filmsExaminer

Comedy drama based on a true story, actually based on a C4 documentary program (channel 4 is a UK network entertainment station). Follows the true story of a wrestling family, but particularly the brother and sister who share the same ambition to wrestle in the WWE. Only the sister makes it through the trial stages at the O2 (London venue), the brother is obviously devastated. She gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Florida for intensive training. This is a heart-warming family drama that was very funny in places and had me in stitches several times. I watched this with my wife who is not a wrestling fan but she really loved it too! Great whether you like wrestling, WWE, The Rock or not. 9/10

Emotional racial drama. Set in Harlem in the 1970's, this is a film about a young couple very much in love, just like 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' the protagonist is wrongly convicted of rape, we see strong support from her family to prove his innocence. She becomes pregnant, he goes to prison. I thought the plot was overly long, very slow, especially the character building scenes, the story could have told in 20 minutes. I wanted this movie to be better than it was, especially as I was keen to see it. At the risk of being considered racist I found this disappointing. 4/10

Animated comedy adventure based on the children's construction toy. This film plays out in a young boy's imagination. Aliens from Duplo invade the earth, our heroes' battle to defeat them and save the LEGO universe. This is a film about growing up and getting on with your sibling. Is a colourful action sequel with more fun for kids, but still some gags for parents. The first film caught everyone by surprise, the sequel has lost some of the novelty magic but is still very funny and very good. 7/10

Historical drama. Covers the period following a fire at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare is the greatest writer there has ever been and ever likely to be. Unfortunately his extraordinary attention to his writing resulted in serious neglect of his family. Throughout the film depicts the great bard as a fairly ordinary man struggling to come to terms with the loss of his son. There are some great candle lit scenes reminiscent of a Vermeer. There are some great performances, especially Judy Dench and Ian McKellen. Slow in places but worth a watch. 7/10

Drama, based on a true story. The son of a preacher comes out and is sent to a gay conversion camp. The camp treats teenagers who are struggling with SSA (same-sex attraction), but it's really the parents who are struggling with this. The high pressure therapy involves reading from the bible, praying a lot and forcing the 'disciples' to be what they're not in an attempt to 'reprogram' them in as much as illustrate that homosexuality is a sin, heterosexual is normal. They are forced to live in shame until they are eventually 'cured' by the process. These institutions are still legal and operating in many states. Very similar (though not as good as) a recent film with the same theme called 'The Miss-education of Cameron Post' 7/10

Drama based on a true story. About a fading biographer who is in a financial crisis, she sells a genuine framed vintage letter from Catherine Hepburn to a collector, she realises that more interesting content generally improves their value, so embellishes others. She realises that this is an easy way of making much needed money, as the authors were dead, there was no easy way of authenticating them. Slow burner about two lonely characters. Ok, but nothing special. Would make a better stage play. 5/10

Road trip drama with some humour based on a 1960's true story. Tony Lip is an Italian-American 'wise-guy', who's struggling to provide for his family. There's an important scene at the beginning which demonstrates his racism. He gets an interview to be a driver, but also a driver who could deal with any problems. Dr. Don Shirley is a black very well educated, very well-mannered, world class classical musician. He's living in isolation on the top floor of Carnegie Hall, he needs driving safely to a series of scheduled concerts in the very prejudice Deep South. During the numerous journeys they refer to 'The Negro Motorist Green Book,' also known as 'The Negro Traveller's Green Book.' This was a guide for African-American travellers, which listed lodging, restaurants, and other businesses that would serve them. They begin to bond over an incident involving two racist cops, a pub beating, a homosexual scene and even something simple like...

Crime drama based on a true story. This focuses on an elderly man (Eastwood), who is a successful horticulturist and completely dedicated to his business, so much so that he neglects his family, even at their most important occasions. Unfortunately the rise of the internet kills his business, because he can't get to grips with this new technology and he loses everything. He arrives at his granddaughters wedding, is rejected but a random guy suggests he uses his clean driving license to deliver 'packages'. He has no alternative, takes up the offer to transport just one 'package', though he didn't initially appreciate what the cargo was or know who he was working for. It looks like he can fix his financial problems just by driving. The arrangement worked for him because no one was likely to notice a 90 year old white man as a potential drugs mule, he becomes the Mexican cartel's most successful, and remained 'invisible' to the authorities. His cargo s...

