Reviews

At what point does genuine concern and compassion for the welfare of children cross the line into an overstated politically correct witch hunt built on, at best, circumstantial evidence? Should government agencies be given carte blanche powers to tell parents how to raise their children (particularly when cultural, religious and philosophical considerations are involved), and when (and what kind of) limits should be imposed? And can the statements of allegedly victimized children be unquestionably trusted without undeniably convincing evidence to back up their contentions, especially if they have axes to grind with their parents? Such are the questions raised in this fact-based domestic docudrama from writer-director Cristian Mungiu, a picture that captured the prestigious *Palme d’Or* and FIPRESCI Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. When the Gheorghiu family relocates from...

I think this is one of the best animated feature films I have ever seen, perhaps even the best one. It is very imaginative, for a start, colorful in ways that capture the eye, and its message is as deep as you want it to be. By that I mean it would be productive and fun to watch this with children of all ages. The older or more mature the child is, the deeper you can delve into the issues of what to do about feelings of anger, sadness, and so on. With young children, you could even watch it first time through as it is, and save comments or life lessons for additional viewings. There is plenty of action and humor to be found here to entertain hem on that level. And as a side note, we have no small children to watch this with, but it is also a good movie for adults to settle into, especially during times of stress or worry. We read a recommendation for it during the COVID19 crisis.

A powerfully moving story, Inside Out takes place inside the mind of a young girl, Riley, as she tackles relatively normal hassles, from growing up to moving away. Inside her mind comes five emotions, all with different perceptions of life. There's Joy, who takes charge and her job is to keep Riley content, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, and together, they work together (or try) to keep Riley from harming herself. They live together in the headquarters, or Riley's head, and they look after Riley's memories. After eleven years of enjoyment and content, Riley and her parents are forced to move out of Minnesota, away from her friends and hockey team, and moves to the city of San Francisco inside a desolate and cold house. But things get even more anarchic when Joy and Sadness are sundered away from the rest of the gang, holding onto Riley's core memories that make Riley, well, Riley....

Another great movie from Pixar. The story in entangling and is structured in a master way to show us in a nice recreation how the mind works and emotions like sadness are important for a healthy life. A must to be seen.

This is the most incredible movie I've ever seen :)

Feels more like a Dreamworks movie than a Pixar one. It was pretty fun but it felt unambitious compared to their other movies, there aren't many characters of note or many locations to make it feel like an adventure (most of the movie takes place in the glade or the university, both of which are fairly simple). The overarching story is also a bit... Meh. I feel like a lot of characters could've been explored and the story could've been more than just "save the glade". It's still a good popcorn flick but it's missing a lot for it to be memorable.

entertainment movie, not so engaging but one time watch is good. some scenes are really enjoyable, concept is good by the way.

The town’s mayor wants to built a beltway around his city, and it’s almost complete. The only missing segment is over a lake that has been dammed by some now absent beavers. “Mabel” is determined to thwart the constructors, but with all the animal life having seemingly relocated to pastures/ponds new there seems little she can do to stop their dynamiting. Then she learns that if she can reintroduce some wild critters to the waters, then it will be saved. How, though? Well one evening she espies one but it doesn’t like the look of the new surroundings and moves on. She follows it and after a bit of subterfuge, finds herself in a secret laboratory where her college teacher has perfected a scientific technique to link human brains to robotic bodies and so recreate animal. “Mabel” is not to be stopped on her quest, and so promptly finds herself with a new fur coat and introduced to the...

I REALLY liked this movie, the best Pixar movie in years for me. To be fair, maybe that's just because of me being an environmentalist myself, but hey, in the end, reviews here are supposed to be subjective, I guess! Mabel, the main character, is a lovely main character. An environmentalist since childhood, depicted by her actions of demonstrating, collecting signatures, blocking building sites and even being carried away by police. And while all of this is depicted in a "funny", child-friendly way, it does actually do a nice job of displaying her doing all the things an environmentalist encounters. She's friendly, dedicated and...no, that one in a bit. First: Visually, the movie is, as one is used from Pixar, beautiful. Lovely hairs and fur, beautiful water and DAMN, clothes, single strands of fabric, it's SO beautiful and detailed! Everything that is not a character is SO detailed...

I can only marvel at the imagination of JK Rowling as this final instalment of our 10 year journey with Harry, Ron and Hermione reaches a fitting climax. Still continuing on their search for the remaining horcruxes, they must use all of their skills and intrepidity before "Voldemort" finally returns to wreak havoc on their (and our) world. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are very much comfortable in the parts now and that shows - their confidence and assuredness adds bundles to the cracking script and well paced direction from David Yates. Not just the three stars, but others we have seen for many of the series come into their own - Dame Maggie Smith ("Prof. McGonagall") gets some wand action, as does Julie Walters with a cracking duel with Helena Bonham-Carter's "Bellatrix Lestrange"; the magical effects are superb and the multiple threads all tie together well. Did it need to be two films?...

