Reviews

Check out my full review @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/the-only-living-pickpocket-in-new-york-movie-review-john-turturro-carries-a-warm-old-school-crime-drama/ Rating: B THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK is a small, warm, old-fashioned crime drama, and John Turturro carries it with a performance that says a lot without saying much. His one scene with Tatiana Maslany is the highlight, and the film’s trip through a New York far from Manhattan, along with its jazzy score and old songs about the city, gives it real personality. Its best move is making Harry sympathetic without ever excusing him. The final act gets too neat and calculated, a late appearance feels out of place, and all that city specificity will probably land harder with Americans than with the rest of us. I went in hoping all those positive reactions were right. For the most part, they were.

*Kung Fu Soccer* is borderline atrocious and nearly ruins the legacy of a classic Stephen Chow film, but it course-corrects in its final act. The sports action is entertaining despite its ridiculously dodgy CGI, but a half-hearted spectacle is hardly worth the journey when the writing and pacing are so disastrous. https://bit.ly/ChowFu

I enjoyed 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga', which is a rightful addition to the 'Mad Max' franchise. I personally would say that the run time is way too long, like this does not need to be a 2hr 20min+ movie. With that said, I still got the desired amount of entertainment from this 2024 flick. Chris Hemsworth is outstanding, easily the most I've wanted to see a character onscreen from this series; he fits the role perfectly. Anya Taylor-Joy puts in a very good showing as well, her character doesn't say much so a lot of the performance is reliant on her visual emotions - which Taylor-Joy portrays on point. The rest of the cast are on the same level to me, all support the show well without rising near the lead two; similar-ish story for the whole franchise, in truth. Visually the movie looks cracking, while the action matches prior installments in providing the vast majority of what makes...

Whilst Furiosa isn't a bad action film, I suspect its lacklustre response from audiences, reflects not whats on offer but whats absent. On the upside is loads of heart stopping action, amazing cinematic's, great sets, plus strong performances from the cast. A lesser aspect of the downside is the unnecessarily drawn out back story, replete with details about the key character, no one cares about, which, in turn, leads to the main fault in this film.......ITS NOT ABOUT MAD MAX Rockatansky. Lets be honest, no one's really interested in peripheral characters or their back story, they want the REAL DEAL. That's where this film was always going to fall flat with viewing audiences. If this film had been about Mad Max with a back story covering as yet unrevealed aspects of the life of the younger and older Max, in the latter case played by the actor who made the franchise famous, Mel...

The young "Furiosa" (Alyla Browne) is captured by some rogue bikers and despite the best efforts of her sharp-shooting mother is help captive by the menacing "Dementus" (Chris Hemsworth) who rather paternally calls her "Little D"! This dystopian world really consists of three powers. The "Immortan Joe" (Lachy Hulme) in an unassailable citadel where food and water are plentiful, the "Guardian of Gastown" (Peter Stephens) who runs the last refinery producing petrol and the "Bullet Farm" - a quarry. They have a loose bartering arrangement that allows each to hold their own territory and this is arrangement "Dementus" and his army of thousands wants to take control of. He does manage to secure a better deal with "Joe" but only if he trades his "Little D" as part of the bargain. Once she's been duly swapped and introduced to his harem, she determines that she needs a new ID! Years go by as...

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/furiosa-a-mad-max-saga-review-a-flawed-yet-captivating-dive-into-a-powerful-iconic-protagonist/ "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga deepens its titular protagonist and the respective post-apocalyptic world, offering a captivating origin story that enriches Fury Road, but its excessive runtime, predictability, and time spent addressing the other installment's flaws hinder its enjoyment. The action set pieces lack the same novelty factor and frenetic pace, but the stunts remain impressive. The performances of Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne as Furiosa deserve praise, as does Chris Hemsworth's insane portrayal of Dementus. Depending on the chosen viewing order, the perspective on both films changes drastically, but in the end, they remain essential recommendations to every movie lover out there." Rating: B+

*Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie* continues the franchise's streak of fun, action-packed movies about one boy and a team of puppies rescuing people from danger by transporting our furry little friends from the mean streets of Adventure City to an island full of dinosaurs. The visuals, humor, action, and storyline all vibed with me perfectly, with my favorite thing being that Marshall's backstory wasn't about a traumatic reason for him being clumsy, but instead he chose to continue pursuing his goals despite his clumsiness. That's a refreshing take on the clumsy person trope as it shows clumsiness is a choice, not a medical condition that needs to be treated. Keeping Adventure City briefly shown in the opening but still visible ensures continuity between movies, even though it is a little bit sad that Liberty is absent. Having Mayor Humdinger return as the movie's antagonist but actually start...

This is another of these films for which I didn't get the memo. It undoubtedly has parallels with the ecological ravaging of Earth by mankind, but for the most part it is just a fairly standard action romance that owes much of it's significance to it being an outstanding technical production. Sam Worthington is "Jake", a paraplegic solider who is tasked with assisting on a mission on a distant planet. By way of a bribe, the authorities offer him surgery to restore his mobility if he uses an avatar machine to infiltrate the folks inhabiting the planet "Pandora". The more he explores this bright new world, the more he begins to integrate with the people and their beautiful and colourful environment. His affection for "Neytiri" (Zoe Saldana) and his gradually developing appreciation of just what his mission is about, sets him up for a serious conflict with the gung-ho militaristic...

Excellent!!!

Rewatching Avatar confirmed my love for Pandora. Exquisite world-building by James Cameron, memorable score by James Horner & jaw-dropping, innovative visuals that complement wonderful storytelling. How can people not remember these characters?! Super excited about tomorrow's IMAX screening of Avatar: The Way of Water!

It's cinema Jim, but not as we know it. So here it is then, what has been in gestation in James Cameron's mind for over 12 years finally hit the silver screen towards the back end of 2009. Made for gazillions amount of cash, Avatar went on to make a billion trillion in Worldwide receipts-and this before the rush rush release of DVD/BLU RAY sales are factored into the equation. The film, and all its technical wizardry, is quite simply a gargantuan piece of cinematic history. Released in 2d and 3d, and probably some other format that I'm forgetting, every advanced tool of the trade has been utilised by Cameron and his team to create what is now the ultimate popcorn blockbuster. Shame then, that away from the visual extravaganza the film is as shallow as this review will ultimately end up being. No doubt about it, this is a joy for the eyes and ears, the minuscule details are wonderful...

This movie is meh at best. The plot is so-so. This isn't anything to write home about. You could make it into a B-Movie and no one would care. No one likes Training Day for Training Day... they all just love Denzel Washington's performance in Training Day, and that is just an honest fact. The movie wouldn't be anything if he didn't deliver and what he delivered was so sensational that people are going to be talking about it decades after we pass. And that is what people like. They like how deliciously evil Denzel was in the role. They like that he had free reign, as a villain, to make the role as memorable as possible. And he did, he knocked it out of the park. So now, people watch Training Day, but let's be honest, they are only watching it for Denzel Washington, and that is as it should be, he was stellar in this, he deserves the recognition, and it's one of those movies...

Denzel Washington is sensational in this, the plot might not quite match his performance but 'Training Day' is still a great watch. It's a riveting 122 minutes, I'm just not in love with how the premise is played out. Washington's character, Alonzo, never really changes throughout, despite a supposed problem of his. I kept waiting for a reason to change the opinion that the first act puts to you regarding him but it never came, there's never a point I cared for him and I assume I was supposed to... at least to some degree? Also, his issue is thrown at you in one scene and isn't really mentioned again until the end. I get the character, just not his arc. Ethan Hawke is very good, too, in this, even if I kept hearing Tom Cruise when he spoke... You also have a load of now familiar faces involved, including Eva Mendes, Raymond Cruz, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Terry Crews. Quite...