Cop revenge drama. Stars Nicole Kidman as a very heavily made up and unrecognisable world weary LAPD detective. Her life has fallen apart, her colleagues have written her off, and she's tracking down the gang leader of a team of cold-blooded killers, this is from an undercover assignment from her past. When the leader re-emerges many years later, she tracks him down to finally have her revenge. Many flash-back sequences explain her motivation, she has an estranged family, and her young daughter is becoming the woman she has already become. Nicole Kidman is a wasted talent, she's never played this type of hard, gritty character before and shouldn't try again as it either didn't work or she was simply poorly directed. There's a totally unnecessary (kind of sexual) scene with Nicole and a villain in bed, she does him a 'favour' that didn't make sense. The film pretty much end where it starts, which is becoming a tad cliché. The selling point is Nicole Kid...

Documentary drama, based on actual events with BBC production written all over it. Follows Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I. Mary was raised in France and Queen, she was widowed at age 18, returns to Scotland to reclaim the throne of both Scotland and England. Elizabeth I was the English monarch whose rule was under threat. The plot is thrilling, depicting the power struggle between two strong-willed women that included homosexuality, infidelity, politics, the poor treatment of women, many PC messages and violent sexual moments bordering on rape. Great acting, great costumes and cinematography (the BBC are masters of this genre) I enjoyed this emotional Oscar contender. 8/10

An uplifting comedy drama about friendship and trust. Based on a true story between a quadriplegic billionaire (Cranston) and his street wise, ex-con, live in caretaker (Hart). Hart's intention was to secure any kind of employment and hopefully reconnect with his estranged son and ex-wife. They meet by accident when Hart applies for a janitor's job but secures a care taking role instead. They form an unlikely friendship even though they seem to have nothing in common. Hart offers a fresh perspective on living life, he competently delivers an unusual straight role with some of his usual humour. I saw the original when Cineworld was offering a buy one get one free deal, so I booked two tickets and gave away two tickets to my son and his best mate, not knowing we were about to see a subtitled foreign film... Anyway I gave the kids the option to bail out if they wanted, but it was one of the highlight films of the year, we all enjoyed very much. Upside is also a very good charact...

Historical costume drama, based on a true story. Colette is the story of a young spirited girl who almost accidentally becomes an author. She starts by writing 'fan mail' for her husband but then (for financial reasons) he asks her to take a stab at writing a novel, she does so about her own experiences growing up including details of romantic relations. He reads the first draft and adds some energy and glamour to this first attempt and this becomes a best-selling book, so much so that it's the start of a series. These erotic books are particularly popular with female readers. The husband is already an established author, but a serial philanderer, who didn't mind spending money he didn't have! He initially takes credit for Colette's work, but she resents this. The film charts their friction. Colette's later successful life is summarized during the end credits, with vintage black n white images (which is pretty standard). My wife liked this film, b...

Documentary drama. Laurel & Hardy were one of the world's greatest comedy double acts. As a child I remember their black n white TV features transmitted regularly in the UK. What I didn't know was that they fell from Hollywood mega stardom and came to England in the early 1950's to tour smaller venues in order to revive their careers and earn a living. Their wives were equally interesting characters, who later joined them for moral support. The impersonations of both characters were played perfectly, their famous mannerisms and voices were flawless, the chemistry between them was spot on, and their classic comedy routines were recreated impeccably. You never doubted for a moment that they were Stan and Ollie. This is a touching film that demonstrates the friendship these comic geniuses had for each other with some moving scenes, especially scenes about Ollie's failing health that made the lady sitting two seats to my right to cry. Highly recommended. 9/10

