Tag Archives: film

Netflix Review “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (2012) #NetflixFilmReview

3/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I don’t know if Madagascar 3 is where the series jumps the shark or where it realises its potential

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted sees our groups of lovable archetypes animals — the leader one, the wise-cracking sidekick one, the neurotic skinny one, and the chunky bombastic one that the neurotic skinny is in love with — back for a new adventures in every location bar Madagascar.

The lack of time spent in Madagascar must surely open the producers up to false advertising, as this time round we’ll be taking in a tour of Monte Carlo, London and New York, as our animals struggle to get back home to their New York zoo after their penguin-piloted plane has another mishap.

I don’t know if Madagascar 3 is where the series jumps the shark or where it realises its potential fully. Or both. It is even less realistic than the previous outings, physics-defying nonsense abounds, and is chock full of exciting set pieces and chases. However, the storyline is far more developed, with our crew at one point finding itself involved in a travelling circus troupe. We also have a classic Disney-style crazy female baddie, but rebooted post Terminator era — an unstoppable adversary.

This threequel is simply full of so much stuff. Nonetheless, on the whole the balance is just right. Plus, the jokes are amusing, and there are fewer cultural references which is a bonus (usually, the references increase as the sequels go on and the writers run low on inspiration).

Entertaining stuff, but it’s no Shrek.

3/5

© 2023 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/ekraj4ksvIKeuvQVEevEJkuybZd.jpg

Netflix Film Review: “Nimona” (2023) #NetflixReviews

4/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nimona’s zany shtick gets old quick

A disgraced knight, sworn to a code of honour, Ballister Boldheart, and a hyperactive shapeshifter, scorned by all, Nimona, team up to root out corruption at the centre of their kingdom.

Based on the graphic novel by ND Stevenson, and set in a futuristic mediaeval world, Nimona‘s bold science fantasy setting is refreshing in itself and is portrayed gorgeously: the animation, the character and set design, the direction, it’s all a joy to experience. The story zips along and the two main characters make for an entertaining double act, Ballister the straight man and Nimona the comedy man.

My use of the terms “straight” and “man” are a bit ironic, as the film is unashamedly LGBTI+. Ballister is gay, but that is never the focus of the story, and his lover is a dashing man named Ambrosius Goldenloin(!), and then there’s the casting of RuPaul of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame(!) All this plus the science fantasy setting helps to give an enjoyable and slightly campy vibe reminiscent of The Hunger Games or The Fifth Element. Nimona “her”self, the shapechanger, is apparently a cypher for writer ND Stevenson who is “non-binary, or something like it” — his words (he also uses any gendered pronoun).

But that leads us to the only bum note, and it’s a pretty big one: Nimona herself comes off as an ADHD, egoist who is hyped up on a speedball of caffeine, sugar and E numbers 102, 104, 122, 129 and 211. Basically, she is less charming than she is meant to be; her zany shtick gets old quick. Stevenson has also stated that he himself has ADHD and is bipolar; Nimona is basically Stevenson, or something like it. Setting aside LGBTI+ issues for a moment, any character this hyperactive, unstable and egoistic who does not have an arc where they try to fix that aspect of themselves — indeed, that aspect is lauded — is always going to make for an irritating and hard-to-sympathise-with character. Stevenson would have done better to divorce the non-binary narrative from his own ADHD and bipolar. There seems to be no real reflectiveness on this character flaw or even acknowledgement that this is indeed a character flaw; where is Nimona’s journey?

Nonetheless, this is a very entertaining film. Beautiful and quirky. It’s just a shame Nimona wasn’t slightly more likable or on a journey to overcome her character flaws.

4/5

© 2023 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://www.thepinknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/nimona-netflix-trans-animated-series-nd-stevenson.jpg

Is This Blog Allergic to 1 and 5 Stars?

meta, random, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

perfect means perfect … awful means awful

Scrolling through this blog, you will notice that there are very few one star or five star reviews. But why? Is it because I intentionally only watch mediocre content, avoiding the peaks and valleys on purpose? Not at all, I love watching excellent films and awful films (although I may not yet have recovered from Ghost Story): excellent films because, well, they’re excellent, and awful films because, well, have you ever seen Mystery Science Theatre 3000?

The reason for the scarcity of one and five star reviews on this blog is simple. Unlike most people, especially on Amazon, who just give something a one or a five, the numbers mean something for me.

