Rogue One (3rd viewing)

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The Eagle Huntress

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Why him?

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Passengers

It's Christmas Eve and all was quite..

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Arrival (5th viewing)

Thought I'd get one more showing in... Before it left the planet so to speak..
Best film of the year.. I can't see Passengers beating it..

****1/2

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Rouge One 3D (2nd viewing)

Thought I'd try this out again only this time in glorious 3D (space always looks good in 3D)
It was no Gravity, the 3D didn't really add to the film.. Still a good film though.. ****.

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Rogue One

There's a first.. A 6am showing.. This is inspired scheduling from Odeon.. If this caught on I could see films BEFORE starting work..
Unfortunately, at the moment that's dosen't look like it's going to happen soon... Their was only 7 of us there.. Never mind, on with the review..

Ok, this is an interesting addition to the Star Wars saga.. For starters it's a stand-alone film.. It's dosen't have an episode number (if it were to have one it would be about 3.75 taking into account Star Wars Rebels).  In this film Steven Hawkins first wife (Flick Jones) teams up with Button out of Open Range (Diego Luna), IP Man (Donnie Yen) and bunch of other geezers and they set off to locate the plans for a Super weapon.  This said weapon proves to be a right pain in the planet (for this film and the next). If I have to explain it anymore, why the hell are you reading this blog for..

I went in hoping for another Force Awakens.. It wasn't.. But that's not a bad thing. After the initial slow build up (Iceland looking sweet as per usual) it really started to build momentum.  Like The Force Awakens, anyone who loves Star Wars will find a lot to like in this film. This is almost like Star Wars for adults (no, not that sort of film). It's definitely got a grittier feel to it too ***Spoiler*** People die.. The final 2/3rd's of the film romp along and the special effects come into their own during some epic battle scenes.

My only real gripes are 1) the missing star crawl at the beginning of the film and 2) a certain CGi resurrection which just didn't work for me..

Those aside though, I really enjoyed this film..
****

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Manchester By The Sea

Two Screen Unseens in a month?  We are being spoilt... You'd think.

I had no idea what this one was.. General 'buzz' was favouring "La La Land", which I was not looking forward to.

This one turned out to be "Manchester By The Sea".  I'm not going to bother with a synopsis because, quite frankly I've wasted enough time on this as it is..  Only to say, you remember "I, Daniel Blake" ?

Well, that was a laugh-fest compared to this..  Don't get me wrong, Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams were excellent (most of the cast were to be fair).

But 'Jesus H Christ' it was depressing..
Critics and stuffy types who appreciate good, heart-felt acting will (and do) love it..
Me on the other hand... 

Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams get a star each.. **

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Office Christmas Party

Here's another 'Screen Unseen filler' (I should set that up as a label..)

This one didn't require a synopsis.. It's all there in the title..  or if you really need one here's seven words... Failing firm has party to save business.

It's funny.. There's no denying that.. There were jokes I probably shouldn't have laughed at too..
This one didn't finish until 8.30pm and as I had a prior engagement with a Screen Unseen I had to miss the last 10 minutes... Which I don't think really mattered too much..

Overall another mildly entertaining ***.

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A Monster Calls

The trailer for this one really sold it..
Based on novel by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd), it focuses on a young boy Conor (Lewis MacDougall) and how he deals with his mothers terminal illness..

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Moana

OK, this one was just a filler while I waited for the main event..

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Arrival (4th viewing)

Come on, what d'you expect.. It's awesome..
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Sully

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Arrival (3rd viewing)

What can I say... It's my film of the year
(so far.. We've still got Rouge One and Passengers)

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Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them 3D (2nd viewing)

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Arrival (2nd viewing)

That was just what I needed..

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Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

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Nocturnal Animals

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The Accountant

That wasn't as bad as everyone made out..

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The Beatles : Hard Days night

OK, here's the start of today's Movie marathon..
And what a good start it was too..

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Doctor Strange 3D (4th viewing)

Here we are again.. 3D this time.. Was it better for it? There was one or two moments that worked well.. But not as well as I hoped.. Maybe I've over saturated this one..

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Arrival

Tonight's Screen Unseen turned out to be Arrival (as everyone and their dogs had predicted)..
I've got to be honest I wasn't expecting too much from this one.  Don't get me wrong I loved Prisoners and Sicario so, with hindsight I should have anticipated this..
I didn't..