It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers. So here it is, the 8th and final instalment of a film franchise that has lasted 10 years and runs at just under 20 hours in total. Following straight on from the frustratingly incomplete scene setter that was Deathly Hallows Part 1, we continue to track Harry, Hermione and Ron as they search for the remaining Horcruxes that will render the evil Lord Voldermort as a mere mortal. This narrative thread is run concurrently with the Voldermort movements, where he now has in his possession The Elder Wand (the wand to rule them all) and has gathered a vast army to descend upon Hogwarts and achieve his ultimate goal of killing Harry. Meanwhile vital character story arcs are filled in and secrets will out... David Yates directs and Steve Kloves adapts to the screen, both of whom were perfect choices...

It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers. So here it is, the 8th and final instalment of a film franchise that has lasted 10 years and runs at just under 20 hours in total. Following straight on from the frustratingly incomplete scene setter that was Deathly Hallows Part 1, we continue to track Harry, Hermione and Ron as they search for the remaining Horcruxes that will render the evil Lord Voldermort as a mere mortal. This narrative thread is run concurrently with the Voldermort movements, where he now has in his possession The Elder Wand (the wand to rule them all) and has gathered a vast army to descend upon Hogwarts and achieve his ultimate goal of killing Harry. Meanwhile vital character story arcs are filled in and secrets will out... David Yates directs and Steve Kloves adapts to the screen, both of whom were perfect choices...

A completely botched adaptation. It's completely lifeless and truncated and seems like it's just missing tons of important scenes of lore and character development (which is all included in the book of course). It's odd, the film cuts Judd's wife from the book, but includes a much less consequential character to replace her, Missy Dandridge. The film just doesn't have time to really care about anyone, especially Missy. But the main problem with the movie is Dale Midkiff. He just sleepwalks his way through the entire movie, and it pretty much ruins it for me. Everyone else, especially Fred Gwynne and Denise Crosby, act circles around him.

The "Creed" family relocate to a rural town in Maine where the father - "Louis" (Dale Midkiff) is to be a local doctor. They don't get off to a great start after the beloved cat of daughter "Ellie" (Blaze Berdahl) gets squashed by a passing vehicle and so it is ceremoniously buried in an ancient graveyard populated by centuries-worth of other pre-loved animals. Their neighbours are very reticent to discuss this facility - it is rumoured to have oddly recuperative powers which to his shock and horror prove true when the moggy comes back - and with attitude too! The troubles for the young doctor only get worse when a real human tragedy occurs and he is faced with the ultimate dilemma... It's more of a cumulative story this - like many of Stephen KIng's stories. The plot builds by degree and is told here in a way that almost asks us what we might do differently from "Louis" even though we...

Even if it wasn't any good, Pet Sematary's sort of a must watch given how heavily it's been referenced in the film and television industries since. But it is good, so there's that too. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.

And the night when the cold wind blows, No one cares, nobody knows. The Stephen King novel from which the screenplay was adapted very nearly didn’t see the light of day. It was actually written by King based on a real place and instances during a stay at a rented house. He was never quite happy with the tone of the book and only submitted it as a contractual obligation. Glad he did because it provides a very solid grounding for horror and deals with the very real horrors of overwhelming grief. The film gets the tonal flows right, the family dynamic is neatly pitched in readiness for what is to come later, the house and the titular Pet Sematary of the title are eerie personified, and Fred Gwynne is on hand for a sage old characterisation. The potential for shattering horror is not fully realised, yet the makers deliver a good quota of scares and unease to make this a better than average...

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man captures the spirit of the comic book hero and it's still one of my all time favourite superhero movies. It lays out the perfect blueprint for a superhero origin story that I love revisiting every year or so. I've always been able to relate to Peter Parker growing up. Tobey Maguire and Co. delivered a great interpretation of the characters in a way that still can not be matched.

Hadn't seen this in a while and watching it again in preparation for the third movie, found it to be well done. I'm not much for these supernatural horror movies but with James Wan's camera work, and the screen presence from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, makes it an entertaining flick. 3.75/5

I'm a fan of Wan, and while I must say I believe that The Conjuring is pretty severely overrated, it's also one of the best horror films to have hit the mainstream in the past few years. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.

The Conjuring is a fairly classical horror/haunted house/exorcism movie. That was pretty much what I was hoping for. Slow and creepy build up to a final outburst and confrontation with an evil entity. This is a good movie although it is not really something new in terms of story. It is fairly impossible not to think about, and make comparisons with, The Amityville Horror when seeing this movie. I do not think it really deserves the glowing 9 or 10 star ratings that I have seen but it certainly do not merit those 1 or 2 star ones either. What were these people expecting? This is a solid effort of making a movie along the classical lines of supernatural possession. As I wrote, it is not really something new, but it is nice to see a new movie using this kind of story without just turning it into a CGI gore-feast. Sure, the movie also includes the traditional pitfalls that most horror...