Film Reviews by GJ

What happens when a film with merit is impacted severely by real world controversy ..

This movie should have been a success at the box office : it is well made , enjoyable, heart-warming , respects its audience and yet ..it will be remembered for the troubles involving its main lead.

Flash is a much better film than its MCU counterpart Dr Strange Multiverse of Madness . You are generally interested in the characters and much more effort is put into this film.

I would recommend this as a an enjoyable sci-fi fantasy with recognisable and iconic characters but unfortuntately the film could never out-pace the real world.

What struck me about this season was the amount of effort—in terms of writing, character interplay, performances, and direction—that went into this season.

My appreciation grew from - this is ok - through to this is good - thtough to this is very good.

The characters were well drawn, each with believeable motivations, and the Superman Lore didn't intrude in a negative way.

It is a series constrained by budget, but what is available is put to great use. Full marks for the first season.

It was a much better film than Vol. 2 and the best Guardians outing since Vol. 1.

A well-made film by James Gunn, who understands the core elements of this series and always adds an unexpected touch to the action.

Top-focused performances from all around. I liked Zoe Saldana's edgier Gamora and warmed to Will Poulter's Adam Warlock.

Rocket Racoon was totally believable, and full marks to the SFX teams.

Should there be a Vol. 4? I would normally say no-please-no, but I think you could get this team back together again and squeeze in one more film.

Shazam 2 isn't a bad film. Its a very consistent film. It is neither jarringly bad nor remarkably good. You've seen it all before, particularly the visuals. People running, dragons, bored-looking guest stars, lightning bolts...

Zachary Levi gives it his all and clearly works out for the role. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu phone in their roles unfortunately, and some of the 'young' cast look well into their mid to late 20s.

Also, the main character who is turning 18 in the movie seems remarkably naive and should have experienced a little more in life.

Perhaps these blockbusters should dwell a little bit more on relationships and plant their feet on the ground a bit more.

The villains could be a bit more sophisticated instead of opting for malignant-setting 4 and malevolent-setting 7 and throwing the odd fireball here and there.

Comic book movies are no longer doing the kind of business as previously expected, so there may be time to re-think, e.g., characters start off in streaming shows, and those that build a proper foundation make it to the big screen in 'event' movies, not just photocopies of other photocopied sci-fi, fantasy, or comic book efforts.

A superbly made film by Damian Szifron

An anthology of short stories, each increasing in scale and complexity of relationships and each ending with a sting in the tail.

Great performances and direction throughout, and an often grisly and gruesome ride.

It's been done before

The Fifth Element

Valerian

Flash Gordon

Avatar

Even , to a lesser extent , Buck Rogers

Technocolor savage people in a Technocolor world filled with crazy plants and animals

Some of the above films work better than others and maybe one or two have their moments , but Ant Man and the Wasp Quantumania isn't one of them.

After witnessing the 5000th special effect and cliched line in this movie , you are left with nothing but generic music cues to prompt you to care whats is going on .... Cue: this is mysterious , Cue: this is epic , Cue: you supposed to feel sorry for the recently deceased nice alien. Cue: all is lost . Cue: all is won.

The Pym/Lang family is actually a good team - except for the generic young genius who gets too much screen time to the detriment of the Wasp.

It is not a clever script, and the actors know that and do their best.

Modok is a ludicrous character - poorly executed and visualised. If there had been time and money to reshoot , i would have redone the Modok scenes

The visuals are impressive, but after 10 minutes, you switch off, and there are only a few moments where you can re-engage with what is on screen.

I don't think the Kang character is strong enough to pin 3 or 4 films on. Jonathan Majors is an impressive actor - though currently a controversial one - but his Kang needs someone else to play against . His moustach twirling Marlon Brando-esque character doesn't have any real purpose except to adhere different types of cool special effects to.

This is a weak MCU entry. I would have liked to have seen the Pym gang in a better adventure, but unfortunately, this is another misfire that hurts the MCU brand.

The Woman King is a piece of work that everyone associated with it can be proud of .

While not historically accurate, it draws upon African history to tell a rich , compelling story of warriors living in a world where human values are quashed in favour of commodities .

