Reviews

Well, the problem with having a part one is that you just know that nothing much is going to happen as we build up to the next film's denouement. "Katniss" (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself on a ship with "Finnick" (Sam Claflin) where she discovers that the erstwhile baddie "Plutarch" (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is really on their side as she is whisked to the long-thought destroyed District 13 where she meets "President Coin" (Julianne Moore), who leads a semi-militaristic society bent on deposing the Capitol. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to escape from the collapsing dome and poor old "Peeta" is being used, shamelessly, by the authorities to try and paint "Katniss" as the epitome of revolution and evil and so the scene is set: rescue him and mass their forces for an attack that will eliminate the totalitarian regime once and for all. Aside from one of two combat scenes, very little...

Yet more of the same extended in an inexcusable way. Let's hope the last movie of the saga can get a proper end.

It was good. Although I wish it had more action scenes. It's worth watching ago don't miss out!

Its ok, a solid 7, maybe higher. It's Merchant Ivory + slight Downton Abbey, but with snow, so a heavy dose of Seven Years in Tibet. So yeah, derivative, dated and very wholesome. But its also high quality, got good pace and it doesn't matter if you don't care much about anyone because it's a biopic not high drama. Lots of long dreamy shots of Tenzing as a boy, looking at Everest from down in some valley. I liked the Tibetan praying scene, great soundtrack. Its worth a watch, but don't expect to be wowed. Good family afternoon movie.

Jennifer Peedom's TENZING restores the historical narrative surrounding the infamous first successful ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 to include its most unsung hero — Tenzing Norgay. It's been 73 years since Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary made history by becoming the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain.  Yet, for much of that time, the historical narrative surrounding their extraordinary achievement has largely favored Hillary, relegating Tenzing's equally remarkable accomplishment to something of a footnote. (We might attribute some of this historical imbalance to the lingering influence of British colonialism, or perhaps a prevailing sense of Western cultural superiority — something the film itself never fully addresses.) Peedom's film seeks to rectify that historical imbalance, placing Tenzing (played by Tibetan actor Genden...

Ever since he encountered George Mallory (Johnny Flynn) as a young boy, Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) has been determined to become involved in one of the annually licenced attempts to get to the top of Mount Everest. For him, though, as adulthood sets in this isn't so much an endeavour of achievement, as more an opportunity to meet with the revered goddess of the Chumulungma mountain where he can pay his respects to those from his family that he has lost. His problem is that he isn't technically a Sherpa as his penniless family had arrived in Nepal from Tibet when he was a boy, and so whilst he is welcome enough now as a yak herder he isn't really considered "one of us" - especially when he sets his cap at his childhood friend Kinzom (Lhakpa Tsamchoe) who just happens to be the daughter of his boss. Persistence is key for him here both romantically and strategically, and so learning...

Check out my full review @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/tenzing-movie-review-genden-phuntsok-leads-a-reverent-everest-climb/ Rating: B- TENZING is a nice enough biopic, and more respectful than most. I love that it’s named after its hero and actually keeps him at the center, and that the Sherpa language gets real space. Genden Phuntsok is extremely compelling as a man with unbreakable faith in his own ambition, while Tom Hiddleston plays the supporting role perfectly. The on-location cinematography, the real Sherpas, and the Everest-versus-Chomolungma idea make it immersive, and I appreciated how few cheap action beats it bothers with. It’s also formulaic, too sanitized, low on friction, fuller of British characters than it needed to be, and slower than its 2h+ runtime can support, with repetitive flashbacks that leave Dawa with very little. I respected it more than it moved me, and...

