Change Your Image
stephenmcgowan
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Breeders (2020)
Love this show...
Season one was hilarious and very easy to watch. It was easy to see the sarcasm and swearing go over the heads of the children of the show for the benefit of the audience.
Now in season two all of the incidents and swearing seems to come off somewhat darker, serious and in the face of the children who are now grown up. I still get a big kick out of the performances and some laugh out loud moments, but the storyline leans more on reality now it would seem.
Yet, there is still the appeal in there for me perhaps because it all feels pretty familiar as a parent. No, I don't swear like that in front of my kids, but that aside, I sometimes feel like Martin Freeman and as a co-writer he appears totally immersed in the show's subject matter.
I'm fully engaged, even if it has gone a little more dramatic than season one and look forward to season three.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Nostalgic with a bit of cheese for good measure
I really didn't know how the final chapter of the Skywalker saga was going to pan out. With J.J. Abrams back at the helm, I was holding out some hope that he'd restore some of magic and nostalgia he's known for.
Perhaps he went even further or even too far. We can come to that later.
JJ's debut Star Wars movie, The Force Awakend, was light hearted, refreshing and humourous. It was a safe execution to kick off the first of the Disney branded films.
When Rian Johnson was drafted in for The Last Jedi, I was excited to see where he'd take us. I loved his film Looper and hoped that if he could bring some of that Star Wars we could be in for a treat.
What he did was effectively ruin the course of the story. He went in a direction I totally disagreed with as a near life long Star Wars fan and admirer of his other work.
I tried to adjust my mindset to allow for his vision but it didn't wash. A long portion of the film is near irrelevant, slow and boring.
He made sure of my disappointment by killing Luke. I was left holding two scenes from the entire movie to feel "satisfied with.
So when Colin Trevorrow exited The Rise of Skywalker and Johnson passed on being incolved, I was pleased that JJ was returning. I just wanted to get back to where things were with Finn, Rey and Poe and hope he might even go a little further and he did.
There are a lot of nods to the previous films including characters, ships, planets, sets and even the plot. There was also some extra cheese which takes me back to the original trilogy.
There is still part of me that wishes the trilogy had gone another way but what was done in TLJ could not be undone. Having said that, I thought JJ did a marvellous job with Luke and Leia in this final installment.
I was never happy with killing off Luke and sadly Leia's character could only go one way but her story in this chapter is well done. I even enjoyed the return of Palpatine.
It could have been darker but given the wider audience, I see why they didn't. It's still pretty cool even if it does raise many questions.
Over all I'm pleased. JJ got us back to wear he began his take and it's a wrap.
Now we can look forward to a new future in the Star Wars universe.
The Affair (2014)
1, 2, 3, 4......oh...5....
I loved this show. It was different to my usual stuff.
For a few seasons I was enjoying the characters and development in their storylines. Then it all started to become all a bit irrelevant to the original plot.
Unlike Noah, I stayed loyal. I saw it out.
All I got was a eleven episodes of garbage from the Lobster Roll. I'd rather have had wild sex with Helen's mother on a Montauk beach.
I can't believe they even conceived this as a final season. It was awful.
It may well be a bi-product of Ruth Wilson's money dispute. She was, after all, one of the two main characters!
Up until somewhere between season three and four, they had me on board. I was surprised to see it continue though.
So when the fifth was delivered I just wanted to be put out of my misery. Instead, I was subjected to the kind misery that almost had me throwing myself in the Atlantic Ocean in honour of Alison.
The final episode, in a season which threw in a future storyline featuring Joanie mainly . It's rare these days to see all storylines finalised and wrapped up to the viewers satisfaction in a TV show of multiple seasons and this one was no different.
Whatever quality there was in the first two, three or four seasons was hugely undone in fifth. It was an appalling and unnecessary finale.
My wife and I just kept glancing at one another in horror. There was a but of embarrassment in there too if I'm being honest.
So long Solloways....
Mystify: Michael Hutchence (2019)
This is more than a documentary...
...it sets the record straight on public perception.
In his final days, Hutchence was portrayed by the media in the worst of ways. This documentary brings to light the real truth of that time and indeed his life.
The media threw everything but the truth at this story back in the day. They had everyone convinced, but they didn't know the truth.
If anything, it just goes to show how influential the media are. Even me, a boy who lived and breathed the Australian rock band for a decade, was at odds with Hutchence in the mid 90's and the media's take seemed plausible.
How wrong they were. Richard Lowenstein has restored the credibility to this fallen idol by populating the years with facts, some of which only came to light during the editing of the documentary.
This is an important documentary, especially if you're were or are still an INXS fan. There are also lessons in just how powerful the media are with public perception of celebrities.
The damage that they are responsible for. I'm glad that after 22 years this goes a long way to setting the record straight.
Watch this documentary and celebrate the life of a guy who was a wonderful talent. Because you've probably forgotten how good he was and also will discover how good a human being he actually was.
Thank you for the memories Michael.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
I don't normally nip out to the toilet during movies...
...but there was plenty of opportunity to do so in this movie due to a lack things going on.
Whilst it was shot very well, there was a whole lot of nothing going on for most of the movie. That led me to boredom.
Boredom of watching scene after scene of self indulgent 60's depiction. There was little in the way of dialogue and an often pointless scenarios.
As others have said, it amps up towards the end of the film but there's so much wasted time in the movie. It doesn't really set the scene.
At times I found myself wondering what the point in the previous scene was. As much as I love DiCaprio as an actor, I don't think he suits Tarantino characters.
Pitt stole the show. Robbie was scarcely utilised.
That's the last three Tarantino movies I've thought were substandard. Django Unchained was overrated, Hateful Eight I gave up with after an hour and this latest offering was a waste of a rare date with my wife.
Firefox (1982)
A film begging to be remade...
Back in the early eighties Firefox was an excellent movie for a wee boy like me. Sadly in in 21st century its a film that looks like a push button television. However, as far as cold war stories go this movie has the opportunity to be remade into something better. The concept of stealing a plane is obviously outlandish but that's what makes the movie great.....until you see the 'flying' sequences that is. At that point in the film, it's pretty funny to watch, but the rest of the movie is good in my opinion. If I had any influence in the movie industry I would have this one on my list of films to be remade. I mean let's be honest, they've made Batman movies in the eighties, nineties and still making them now. Remaking Firefox offers the chance to portray the movie how it should have been and as an added bonus making a adapting the second book written by Craig Thomas an extension to or second part.
So come on Clint, how about it?
Cloverfield (2008)
More realism than all the rest
The movie was dubbed Blair Witch meets 9/11. Well thats not far off. The cameraman draws you in as you strive to visualise what the camera sees. Like War of the Worlds, the movie works because you only ever get to see the monster from a first person perspective and you only get a limited sight of it to. This creates tension like the Alien movies did and the horror is limited so the viewer is not subjected to a gore-fest like some of the other Hollywood horrors. There are also questions of the monsters presence. Where did it come from? What type of animal is it? Can it be killed? Is it alien? The length of the movie cannot answer these for us and again it adds to the realism of the movie. Because such a disaster has never taken place on our planet in our history, you cannot make it a glossy blockbuster like a war movie. You have to make this as realistic as possible. Filming it in hand-held camera works a treat especially with a back story and humour. I think they have done well with this movie, so much so you have to see it in a cinema to experience the best of it. I for one will be going to see it again.