All the performances are excellent , most notably Viola Davis , Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch Sheila Atim and John Boyaga

In fact all the performances are top-notch , which is a credit to director Gina Prince-Bythewood.

She crafts a grand, heartfelt , fierce film that always keeps your attention.

A film well worth watching.

I think Black Adam suffers from trying to cater to a broad, undemanding audience, resulting in an underwhelming film. There is a better film in there somewhere

There is an underlying parallel to current real-world problems in the Middle East, which is commendable, but clunky generic characters and overblown action sequences drown any important comparisons that may have surfaced.

Dwayne Johnson , Pierce Bronson and Sarah Shahi do well to varying degrees, but the other characters are too generic for the other actors to work with.

The film begins poorly with rushed exposition and visuals, and I was tempted to hit fast forward. However, I held on and found the film watchable, though ultimately one-dimensional.

Unless superhero films can find a fresh source of inspiration coupled with decent writing, throwing millions of dollars at derivative efforts will ultimately fail, and the genre will come to an end much sooner than expected.

First Man is an example of what Hollywood does well: present extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances in an ordinary, relatable way.

The challenge is to present events that are universally known in a fresh, engrossing way, and First Man achieves that for the most part.

It is definitely lensed from a certain point of view; there is little fanfare or camaraderie between some of the characters, which I am not entirely sure of, and I can understand the controversy that surrounded this film on its release.

I commend the filmakers for taking their decisions by presenting the almost trench warfare mentality of the astronauts and the space administration to reach their goals despite tragedy.

Ryan Gosling shows why he is one of Hollywood's top actors with a measured and focused performance and Claire Foy more than matches Gosling in what could be the central performance.

If I have two main criticisms, it is the lack of warmth between the characters, even if Armstrong himself was a very private and complex individual. The other is the lack of actual footage of the moon landing; I think this should have been juxtaposed with the Oscar-winning visual effects or somehow merged. They do it earlier in the Apollo 11 scenes There is, however, a very touching scene on the moon, which I think could still have existed with more iconic images.

However, First Man is a top-notch film with a few flaws and definitely worth watching.

Although the series is immaculate with superb acting, Westworld Season 2 seemed like a season too far. Although the characters learn a lot about their own inherent nature throughout very few grow from their initial template, which, while probably intentional, does, however, make it a hard slog to get through at times.

A technically superior but uneven season .

Garance Marillie gives a great naturalistic performance and all the cast are good . The direction is strong as is the script and it is a visually striking film . However I found my attention wavering . With a subject matter that is so abstract , you either add a lot more humour or put events into some context

Is it a commentary on family values ? Or peer pressure? On self harm ?

The message is vague and although strong in many areas , the film is far from satisfying.

Brilliant direction great performance great editing and cinematography A real chiller. from a story of helplessness and isolation both emotional and physical

Missed crucial parts of the movie because some genius decided to use white standard lettering ( not bold ) for subtitles . There is one important scene in the movie where the titles were lost within a white table cloth and white plates .

i think white lettering above a black background - though jarring - would have helped or as the film was shown in letterbox format then better to stick subtitlre below the film.

Despite that the Farewell looked a well crafted and well acted film and I wouldve given an higher score

The first half is a predictable , almost cliched far future fantasy where everyone talks like they are lving in the 1990's . The dialogue and chracters are aimed at a younger audience it appearsx and then the film shifts gears - the second half seems more like the Matrix films with a dash of mad max ( well mad max set in a dystopian city ) .

There is a script only in the sense that words are spoken but nothing is revealed . Almost every 'twist' is visible a mile off

On the plus side , the action sequences, particularly the second half , are very good , although the slow mo shots get a bit tiresome

i think Alita herself escapes the uncanny valley curse ( just about ) and i think in a few years time CGI will mesh totally with live action - not quite there yet .

An interesintg film that improves as the film progresses and Jennifer Connelly looks amazing ... I dont know what shes doing, but shes doing something right

From the people who bought you 'The Thick of it' this american version retains the same sharpness and pace of the UK version

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is great as the lead and all of the supporting cast do a solid job