Film Reviews by JR

I think the main problem for me is the characters aren't very likeable. It's a series about a family of rich douchebags arguing with each other about how to run their massive corporation that has made them stupidly wealthy.

I think it's supposed to be funny, and occasionally it is, but most of the time it misses the mark for me. Overall it's well enough written and acted to keep me watching, but I probably won't bother with the second series.

Story of an unlikable scumbag! Hardy is good and the film has a quirkiness to it that's kind of interesting but overall I found it quite boring.

I'm not a massive Marvel / comic book fan so I start watching these no real expectations.

With that in mind, I thought this was a fun popcorn movie. Margot Robbie is very good as Harley Quinn. After seeing so many comic book movies they can get a bit samey but the action in this movie had a really fun chaotic feel that worked with the character, and it seemed like it had a little more tongue in cheek playfulness than many movies in this genre.

It kept me engaged and entertained all the way through, but it just didn't have the wow factor of a 5 star movie.

It's kind of a steampunk post apocalyptic movie, which is typically right up my street. I looked at the cast of well respected actors and I thought this is going to be great. Unfortunately not, at least not for me.

The general idea behind this movie of a train that circles the Earth carrying the last of humanity is unremittingly stupid, and you are reminded of how stupid it is on a regular basis. Add to that some contrived action set pieces and no amount of quality actors and steampunk coolness could save this movie for me.

It's an uneasy mix of cute kids and zombies which didn't quite work for me. It was neither particularly funny or scary and had a real B-movie, slightly hammy feel. If the idea of kids having a sing along while zombies claw at the windows appeals then maybe give it a look. My friend thought it was great, personally I wanted to fast forward past all the cringe inspiring, cute kid stuff, so not really my thing.

Typical self indulgent rubbish that we have come to expect from Tarantino, I just about made it through to the end.

There's a plethora of good actors so no complaints there. As with almost all Tarantino movies it needs somebody to edit it down by about 30 - 40 minutes because it's filled with aimless, uncompelling dialogue, and pointlessly long filler scenes. Of course he had to shoe horn in some gratuitous violence, but it seemed out of place with the rest of the movie.

Overall it's a dull movie with just enough interesting bits to keep you watching to the end.

I've watched quite a few documentaries relating to climate change so much of the information here isn't new to me, however if you haven't, this is a nicely done film with some interesting info and a more hopeful feel. It also avoids being too sensationalist, unlike many films of this type that try to shock rather than inform.

Trying to be arty and worthy but is actually really boring, feels so much longer than 90 minutes.

Movie is going for a gritty, realistic feel, but consists of overly long traveling scenes as the main character gets to his destination, either walking very slowly, or on the train staring into the distance, or vacantly staring forward while driving. A few cryptic cut scenes which I guess are supposed to give the character depth. Some mumbled dialogue with his mother and other characters. It consistently feels like the movie is in slow motion even during the action bits.

Overall there's very few thrills in this "thriller" and I suspect it mainly appeals to pretentious movie critic types because it's not a typical Hollywood style movie.

If all you look for in a film is a selection of well choreographed action set pieces then this might be right up your street. However if you feel there should be more to a movie than a bunch of vacuous action violence with a mindless excuse for a story stringing the whole thing together, then steer well clear because that is exactly what you get with John Wick 3.

It's a classic case of Hollywood having an an accidental hit, then the movie making committee and accountants take over more and more as the sequels go on. It was the same with Pirates of the Caribbean. The problem with movies made by committee like John Wick 3, is they have no soul or passion. The committee tries to assess what made the movie popular in the first place and invariably simplifies it to one thing, then they double down on their assessment for the next one.

With John Wick they thought the action sequences made the movie, unfortunately they ignored all the other great parts that made the movie a surprise hit, and sequel 3 this is what you get, a soulless empty action movie where even the action is boring because there is nothing that makes you care about why it's happening other than your memory of how cool the first movie was.

I like the movies but I was skeptical about this series, however it's actually good.

It follows a number of different characters from just before a purge, through to the end of it, building the characters stories and how their paths cross thoughout the night.

I think if you like The Purge movies then you will like this. If you haven't seen The Purge movies I would recommend watching at least the first one before checking out this series, although it's not totally necessary because there are no character crossovers that I remember.

Considering I love movies set in a dystopian future (this is dystopian-ish) I found this one surprisingly dull. The cgi visuals are excellent, there are some really good actors in it but it failed to make me care about Alita and her streetwise boyfriend. The script is average with some scenes getting pretty cheesy and cliched, and as with a lot of films a little too long. It's worth a watch if you like this kind of thing but that's about it.

Spectacular steampunk fun.

Not perfect, and it certainly has been influenced by Mad Max Fury Road (which I thought was over rated!) and towards the end Star Wars, but the critical panning it's had is completely out of proportion, especially when movies like Snowpiercer got such unjustified good reviews. If you like the idea of the movie it's well worth a watch.

Imagine the cheesiest, cliched, badly written pile of teen turd you've ever seen and that's what this is. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer but about 100 times worse, and about 15 years too late.

Deciding to make a series around the early years of a psycho means they really have to try hard to make you like the main protagonist, and when you see him change into the psycho you are supposed to have conflicted feelings about him. Unfortunately they didn't quite manage this for me in Bates Hotel. I never really liked Norman or his mother Norma, even though they were very well acted.

From the very start, Norman always comes across as a slightly strange, bookish, kid with a manipulating mother and although this relationship is fleshed out later, I never warmed to either character. For some unknown reason Norman seems to be freakishly interesting/desirable to a number of attractive woman which wasn't at all realistic.

My favourite character and storyline turned out to be his older brother Dylan, who gets mixed up in the local towns shady dealings. For me this is the story that kept me watching, and I'd be happy for Norman's story to be a sub plot rather than the main focus.

After being spoiled with so many great Mavel based movies and series, it comes as a bit of a surprise when one is merely average.

I think one of the main problems is that Finn Jones is pretty unconvincing as Ironfist. He's a decent enough actor but you can't help thinking he's dancing instead of fighting in some of the fight scenes, and there are some fairly cringe worthy moments as well.

Overall it's an ok, fun series though, so it still worth a watch if you ever run out of other Marvel based stuff to watch!