Reviews

Netflix have some great documentaries and this may be the best of the bunch!

Starting off from the second world war and taking you up to the current situation this is s documentary that moves at just the right pace and never gets boring!!

Most people have a reasonable idea about the main events of the Cold War but this digs a little deeper and gives you the backstory to what is probably the most fascinating piece of modern history!

The film has some brilliant first hand accounts and some brilliant footage of events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Highly recommended!

Frustrated by this one as it tries to cover too much ground and eventually gets to the point when you no longer care!!

Its an interesting story and Malcolm X was surely a great and very inspiring speaker who I guess became almost bigger than the organisation he represented.

I think the film could have been improved without the first hour which covers his early (pre prison life) as not that relevant and only serves to make the point that Malcolm X was a gangster who found Islam when he was in prison.

All in all a it could have been OK if it wasn't so long. Do yourself a favour and watch a documentary instead!

Matilda was one of the few Roald Dahl books I hadn't read so I was really looking forward to seeing this. I would say it is really one to see at the cinema if possible as it is such a big production.

I went there with high expectations, as my daughter had already said it was great, however it was even better than I could have imagined. Actually quite surprised that only gets 7.1 as for me is up there as a classic!!

Apparently it deviates from the main story, in one of the key areas, I didn't realise this until afterwards however the changes they made really work and the acting and singing is great from adults and children alike.

Definitely one not to miss.

I never saw this in the 80s so took the chance to view when it arrived on I player.

On the positive side. There is some wonderful nostalgia, really good cast and some great music. The story starts well and the characters are all interesting. I appreciate its supposed to be s farce but gets a bit too much towards the end!!!

It covers some dark subject matter so could say it's a a dark comedy. It is funny in parts but also sad and slightly dark.

Overall worth a watch but just feel could have been better direction especially last 2 episodes and gets too chaotic!!

All in all worth a watch for the nostalgia and music. Interesting to see Emma Thompson in what I believe is her first role.

After the superb On her Majesty's Secret Service I was really looking forward to this follow up but unfortunately a bit of a disappointment!! Moves from Character to character without any real thought and it becomes a real effort to keep up with, what turns out to be, a very mediocre story! Definitely the worst of Daniel Craigs offerings!!

At the end of the day there is always something to take from a Bond film and the scenary is great and full of the yseual array of beautiful women!!

The problem is every director seems to want to show they can do something different and tend to drift from the winning formula.

I saw this one at the Cinema which always adds to the drama. Tempted to give a 9 but I think an 8 is fair as all films are at least 1 mark better if you see them at the movies!!!

Its a well acted and very well filmed Horror which due to the psychiatric aspect is actually quite disturbing!!!

Basic plot without spoilers is an overworked psychiatric doctor witnesses a suicide of a young girl which causes her to suffer trauma and hallucinations!!!

Its not for those of a nervous disposition but its a great horror!

Overall definitely worth a watch as a few original ideas along with some tgat are borrowed!!!

This one was much much better than expected. Great performances from John Cusack and Samuel Jackson.

Pretty simple plot but clever and never boring!!!

In short about a travel writer who specialises in haunted hotels and is compiling a travel guide of the best hotels.

Most hotel owners are just trying to build a story about haunting to increase sales so the hero of the story is pretty sceptical!!

Interesting film with an intriguing back story. I hate spoilers so all I can say is give this one a go as I haven't been as scared by a horror in quite a few years!!

I give it 9 skulls (you have to see the film!)

Firstly this is a very interesting story about which I knew very little. The cast are as all very good but as a drama it just doesn't deliver and from the 2nd episode I was tempted to just ditch as just didn't enjoy it!

The screenplay is just not very good and every episode is a chore rather than a joy and dragging it out for 10 episodes is just painful!

In addition it is painstakingly uncomfortable and I find myself having to pause and take a deep breath.

Really surprised about the high reviews.

My advice is don't bother and watch the Serpent instead as it's a comparable story which is just so much more entertaining!

This to me seems like it was knocked up in a couple of weeks without much thought. The plot (if you can call it that) has all been done before and the characters are all a bit overplayed!!! In summary Mitchell(Colin Farrel) comes out of prison wants, to go straight but can't get away from his old life blah blah. Then for no real reason he is given a kind of handyman/ bodyguard job to a starlet Kiera Knightly who is suffering from ptsd/agrophobia. The rest is all pretty predictable. I guess it's watchable as the cast are great however I bet they all regret this one!!

