fatherchristmas89 Reviews

Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog (2011 Video)

Not that funny

[5/10 · 6 November 2023]

I like Greg Davies but I just didn't find this one that funny. It felt a bit half arsed and thrown together. Like just a weird selection of anecdotes and asking the audience for nicknames. It felt a bit amateur and not a polished act.

He also acted like it was the first show of the run but then mentioned previous places, so gags like with the water fell flat.

There are loads of comedy shows that I will watch again and again but this is not one of them. I'm sure that I have also seen him repeat the space mission gag elsewhere too, so there just wasn't much original material. It just felt like a strange combination of fillers.

Wild Child (2008)

It started off good and then got cheesy

[7/10 · 3 August 2021]

This film started actually quite well and had some genuinely funny and witty moments but then just got daft.

Tenet (2020)

Didn't have a clue what was going on.

[5/10 · 5 September 2020]

I don't really want to need to watch a film 15 times to understand the plot.

I got the general gist but why they were in specific locations etc. was just guessing.

The premise itself is pretty basic, but it's just convoluted to confuse on purpose to make it seem like a more important film.

I agree about the audio. Far too loud misic and background noise and couldn't understand the dialogue at times.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Unnecessary female nudity

[5/10 · 3 September 2020]

Honestly this felt like a perverts dream. Why have a female with no top on in the doctor's scene and the other unnecessary female nudity?

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Boring

[5/10 · 9 February 2020]

Overlt long. There were a few griping gripping scenes, but most of the time I was just wishing it would end soon.

Scattered Dreams (1993 TV Movie)

Started off well

[5/10 · 26 January 2020]

I was moved by the injusticies for the 1st half of the film and I felt like it was well acted. However, in the ending everything just resolved itself too quickly.

Stick It (2006)

OK film, enjoyable but silly.

[6/10 · 19 January 2015]

I enjoyed this film, and thought it was quite good until it got silly. It was quite enjoyable nevertheless, but not to be taken seriously.

It is about a girl who is in court for trespassing and breaking a window, and as punishment is sent back to gymnastics training. I took it that Haley was very naturally talented and a bit of a prodigy. It didn't bother me that she hadn't trained for a few years, that can be looked past. I loved the narration when she was on the beam - 'pointless arms and stick your butt out'.

It showed Haley training in the gym and becoming more serious, until the film started to get silly.

Lines such as 'let us be in control of the scores' and 'the judges are just jealous'. No they are not! they are there to judge you, it's their job. You are there by your own free will and you judges are not making you do this (well in most circumstances). Plus comparing gymnastics to SEAL training isn't going to win any new fans, just anger people. They are two different kettles of fish.

Secondly, no one would ever have a mass scratch unless there was a big political reason. There is too much at stake and you can't be certain that the other gymnasts wouldn't break the pact and perform and then win. Of course you have to get marked down for something (I agree the uniform isn't the best one) otherwise we would have a string of perfect 10s again. Plus the break dancing on the beam? why? why waste your life's training? Why not compete the best you can and then question the unfair marks. That is what happens in reality and marks get changed.

If the film had focused on Haley's training and change of character it would have been more interesting instead of the cliché, unrealistic, silly ending.

The Descendants (2011)

Enjoyable and not too heavy

[8/10 · 1 January 2015]

This film is enjoyable but not too heavy regarding the subject matter. It is easily followed in one viewing and doesn't require a second viewing. It is a great film that deals, not with the wife in the coma, or necessarily the grief, but the implications of this to her family. The wife, of the Matt King (George Clooney's character) is involved with a motorboat accident and is in a coma. Her family is told that she will never recover so Matt embarks on a journey to tell his eldest daughter they are letting her mother go. The eldest daughter is rebellious and dislikes her mother, as she knows of her mother's affair with another man. Matt decides that if her mother loved this other man, and he loved her, he should be able to say goodbye. The film questions the conflict between the daughter's hatred of her mother and forgiveness and forgiveness of the mother's affair and letting her lover say goodbye. Great film, but not as deep as is could be.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

On the edge of my seat throughout

[10/10 · 31 December 2014]

I absolutely loved this film, it was incredibly well acted, written and paced. I was on the edge of my film throughout. I hadn't seen any of the other Hannibal films, but this is not necessary.

There was a perfect amount of back story and analysis to thrilling parts. The creepiness of Hannibal was played brilliantly by Hopkins and the clever but young and naivety was played equally brilliantly by Foster. Clarice's willingness and ambition was clear, but that eagerness put her in vulnerable situations. This was seen be Hannibal and provided an enticing relationship between the two.

Thoroughly recommend.

Back to the Future (1985)

Timeless

[8/10 · 30 December 2014]

This film is timeless because it is about a topic that will always intrigue us, time travel and what would life be like if history was changed. It has aged very well, and I think it will continue to do so. The film is about a teenager, Marty, that is having trouble in school, his father is being bullied by his supervisor and his mother constantly reminisces about the past. He is friends with a mad inventor, who stole plutonium for a time machine, as was shot because of it. Marty, to avoid being shot himself, climbs aboard the time machine and is accidental sent back in time to when his father met his mother. As he prevented his parents meeting, Marty then has to get his parents together so that he can be born. I loved the ending 'you need to come with me, back to the future'. A perfect way to set it up for a sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I Am Sam (2001)

Really makes you think

[8/10 · 28 December 2014]

I really enjoyed this film, it really makes you think about who should take custody and the moral implications of a child with adults with learning disabilities.

