madelineangelahind-26972 Reviews

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Loved it

[10/10 · 22 July 2023]

The mission impossible movies just keep getting better and better.

This latest instalment is stunning and spectacular, the kind of movie that you need to see on the big screen.

No actor has literally risked his life for the audience the way that Tom Cruise does as Ethan Hunt and in this movie he raises the bar on stuntwork to dizzying heights, both literally and metaphorically.

(on a side note there needs to be an Oscar for stuntwork and Cruise needs to be the first recipient).

The cast are universally excellent.

This film series has eclipsed Bond as the premier action adventure movie franchise.

My only worry is how can they possibly surpass this for the next one?

Mercy Falls (2023)

Amateurish

[3/10 · 17 July 2023]

Every cliche you can imagine is present in this tired, derivative waste of time. There isn't much to recommend in this uninspired low budget pablum.

The story isn't terrible but you've seen it all countless times before.

The acting is amateurish in the extreme. You can't present something to an audience with this poor level of acting and expect to be taken seriously. If you are trying to create tension or chills you need better actors. There are no two ways about it.

The film isn't exciting, scary or suspenseful. It is a cheap not very cheerful filler.

In all conscience I can't recommend this.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Waller Bridge kills another franchise

[4/10 · 6 July 2023]

I was not optimistic about this film when I heard that Spielberg wasn't directing. This became disillusioned when I heard that Phoebe Waller Bridge had a major role.

Personally I quite enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and don't understand the vitriol aimed at it. It obviously isn't as good as the original trilogy but it was a diverting evening at the cinema.

This latest instalment, sad to say, is a train wreck. There are a couple of good set pieces and it's always great to see Harrison Ford but Waller Bridge is utterly unsympathetic in her role.

If the plan is to try to make a spin off with Waller Bridge then that's a terrible plan. Thankfully the disastrous box office virtually guarantees that won't happen.

FUBAR (2023– )

Tired old idea with a tired old lead

[4/10 · 6 June 2023]

This series is a sad, tired old cookie cutter of an idea. It was a sad, tired, corny old cliche back when schwarzenegger was in his heyday. Let's be honest that was a long time ago.

Age hasn't improved this cornball idea. Nor has it improved its star arnie. Arnie is 75 and looks at least that. The dyed hair doesn't make him look younger. It just makes him look desperate.

Arnie was never much good as an actor and I'm afraid that age hasn't improved that either.

Elderly leading man aside the series feels like it's a mish mash of every action cliche there is. It's a cringe fest that contains nothing original.

Won't be watching any more.

The Ipcress File (2022)

Gave up after the first episode

[1/10 · 11 March 2022]

I would love to see a faithful adaptation of the len Deighton nameless hero novels but, while the script seems to be working towards that the casting of stumpy Joe 90 lookalike Joe Cole as Harry Palmer (why is he called Harry Palmer, a name invented for the film) kills my interest stone dead. I'm not a particularly big fan of Caine but he made a more convincing secret agent than the milky bar kid.

Hippopotamus (I) (2018)

Fails on every level

[1/10 · 9 August 2021]

It's a struggle to think of anything positive to say about this cheap, dull, poorly made load of old tosh.

No one emerges from this embarrassing mess with credit but as "writer" and "director" Jody Wheeler must shoulder much of the blame.

This is not horror but it is horrible.

Granny of the Dead (2017)

Unwatchable

[1/10 · 9 August 2021]

Badly acted, badly shot, cheap pointless drivel. I can find little to praise in this sorry effort.

I am suspicious about the positive 10 out of 10 reviews.