I absolutely loved Magnolia so when I saw the high reviews for twbb I was keen to see the film. Its a great performance by Daniel Day Lewis but I don't get the high reviews as the story is pretty weak and such a long film!

Its Gripping only because you expect something to happen and the film to go somewhere because its so dark and mysterious and DDL is so memorising. All the cast are great actually but they can only do do much with a pretty mediocre plot.

I love Ricky Gervais in office, extras, Derek, afterlife etc but never been as keen on his films but I really liked this one.

Its a good idea for a story and the whole cast were good, Eric Bana and Ricky Gervais work really well together.

Overall a feelgood film that is definitely worth watching.

I really liked this movie. It's not perfect but at least it's original. So many films about remote country dwellers in the USA and more recently Scandinavia but it's refreshing to see a film about a hunting weekend gone wrong in Scotland! Really tense at times I had to keep pausing the movie just to get through it. Some good acting and in a weird way really made me want to go hunting in Scotland.

Really impressed by the Serpent. Quite complex and lots of flas backs and forward throughout but it's so well done it all makes sense!

Didn't know much about the story but it's fascinating to think it's a true story and Gripping. Throughout

Despite being fairly gruesome this makes me want to head out to Thailand and India ASAP although I think this drama was set at the golden age of Asian travel with the hippy trail etc!

8 episodes fly by with this one so definitely recommend!

This film gets poorer reviews than it deserves. It's a very interesting idea, some great acting and overall quite tense. And gripping. The only problem is it degenerates towards the end almost as though they were not sure how to finish the film or perhaps ran out of money!

Overall worth a view if you like horror type films.

Very strange film that doesn't really make sense. Many reviewers describe it as a dark comedy which strikes me as strange as nothing amusing just weird!!

It's interesting is probably the best thing you can say!

I love inside No 9 however this episode was awful. Completely disjointed, and confusing but not funny or scary.

I really like Ken Loach films always hard hitting with a gritty realism. SWMU is a really though provoking film with first rate acting from a little known cast!

As you would expect its a kitchen sink drama and far from cheerful but you find a real empathy for the characters and I personally found it very interesting and moving.

I really like this film and don't feel it ever got the credit it deserves. Never has a film had my mind racing as much as this and I couldn't sleep after watching. Its hard to do a review without spoilers (which I detest) and this is a very original film that you should ideally watch with no preconceptions or knowledge of what it is about.

I'm pretty sure it is the worst film ever made. The music is good, of course but the lead actor is incredibly annoying and such a bad actor and the plot makes no real sense. It's kind of a documentary but not really and it's awful. I heard that the Clash hated it so much they actually tried to stop the film being released - Shame they weren't successful!

I was brought up in Sheffield and remember all this going on as a child. It was great to see how tough policing was in the 70s and 80s without the use of cctv etc. It is not for the faint hearted as it was so brutal and frightening but I was gripped from start to finish.

There's a good cast here and it's always interesting to see a real life police drama. This one however never really catches light. No menace, no tension just fairly straight forward policing and forensics. Worth a watch for the factual side but no excitement.

Quite a tense experience watching this film. Basically follows a new Army recruit through basic training to becoming stationed in Northern Ireland during the peak of the troubles. Really scary to imagine being lost in a Belfast not knowing who you can trust or turn to for help to get back to the barracks. Great acting in this film from the entire cast especially the lead soldier.

After enjoying watching Rise of the Footsoldier I thought I would give this a go. Like the original it is a low budget, fairly run of the mill, violent gangster film. What makes this more watchable is the quality acting and entertaining dialogue. Craig Fairbrass for me is up there with Ray Winstone in this type of film and gives a really powerful performance. Here is a gangster who you really would not want to get on the wrong side of!! All in all if you like this type of film it's definitely worth a watch.

Typical story of a gangster who after going* to prison Learns that you have to get tough to get ahead! It kept me interested as I like gangster films (Hence 6 stars is probably generous) but the plot is basic and the film reeks of low budget from start to finish. Acting is pretty good especially from the main character. All in all worth a watch if you like violent films about gangsters from a Liverpool. I guess I do!

I would urge anyone to see this as Tom Hardy plays a superb role. Who would have thought you could make a tense and thought provoking drama about concrete. Turns out with Tom Hardy you can!