Ok, brief synopsis before I start with the gushing my opinion.
Amy Adams plays Louise Banks, a luinguist highered by the US army to help understand some aliens who landed at 12 various places on the planet (all where Sheena Eastern had hits in the 80's apparently..). Along with top scientist Hawkeye they embark on quest to understand why, how what the newly named Heptapods want..

I absolutely loved this film. Everything just fitted. Ok, if you've read this blog you'll appreciate my love of Sci-fi. The plot of this incorporated all the best elements found in great science fiction movies. Aliens, Time travel, and at its heart, human interest. This is where a lot of blockbusters fail in my opinion. 

The special effects in Arrival were subtle and aided the film (as opposed to BEING the film). The soundtrack and cinematography were absolutely sublime (I've subsequently bought the soundtrack and Max Richters opening and closing track).

What really impressed me though was the twist.. I did not see that coming and for that alone it deserves high praise.. 

At the moment it is my film of the year and will definitely get a repeat viewing (or more)

****1/2 star movie..

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Doctor Strange (3rd viewing)

Had a couple of hours to kill before tonight's Screen Unseen so I figured why not..

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Doctor Strange (2nd viewing)

Yes, I know... Twice in one day..
I'm on holiday..!

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Doctor Strange

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Keeping Up With The Joneses

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Jack Reacher: Never Look Back

A nice early showing for Graham and I.

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I, Daniel Blake

And so to the latest Screen Unseen..

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Inferno

Ummm.. OK, so I had some time to kill before tonight's Screen Unseen and figured I'd check out the third in the Dan Brown trilogy.. Yes, even after the truly appalling "Angels and Demons" I decided to subject myself to another Ron Howard / Tom Hanks collaboration.. See, that phrase alone "Ron Howard / Tom Hanks collaboration" should be a sign of quality. You'd think..

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Miss Peragrine's Home For Peculiar Children

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The Girl On The Train

Deepwater Horizon

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The Magnificent Seven (4DX)

War On Everyone

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Sausage Party (2nd viewing)

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Hell Or High Water

OK, quick synopsis..
Two bro's rob banks to stop ma's ranch being repossessed..
Shit happens..

This one was a doozie. I'm a big fan of Ben Foster. Although he's getting a little typecast as the 'unhinged one' these days. Chris Pine plays his brother and the brains of the operation. On the other side of the coin you have Jeff Bridges and his Indian/Mexican partner and that's where most of the humour comes from..
The film was a slow burner.. It started off slowly but really kicked off during an altercation at a garage. It lightened the mood and shed new light on one of the leads..
I've never been to Texas but from this film I could see its a hot, dirty and desolate place..
The camera constantly showed businesses going bust and billboards advertising loans..

Overall a grizzly and satisfactory film..
****
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Morgan

This was a last minute viewing and as it turns out it wasn't that bad... really.

This one's a sci-fi/horror directed by the son of Sir Ridley Scott himself (he helped with production too). So you know it's got a good pedigree to start with. The plot's very similar to last years excellent Ex-Machina  with shades of his dad's classic Bladerunner. 

Morgan is a genetically engineered human in an off-grid, hidden away, underground lab (as only dodgy laboratories seem to be.)

After 5 years growth there's an 'incident' and a member of staff is poked in the eye.. Actually, I played that down a bit.. it was more 'stabbed'..

Anyway, as a result Lee Weathers (Kate Mara), A corporate risk-management consultant is called in to 'assess the risk'..

It creeps along at a reasonable pace

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David Brent :Life on the road

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Sausage Party

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Mechanic:Resurrection

You can't beat a Jason Statham movie. You know exactly what you're getting into..

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Jason Bourne (2nd viewing)

Here we find Graham and myself having just witnessed Paul Greengrass and Matt Damons latest collaboration..

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The BFG

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Suicide Squad

Here's DC's latest superhero offering and this time Zack Snyder only produced..
Quick synopsis before I get into the nitty-gritty.... Once upon a time there lived the ultimate superhero. His name was Superman (not appearing in this movie). Due to some shenanigans which I won't go into right now, he fell out of favour with Earth's occupants (well, the Americans at least). So, in response a secret government agency (led by Viola Davies' Amanda Waller) decide to gather a team of criminals together and use them as a last line of defense..

Now, I'm not a big fan of Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. So I was hoping this might be better.
Last night I caught up with "The Dark Knight" on ITV2. As a result I KNOW DC can do great movies. That film is almost flawless.. The Joker comes across as an intelligent, psychopath who "just wants to watch the world burn..". You genuinely feel for the characters (yes, even the Joker to a degree).  The humour is sparse but genuine, and generally adds to the movie..
This film on the other hand... Let's start with the good points. Will Smith and Margot Robbie are ok.