Great urban thriller Ethan Hawke plays Hoyt, a rookie cop on his first 24-hour training day with the L.A.P.D. narcotics division. Denzel Washington plays veteran Alonzo Harris whose methods seem questionable, to say the least. Harris argues that one has to become a wolf to take down a wolf. Will Hoyt make it through the day alive, let alone uncorrupted? "Training Day" had a lukewarm reception at the box office the first weekend of its release in 2001, but the profits steadily increased for the next six weeks as word-of-mouth spread. The greatness of "Training Day" is not simply due to the intriguing story and excellent writing, but also the superb casting. Hawke is perfect as the naive, but ambitious rookie and Washington is nothing short of stunning as Alonzo Harris, ranking with the best performances in cinematic history, like Jon Voight's Manny in "Runaway Train" or Robert Duvall's...

This Film has to be one of the most intense shows I’ve seen . Ethan Hawke and Denzel are a great match together. Ethan plays the supporting role majestically. Great cameos in the show too. With Snoop Dog. Macy Gray, Tom Berrenger . But the show is highly tense. But good entertainment. “Are You a Wolf Or A Sheep?”

When a young boy is lost in the frozen countryside, he enlists the help of a sagely white horse, a cake-obsessed mole and a grumpy fox in order to find his way home. Pretty soon, though, he starts to consider just what "home" actually is as he plays in the snow and discovers a more lasting affinity with his new travelling companions. The narrative and the message here is simple and the voice talents of Tom Hollander, Idris Elba and Gabriel Byrne complement well the rather vulnerable tones of the young Jude Coward Nicoll in the title role with a score and style of the animation reminiscent of the "Snowman" (1982). Well worth half an hour of your time with a mince pie.

Seemed a little unusual to immediately jump backwards into having a Gem be the villain again, considering we'd just resolved that problem on an intergalactic scale with the culmination of a 160 episode television series. Also said Gem's animation style clashes a lot with the animation style of... Well... Everything else. I'm sure that was a conscious decision, but it was one that kept taking my focus. These two things, alongside a very old hat plot for exactly this type of material, meant that in the opening few minutes I was already resigned to not enjoy Steven Universe: The Movie, but I gotta say, by the time it was all done, I was totally turned around on this, I was totally vibing with it. Which is not something I can often say for these "animated spin-off/sequel to a cartoon series" movies I've seen a fair few of lately. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you...

I hadn’t quite realised the extent to which racial segregation laws permeated into every day life, especially when a black person couldn't cut a white child’s hair or write anything remotely disparaging about their white brethren. “Skeeter” (Emma Stone) returns from college and decides there might be a way around this. She will write the book, but a selection of women from their Mississippi homes will provide the meat for this literary sandwich. These women are maids who all have stories to tell, but she faces quite a battle convincing them to spill any beans. That’s partly from loyalty, partly from fear and also because they all know that the local community on all sides is disinclined to rock the boat. It’s to “Aibileen” (Viola Davis) she initially turns and after some persuasion she begins to open up - and boy is it juicy! It’s not just a chance to open some eyes, but it gives the...

Great watch, probably won't watch again, and can recommend. To be fair, you should watch this prepared for what it is: a racial suffrage movie. That means that it is filled with racism and unfair strife, and stupid jerks of the elite class that are under the impression that they can still buy and sell people because they do. This is a fantastic movie, but it is a heavy, serious story, and the humor in it barely makes it more palatable in that regard. The cast is filled with great actresses who give excellent performances, the script is well written, and the production value is great. It isn't going to provide a level of escapism from worldly problems, but I don't have to like a movie to recognize its greatness.

I just watched The Help, almost immediately after finishing the book. Now, when comparing The Film to The Book it was based on (generally speaking), one major rule of thumb almost always applies: The Book is better. The Help is no exception. Accordingly, with the novel still so fresh in the back of my mind, separating my mind from the book in order to enjoy the film was an almost impossible task. No matter how hard you try, you just can't quit comparing the two, nitpicking every detail and being frustrated with everything they changed. Nevertheless, I was still able to enjoy the film for what it was, though I am glad that I possessed full knowledge of the actual story. The Help tells the story of black domestic servants in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi. It focuses on white Miss Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan, and her efforts to give a voice to black maids by writing their stories from their...