I really enjoyed seeing this on the big screen again, 40-odd years after John Carpenter introduced us to his brand of slasher-horror with Jamie Lee Curtis great as the flighty young girl "Laurie" who finds herself caught up in the revenge antics of the faceless "Michael Myers" that perhaps only Donald Pleasence ("Loomis") can save her from. The pace and tension build really well - helped by some good use of sound and light (I didn't much care for the over-synthesised score), the supporting screams from PJ Soles and Nancy Kyes and the occasional intervention from Pleasence. The sequels never reached the heights of this, original psychological horror - there are precious few special effect to laugh at or even speak of, really - and if you get a chance to catch up with it as intended on 35mm then you should certainly give it a go.

It really doesn't look like Illinois does it? Sorry, just had to say that, it's where I'm from and all... ...but still, leaves on the ground and green leaves in the trees. Not at all Illinois, probably because it was a low budget film, but it works. It gives it a very, I don't know, Nightmare on Elm Street surreal feel? And I think, if memory serves this is the start of the virgins survive sex is punished horror-slasher staple. Anyway, it's one of my oldest and dearest friends favorite slasher films and I can see why. It is most atmospheric. It is the one that has the most paranoid and bone chilling feel to it. It really is the ultimate slasher film, it's even better than my favorite...but that's neither here nor there. The fact is, this is the film that defines the slasher genre of horror and has often been imitated but has yet to be replicated. It is, in short, a masterpiece in...

The Boogeyman cometh A soulless killer, Michael Myers, escapes from the asylum and returns to the Illinois town where he murdered his sister 15 years earlier to wreak havoc on Halloween night. Donald Pleasence is on hand as Myers’ seriously concerned doctor. John Carpenter’s “Halloween” (1978) is hailed as the progenitor and blueprint for the slasher craze of the 80s with staples like the unstoppable masked killer, fake scares, the final girl and the undead dead. Of course, “Halloween” was influenced by earlier slashers or quasi-slashers, like “Psycho” (1960), “Dementia 13” (1963), “A Bay of Blood” (1971) “Torso (1973), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) and “Black Christmas” (1974). “Friday the 13th” (1980) and its sequels took the “Halloween” template and added other elements, like the summer camp setting and a devolving supernatural killer. Whilst I prefer the “Friday” films,...

Halloween's a classic movie. No doubt about it. One of the seminal films of the slasher genre, and a more-than-worthy inclusion to any Halloween season horror movie marathon. But I think people give it a reputation in terms of quality that it doesn't fully deserve. The opening ten minutes, and the closing ten minutes, are both brilliant. But everything in between? It's kind of... Somehow, both boring and annoying. The kills are good if that's your sort of thing, but everything in the meat of Halloween is old hat. Now of course it wasn't at the time, but when I've spent my formative years watching other movies doing it better (and acting it better), it doesn't really matter who did it first. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.

"Klara" (Jenny Ortega) is the last in a long line of increasingly redundant personal robots whose hopes of being sold are dwindling by the days that she spends in the window of their shop with her colleagues. Then, out of the blue, she espies "Josie" (Mia Tharia) who is out shopping with her mother (Amy Adams) for that very thing. Shunning the more advanced models, she convinces "Chrissy" to buy her the older version and next thing "Klara" is ensconced in their substantial but remote home. Their housekeeper "Melania" (Rachel House) doesn't exactly trumpet her arrival but once she has recalibrated it soon becomes clear that neither of her two mistresses have their problems to seek and that for "Klara" the sun is going to play an intregral part in not just her charging cycle but it provides her with a substantial amount of her faith, too. What now ensues takes a look at the effects of...

Check out my full review @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/klara-and-the-sun-movie-review-jenna-ortega-carries-taika-waititis-gentle-heartfelt-drama/ Rating: B- KLARA AND THE SUN is a warm, gentle drama that I quite enjoyed. Jenna Ortega carries it with one of my favorite performances of hers: expressive, funny, and much more complete than she’ll get credit for. Taika Waititi keeps his humor under control, and those light, kindly comedic bits suit Kazuo Ishiguro’s story. The isolated farm, the sunlight, and Klara’s pixelated point of view give it an imaginative, almost fantasy-like feel, and Michael Giacchino’s score is great as always. Its ideas about humanity, faith, and loneliness are interesting, but the film saves most of them for the final act, repeats the same kinds of scenes far too often, and gets more sentimental than it needs to. The ambiguous messaging around AI companions...

