Film Reviews by AN

To counter some of the other reviews I think this is one of the good ones. After the disappointing "The French Dispatch" and some boring shorts this is much more in the Moonrise Kingdom/Grand Budapest Hotel mould. A little slow to start but this lays the ground for genuine emotional payoffs (Andersonian ones at least...) and also some very funny moments including the surprise visitor and a couple of musical interludes.

Wes Anderson isn't for everyone but if you liked his previous stronger efforts you should enjoy this one.

First thing to say, as a public service, is that this film is slow. A bit too slow, especially at the start, and goodness me it assumes you have a good deal of knowledge on the subject of Classical Music. I interrupted the film half way through to inform my wife that I had finally got one of the classical music in-jokes - that was the only one I got.

However, if you give it time and your full attention, it's one of those films that seeps into your consciousness. It's not really about what it was advertised as (cancel culture) and to be honest the plot aspects of that strand I think are slightly fluffed. It's more a good old fashioned (quite 60s/70s) psychological horror where quite ordinary events take on a sinister and discomforting aspect and the protagonist is slowly confronted by the horrors of their own ego and selfishness.

Perfect casting of Cate Blanchett for the main role...

Can't exaggerate how terrible this is. Pretty much from the opening scene you can tell what a misfire this is. The writing is terrible, the cheap use of moments/scenes/stars from the previous films is unforgivable. I literally only watched this through so that I could give it an honest review. Even then I had to split it over three nights as it's just so...draining...and LONG! I can't see kids getting anything out of it as the dinosaur action is staged poorly, repetitious and there is so much unnecessary leaden dialogue to plough through before you get to it. This franchise needs to end now.

The pace and humour of this sequel is a good antidote to the po-faced lugubriousness of some of the recent "official" MCU films. Foregrounding the humour occasionally leads to slightly odd tonal shifts (the clubbing scene...) but it's well worth it in the end. Honestly great fun, good action, top Tom Hardy gurning and shouting - what more do you want? Ignore the sniffy reviews (wrong about the first film + this sequel) and get it watched!

Pleasantly surprised by this zingy (and very gnarly) action film. Odenkirk does much more than just a Liam Neeson impression here and is assisted by some really imaginative action choreography. I found it more satisfying and rewarding than recent fan favourites (looking at you John Wick 3) and in the end it left me wanting much more. It isn't often that you get to the end of an exhausting action flick like this and feel like you would really LOVE to see a sequel! As long as he finishes Better Call Saul first...

I suppose it's at least better than the low budget, badly acted, weak British horror film that I haven't made. Currently arguing with my partner over who added this pointlessness to the list... You're better off spending 74 minutes staring at a carrot.

I know what a Jim Jarmusch film is, I know they are not for everyone, sometimes I don't get on with them myself - but mostly I'm a fan. But this is inexcusable - absolutely awful waste of talent.

For anyone else this would be career ending - it's that bad.

This was a blast - didn't watch it for ages due to lukewarm reviews but it is consistently funny, it used its Manx location really well and the talent involved have great fun sending up themselves and the quite specific genre of British 80s detective shows featuring alpha male leads.

If you know and love Garth Marenghi's Dark Place then this covers some of the same ground but is definitely still worth a watch.

Overlooked and underappreciated.