If a film is worthy of a five out of five perfect rating, it means it is pretty much a masterwork, virtually unimprovable, and probably a film of such importance that it will likely go down as one of the greatest movies of all time. That is what a perfect score means: perfect.

On the other hand, if you are getting a one, that means your product has nothing redeemable or good about it, or that the flaws are just simply overwhelming. That is what an awful score means: awful.

In reality, most things are either good, a bit poor, or really good. That is, 3 stars, 2 stars or 4 stars respectively. Very little in life in truly perfect, or truly awful. Just like how very few people are actually truly physically ugly or stunning; the overwhelming majority of people fit into the three to seven bracket.

And there we have it.

Weirdly, after binning the 5 stars system in favour of thumbs up / down, Netflix has recently introduced thumbs down, up, or double thumbs up. They’re well on their way back to a five star system, although perhaps by another name. I’m waiting for YouTube to follow suit.

© 2022-2023 Bryan A. J. Parry

“Choose or Die” (2022) #100WordReview #NetflixReview

100 word review, 3/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Think “Horror Jumanji”

After starting up a previously undiscovered survival horror video game from the mid-80s, “Curs<r”, a young programmer’s world is torn apart as the game unleashes real world horror. Think “Horror Jumanji” or “Ring + Saw”.

Choose or Die is the feature debut from British director Toby Meakins, and stars young and old British talent such as Iola Evans, Asa Butterfield, Eddie Marsan and, err, Robert England Englund (well, he did go to RADA).

The film is tense, genuinely horrifying, and one of the trials is truly disturbing. It’s a bit different, but nothing revolutionary. There are some weaknesses in the plot and acting.

A strong and enjoyable horror flick.

3/5

© 2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/isxWigGBWpXtc2xOxybiYWxHzWm.jpg

The Promise (2016) #NetflixReview #ArmenianGenocide

4/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

shines a spotlight on this awful chapter

Set during the sunset of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise tells the true story of the awful and sadly forgotten Armenian Genocide, where 1.5 million people were brutally slaughtered by the Ottoman and Turkish authorities because of their ethnicity. This is a genocide which, amazingly, the Turkish authorities still bold-facedly deny; therefore, this is an important story that needs to be told.

The film follows a love triangle between an American journalist (Christian Bale), an Armenian artist (Charlotte le Bon), and an Armenian medical student (Oscar Isaac). As the Empire enters the First World War, our trio’s charmed existence spirals into the depths of nightmare.

By focusing on this love triangle, does The Promise belittle or demean the awful genocide by turning the film into a soppy wartime romance? Absolutely not. Rather, we become invested in the Armenian people and their plight directly through our affection for our leads. It allows us to explore the Turkish and Armenian society of the time, and the place of religion and culture.

The acting is first rate. Christian Bale is well-known as one of the most versatile, brilliant, and committed actors of his generation. Oscar Isaac is less well-known to the general public, but his performance here can leave no doubt in anyone’s minds as to his phenomenal talent.

This film wonderfully shines a spotlight on this awful chapter in human history which the Turkish government still refuses to acknowledge.

4/5

© 2020-2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/qM61fndC3TN023zapoNVuNIgU72.jpg

Film Review “The Unforgivable” (2021) #NeflixReview

4/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

she struggles to reintegrate into a society which refuses to forgive

A young woman (Sandra Bullock) gets sentenced to a long stretch in prison for committing a serious crime, but she struggles to reintegrate into a society which refuses to forgive her past sins.

“Do the crime, do the time”, the idea being that when you get out, you are free to start your life again. But what if the time wasn’t enough to pay off the crime? What if you got off lightly? Wouldn’t you deserve to have your life ruined? The Unforgivable explores the nature of forgiveness and freedom.

We are in no doubt that Sandra Bullock’s life was freer on the inside. Outside she has to regularly check in with her parole officer, she has huge restrictions placed on her life by the State, she has to guard the secret of her past transgressions or face the consequences. But no matter how she tries to get on with it, people will not let the past lie.

There are moments in this film where we can see the powerful acting chops that earned Bullock her Oscar in the magnificent The Blind Side. We never feel the film is bombarding her gratuitously for dramatic effect nor are we made to feel that she was okay to do what she did. No, but we do wholly sympathise with a woman who made a fatal mistake and is simply not allowed to survive.