Titanic (1997), directed by James Cameron, is one of those films that never loses its impact, no matter how many times you watch it. Some might call it overrated, but it’s hard to deny the emotional weight and the sheer craftsmanship that went into making it. Rewatching it reminded me why it’s stood the test of time, it’s a great mix of story, performances, and technical execution. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet deliver standout performances as Jack and Rose. Their chemistry is natural and believable, and it’s what drives the story forward. The drawing scene is iconic for many reasons, both on and off the screen. Interestingly, it wasn’t DiCaprio sketching Rose, it was actually James Cameron himself. Cameron, who’s also an artist, added a personal touch to the scene by creating the famous drawing. Behind the scenes, Winslet knew the scene could be awkward since it involved nudity...

Titanic was enjoyable initially, but the constant TV reruns got old fast. I don't even own a TV anymore, and I'm in no hurry to watch it again. Still, it's a good movie, deserving of a 7/10 rating.

Set around the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS "Titanic", this is essentially a film in two parts. The first, weaker, element features a young "Dawson" (Leonardo DiCaprio) who wins a third class ticket to New York on the soon to depart liner. Meantime, the wealthy but unhappy "Rose" (Kate Winslet) is up in the posh cabins with her cold and unfeeling fiancée "Hockley" (Billy Zane) and her equally unpleasant, venally ambitious mother "Ruth" (Frances Fisher). Desperately unhappy, "Rose" considers jumping off the prow of the boat, but luckily the charming young "Dawson" is on hand to talk her down, and so begins their friendship that causes much chagrin amongst her socially elite companions. That friendship culminates in him making a rather provocative drawing of her, the final straw for her boyfriend and his enforcer "Lovejoy" (David Warner). It all looks ominous for both until - part...

Beautiful Romance - Tragedy Unbound. It has kind of become the popular thing to kick Titanic, the film and its achievements. It's like the love it garnered on release and the colossal waves it made in the history of cinema, never happened, or as some want you to believe, doesn't matter. I can tell you now that many of my macho fuelled friends will privately, under the influence of liquid refreshments, admit to having affection for the film, but socially in a circle environment? Not a bit of it! I have no such problems admitting my love for the film, I love it as much now as I approach 50, as I did when I sat there in awe at the cinema in 1997. You jump - I jump. Titanic is far from flawless, where even now with the advancements in technology the effects over 15 years later look a touch creaky. While it's true as well that away from Rose and Jack the characterisations are thin on the...

I really loved the use of puppets and stop-motion elements in this film, and they were very well integreted with the rest of the scene! Music was also very good and main characters very fine! Action scene were quite fast paced but fighting were very good and easy to follow. The plot is pretty basic in my opinion but enough for entertaining and for future developments.

A classic mixed bag. The action absolutely delivers for the big screen, but the story can't quite shake its lightweight, episodic television roots. Walking into a theater for a Star Wars movie for the first time in seven years brings massive expectations. Ultimately, The Mandalorian & Grogu lands right in the middle. It doesn't quite feel like a grand cinematic milestone—it frequently plays like a glorified Disney+ special—but as a casual fan, it's still an undeniably fun time at the movies if you just want to eat some popcorn. The bond between Din Djarin and Grogu remains the anchor of the story, and their mutual trust leads to some great moments. However, it’s hard to ignore that the dynamic has flattened out a bit. It leans heavily into brand marketing to sell toys rather than offering any true character development or pushing the overarching narrative forward. Where the film...

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is not the triumphant return to the big screen that the franchise was looking for. It’s watchable, but it’s incredibly monotonous, has nothing substantially important occur, and feels like an afterthought even in comparison to the television series it’s based on. https://bit.ly/MandoGro