I really can't understand what's going on with the critics. They rave about the last Jedi. That was possibly the worst movie I have wasted money on at a cinema and really actually upset me as an original trilogy fan. Now they give poor to mixed reviews for the rise of Skywalker. I actually went into this thinking the bad reviews may be a good sign. And they were. So much better than the last movie and I think better than the force awakens. What was good. The atmosphere. That thing it's hard to capture and bottle. Oscar Issac was way better in this movie than before. I enjoyed Ian McDiarmid once again. The humour worked well and C3PO was actually given something to do again. Look judge for yourself. For me as a fan of the original movies I felt this was a good effort. I got a similar feeling with rogue one. Not perfect but pretty good. They overplayed the battle scene. Bigger is not always better. But hey. All in all I enjoyed Star Wars again. Thanks JJ.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Star Trek Phase II
(2004–2023)
A fantastic continuation of ST:TOS once they found their feet.
20 July 2013
The first episode I caught of this (and I am a long time fan on the Original Series) was Enemy:Starfleet.
I wish I could put my finger on it but Mr Cawley and his colleagues have nailed it after a couple of early practices...
What I think is a shame is that people are saying such things as 'corny' or 'silly story lines' - what they fail to notice is how that applied to the original series as much as this.
This is a not for Profit Fan series and really they need to be commended for how far they have come.
i congratulate James Cawley and his team for an exciting a fun series that perfectly captures the look and feel of the original. Even down to the lesson of the week moments...
i especially like Bones and also Cawley's 'Shatner'. Watch 'The Child' or 'Enemy:Starfleet' to see what I mean.
Well done guys - I cannot tell you how much enjoyment you have brought me this week as I have watched 6 episodes and wait expectantly for the ones in post production now.
Awesome.
I wish I could put my finger on it but Mr Cawley and his colleagues have nailed it after a couple of early practices...
What I think is a shame is that people are saying such things as 'corny' or 'silly story lines' - what they fail to notice is how that applied to the original series as much as this.
This is a not for Profit Fan series and really they need to be commended for how far they have come.
i congratulate James Cawley and his team for an exciting a fun series that perfectly captures the look and feel of the original. Even down to the lesson of the week moments...
i especially like Bones and also Cawley's 'Shatner'. Watch 'The Child' or 'Enemy:Starfleet' to see what I mean.
Well done guys - I cannot tell you how much enjoyment you have brought me this week as I have watched 6 episodes and wait expectantly for the ones in post production now.
Awesome.
The Trip
(2010–2020)
The finest Comedy Pleasure for 2010
30 November 2010
Words cannot describe how wonderful this comedy is. Steve Coogan has moved up to genius with his wonderful portrayal of 'himself?'. Sad and bitter he feels the world still doesn't appreciate him for the genius he is. The self depreciation is wonderful as is his partner in these adventures Rob whose everlasting cheerfulness and wish to truly help Steve stop worrying about things and just enjoy the comedy he can give to people. I will never tire of 'Whaddyagot' Pacino and 'Mr Chrissssstian' Hopkins from Rob and Steve's bored look as he delivers these lines week in week out.
Finest comedy moment - almost to a Chaplin level of pathos - Steve Coogan's vain attempts to recreate in a hotel room mirror Robs 'Man in a Box'. True genius. 30 minutes each week of unbelievable terrific comedy snuck away on BBC2 at 10pm. I have rewatched each episode several times on iplayer and will get the DVD when released. This is one to mention up there with the best and please please watch as many episodes whilst you can. Genius - nothing more or less. Congratulations to all concerned.
Finest comedy moment - almost to a Chaplin level of pathos - Steve Coogan's vain attempts to recreate in a hotel room mirror Robs 'Man in a Box'. True genius. 30 minutes each week of unbelievable terrific comedy snuck away on BBC2 at 10pm. I have rewatched each episode several times on iplayer and will get the DVD when released. This is one to mention up there with the best and please please watch as many episodes whilst you can. Genius - nothing more or less. Congratulations to all concerned.
Star Trek
(2009)
And I was soooo worried!
15 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I really didn't know what to make of JJ' latest idea. Reboot the franchise. Same characters but different actors? I mean come on. These guys are iconic. Shatner, Nimoy, Kelly - how on earth can you get new actors playing these roles without it turning into a parody.
Weve......BEAMed down to the PLANet.
My god Im a Doctor not a Miracle worker...
