me. It's very melodic. One minus was the music. It was far too loud, unsuitable and poorly timed in season 1. It became so bad as to be good. Season 2's music was of the normal variety.
A Killer Uncaged (2020)
Awful person.
Interesting addition to the "I am a Killer" series. The producers are anti capital punishment which is fair enough but even they cotton on to this guy. A scheming liar. Let's just hope and pray it turns out OK for the good samaritan.
The Craft: Legacy (2020)
Strictly Teen Girl Territory
Blumhouse has never been top drawer but at least it was a little scary once upon a time. The Craft wouldn't scare your hamster. Aimed at a specific demographic and even they might not appreciate this. Social issue boxes geting ticked and girls smash some patriarchy and that's about it. Really poor.
How It Ends (2018)
How it sort of ends
Standard end of the world done on a budget with a nice colour palate. Elements of a buddy road movie through a wasteland experiencing societal collapse and anarchy. Some of it is quite good, more just OK. Expect a sequel.
The 6th Day (2000)
Standard Arnie
Typical Schwarzenegger action movie. Middle of the road entertainment which feels dated now. Arnie nostalgia fans will get the biggest kick out of it.
Line of Duty (2012)
Best British Cop Show Possibly Ever
Review of S1 to S5. Very well made British show that requires quite substantial suspension of belief by the audience but is so infused with realism that it works extremely well. Very well acted, excellent attention to detail, subtle around the edges with a compulsive script. The lines written for DSI Hastings are especially good. It's all set in Anon Town UK which is a pretty accurate reflection of 21st century Britain, accents and mores. It's ludicrous really but still somehow very realistic in tone. Best British cop show in a long time.
The Secret (2006)
Power of Postive Thinking
Basically the power of positivity. Its self evident. Are negative people happy? No. The message is wrapped up in American style self help here. But so what. I can understand people laughing at the corny factor but the hate of some reviewers kinda makes the movies point.
The Confession Tapes (2017)
Never ever speak to the police without a lawyer, ever.
Well presented documentary that attempts to teach one very important lesson. Never, ever, ever, ever speak to the police without legal representation.
Whatever the case, one must keep in mind that the police will use any method they can get away with to secure a conviction, rightly or wrongly.
That said, I've doubts about the individuals involved. The makers of the documentary obviously will push their position that all are innocent whereas I felt only convinced of the innocence of one and maybe she was guilty?
Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby (2017)
Nice work if you can get it.
It's basically a travel show and if you like travel shows you'll enjoy this.
The hosts are a mixed bag. Giles Coren is an excellent writer (though I'm suspicious of slim restaurant critics) but grates here. The scruffy cheeky chappy bit wears thin and he can be embarrassingly rude. Monica is amenable enough. They have a great job that's for sure, but found their pretend to work bit the least interesting.
As for the hotels, would you or I pay the high rates even if we could afford it? Maybe one at a stretch.
There's a bit of social action spiel thrown in to assuage the guilt of the presenters and the super rich I presume. Overall good though.
Touch (2011)
Starts well but gets cringey.
I really wanted to like this as I'm a westerner married to a Vietnamese in Vietnam with children. But I'm afraid I was disappointed. It starts out nice enough, original even, and I warmed to the lead actress. But as it went on, it got weird, icky weird and very cringey. I fast forwarded quite a bit. Could have been way way better than it was.
Happy Death Day 2 U (2019)
There will be 7 of these eventually.
They've got their franchise and they're going to milk it. And, why not? Happy Death Day 2U is a fun slasher movie with a decent soundtrack. Not as good as the first one but perfectly OK.