Film Reviews by DG

I was giving up hope for the first few episodes of season 2. It seemed very repetitive. There seemed to be a lot of Bounty Hunters trying to get hold of Murphy. This resulted in lots of people running around and shooting at each other. It took a few episodes for the series to move on from this and get back into being a black comedy Zombie series with genuine moments of chill. The series can be a bit hit and miss but when its on form its worth the effort 8/10

The story of Rectify revolves around the release from prison of Daniel Holden who after 19 years on death row is let out due to the discovery of further evidence that could mean that he is not guilty of the murder of a 16 year old girl.

The show is very dark but with very well written and strong characters you feel the need to follow along. Set in the deep south the references to the bible and church are plentiful but they are also questioned in the pursuit of what is right and wrong. The main undertone of the series is did he or didn't he commit the murder and because the only person who really knows is Daniel we shall all have to wait and see. 8.5/10

There are some awesome Superhero Movies. I would sit this in about 4th position , first being the original Avengers, the Captain America - Winter Soldier, then Iron Man and then this.

Most superhero movies suffer the same fate as Bond Movies in that you know that the main character is never going to die. So no matter what he faces you always know he will live to see another day.

Its a good enjoyable romp but nothing more than that. 3/5

The story goes that J.J Abrams initially did not want to direct star wars 7. He was fearful of the magnitude of what directing such a movie entailed. I can see why he would be sceptical. The original trilogy are ace. If you are a sci fi fan they they must rate right up there with 2001, Alien(s). The grand scale of the the world that George Lucas created was phenomenal . The fact that the man himself chose to direct episodes 1,2 and 3 says a lot about the passion he has for the stories. The reason this has put so much pressure on episode 7 is because episodes 4,5 and 6 are amazing and 1,2 and 3 are poor . Whoever directs 7 has got to make up for the damage done. Not too much pressure then. Hmmm.

What J.J has done is try to give everyone a bit of what they want. There is enough reference to the original trilogy and characters to keep the nostalgia fuelled fans happy(me). There is also a good delivery of new story and characters to keep the new audience involved. People have said that the plot is basically episodes 4 and 6 rolled into one. Yes there are similarities , but to stray to far from the safety line could have been a massive fail.

What we are left with is a film that pleases most of the people most of the time whilst delivering a funny and entertaining space adventure. Not a bad result for a 30+ year wait. 9/10

I don't think we can solely blame television for some of the violence in the world as its fantasy and life is, well, reality. But the Following does not help the cause with its mindless and motiveless violence. The story revolves around a cult that Follows an English guy called Joe. He is a nutter and they follow him because they have no direction in life. Kevin Bacon is solid as the FBI agent who has been enlisted to bring Joe down. That's the story. I don't like this show for a few of reasons. The story barely holds up. The Joe character is not really that likeable and the violence is just way to over the top for the plot line. I am talking strangulation with wire, lots and lots of stabbing, shooting.

TV shows like The Walking Dead can get away with the blood shed due to the subject matter The Following doesn't need it and the plot does not support it. I will not be watching any more episodes. 6/10

Fox catcher is not based on a true story IT IS a true story and that's what makes it hard viewing. All the leads are solid , Channing Tatum, Mark Rufallo and the stand out (due to his switch from comedy to drama) Steve Carell. previous posts have explained the plot I would only add that this is not a feel good sports movie but a dark drama about hope and envy.

Went to see this with my kids. My son who is 7 thought it was ok. My daughter who is 3 wanted to go home half way through(she loved The Minnions movie) Most of the Pixar movies are enjoyable for adults as well as kids but this seems to miss both audiences.

The plot revolves around the emotions in out head that make us do things day to day such as Anger, Fear......... these emotions are represented by characters in the movie that live inside a little girls head and they have to try and battle to balance her emotions day to day as she goes through growing up and moving from their family home in the country to a drab townhouse (its never explained why). The story becomes very convoluted as it battles between being entertaining and keeping us on track with the emotions the memories the islands (cant be bothered to explain those) and whats going on. It tries to be too clever and falls flat because of it. One of Pixars worst. 4/10

Jurassic Park was a groundbreaking movie. The first views of the T Rex in all its CGI glory was a sight to behold. Spielberg is a very special director with his ability to create tension and deliver a theme park thrill ride. Although Spielberg executive produced this movie it has none of his trademark traits. Blockbusters tend to fall into catagories as they only have so much budget to go round. I guess they wanted this film to be visually stunning(which it is) to the detrement of everything else. The script is shallow, the actors are not what I would call A list and the director - Colin who?