I canny break the laws of physics Captain! But here is the big news. Save for a couple of small flaws - more of that later - by and large he has done it. He really has. I actually left the cinema smiling having enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours where I was genuinely excited and enthralled and amused.
Im a huge Trekkie fan....Wrath of Khan being mine and a lot of peoples favourite. Rest assured things are now only going to get better.
The wonderful thing about the film was that the new actors playing the iconic characters didn't mimic the old actors. I have to give special mention to Chris Pine who in my mind (along with McCoy) had a really difficult line to tread with Kirk. Good news is - He nailed it. He didn't pretend to be Shatner but just every so often I smiled because he did something that was so very Shatner! The little slap on the shoulder of McCoy near the end along with a line like (only seen it once) Buckle up!.
Also the way he sat in the captains chair.
The cockiness over the test he reconfigured to beat. Perfect - wonderful really.
Next up = Special Effects...
One word - AWESOME. Did anybody else give a little yelp during the Kelvin battle at the start. How good was the action handled and the exterior shots of the battle.
The Space jump. I was worried about that on the trailer. WOW - fantastic and the fight. Goodbye Red Shirt!! lol.
Even Captain Pike. Perfect.
Im going to mention a couple of things that annoyed me now. Really small points but just notched it below perfect for me.
Old Spock. I don't know why but he just felt out of place here. Sort of Jammed in to prove this is Star Trek.
Contrieved meetings.... How they met Scotty. Hmmmm. Sort of a bit forced - We need to get Scotty in somehow??? Why not just have him as the engineer on the Enterprise or Number 2 and the Chief gets killed. Wouldn't have been so forced and would have made more sense. I just hate awkward forced things like that when they are unnecessary.
Finally - Spock/Kirk aged about 9. Totally unnecessary and added nothing to the film. Apart from a bit that looked like it was there just for the Trailer. Im James Tiberius Kirk!!! Ow - awful. (Not so bad the Spock bit).
8/10. Roll on the next one!!!
Weve......BEAMed down to the PLANet.
My god Im a Doctor not a Miracle worker...
I canny break the laws of physics Captain! But here is the big news. Save for a couple of small flaws - more of that later - by and large he has done it. He really has. I actually left the cinema smiling having enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours where I was genuinely excited and enthralled and amused.
Im a huge Trekkie fan....Wrath of Khan being mine and a lot of peoples favourite. Rest assured things are now only going to get better.
The wonderful thing about the film was that the new actors playing the iconic characters didn't mimic the old actors. I have to give special mention to Chris Pine who in my mind (along with McCoy) had a really difficult line to tread with Kirk. Good news is - He nailed it. He didn't pretend to be Shatner but just every so often I smiled because he did something that was so very Shatner! The little slap on the shoulder of McCoy near the end along with a line like (only seen it once) Buckle up!.
Also the way he sat in the captains chair.
The cockiness over the test he reconfigured to beat. Perfect - wonderful really.
Next up = Special Effects...
One word - AWESOME. Did anybody else give a little yelp during the Kelvin battle at the start. How good was the action handled and the exterior shots of the battle.
The Space jump. I was worried about that on the trailer. WOW - fantastic and the fight. Goodbye Red Shirt!! lol.
Even Captain Pike. Perfect.
Im going to mention a couple of things that annoyed me now. Really small points but just notched it below perfect for me.
Old Spock. I don't know why but he just felt out of place here. Sort of Jammed in to prove this is Star Trek.
Contrieved meetings.... How they met Scotty. Hmmmm. Sort of a bit forced - We need to get Scotty in somehow??? Why not just have him as the engineer on the Enterprise or Number 2 and the Chief gets killed. Wouldn't have been so forced and would have made more sense. I just hate awkward forced things like that when they are unnecessary.
Finally - Spock/Kirk aged about 9. Totally unnecessary and added nothing to the film. Apart from a bit that looked like it was there just for the Trailer. Im James Tiberius Kirk!!! Ow - awful. (Not so bad the Spock bit).
8/10. Roll on the next one!!!
Quantum of Solace
(2008)
In response to a previous critical comment
17 November 2008
Im a long time James Bond fan. The role is bigger than any one actor and I appreciate all the different portrayals of this character. From Sean Connerys finest (From Russia with Love, Goldfinger) to Roger Moores eyebrow raising best (The Spy Who Loved Me), gritty relaunches of the franchise (The Living Daylights) and the ones that are really very good but get dismissed (OHMSS).
