Film Reviews by HM

A mash up of ideas that don't hold together. Poor story telling, just not very skillful - give it a miss

Starts well, eye candy landscapes, a good lead character; a young women who wants to emulate the braves in her American Indian tribe. The Predator arives and lays waste to dozens of men. Luckily we have a kung fu/Arni/Bruce Lee women to settle its hash. Do us a favour.

She also beats up a few braves along the way. The de-feminisation of women continues as action films gravitate to simplistric violence with no idea what to do with females. Maybe using their brains? What they haven't got is the physical strength to take on stronger bigger men let alone Predator, who made evan Arni wet himself, so he used guile in the final act having admitted he couldn't take this thing on in a fight.

A pity really, but the blurring of super hero films and 'real' people films continues. Frankly I am losing inrerest in action genre films, they are getting dafter by the minutre. Give me a plot any day with some action but not this sillyness.

A tough hard watch as we follow a man in a French prison being ground down and humiliated but learning the rules as he tries to thrive. Rewarding and brutal. Not a good reflection on the French prison system. Much recommended crime thriller with an educational element.

Kids may like it, frankly it is just another super hero bore fest. Bearing in mind that the 'origin' story is the most interesting, it can only go downhill from here. Tongue in cheek throughout and with unbelievable characters in the hero's Hispanic family, the movie ejects any sense of drama and relationship with reality. OK it is a superhero film, but does it have to be this stupid? Plus we have another 'powerful' woman in charge of a high tech company she created; you know just like real life. ha, ha.

Eye candy but no substance. Is there anywhere to go for superhero movies? The bin probably.

Critics liked this when it came out. Frankly I was disappointed by this weird romantic comedy. A man who is clearly mentally ill meets cynical shock jock and the two make an unlikely pair as the jock tries to cure him and set up a romance with an odd woman who's personality owes more to script writing than any likely real person. Got bored. I don't understand the point of this story. As for Robin Williams, OK in small doses, much smaller than this please!

An excellent Egyptian thriller. A young lad qualifies to study at the most prestigeous Muslim University in Islam. Top clerics graduate from this. The leader of the Uni is highly regarded and his opinions carry heavy political weight, not least in Egypt. The secret services have a spy in the UnI to try and manipulate a new leader appointment. The lad is approached to replace the spy. Can he achieve his spy masters' aims and survive in the murky world of national security intrigue? An excellent thriller and an education all at once.

Not in keeping with the tongue in cheek originals. Just a play on the name and reputation. Exciting in the usual slasher movie methodology and left open for a sequal; no thanks. It wil keep you interested mind you as it is none stop gore and action., if you are in to that. I can take it or leave it; I'll leave it.

Starts ok but disolves into 'the usual'. Action overtakes brains sadly. Haven't seen the first film and this doesn't inspire me to try. Cronenberg come back all is forgiven.

Nice Cgi shame about the movie/story. Baddie from first film comes back as a blue Avatar with a few other previously 'dead' soldiers. Mind transfer into Avatar bodies you see. Anyway the plot is simply this bunch hitching a ride with other human colonisers trying to kill the hero of previous movie also an Avatar. Dumb. 3 hours of pretty pictures rather like Grimwald, another bore fest. The blue people meet the aqua grey version of themselves. Petty teenage rivralries supposedly appealing to youth; cliche after cliche sadly.

I wound parts on not wishing to endure the agony. And of course the final shootout between poorly armed goodies and well armed badies who cannot it a cow's bum with a banjo finishes things, pretty much like all dumb and dumber action films.

I hear there is a third one to be relased; no thanks.

Based on a true story? Really? Anyway it is funny, tongue in cheek and exciting. A pocorn and a few beers movie. About 5 times more entertaining than the dismal Way of Water. Want to chuckle along to a daft thriller? Look no further. Having this around as an emergency movie will be a good idea in case you land a stinker Avatar type dissapointment. You can pop this on and be entertained in well under 3 hours!!

Emma Thompson plays a frumpy widowed older woman who hires a male prostitute; cue guilt complex and soul searching by old lady. We go through 4 or 5 meetings as she continually tries to avoid what she wants. This became extremely irritating and I found myself winding foreward to avoid more of the same. In addition, the gigilo is invited to form a relationship with her as if he got into prostitution to look after old ladies.

A familier tale of a woman trying to remodel a man. I doubt any male of the species will enjoy this nonesense, although old women trying to shag a tall handsom young man may go for it!

A bunch of criminals hide away while the heat dies down having shot a cop during a heist. Although set up like a Tarantino film, the dialogue is nowhere near as smart. Conversations are not particularly intersting. You just know it is going to kick off. Supernatural events also occur which seem out of place and don't work. A film best avoided IMO.

First half or more of the film deals with a civil servant in 1950s Britain living a dull existance. A 6 months to live death sentence given to him by his doctor, has him self analyse his hitherto existence dwelt in a rut of his own making. Off he goes to live it up a bit and sample what he has been missing. All well and good, entertaining and engaging, however, the last part of the film is over sentimental as we learn more about him and his past deeds. The film drags on a bit at this point frankly so that the finale is a dissapointment. A shame as performances up to now were very good.

Sadly you have to sign up for the whole collection of series. Colour and a memorable theme tune appeared in later series. McGoohan is brilliant in the lead role and would surely have been a great Bond? Typical of the period the scripts are smart condensed and straight to the point. The formula? John Drake has a punch up and always seems to have a pretty female involved. The plots are good though and are usually based abroad somewhere exotic, even if it is actually Wales or a back drop shot of Istanbul etc.

Definitely worth a hire to enjoy a season of a very good 1960s action/thriller stuff. Enjoy.

A young woman feels she is being watched by a man over the road. A serial killer is on the loose but he is arrested, so who is this guy? Maybe the real killer? She encounters this odd lonley character but instead of reassurig her, she seems to be loosing her mind, maybe there is a mental health issue. Is it just her imagination or a real threat? Her boyfriend is around for protection, so what could go wrong? Well it does get creepy without being unrealistic. Needless to say things develop with a few twists. An enjoyable thriller which held my attention.