A Walk in the Woods(2015)
A comedy/drama starring Robert Redford as an ageing travel writer who reconnects with a grizzled,old friend(Nick Nolte)in an attempt to hike the 2118 mile Appalachian trail.The banter is priceless and both Redford and Nolte blend the comedy and serious moments with great effect.
7.5/10
Aquarius(2016)
Kleber Mendonça Fihlo directs a superb and emotional tale about a 65 year old,Brazilian widow named Clara who fights the power by refusing to vacate her flat despite the cold and morally underhand tactics used by the construction company who want to turn her building into an edifice.Heartbreaking in places and a very real reminder of the often callous nature of progress in favour of sentimentality.Sônia Braga is superb in the lead role.
7/10
Oz the Great and Powerful
Really enjoyed this movie, what I liked is it starts off black and white with 4:3 ratio at first I thought something was wrong with the blu ray disc. The the film changes to colour then you see the screen ratio slowly change from 4:3 to widescreen it’s a great effect. The film looks stunning on blu ray and I had no idea there was a prequel to the wizard of oz or even more books in the series.
8.5/10.
Asterix: The 12 Tasks.
6.5/10.
Freehold (2017);
Dark comedy about a young guy Hussein a slippery Estate-Agent who's dodgy house-selling skills is only to be outdone by the dodgy suits he wears who despite living with his girlfriend still likes to believe he leads a single life.
The flat in which they live isn't just inhabited by the un-happy couple but also an unbeknownst hider-in-the-house & squatter Orlan (who looks like a painfully thin POW victim) a disgruntled ex-client of Hussein with a huge axe to grind.
Orlan chooses to hide away in the flat when Hussein & his partner are awake but when they are asleep or at work the mouse really likes to come out & play as Orlan commits various acts of mischief (some of them pretty sick) that not only affects Hussein's health but drives a huge wedge in Hussein's relationship with his girlfriend.
From merely tamer things like stealing food from the fridge,turning alarm clocks off & deleting phone messages to the more unhinged things like using Hussein's flannel & toothbrush to clean Orlan's bollocks & arse-crack (& casually putting them back), gargling mouthwash & spitting it back in the bottle to downloading gay-porn on Hussein's girlfiend's computer (so she can find it), & sending cock pictures to his boss (using Hussein's phone when he is aleep) are just a few of the things Orlan gets upto.
Overall this wasn't wasn't a bad film at all & adds another spin onto the whole home invasion concept but just for the sheer audacity of what Orlan gets up to in terms of plotting & scheming make it a worthwhile watch.7/10.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle 8/10. A lot of fun, if you liked the first you'll enjoy this just as much.
Lady Macbeth(2017)
Florence Pugh astounds in the lead role in this extremely dark period peace that manages to be both beautifully composed and brutal simultaneously.Another gem from 2017 which outside of the usaul remakes and blockbusters etc,was a vintage year for cinema fans.
8/10
Blade Runner 2049 - 9/10.
Okay, so I loved it, visually it was great and the story was good, it worked as a sequel. Sure, it was a bit long (2 hours and 37 minutes), but thankfully it didn't really feel like it. I do think that there were a few too many quiet moments and sequences that were a bit long, they could have been trimmed down a bit, but as I said didn't feel like it was long as it was.
I thought Ryan Gosling was great as K, loved Ana de Armas
as Joi the whole sync bit was creepy, and when K realised what he did when looking at the holographic ad for her, it was a shame. Harrison Ford back as Deckard played his part, Sylvia Hoeks as Luv, wow, she changed quickly, vicious, lol, and Jared Leto was suitably creepy as Niander Wallace. I do think that Dr. Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) could have been explored a little more, so I would have preferred it if some of those quiet moments were sacrificed for more of her, but hey, it was fine in the end.
If you liked Blade Runner and have time to spare, I recommend watching this.
Get Out(2017)
Rose(Alison Williams)a white student invites her black boyfriend Chris(Daniel Kaluuya)to meet her parents but then things take an unexpected turn. An amazing directorial debut from Jordan Peele that uses old fashioned jumps punctuated with surreal imagery as metaphors for the carefully calculated racism encoded within white liberal privilege.
8/10