Now I am also a very big Daniel Craig fan and could not believe it when he got this role I was absolutely convinced he would nail it after the series lost its way with Die Another Day (which is not awful just very tired).
Now I will say this - never has there been a closer film version of James Bond to the original vision of the Ian Flemings books...and that includes Connery.
Now let me respond with respect to the previosu negative comments...
"Terrible and uninteresting opening sequence that doesn't act as a precursor to the main plot at all"
Did you not watch Casino Royale atall - Mr White was shot in the Leg at the end of that film. This film picks up almost immediately after that scene - Bond is taking him for interrogation and Mr White's people are trying to stop Bond. Bond despatches them all and makes it to the interrogation with Mr White. Nice 1st words spoken 'Time to Get out' - LOVE IT...
"No gun barrel sequence after it (why?)"
Did you not see the gun barrel scene at the end of the movie. This was the final handing over of the baton to the new James Bond. And the scene was not revamped in any way - it was the 'Classic' gun barrel scene - awesome.
"Lame title sequence that is too similar to many others of the past"
OK I admit I didn't enjoy the song when I first heard it but these titles work very well with it and I thought they were pretty good.
"Terrible title song"
Its not my favorite - see response above tho.
"Never once are the lines "Bond. James Bond." or "Shaken, not stirred" uttered by Bond in the movie"
Neither are those phrases uttered in several of Fleming's books. He is actually a spy you know - sometimes its good not to keep shouting your name out. The drink was actually explained quite well by the bartender on the flight - perfect and straight out of the books...
"Never once is the famous James Bond Theme played during the movie (can you believe it?)"
Again I take it you left before the gun barrel scene at the end of the movie. Theme played there in its original format. As for the music in the film once again Dave Arnold proves he can match Mr Barry in most instances tho Mr Barry will always be the man in my mind.
"Absolutely no seduction scenes save for a short implication"
OK I give up - Were we watching the same film?
"No gadgets for Bond, even less than in Casino Royale" What you mean like in the books? Guess what - HE IS A TRAINED KILLER.
"Bond spends most of the movie in sadness for the death of Vesper and has a very embarrassing scene where he talks about it"
This is a continuation of the plot from Casino Royale. Bond loved that girl and hates himself for it as he knows he needs to remain cold.
"In addition, Quantum of Solace sadly has also some grave shortcomings as a movie in general: An extremely weak bordering on barely recognizable plot"
I disagree - This is one of the best ongoing plots for any Bond Film ever. I honestly cant remember as good a plot since the very very early connery ones....
"A weak villain whose objectives are among the lamest I've seen in a Bond movie"
Again - Ongoing QUANTUM plot. Look beyond the obvious...
"RIDICULOUS direction. The average shot length appears to be about one second"
Now Im a little on your side here - Could have done with slowing the editing down a little - especially the opening scene and the fight scene involving a rogue agent 5 minutes in. I agree. Shame tho not terminal...
"It amazes me how the producers spent a reported 150 million USD on this bad movie. In my opinion it is the worst of all Bond movies (which is even more sad since I like Casino Royale the MOST)"
Im surprised you liked Casino Royale so much as I thought this film was a good continuation of the themes started by that film. I know everyone is different but was this film really that bad as you say. In my humble opinion I thought it was a little better than Casino Royale tho both are great films that I can watch time and time again.
I hope you take (and everybody reading this) my responses in a positive way. I think the next film will really push the Quantum storyline to an exciting level and Im already looking forward to it.
Daniel Craig? Well done - you nailed it.
Now I am also a very big Daniel Craig fan and could not believe it when he got this role I was absolutely convinced he would nail it after the series lost its way with Die Another Day (which is not awful just very tired).
Now I will say this - never has there been a closer film version of James Bond to the original vision of the Ian Flemings books...and that includes Connery.
Now let me respond with respect to the previosu negative comments...
"Terrible and uninteresting opening sequence that doesn't act as a precursor to the main plot at all"
Did you not watch Casino Royale atall - Mr White was shot in the Leg at the end of that film. This film picks up almost immediately after that scene - Bond is taking him for interrogation and Mr White's people are trying to stop Bond. Bond despatches them all and makes it to the interrogation with Mr White. Nice 1st words spoken 'Time to Get out' - LOVE IT...
"No gun barrel sequence after it (why?)"
Did you not see the gun barrel scene at the end of the movie. This was the final handing over of the baton to the new James Bond. And the scene was not revamped in any way - it was the 'Classic' gun barrel scene - awesome.