What you end up getting is a visual spectacular with absolutely nothing else of any merit. I have never felt so utterly univolved in a movie since watching Superman - Man of steel. This movie represents everything that is wrong with modern cinema. 5.5/10

This had received favourable reviews on its cinema release so I decided to give it a go. The premise is simple, child finds story book the story talks of the babadook. Once the book is read he will never go away. The movie sets up the scares well with a long and cautious build up. It felt very creepy. I am sure in the cinema the scares would have been more in your face. I felt the scares to be rather tame. I was waiting for the big one which never really came.

The lead actors are ace and deserve a mention here but the movie really fell on its nose in the final 3rd. A good watch and entertaining enough but certainly not a horror classic. 6.5/10

Series 2 continues the story of Norman Bates and his mother living at the infamous Motel. performances are very strong and again Freddie Highmore excels as the disturbed Norman. The relationship between Norman and his mother is still very odd and features as a very strong backbone of the story. The only place that season 2 is suffering is with the interjection of other characters to create a subplot and its also starting to feel a bit like an episode of 90210 in places with teen romances pushed to the forefront. That asides its still a strong story, Norman is creepy and unpredictable and this is enough for me to keep watching. 4/5

I decided to watch this as it had received good reviews and this tied with its obvious connection with Scum was enough for me. It concerns the situation of an inmate that has been moved from a young offenders to an adult prison, hence the title to be starred up. To put it mildly he is a very violent character and seems hell bent on destroying everything in his path. As we discover Eric has grown up in care homes and has been abused from a young age. So although he is a nasty piece of work he is merely a victim trying to make sense of the world.

Although Eric's character is front and centre at all times and hops from one violent situation to another there is never really enough depth of character to have any real feelings towards him.

It would seem that the film makers as much as the prison staff struggle to know what to do with him. Watch if you like watching very violent films but avoid if would like more depth of character. 3/5

To be honest I never really liked Zombie movies, I think it was after watching The Day of The Dead when I was younger that Zombie movies would give me nightmares. Needless to say I have avoided a lot of Zombie movies since.

The only reason I started watching The Walking Dead was due to the involvement of Frank Darabont who has made one of the greatest movies ever (Shawshank). Lets just say that from the first 5 minutes of Season 1 episode 1 I have been totally hooked. The performances are excellent and the fear of dread never leaves regardless of what is going on on screen. Season four is no exception as it subjects our crew of survivors to more gut wrenching survival. The Walking Dead is up there with Hannibal and Breaking Bad as TV of the highest order.

I really enjoyed this movie, or more to the point I was creeped out after watching it. The premise feels a bit like the Shining, A hotel is closing so guests are at a minimum, in fact there are only 4 in total. There are 2 staff played expertly by Sara Paxton (As Claire) and Pat Healy (Luke). They take it in turns to sit on the front desk of the hotel to welcome the threadbare guests that do arrive. The real joy of this movie is the not knowing, its all about what you don't see vs what you do that makes this film stand out from the pack. Sara Paxton is ace as she discovers more and more about the Hotel and is gradually drawn into its darker side. Her performance from happy go lucky to very scared should be acknowledged.

If you prefer your movies creepy rather than blood and guts then this could be for you............just don't watch it alone.

After watching Breaking Bad and being totally blown away I needed to find another TV series to get my teeth into. I had seen that The Following had received pretty good reviews and I knew that Kevin Bacon is always good value, I thought I would give it a try. As the title says you need to give this series time to evolve. The first episode is a pilot episode so the creators are trying to grab the studios attention as to what could be to follow should this become a full blown series. As such, this makes it feel very rushed and almost hashed. I considered giving up on it but I am glad I did not. Once the green light was given, episode 2 feels much better as we are introduced to the characters and gradually become engrossed in the story.

Kevin Bacon is ace as Ryan Hardy and all of the lead characters give standout performances, particular note should go to Valorie Curry as Emma. She comes across as really twisted and puts in a stellar performance. I guess I will have to wait for season 2 but I am getting used to this as its not till September that I can watch Walking Dead series 4. Patience is a virtue I guess.

Having watched in the Cinema the original Paul Verhoven "ROBOBCOP" I knew that the follow up remake was going to have a hard time repeating its success. The original is built on black comedy, wit and satirical violence. It a very clever mix that delivers a very entertaining spectacle.

the modern day Robocop spends much of its time talking about what its going to do rather than getting on with it. As stated before. great performances from the leads with Joel Kinnaman a stand out as Robocop himself. The film feels like a very long trailer for Robocop 2 which I am sure is just around the corner. There is actually only one scene where Robocop actually kicks some ass and in a 2 hour movie this is far from perfect. I did find it watchable but had to put the timer on the screen to see how long was left and asking myself, when is something amazing going to happen. Asides from the ass kicking scene I mentioned. It just doesn't.

To summarise, in its own right its not too bad but as a updated version of the classic Robocop its seriously flawed.