Monday 29 October 2018

Movie: Bad Times At The El Royale (15), Halloween (2018) (18), Hunter Killer (15) & Smallfoot (U)

Bad Times At The El Royale (15) – what’s it about? Seven strangers check in to an old quirky motel that sits smack bang on the border of two states, and the night unfolds with unexpected events.

I really don’t know what to say about this film…well that’s kind anyway. I went to see it as a friend wanted to and I didn’t really know much about it but most things I’ll give a shot and see what happens. I don’t know if I wasn’t in the mood for this type of movie or just that it was the biggest waste of my time so far this year – and I’m leaning towards the latter. I think after about an hour I thought is this actually going to go anywhere, as the story was just slow and it was dragged on way too long, it was nearly 2 ½ hours long, they could have easily chopped off an hour of that and made it a decent film with a plot that actually went along at a good rate so that people didn’t want to die of boredom. The characters didn’t give enough feeling, they just seemed the same hashed up people with nothing original about them, nothing about them cried out to me to cheer someone on. The only thing that saved this movie was the singing, man Darlene (Cynthia Erivo) had the voice of an angel, this is the only thing that makes this movie worth seeing.

Rating: *



Halloween (2018) (18) – what’s it about? Set in the present day so after Michael goes on his killing spree, he escapes from the high security prison institute and goes on the rampage again.

I wasn’t sure how this one would be, some of these reboots can be meh and some can be good, thankfully this one falls into the good category. They managed to keep this in the same vein as the original and it had some good reach backs. The story was a continuation and not a re-hash of the previous film. It kept in the classic horror style so not over the top or anything, and it had a nice story to follow that kept me occupied. The only downside to it is that I didn’t really find it scary, it probably deserves 4 stars but as it didn’t make me jump once I’m going to be a little harsh and only give it 3.

Rating: ***



Hunter Killer (15) – what’s it about? A crew of a US submarine are sent to Russia to investigate the loss of another sub – and it turns out they have to stop World War 3 from happening.

This is totally one of those “pro-America” films, you know the ones bigging up the US Military and White House staff. They make it all showy and it’s a case of look at us we’re so great and they swoop in and save the day. Don’t get me wrong it’s a fantastic action movie, I like these films as they are a good bit of entertainment. It is very much in the same line as Olympus Has Fallen, so if you’ve seen that and liked it then you’ll probably enjoy this one too. It has enough suspense to keep me engrossed into the loose plot, and it has lots of action and stuff. It is definitely a leave your brain at the door movie and is worth seeing if you’re an action lover.

Rating: ****




Smallfoot (U) – what’s it about? Migo a Yeti discovers humans exist and tries to convince his fellow sceptic villagers.

Well I went to see this as there wasn’t much out this week in the cinema and I wanted to occupy myself with something – don’t get me wrong it looked ok from the adverts. I sat there in this cinema filled with families, as expected as its school holidays, but I wasn’t expecting to be so engrossed by the depth of the story of this film. To a child this would be fun entertainment, but to an adult, well to anyone like me that overthinks everything, this is an eye-opening film. The story tackles subjects such as family, friendship, banishment, questioning religion, challenging what is taught and indoctrinated to us by your elders, and that the truth can build a better society. Yeah that’s what I mean a total in-depth film which has an undertone which will go straight over kids heads but they will love it for the characters, humour, light story that’s laid down over the top, the odd song and a wonderful story about friendship. It is truly an enjoyable film for all the family, it’s silly and serious at the same time.

Rating: ****


Monday 8 October 2018

Movie: The House with a Clock in Its Walls (12A) & Venom (15)


The House with a Clock in Its Walls (12A) – what’s it about? Lewis a young boy who has recently lost his parents moves in with his strange uncle who teaches him Wizarding ways.

What a long title for a film but the film itself is pretty fun even if you can’t remember what its called. It kind of reminded me of ‘Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children’ you know it’s pretty quirky with odd characters and story. It’s a kid’s film but it was still enjoyable to watch as an adult, it’s the typical Jack Black type of thing – so a good dose of humour. I wouldn’t say it’s the funniest or greatest movie I’ve seen but it’s something easy to watch to pass the time and to help keep the little ones entertained for a bit.

Rating: ***



Venom (15) – what’s it about? The origin story of how Eddie joins with the symbiote called Venom.

I have to admit I only loosely know the Venom story as it’s not really a comic I’ve read so this isn’t a fangirl’s thoughts. If you hadn’t guessed it this is another Marvel comic book adaptation movie, with these you know that they’ll be pretty good as they seem to have got it all down right with their movies. That said though origin stories can sometimes be a little slow or dull if they aren’t done right or if they don’t move fast enough to explain things. This one wasn’t too much like that though, the whole movie had a good pace, the story moved along quick enough to keep me entertained and it was mixed well with action scenes. It is a little darker than the normal Marvel stuff so not really for the younger audience but I think teenagers+ will enjoy this. If you like a bit of violence, a bit of a darker story with a dash of sci-fi and comicbookness then this will be right up your street. I think this is really a 3 1/2 star movie rather than a 3 but you know not feeling generous enough to give it a 4.

Rating: ***