A wonderful and believable movie. Completely compelling.

4/5

© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://www.gatto999.it/images/stories/Film%20posters%202021/The%20Unforgivable%202021%20Netflix%20banner.jpg

Genres: “Whydunnit” #howdunnit #whodunnit #howdunnit

genres explained, random, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A whydunnit is like a “whodunnit“, but where we already know the culprit from the get-go — either because we see it happen at the beginning like in Columbo, or because it’s pretty obvious — but where the fun of the film is to see why, exactly, (s)he dunnit.

featured image from https://moviereviewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/73119-columbo.jpg

© 2021-2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

Las Elegidas ‘The Chosen Ones’ (2015) #NetflixReview #100wordreview

100 word review, 3/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

disturbing

Las Elegidas (‘The Chosen Ones’) follows a fourteen year old who gets kidnapped into sexual slavery by her boyfriend who is himself under the duress of his people-trafficking older brother and father. The boyfriend begs his father but is presented with a stark choice: his girlfriend will be released if he finds another girl to fill her space. So we spend half the film with him seducing another girl, ultimately successfully. His girlfriend is changed forever, however, and is “released” but only to live with the family and under their supervision at all times.

The film was moving. The sex scenes were disturbingly shot, but featured no actual sex. But this made it all the more disturbing as the sex is in our minds.

However, the film ends rather abruptly. Just as a plotline develops about one of the patrons of the brothel being an undercover would-be liberator of the girls, credits roll.

3/5

© 2020, 2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://pics.filmaffinity.com/las_elegidas-843242959-large.jpg

Netflix Film Review “Perdida” (2018) #150WordReview #NetflixReview

150 word review, 3/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

totally falls apart, our main players [are] totally incapable

A policeman carries around the pain of the mysterious and unsolved disappearance of her best friend from years before when they were on a teenage night out together. But when she finally decides to reopen the case and investigate it herself, she soon finds herself in danger.

Perdida is a mystery crime thriller with some interesting twists and turns, although you can see one of the main twists coming a mile away. Sadly, the just-about-passable acting totally falls apart, our main players totally incapable of even trying to react normally at several crucial moments; indeed, there is no reaction at all at emotional pay-offs. This weird disjunction between what is happening and the performance of the actors is vaguely confusing and certainly ruins the film’s high points.

A good story, some bizarre acting.

3/5

© 2020, 2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://pics.filmaffinity.com/perdida-721779021-large.jpg

Film Review “Clinical” (2017) #NetflixReview

3/5, film review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

a bit lazy … [but] nonetheless riveting and tense

A psychiatrist, who suffered a violent attack by one of her disturbed patients, tries to piece her life back together by finding new meaning — helping a new patient, but he has his own dark history to contend with. But is this case too much too soon for our Dr. Jane Mathis?

Clinical has two stories running in parallel, that of the horrifying attack Dr. Jane Mathis (Vinessa Shaw) suffered at the hands of her patient Nora (India Eisley), and that of her current patient Alex (Kevin Rahm) who suffered horrific disfigurement during one awful night. This structure works well.

Dr. Jane Mathis’ boyfriend Miles isn’t particularly believably played by Aaron Stanford. Sure, Stanford has little screen time and few lines to work with, but I never bought into their relationship; Vinessa Shaw, for her part, gives a believable performance. In fact, Miles and best friend Clara (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) seem to be there just to make up the numbers, add tension, help plot points and just, because, ya know, we need to have a boyfriend and bestfriend in these type of films to be menaced by murder and / or actually murdered. A bit tacked-on and underdeveloped.

A little bit lazy in places — shrink who’s on drugs herself, lots of glasses of wine, etc. — and underdeveloped in others — why should we even care about the fates of her boyfriend and best friend? — this film is nonetheless riveting and tense throughout. The ultimate assessment of whether this film makes the cut or not really depends on your opinion of the two parallel storylines, that of Nora and Alex, and the interrelation between these plot threads. If you feel that the two threads work nicely together, then you’ll like this film; if you feel that the two threads have been stuck together, then you’ll feel a bit frustrated. As for me, I think it all works quite well.

Worth a watch, but no classic.

3/5

© 2021-2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F9Crpjr11J8/WHuq141WPEI/AAAAAAAADkg/z0uO5svlKpM-_J_VdoBl4M614jQdIZ_mwCLcB/s1600/Clinical_2017.jpg