Film Reviews by AB

Welcome to AB's film reviews page. AB has written 176 reviews and rated 191 films.

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Mystery Road

Not quite a thriller but very watchable

(Edit) 25/09/2018

I liked this film - the setting was different, the main character had his own crosses to bear, home family troubles, his own people and colleagues didn't really like him but he was trying to do a professional job and the plotlines were very believable in such an out-of-the-way town. As others have described, some of the plotline strands didn't have an ending, which was mildly irritating, but this was a believable film, despite being not as thrilling as the description of 'thriller'. I had no problems with the sound nor the dialogue and a characterisation plot twist at the end in the denouement wasn't seen by me.

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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Summer Wars

Bizarre, unfathomable

(Edit) 25/09/2018

An anime version of Ready Player One about a virtual reality world, this time taken over by a Big Baddie and the race to stop it ruling the real world through its stolen accounts.

A geek's film.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Inside Man

Interesting but an anti-climax

(Edit) 19/09/2018

(Beware - some spoilers below) As others have stated, a very interesting film but the ending was a complete washout and the characterisation of Jodie Foster was simply a side issue that was not really relevant to the film overall - her character did nothing, influenced nothing, achieved nothing. Some holes in the plot (didn't they do a head count?) and why the hole/non-hole in the store room? I assume I know who the shot hostage was, and that was very clever as well.

0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Last Passenger

One of those - why? what if? how? thrillers

(Edit) 01/09/2018

Quite suspenseful drama/thriller that raises the question in everyone's mind - what if this happened to me, how would I get out of it alive? What would I do? How would I do it?

The storyline is defined elsewhere on this site but the trick is building the suspense into that storyline, which this film achieves.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Mr 3000

As a story fine but ...

(Edit) 06/09/2018

The trouble with Hollywood and sports such as baseball, where statistics and figures mean an awful lot, is that the former assume that the rest of the world know what is being talked about. If not, then explain it

You can gather what is going on in the story and why the star wants to make a comeback, but in the end story, does his 'hit' count or not? It is not explained to us non US mortals

A nice story, taking in all types of humanity and easy to follow so don't take my observations too much to heart

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Heist

Nice storyline but too complex for its own good

(Edit) 06/09/2018

I liked this film but my major complaint is that it is as complex and full of twists as a Mission Impossible episode, which spoiled it a bit as you are thinking that the major players could not have possibly allowed for everything and yet ... Even at the end I was left wondering how various bits of the film fitted in to the whole storyline ... eg the truck that picked up the girl on the highway - what was so significant about the number plate? and what happened there ? and why?

3 out of 4 members found this review helpful.

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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

A good story spoiled

(Edit) 25/08/2018

Could/should have been far better - far too reliant on CGI, nonsensical grandiose beasts (elephants and snakes) and magic being used to cure all ills. Stick to the 'facts' If mythology can be so described e.g. Vortigern was NOT Arthur's uncle

I don't take too much umbrage at the relocation of Eastenders-speak to the film - why not add a bit of fun to keep it with the 'common man' on the street? But when did martial arts play a part in old-Londinium town?

Absolutely not a patch on Lock, Stock etc from Ritchie, but this is not a good film

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Kubo and the Two Strings

A bit arty and overrated

(Edit) 06/08/2018

Slightly confusing anime (Q: who *was* the hero's mother? Human? or monkey?)

Overly praised to my mind as it is a standard story - good v evil with helpers on both sides and psychological pseudo-ism in the whole film.

The sort of film that critics love because it is the thing that they *should* be praising without knowing why

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Big Business

Could have been far better

(Edit) 28/07/2018

The premise is good, the acting should have been easy but the storyline was lacking.

The two leads are good actresses but the whole thing lacked a good storyline and got very confusing to watch, even for the viewers who were "in the know" about what was going on. I lost track of which twin was which in some of the scenes which spoiled things a bit. A bit more zany humour would have helped and extrapolating the dog ownership story and the putting competition story might hve helped a bit but they were left hanging as obvious fillers that would have not been missed if absent. Watch but don't expect to enjoy

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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The Connection

The French Connection from the other side

(Edit) 23/07/2018
Spoiler Alert

As said elsewhere, this is the mirror side of the US film, but shows how drug gangs, the mafia, etc are all interlinked, with some people trying to help society at great danger to themselves, not knowing who to trust and who is actually trying to hinder them in their job.

I got a bit lost trying to follow who was who, but the storyline is believable, the subtitles good and the film has a sad ending.

Don't try to compare it with the Popeye Doyle films but watch it as the 'other' part of the story.

0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Overly long first part of a far shorter book

(Edit) 25/06/2018

I have read The Hobbit many time and I think that it is a simpler, more enjoyable and more readable book than LOTR. To stretch the former into 3 films is a travesty as there are many parts in the film that are obviously there to be padding - as is the major faux pas when they meet with Galadriel. There are *no* female characters in The Hobbit book and Galadriel was in LOTR. Good CGI but the baddies aren't bad enough (yet?) and was I the only one who was rooting for the Wargs in the battles?

0 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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Doctor Strange

Very good CGI and a backdrop setting of the hero

(Edit) 19/06/2018

Sets up the backstory of Dr. Strange (and even his cloak) and others (above and WIki) have expressed views on type- (or should that be UNtype-) casting of various characters. Very poor chief villain and the esoteric multi-verse is very confusing but the whole film has very good CGI. (I should have been a CGI engineer in real life - I would make a fortune from the Marvel franchises!!!)

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Bizarre but not great

(Edit) 18/06/2018

Another Tim Burton incomprehensible story with so many plot holes as to make it unenjoyable.

Anything involving time travel raises more questions than it should (vide Star Trek in all its guises!) and this one is no different, but the storyline is 'plausible' and, at times, confusing but the whole film is enjoyable to watch.

I'm surprised that, given the US-centric storyline at the start, that Wales was the 'chosen' venue for the storyline and that it wasn't labelled as "Wales near England"!

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Class: Series 1

Why?

(Edit) 12/06/2018

Poor spin off of the Dr Who franchise featuring a whole set of annoying kids, held together by their teacher Miss Quill (who seems to be the only proper actress/actor in the whole setup - the lovely Katherine Kelly). Too much over-reaction, too much of the kids working out what to do in a galactic war (as if they would know)... and why does every Dr Who spinoff now have to have gay characters in it? Too much influence by Russell T Davies?

2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.

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The Martian

Good film with real science

(Edit) 02/06/2018

Nice to see real science being used properly regarding feeding, oxygen, water etc. Some of the fine details were skimmed over in the film (cf the book, which probably had *too* much detail). The last few scenes were very good - emotionally draining in fact and I found myself getting very emotional about it all, with a lump in my throat. It is also believable that the world (ie all nations) *would* get together to help someone in Watney's predicament.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
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