I did find the disability a little inconsistent, the child's father Sam could look after himself and Lucy for 6 years, but can't buy shoes?

The film really does make you consider if love is all you need or not. Parts that were extremely emotional for me was when he was reading to Lucy and telling her off for not reading herself. The topic of disability is dealt with sensitively. However, I didn't enjoy all of Dakota's performance. She is an amazing actress and the crying/emotional scenes were amazing, but she acted like an adult at times rather than an average child. I am not sure if she is supposed to be a extremely clever child or not, but the scene where she shouts 'are you writing this down' seems too mature.

The ending was quite open vague and up for interpretation. Personally, I believe that Lucy was adopted but it can be read either way.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Very unusual, but emotional

[8/10 · 17 December 2014]

This film is typical Tim Burton. The film started with a narration by a grandmother about a man created by an inventor, who lives in a big, haunted mansion at the top of a hill. This is in contrast to the house wife infested, colourful neighbourhood below. When the man, Edward is brought into this colourful world, it his naive and lack of understanding begins to show. The change of attitude from loving his skills, to jealousy and hatred is great. The sheer frustration of the setting Edward up to fail shows the compassion towards his character by the viewer and by Kim. The films ends with a longing for Edward's safety, and sadness of his outcome. The fact that it still snows is a nice touch to show Edward's future. A great film.

Frozen (I) (2013)

Great Disney film. Overrated as just a film though,

[7/10 · 9 December 2014]

I enjoyed this film as an animated children's film. I did get annoyed with several things. The pronunciation of Anna annoyed me greatly, as did the 'wait, what!'. The 'wait, what!' is just too slang like to teach children. Actually, most of Kristen Bell's pronunciation annoyed me, such as pronouncing horrible like whore-able. I didn't understand why Anna couldn't just tell Elsa why, or why she couldn't say, 'I can't tell you, but...'. Instead, she is really horrible towards her sister at the coronation and is actually quite bitchy. I've never met anyone I've gelled with as much. If she hasn't been outside for years she hasn't met many people. It was good breaking the Disney tradition of telling Elsa she couldn't marry someone she had just met. Too many Disney films, The break in the film to the signature song felt too disjointed. This led to the typical, 'upbeat middle' of Disney films, where new happy characters are introduced. The film then returns to the main story at the end, and the new characters are somehow able to be integrated. The twist at the end was quite interesting. I didn't see it coming and I believed that it was the other potential love interest. The concept of her sister was good, even if 'true love's kiss' from her sister was a little weird. It sounded too romantic, so was shocking at the end. I don't know why Elsa loved her sister so much if they had hardly communicated over the years, or her faith in her sister 'she is my sister, she would NEVER hurt me'. It seems a little naive.

The songs were quite good. I enjoyed other songs other than the signature 'Let it go'. I still believe, that it sounds like a Eurovision song. However, the score was a let down. The score, or even the songs were no where near the standard of The Lion King.

Elysium (I) (2013)

Could have been so much better

[6/10 · 18 November 2014]

I expected this film to be really good when I first started watching it. The themes of overpopulation, a lack or resources and poor health care on Earth with the contrast of a utopia on Elysium was great. However, this wasn't utilised. Elysium was hardly shown beyond the inside parliament offices. Again, the politics of 'zero- tolerance policy' with the police on Earth was just forgotten about. The automated robots that gave you a chance to talk to real humans was an interesting concept. Now the plot was interesting, but it only really got started because of the accident with the radiation. And the leukaemia. Which brings another point. If health care was so simple on Elysium, surely it would be better on Earth. Could people not club together to buy a machine that makes you a better in a matter of seconds? Once the story got moving it interesting downloading the data from Elysium. But why take the child to Elysium? why care? Once they got there I felt as though they were just running down unknown corridors, shooting unknown people. It had all been done before and got boring. I expected the film to be far better after an interesting premise, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

The Graduate (1967)

Hello, Benjamin

[7/10 · 11 November 2014]

I enjoyed this film, but not as much as I thought I would. I found Mrs Robinson to be very persuasive, and this worked well with Benjamin's naivety. The balance between her controlling, manipulative, flirty manner and Benjamin's naive, innocent, infatuated character worked well. I like the development with their relationship, but I think it could have been developed further. The change with Ben from being a high achiever as college to having an affair was very good. Mrs Robinson's daughter was briefly mentioned, and then quickly became part of the plot. The development between the daughter, Elaine, and Benjamin felt very rushed. The marriage proposal after such a short time, even though it was in the 60s, felt again rushed. Elaine had no reason to be so infatuated by Benjamin as he treated her horribly. The soundtrack was very good and captured the mood wonderfully.

Notting Hill (1999)

It was good

[8/10 · 11 November 2014]

I enjoyed this film. It was very easy to follow, I actually watched it whilst I was doing work and found it nice to watch in the background. Hugh Grant was good, he still played 'Hugh Grant', but as a shy person rather than suave. I however hated Anna's character. I found her to be self centred and bitchy. She walked all over people and expected people to swoon over her. I found it interesting the idea of the press taking so much interest in one person and the fact that Anna said gossip wouldn't die down. I'm not sure if it's just film talk, or it shows that famous people tended to be famous longer then, rather than famous 5 minutes and then has beens the next minute. Most celebrities nowadays would just brush the incident that Anna had under the carpet, or not even care. I enjoyed the party scenes too. They had a vary stereotypical British film feel about them. All together, nice, easy watch, family film.