It's more BvsS:DOJ than Dark Knight. I'm not sure quite what's wrong with it.
Could it be the dialogue..? Could it be the direction..? To a degree it does suffer from the 'Too powerful' character like Dr Manhattan in Watchmen (another DC movie). Also it raises too many questions.. For example, where did the special forces team get scuba gear from? Also what was the point of the character Slipknot? (who appears in promotional material and trailer).. Was it just to demonstrate the 'explosive' security measures that were in place?

I wanted to enjoy this.. I'm almost getting fed up with Marvel's constant delivery of excellent movies (...no, I'm not really).  The trailer for Wonder Woman looks better..

I'm not going to hold my breath..

***

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Jason Bourne

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Star Trek Beyond 3D

OK, I've just hopped out of the Odeon, Hereford having been sat down for 2 1/2 hours..
This latest in the Star Trek franchise was part penned my Simon Pegg so I had relatively high expectations.. Synopsis wise we start off in a state-of-the-art space station with a slightly despondent Kirk contemplating a desk job. Suddenly an alien ship turns up asking for assistance and the Enterprise plus crew fly off into uncharted space..

General opinion of this film, critic wise had been favourable and, like I was saying I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately it didn't quite reach them. Wether it's down to the pressure of a multimillion dollar budget and consequent studio pressures but it seemed to lack the humour of the previous Pegg scribed offerings.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. The CGI was outstanding and the plot zipped along at a fair pace..

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Ghostbusters (2016)

Hopped into Cineworld (Cardiff) to catch a flick and decided on the Ghostbusters re-boot..
This morning I checked out the IMDB rating and it was pretty well hated by the general public - nearly 29,000 reviews and an average of 4.9 out of 10.. I mean, I had to scan way down the 1* reviews before I found anything remotely positive..
(and yet I still bought a ticket??!)

Here's a brief synopsis before I give my opinion.. If you've seen Ghostbusters (1984) this is pretty well the same plot, only swap the men for women (see, I told you it was brief)
Having seen it I've got to be honest and say I don't know what all the fuss is about..
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The Secret Life Of Pets

Another Saturday afternoon to myself (Liz is working) so why not get in a movie?
This one is your typical animated kids fare. OK, here's a brief synopsis (stop me if you've heard this one). A happy, loving home environment is thrown into chaos when a new toy, sorry pet is introduced.. During their arguing and fighting they find themselves lost in New York and have to join forces in order to get home.. Sound familiar?
The plot is almost identical to the first Toy Story.
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Independence Day: Resurgence

Seriously? I knew what to expect so I've only got myself to blame..

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A Beautiful Planet (3D IMAX)

W O W !
When I come to Cardiff these days I'm spoilt for choice movie wise.
I picked this was one because a) it was on at 10am and b) It was about space.. kinda..
What I didn't plan on was being the only one there.. That's right, a private screening just for me in IMAX..!! The film was only 40 minutes long and as for 3D, the IMAX intro made better use of it than the actual movie.
It was a documentary about the international space station, narrated by Jennifer Lawrence.. And it was a beautiful spectacle to see..



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Gods Of Egypt

I found myself in an interesting situation today.. It was 11 o'clock, I was stood outside Cineworld and genuinely didn't know what to see. I know I would only be able to see the one as, once again Laura had spoken and we had to leave early again. And to be honest there was nothing I WANTED to see. My choices were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, The Boss, The Conjuring 2 or this..
The question is "did I choose wisely?"..

OK, plot.. I've no Idea.. Two God's live in Egypt, one (Bryan Brown) in the posh end and the other (Gerald Butler) in 'stab town' (or the desert). Anyway the one in the rough end decides he's had enough and, on the day Bryan is about to relinquish his power to his son he turns up and spoils the party. He has a right ding dong and, amongst other things he murders his brother, steals someone's eyes and generally annoys the hell out of a lot of people..

From that day forward it goes off the scale 'crazy'.. At one point our "hero's" fly into space where they meet Colin Firths speech therapist floating around on a glass spaceship. It turns out he's Ra, the sun God and his main job is to launch fireballs from his 'staff of power' at a large CGi worm that has escaped from the the movie Dune/Beatlejuice/Tremors (delete as applicable).
Yes, you read that right..

Clearly I didn't choose wisely..

**


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