The Movie Addict

  The film follows Bob (Leonardo Di Caprio) who was part of a freedom fighting group known as the French 75 when his girlfriend disappears after being arrested and leaves his with their baby. 16 years later, the baby is now grown up and Bob is a wasted loser. The Colonel that was after them is again after them. I have to admit that I haven't seen that many PTA films (this being my third) but this is my favourite film of his. Firstly the fact that the film doesn't rush itself and takes its time letting things play out. I was genuinely worried when I saw that the film was over two and a half hours long but to be honest I thought the runtime was perfect. I was never bored and it never felt like they padded things out or were rushing to get to the end.  The casting is really good. Leonardo Di Caprio gives another solid performance and each time he shows how good he is I am reminded that this is the same Leonardo Di Caprio that was not very good in Romeo and Juliet and The Beac...

  The Lost Bus was a film I knew pretty much nothing about. Normally this is the sort of film that I would have waited to see it on streaming, however when I discovered that Paul Greengrass was directing it then I changed my mind because I knew that there was a good chance that this was going to be spectacular. It made sense since he directed two of the best of the Jason Bourne films (as well as the final one). The plot is that Matthew McConaughey plays Kevin who is a school bus driver who after the fire starts is tasked with taking some students to a drop off point along with their teacher Mary played by America Ferrera. For most of the film, the action centres around Kevin and Mary as they try and do what seems impossible. The plot is straightforward and what makes the film work as well as it does is that it has the intensity that it needs to and the sort that is common in Greengrass’ other films such as United 93 and 22 July.  If I had an issue with the film is that the...

 I tend to shy away from comedies because they are usually quite unfunny (The Naked Gun is a perfect example). However I thought that the trailer looked quite good especially with Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch. Colman plays Ivy Rose who is an aspiring chef struggling to get her crabs business off the ground and Benedict Cumberbatch is Theo who is an architect and during one eventful evening their fortunes change and Theo becomes a stay at home dad and Ivy becomes the next Gordon Ramsey. Both Cumberbatch and Colman have great chemistry. It was already well known that Colman could do funny things as she could do it in her sleep but it was a revelation that Cumberbatch could do it just as well. Adam Sandberg and Kate McKinnon pop up every so often as the couple who seem to be in a different movie. McKinnon’s Amy seems to spend every chance she gets trying to hit on Theo. Ncuti Gatwa plays Jeffrey and being a Doctor Who fan it's always fun seeing someone from Doctor Who in a f...

I have never seen the TV series although I thought I should give the films a go. The first one is not very good as it's just the King coming for dinner and everyone getting flustered. The second one is the best one as its a mystery about how Violet (Maggie Smith) got given a fancy house in France. The highlight being when Robert breaks down in tears and I don't know whether its because he might be illegitimate or French. This one deals with change and pretty much every aspect of the film is about that in one way or another.  One of the things that has worked in the film’s favour is that it doesn't lean on the assumption that you have watched every episode of the TV show before watching any of these. I think it would help as there have been references that didn’t mean anything to me but to people who are fans of the show it would remind them of a particular episode.   One plot strand comes from the fallout from Mary’s divorce. It’s weird to think that there was a time when...

  Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is the sequel to the cult classic 1984 Spinal Tap. I must confess that I don't have quite the emotional connection with that film as most people did. In fact I didn’t see it until just a couple of years ago. This sequel follows the band mates after they reunite following a 15 year absence. They are coming back due to a contractual obligation and are playing their gig in Louisiana because Stormy Daniels had to pull out. The mockumentary follows them 10 days or so before the concert.  The film doesn't quite have the underground vibe that the first one had yet the mockumentary is more concerned with the trio and how they deal with coming back together and building up to the concert. The mockumentary is on for 90 minutes long and I think that the time flies. It could probably have done with it being 10-15 minutes longer. It would have been nice to have a nice send off because lets be honest Guest is 77, McKean is 77 and Shearer is 81 so the odd...

  The Long Walk is a relatively straightforward story.The film is Speed mixed in with Hunger Games and Battle Royale. The premise is that in a world where the economy has basically ruined the world (could be set in 2025), 50 teenage boys take part in a contest where they have to walk and walk until there is just one person left and that person gets a life changing amount of money and one wish. It’s what they would call the elevator pitch.  Based on a Stephen King novel, these tend to have a mixed record but I have to say that this is one of the better ones. The simplicity of the plot means that this film is more of a character piece than anything else. The film centres around Garetty (played by Cooper Hoffman) and his small band of friends. For all but two scenes the film takes place on the road  There is one thing that I could have done without and that is the defecating. We see it not once, not twice but three times and that's gross. I understand that they would nee...

 I have seen My Neighbor Totoro before but got the chance to see it at the cinema. Having seen Spirited Away and liked it more after seeing it at the cinema, I thought/hoped that the same would happen to My Neighbor Totoro. It’s one of the weaker of Miyazaki’s films. The story sees two sisters move with their father to a new house in the country whilst their mother is recovering in hospital. Whilst exploring they come across a Totoro which is a spiritual being. As much as I want to love this film I simply don't and that is because the plot isn't the best. It never feels like its building up to something it just sort of ends which is disappointing.  Something else that I didn't notice the first time I watched this film is just how annoying Mei is. I get that her mother is in hospital and she wants her home but the way that she throws a tantrum at Satsuki just ruins to nice vibe that the film had managed with these two throughout the film. If Satsuki had done something bad th...

The Conjuring series is a mixed series. They have ranged from ok (the first one) to boring (the second one). I am sceptical that this is the last one but it will most likely be the last one to feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The plot is pretty much the same as the rest, the ‘true story’ sees. The ‘true story’ sees Lorraine and Ed travel to the house of some family that has a possession in it. I should probably have watched the previous films because I had forgotten/wasn't aware that the Warrens had a daughter and she forms the basis for the story and the fact she gets married to a guy who was once in Eastenders. The true part of this story is absolute nonsense. Just because the Warren’s say it happened or some of it happened means that it almost certainly didn’t happen but that is something that could be said about anything happening in the Conjuring Universe. The Annabelle doll for example is just a Raggedy Anne doll and not in the slightest bit scary. I enjoyed this a lo...

Matt Smith as a punk rocker. That is literally all it took for me to decide I wanted to see Darren Aronofsky’s latest film. One thing was for sure before I watched this film and that it was not going to be as downbeat and borderline depressing as ‘The Whale’. The set up of the film is Austin Butler plays Hank who after drink driving killed his friend and ended his potentially successful baseball career, he is asked to look after the cat belonging to Russ (Matt Smith) while he goes to the UK. People are after Russ and it turns out he has money that some groups were supposed to have split between them.  I did find Matt Smith to be the funniest part of the film. There was something preposterous about the fact that he looks like he does. It might be the fact I am a Doctor Who but there was something about the fact he kept swearing which just came across as humorous. Whether that was what Aronofsky was intending was unclear. Also not to sound like a prude but the c-word was used severa...