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tonyfitz777
Reviews
Fool Me Once (2024)
Don't bother
Poor script, poor plot, unnecessarily lengthy, some decent actors delivering dodgy lines... some poor actors simply tripping over them. Apart from that, it's distinctly forgettable.
Portrayal of the police investigation is almost laughable, it's poorly characterised, cliched and lame.
The central Michelle Keegan character.... Maya... the all action, helicopter piloting, sharp shooting, super sleuthing, botoxed, ex military, mother of the year, firearm expert... is... well let's just says she's stretching credibility a little as she tries to play the cool calm collected heroin and comes off playing the opinionated antagonist. Tries hard but she simply doesn't have the gravitas for this role.
Usual red herrings, plot peaks and troughs but none are particularly believable or interesting. If 'contrived' is your thing or if cheesy character names do it for you... you may just enjoy this.
The Babadook (2014)
Overrated
Having heard much by way of review and rumour about this film... I was expecting rather a lot.
In the event... the whole thing was amateurish, cheesy, absurd, derivative (not in a complimentary way) and frankly, boring.
The story was predictable and bland, the acting second rate and the 'special effects' not particularly special.
I must be missing something... in my humble opinion, don't bother.
England Is Mine (2017)
Utter Crap
No redeeming features... this film is unadulterated garbage
Gangs of London (2020)
Pathetic,
A totally ridiculous plot with laughably poor action scenes, violence exaggerated and characters that are completely unbelievable. Unless you like gratuitous blood and gore and lots of pointless head shots. Don't waste your time.
The Open House (2018)
Total Garbage
Don't bother, this is right up there with the most pointless and ridiculous movies ever.
The Killing$ of Tony Blair (2016)
Probing, revealing and disturbing
Everybody in the nation knows that this man is and was corrupt and deserves to be behind bars... the scary thing is that Chilcot or not, absolutely nothing will happen or him... ever! A great documentary that does Galloway great credit as the man whoa always said and is still saying what people seem to be too complacent to hear. Blair has helped to turn the world into a minefield, has destroyed his own party, has destroyed socialism and has ensured that his people are fast approaching a state of penury... he sowed the seeds and prepared the ground for all of Cameron's greed fest... he is a murderer, a thief and a liar... and for this he is still paid in millions by fellow criminals. welcome to the 21st century!
Anzac Girls (2014)
Disappointing
This is a dreadful take on a period of human history that deserved so much better. Stylised, trivial nonsense with characters that would struggle to engage the average chick-flick lover. Gallipoli was a massacre, a tragedy, and an damning indictment on the level of stupidity and cruelty of which our race is capable. We are dealing here with one of the bloodiest and most sombre episodes of the first world war (if you ever go to the place and just soak in the almost pervasive atmosphere you will know) and yet it is treated here as though it was high a school teen drama with a few mutilated soldiers thrown in for effect. Respect for the fallen? This rubbish doesn't even have respect for itself.
Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story (2001)
Don't Bother
Wooden acting, hilarious lip syncing, clichéd characterisation, all mixed together with a truly awful script. Dick Van Dyke did a better cockney accent in Mary Poppins... clearly a misguided American attempt at an English story... which may satisfy you if you American, but is simply annoying from a British perspective. Unless you are a die hard fan, leave this rubbish well alone.
I apparently have to provide 10 lines of text so I will have to continue, it's worth the trouble though. I am not an avid reviewer but feel I must take the trouble to warn discerning people not to waste their time on this ridiculous offering.
Best Laid Plans (2012)
British cinema at its best
First of all, let me say that there is a certain statement of fact to be made about 'Best Laid Plans' and it is this.
If you have any appreciation or respect at all for the medium of British Independent film, then the sleeve credits alone will ensure that you simply cannot pass this one by. I say "will ensure" because "should ensure" in this context would quite simply be a redundant phrase.
Credits do not of course guarantee that any film will live up to its promise, but realistically speaking, anybody who loves and understands this genre and appreciates the luminaries within it would be a fool to bet against the credibility of the acting and directional talent gathered here.
Which is why it is interesting and refreshing to hear the views of a couple of American critics on this platform, and equally why one British critic, puzzling though his observations are, is probably better ignored.
Not that I wish to dwell too much on the critique of other critiques, it's just that this film delivers so much bang for what was probably its buck, and does it on so many levels that it is difficult to imagine where such scathing detraction could possibly come from. The leveller here is a simple one, if you don't like this movie... then you just don't get it.
First and foremost, what we have here is a damned good story. Start with a big black guy carrying a washing machine and wonder where on earth this could possibly be going. What you get is an intriguing premise, with even more intriguing sub-plots woven into it, no spoilers coming here by the way... see the movie.
An often unavoidable truth with independent cinema is that in return for that elusive damned good story, it is never by any means certain (given the absence of Hollywood's millions) that you are going to get any icing on your cake.
Yet in this regard "Best Laid Plans" exacts itself as a true David to Hollywood's flabby Goliath. Take some Ken Loach style social realism, throw in some Nick Love style menace, some convincingly stylised violence, and not one but two touching love stories. Then start dealing with some deep themes,like isolation, greed, relationships, and while you're at it why not be audacious enough to examine the concept of love, with stark honesty and through a slightly skewed lens?
Why not indeed? This is a brave piece of storytelling and you really don't get away with this kind of stuff without a pretty slick script and a bunch of stellar performances from a gifted cast. Chris Green is definitely one to watch in terms of the former.
I would equally have to concede some understatement in comparing David Blair with any other director. Since he has clearly taken both script and cast and made the whole thing fly.
So there must be a downside...perhaps the shooting?
Nope, it's all dark and brooding when it needs to be and bright and evocative when it doesn't.
So you may want to consider for a minute the ruminations on the philosophical themes of lost souls, complicated relationships and life's meaning at, let's say the estimated $32,000,000 price tag at which "Tree of Life" came in.
Hell of a lot of icing there... but not much in the way of cake.
And then see this gem and be thankful... because Hollywood would simply have ruined it.