Animated adventure in the style of a comic in association with Marvel. This wasn't on my watch-list, but my wife had another appointment so I decided to go on my own, and I'm glad I did. This is a kind of origin movie. We see the introduction of a teenage hero. Just like the original Spider-man, the bite from a radioactive spider results in the transformation of a boy to a superhero. Multiple Spiderman characters from different dimensions need to combine forces to defeat the villain (Kingpin) - each of these deserve spin-off films of their own. Contains lots of tongue in cheek humour but is not a comedy, has a clever and interesting plot with some twists you won't see coming and some sad moments as well. Great whether you're a Spider-man fan or not. 8/10

Children's fantasy animated adventure. What a boring film, makes references to familiar internet games, familiar social media, shopping sites, iconic internet logos. To be honest a lot of this stuff is very foreign to me. However, my 8 year old granddaughter, which I presumed is the target audience, fidgeted almost throughout. A virus 'villain' is introduced to threaten the characters and their world. With so many references to eBay you could almost think that this film was sponsored by them! 3/10

Historical costume melodrama (based on actual events). I'm not familiar with the director or his previous films, but apparently the tone and atmosphere is a trademark of his work. Set in the 18th century, England is at war with France. During this period in history England always seemed to be at war with France. The film revolves around three women, Queen Anne (Coleman). Her closest advisor, Lady Churchill (Weisz) and the newly arrived, fallen from grandeur Abigail Masham (Stone). Abigail was previously a 'lady' and sees any devious association with the queen as a chance to return to her aristocratic past. Whatever you first think of Abigail at the beginning is turned on its head by the end. The film is a struggle for power and position. The end is a little weird and abrupt. (*** WARNING I'm not a great fan of the 'C' word, it's used a lot ***). 9/10

Musical - Sequel made 54 years after the original. This film is set in 1930's London, stars Emily Blunt, who plays the eccentric but stern upper class nanny. The original 'Banks' children have grown up with children of their own. The family are having financial problems, and close to losing their house. But also Mr Banks is really struggling with the recent loss of his wife. So not only grieving, but also with a very short deadline to repay his entire load as well. Mary Poppins is here to help, she flies down on a kite, arrives at the house and her entrance sent a shiver down by spine. This film maintains the look and spirit of the original, especially the hand drawn animated sequences. Look out for the lamplighters dance sequence and bathtub sequence, both look very familiar with catchy music. This is a great family film, a classic Disney musical that kept my 8 year old granddaughter (Mya) engaged throughout, she wanted to see the film almost immediately after - there...

Aquaman is an origin film of a half Anlantean half human hero, whose superpower is control of the sea. He battles his half-brother to be king, similar to the Lion King or Black Panther theme. To be triumphant he needs to first recover the all-powerful trident. The villain character is called Black Manta, he is created from underwater technology, and looking for revenge of his father's death that Aquaman was responsible for at the beginning of the film. These films are very like any DC / Marvel film that you've already seen. They all seem to blend into each other nowadays. Stay in your seat to see the customary post credit sneak peek of the forthcoming sequel. 6/10

Bank robber drama based on a true story. A disappointing film about an aged compulsive bank robber, similar atmosphere to 'Catch me if You Can'. At my screening the audience was mainly aged, older than me at least. The plot is an old gentleman who is addicted to robbing banks in a quiet, slow and polite manner. He's also escaped prison 17 times in the past, the breakouts are summarised towards the end. My wife fell asleep half way for 30-40 minutes but picked up the plot again without any problems. Looks like a 'made for TV movie' - definitely would not watch again. Very disappointing unless you're an insomniac! 5/10

The beginning is very like 'The Wolf of Wall Street', this film is also all about capitalism and greed. Our hero, Cassius is struggling to make end meet, he applies to be a telemarketer and quickly promoted to a 'Power Caller' - He discovers that senior management are exploiting its employees to generate more profit (you'll see how towards the end). The humour at the beginning turns into dark social commentary with lots of symbolism. I'm always apprehensive when a poster says 'the best film of the year by far' Well ... it's not the 'best', but very good and definitely different. 8/10