Film Reviews by SW

It is a bit of a corny film and yes its plain daft when the good people of Luton launch into a Springsteen number but I really liked Blinded by the Light. Its well acted, the film moves with pace and if we have seen these characters before in say Bend it Like Beckham then I think that's ok. Its a lot better than Yesterday and I found it to be quite emotional at times. Its a good family film (older teens) and I would recommend it.

The premise to Dirty God is ok but the film never really goes anywhere and is one paced. The performances are good but its all rather slow.

I really enjoyed The Wife. In many ways its not an especially new idea or new story but it doesn't matter. It's still highly relevant and still pulls an emotional punch. Pryce plays a highly successful author who is about to receive the highest literary award. He travels to pick the award up and brings along his dutiful wife played by Glen Close. The film slowly reveals their back story and that maybe Pryce isn't who he makes out to be.

I found it emotional yet at times funny and clever. Its an adult film for adults to watch.

Why didn't this film excite or move me as much as i expected it too? The components are all there - an excellent central performance and a very sad story but something was for me missing. I think compared to other bio films Judy never really got into the skin of its central character. It never really explains why and how she became such an emotional mess - yes we see her being forced to take drugs but we never see what drove her to be like the messed up figure she became.

The minor characters in the film are sketchy - there are a couple of gay fans, a new husband and an personal organiser but they don't do much or illuminate Judy's character.

Its not a bad film - it couldn't be - but I expected more.

The film has an interesting premise about what would the world be like without any Beatles music but ends up turning into the kind of romantic drivel that Richard Curtis is known for. However, in previous films he has had the actors, well Hugh Grant to pull it off, here he has a charisma free zone cast and a complete lack of humour throughout. The songs are good though. Wasted opportunity with a plot with serious holes.

I liked The Darkest Hour. There is a great central performance from Gary Oldman and the film is constantly gripping. It suffers a tad from over dramatising and its hard to portray such characters with fresh ideas and nuance. Its worth watching!

The problem is that really its a very simple story but its told in a very complicated way. Its pretty much a messed up man gets a paid job of saving a young girl from sex slavery. However, it takes an age to get going and you never really get to care about the main character but yet there is something in Joaquin Pheonix's performance that draws you in. You root for him without never knowing why. Worth staying with.

...this gem of a movie. Its gloriously entertaining with some brilliant song and dance numbers. Very much in the Ken Russell mode of biopics - it presents the hero warts and all and unlike Bohemian Rhapsody feels more honest and also at times plain bonkers. I would have liked a bit more chronological detail and also I don't suspect he was off his head for 10 years - after all he was chairman of Watford then! Its a great laugh and I really liked it.

I loved Get Out but this is a different kind of film. Much less an obvious horror film it relies on getting under your skin and asking the bloody awkward question that maybe the enemy is Us. The first half is superb, the second more conventional and less interesting. As with Get Out its also very funny.

Lets be honest most sequels are bloody awful. T2 isn't. In fact its a very good film with great performances and expertly directed. There are plot holes everywhere and I didn't really buy it all but it works so well that you can forgive it all. The star is Spud but everyone is great in it and yes the soundtrack is wonderful too! See!

Christopher Nolan has always been too clever by half and here he is at it again! This is such a disappointing film and clearly he is out of his depth telling one of our most (in)famous stories of WW2. There are all sorts of stupidity going on with timezones, daft casting and by all accounts a basic re-telling of the truth. It looks ok but a big let down

Lion is a wonderful film - uplifting and life affirming. It could have been a bit tighter in terms of its structure but its such a great story and superbly acted, Watch!