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Napoleon (2023)
Much Better Than People Say
I really wanted to watch this in the cinema, but missed it and was finally able to do so last night through Apple TV. I imagined it would be brilliant and it didn't disappoint. I had heard and read numerous people moan about this movie and so went in with fairly low expectations in the end, but really after watching it I have no idea what people have a problem with. Yes there may be some minor historical inaccuracies and yes there is some Holywood-licence speculation with the relationship between him and Josephine, but really what did you expect.. this is standard-fare for any historical drama and like the director said... who would really know what went on between them.
I thought the balance of action to relationship was about right, and while it long as over 2.5 hrs, it didn't really feel that way.
Most people with have little knowledge of late 18th century, early 19th century history anyway... but it covers off the 'glory' of Toulon, Austerlitz, Bordelino and the disaster of Waterloo really well.
Black Widow (2021)
Not good at all
Just saw this on Disney+ and have to say it's really bad. The storyline is poor, the acting at times really bad and the jokes are mainly not very funny. I think this film should have been made 5-10 years ago after the first Avengers movie came out like all the other standalones. Where it fits in the timeline is confusing and lots of it doesn't make much sense. I had really high hopes for this movie as Black Widow was one of my favourite characters but this was not good at all. It's probably time to just leave it be Marvel. You made some great movies (Iron Man, Thor, Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame).... Don't do a Simpsons and destroy your legacy.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Good Portrayal of events for one of the biggest Military Ops of the last 20 years
I watched this again last night which was the first time I had seen it since I watched it at the cinema back in 2012.
Again I really enjoyed the movie. For the benefit of anyone who hasn't seen it, it's kind of into two parts. The first explains the background to the hunt for Bin Laden showing the leads they took and how some of them ended in disaster. The second part is the actual operation itself which was what happened when they believed they had finally tracked him down. This part is extremely well done and gripping to watch. To its credit it doesn't shy away from the fact that like most military operations at this level they rarely go to plan with the US somehow managing to crash one of their uber expensive helicopters in the process. That being said, the op was clearly a huge success given it met its key objectives - 1. Locate and Kill Bin Laden, 2. Find sufficient material which could be reviewed and developed for intelligence in order to continue the fight against global terrorism.
What I like about the film is that it clearly doesn't shy away from most of the toughest subjects. Namely that the Americans did use torture techniques throughout detainee interrogation of their prisoners and that at times, innocent people get killed.
My only criticism upon further review would be that it's a bit disjointed at the start and when the story gets going it gets difficult to keep on top of who is who, in particular with the suspected terrorists as so many different names bandied about.
That being said, the movie is a good document of these events and well worth watching if for nothing else for the second bit about how they actually went about the basis of pulling it off.
Quadrophenia (1979)
Mod Classic
Absolute classic this. Watched it again today for the first time in about 25 years. They don't make movies like this anymore as everything today is so politically correct that you don't get a feel for the real past anymore. This shows for example just how racist everyone was at the time (1965 made in 1979) which to today's eyes is quite shocking, but it's true, people really did talk in such ways. While I could once empathise with the lead as a British rebel without a cause, today in my 40s he just comes across as a loser. Still it's a brilliant snapshot of a youth growing up in Britain during those crazy times of sweeping cultural changes all backed up by an amazing soundtrack by one of the all time great bands in the Who. A must see for anyone with a interest in those times.
A Long Way Down (2014)
Absolutely awful
Never heard of this when it came out, but watched it the other day as it's on Netflix and 'stars' some people who I quite like (Brosnan was Bond afterall). It was also written by Nick Hornby who wrote Fever Pitch & High Fidelty; two books I really like and which decent movies were made of. This however is truly shocking. The plot sounded good when I read it but the story is so poor it's untrue and the acting is abysmal. It's not funny in any way and after watching an hour of it I had to turn it off. My wife refused to watch the rest but I decided to do so for some reason and can see it doesn't really get any better. The final surprise at the end, while wholly predictable is actually quite well done hence the 2 stars instead of 1. Still remains the worst film I have seen for some time.
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Masterpiece
This film is an amazing piece of work. One can only imagine how painstaking a process it must have been for the makers to update the vintage footage and then piece together all the recordings from the men who served. No movie has ever come close to giving you the realism of what life in the trenches must have been like. It's a film which will forever record those terrible events and for that the world should be grateful. Well done Mr Jackson
Despite the Falling Snow (2016)
Half-decent lost love story set in the USSR
Just watched this movie having previously read the plot online and been semi-excited to watch it. On the whole however I have to say I was left a little bit disappointed.
I've always been fascinated by life in the Soviet Union both during and after WWII and both during the Stalin and post-Stalin worlds, so anything set then is of interest to me.
Things I struggled with however were in the 90's part of the film, who Rebecca Ferguson was playing (I have since gather it's the main character's niece, but as you never see his sister this didn't make much sense) and secondly the lesbian-love angle between the niece the and journalist seems very unlikely to me to be credible. That in particular seemed more of an attempt to place modern values upon the past which is never something I am keen on in a movie.
The plot itself jumps around a bit through the timelines but you can kind of follow it and the ending I thought made the whole thing semi-worthwhile. It's just the middle section of the movie I thought was a bit weak.
On the whole though I think it's worth a watch, but wasn't one where I would ever be likely to want to watch it again.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Overrated
A film made by people who think Hollywood-centric filmmakers are the centre of the world basically for Hollywood-centric filmmakers. Its very arty-farty but as a story it's a bit of a yawn-fest. Whilst it may have won the Oscar for "best picture", and I can see it is certainly original in its approach and very stylistic, it is in no way the best film of 2014. Personally I doubt I would watch it again which is my general test of how good a movie I think I have watched, and don't get me started on the soundtrack, I can still the incessant drumming in my ears now nearly two weeks later after watching it. This neither builds suspense or keeps the film moving along it's just frankly annoying.