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Reviews
Black Panther (2018)
Don't Believe the Hype
After the excellent.....and hilarious.....Thor 3, I was rather looking forward to this. Positive reviews had also whetted the appetite. Perhaps it was the expectation that undermined the enjoyment?
The genre is a little hard to quantify, but it reminded a lot of Wonder Woman. Except, instead of the WW2 setting, we had a kind of Bond-style thriller instead, complete with ridiculous gadgets and under-developed baddies.
The film looks great (some dodgy CGI aside) - I liked the armour, weaponry and cultural aesthetics. I also felt a lot of the performances were quite compelling. Unfortunately, it is all rather dull. And doesn't feature anything we haven't seen before.
What is most disappointing, is that it doesn't seem to tie into the Marvel continuity at all (apart from the unremarkable Everett Ross, who appeared from nowhere in Civil War and is a poor attempt to replace Agent Coulson). Like Wonder Woman, this is simply a "Black Panther tale" and you can take it or leave it when embarking on your next Marvel marathon.
I also found the advanced technology to be completely over the top. Weapons and armour, I can understand. Miracle healing and Panther suits concealed within necklace teeth is VERY hard to swallow indeed. Vibranium was an indestructible Alien metal that could absorb sound. Fair enough. Great material for weapons and armour. But spaceships and miracle healing? Really? Couldn't we have toned it down just a little?
I was bored. My friend was bored. After his wonderful debut in Civil War, this was a bit of a wasted opportunity.
Scrooge (1970)
A moving childhood Christmas favourite
I have no idea how many times I have watched this movie - I remember watching it as a child when it was shown on terrestrial television and I now watch it on Christmas Eve every year - I am moved to tears every time!
The acting and dialogue are great, most of the songs are clever and entertaining while the choreography is rousing and impressive. Most significantly though, the transition of Finney's Scrooge from the most despicable portrayal of the character that I can recall, to the reformed and enlightened person that he becomes, is just simply joyous in the purest sense of the word.
Watch. Enjoy. Laugh. Cry. And share it with your children, if you can tear them away from the iPad or PS4 for a couple of hours.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Charming Expansion of Harry Potter Universe
This is my first review on IMDb. I felt compelled to do so after reading Empire's underwhelming 3 Star review (does their opinion count for anything any more?), then going on to watch the movie myself last night.
It was excellent. Heart-warming and charming with extremely likable lead characters. The story wasn't too heavy - enough to keep things ticking along - though there were plenty of "Easter Eggs" and satisfying references to other known HP people & places (Grindelwald, Le Strange, Hogwarts, Dumbledore etc)
The Special FX were pretty amazing - most of the Magical Creatures were well realized and convincing. There was plenty of humour throughout, while the music....I am not sure if other have mentioned it....but the movie's soundtrack is just as fantastic as those wonderful beasts!
Highly recommended.