"Lame title sequence that is too similar to many others of the past"
OK I admit I didn't enjoy the song when I first heard it but these titles work very well with it and I thought they were pretty good.
"Terrible title song"
Its not my favorite - see response above tho.
"Never once are the lines "Bond. James Bond." or "Shaken, not stirred" uttered by Bond in the movie"
Neither are those phrases uttered in several of Fleming's books. He is actually a spy you know - sometimes its good not to keep shouting your name out. The drink was actually explained quite well by the bartender on the flight - perfect and straight out of the books...
"Never once is the famous James Bond Theme played during the movie (can you believe it?)"
Again I take it you left before the gun barrel scene at the end of the movie. Theme played there in its original format. As for the music in the film once again Dave Arnold proves he can match Mr Barry in most instances tho Mr Barry will always be the man in my mind.
"Absolutely no seduction scenes save for a short implication"
OK I give up - Were we watching the same film?
"No gadgets for Bond, even less than in Casino Royale" What you mean like in the books? Guess what - HE IS A TRAINED KILLER.
"Bond spends most of the movie in sadness for the death of Vesper and has a very embarrassing scene where he talks about it"
This is a continuation of the plot from Casino Royale. Bond loved that girl and hates himself for it as he knows he needs to remain cold.
"In addition, Quantum of Solace sadly has also some grave shortcomings as a movie in general: An extremely weak bordering on barely recognizable plot"
I disagree - This is one of the best ongoing plots for any Bond Film ever. I honestly cant remember as good a plot since the very very early connery ones....
"A weak villain whose objectives are among the lamest I've seen in a Bond movie"
Again - Ongoing QUANTUM plot. Look beyond the obvious...
"RIDICULOUS direction. The average shot length appears to be about one second"
Now Im a little on your side here - Could have done with slowing the editing down a little - especially the opening scene and the fight scene involving a rogue agent 5 minutes in. I agree. Shame tho not terminal...
"It amazes me how the producers spent a reported 150 million USD on this bad movie. In my opinion it is the worst of all Bond movies (which is even more sad since I like Casino Royale the MOST)"
Im surprised you liked Casino Royale so much as I thought this film was a good continuation of the themes started by that film. I know everyone is different but was this film really that bad as you say. In my humble opinion I thought it was a little better than Casino Royale tho both are great films that I can watch time and time again.
I hope you take (and everybody reading this) my responses in a positive way. I think the next film will really push the Quantum storyline to an exciting level and Im already looking forward to it.
Daniel Craig? Well done - you nailed it.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
(2007)
It does what it says on the tin!!
26 September 2008
OK guys guys guys please.... RELAX. I believe Alien and Aliens to be 2 of the best films I have ever seen. I love Predator as well mainly as a great action film with Arnie at the top of his game. Jesse Ventura - I say no more..."I ain't got time to bleed".
Now I was so very very disappointed with the travesty that was the 1st AVP. The whole thing I thought was just horrible from start to end. My disappointment at that film has only recently been surpassed by the latest Indiana Jones film..don't go there.
However Along comes AVP:R and guess what. It does what it says on the tin. Who would like to see a Predator taking down some Aliens...me please and this film delivers in droves. Plus we get to see the Predator homeworld and also a great little teaser at the end re 'The Company'. More gruesome deaths than you can shake a stick at too - no PG-13 here. And to be honest I thought the effects and the story were miles ahead of AVP.
So for Gawds sake - RELAX. This film is not trying to challenge Scott or Camerons vision. Take it for what it is - 90 minutes of fun.
Want to bash something - try Lucas for Episodes I-III or The recent Indiana Jones travesty. Ill join you there - just leave this alone. It really is not that bad.
Now I was so very very disappointed with the travesty that was the 1st AVP. The whole thing I thought was just horrible from start to end. My disappointment at that film has only recently been surpassed by the latest Indiana Jones film..don't go there.
However Along comes AVP:R and guess what. It does what it says on the tin. Who would like to see a Predator taking down some Aliens...me please and this film delivers in droves. Plus we get to see the Predator homeworld and also a great little teaser at the end re 'The Company'. More gruesome deaths than you can shake a stick at too - no PG-13 here. And to be honest I thought the effects and the story were miles ahead of AVP.
So for Gawds sake - RELAX. This film is not trying to challenge Scott or Camerons vision. Take it for what it is - 90 minutes of fun.
Want to bash something - try Lucas for Episodes I-III or The recent Indiana Jones travesty. Ill join you there - just leave this alone. It really is not that bad.
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