Film Reviews by jw

Welcome to jw's film reviews page. jw has written 19 reviews and rated 814 films.

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Shaka Zulu

Awesome Shaka

(Edit) 13/02/2019

Henry Cele (footballer) was the casting catch that makes this series one to watch again and again. Very well produced, quality on a huge scale, great music. It's believed white men never came across Shaka (or lived to tell the tale), and 'bewilderingly' most of the credits go to white cast members who hardly get a look in in the overall story, because this is a tale of southern Africa on almost a Shakespearean scale, told by the Zulus. You can easily imagine your knees would wobble if you had the misfortune to come before Shaka and his steely mind. Don't be put off by the brief and awfully wooden Queen Victoria in the first episode. Hold out for Shaka, a fulfilled prophecy and the legend.

1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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German Concentration Camps Factual Survey

Unseen footage

(Edit) 19/07/2021

Perhaps all unseen footage, very interesting to hear the narrator speaking only of what they could know in 1945. The cruelty and deliberate evil, and we have the 'benefit' of familiarity on the subject. Not so for the armies that freed these camps. Yet still an eye opener :-\.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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Sholay

Subtitles

(Edit) 08/08/2019

Sadly although there was a clear menu choice for English subtitles, I couldn't get them to work :-/.

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Bloodsucking Bosses

Dark humour

(Edit) 07/03/2019

I liked the dark quirky humour better. Small budget and more watchable then the slick stuff that bores me to tears these days.

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Listen to Me Marlon

Brando shines a light on life

(Edit) 12/08/2018

Powerful, thought provoking and revealing look at life from Brando's perspective. What an interesting and worthy man. I had no idea. I've ordered some of his films. I wish the world we have found ourselves in was more worthy of the best of us.

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Grimsby

The thin edge of irony

(Edit) 10/04/2018

I do love good irony, Jim Carrey is another. But Sacha Baron's alter egos hit a new low here. I have shook my head in unbelief, impressed and grossed at all his films. Is it because I'm English the Grimsby scenes were just so gross? Nah, they were. Mark Strong gave a convincing balance to the story. There were times we laughed so hard in disgust I could hardly breath. I rarely even smile through comedy. If you have an over active mind, I recommend give this film a go.

0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Love and Friendship

Period peace of worth

(Edit) 02/01/2017

Ever since BBC's Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, I've followed many period pieces wth my tongue hanging out. Eager to revisit the hankering I had for P and P. This film is the most satisfying since. I don't know how the makers do it, but it works for me.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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The Entertainer

Olivier acted his pants off

(Edit) 19/11/2016

Brilliant. Olivier should have got that Oscar, but it was the year Ben Hur was released. Or was Olivier just getting to be himself? This film makes a revealing historical document of the working class holiday places of the time that pointed to another era much older. And Alan Bates in his first movie!

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Zoolander No. 2

Much better than 2 Stars!

(Edit) 27/10/2016

Well, I loved the first film and when i saw the rating of 2 stars i was waiting to be really (really) bored, grossed out and impatient. Not so, as a fan, I was given lots of opportunities to relish previous jokes and new ones. Great gross characters like 'All' (Cumberbatch). There was a bit of a plot, but don't let that put you off because it did get forgotten to some extent in the entertaining silliness of it all. A great follow on to Zoolander.

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Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Mr Chips!

(Edit) 07/08/2016

Well apart from all the excellent performances throughout, and all the rest, I've just finished watching Mr Chips. I'm frothing over with the performance Mr Clunes gave as the very old Headmaster. I thought it specially awesome. What a performance I never saw from a younger actor playing an old geezer (acknowledgements too to the Make up artist) I'm all in a puddle now. Much appreciated and moving. xx

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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Dollman

Oh Dear!!

(Edit) 31/07/2016

So bad, I'm 17 minutes into the film, and I can't even tell who's the leading man . All the actors are so bad, it's so cheap and hammy. I can only liken it to a children's TV Sci Fi except for all the swearing I can't remember when I last saw such a bad film and I see plenty films, now in to 'my mature years'.

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Youth

Delightful

(Edit) 12/07/2016

I've seen a lot of films, I didn't live a life that would leave me jaded seeing this. I loved it. I tasted it's difference, I had nothing to disbelieve. I think I'm one of the lucky ones because I wasn't robbed.

1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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Audrey Hepburn: In the Movies

Audrey in the movies alright.

(Edit) 20/05/2016

What did I expect? It was, almost in entirety , one trailer after the other. At least I got to see parts of films I'd not seen yet, but stll Disappointing to me.

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Lucy

Great entertainment

(Edit) 12/05/2016

I thought this was brilliant, exciting, oh i'm no good at this, but I gave it 5 stars. Because it's been so underrated?? I think so.

1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.

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Les Visiteurs 2: The Corridors of Time

speed reading

(Edit) 08/05/2016

Loved the first film Les Visiteurs, but in spite of my enthusiasm for this follow on story, I was not able to read the subtitles of this film fast enough to keep up. I had to give in within 30 mins, this is the first time this has happened with me reading film subtitles. Merde!

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
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