Noel Down

Barely tolerable, the only reason I didn't walk out was that I had a couple of hours to kill before a flight, so it was either the movies or the terminal. And I'm still not sure I made the right choice. Everything about this "movie" is wrong. - There's zero chemistry between Gosling and Blunt. - It's incredibly unevenly directed, shifting from full-on "Notebook" style melodrama, to a who done it, to a summer flick - The exposition dialogues are infuriatingly slow and unnecessarily detailed. Reynolds would've been cheeky enough to handle it. Gosling isn't. - This is a second Gosling movie (the previous one being Lalaland) that is obsessed with Hollywood meta, making it completely unrelatable - Talking about meta, the attempts at being "clever" are so in your face that there's nothing clever about them. Hilariously, they're poorly executed too. - Gosling can't act to save his skin and has no charisma to compensate for it. - The score is repetitive and boring to tears - The story line is laughable. - Action is predictable and boring. Even the stunts. I don't think I've seen an action movie that was so bad, so boring and so overrated probably since "Looper" all the way back in 2012.

I don't like anime. In fact, I deride it. Blue Eye Samurai is unlikely to change my opinion of anime in general because it simply isn't anime. It's a stunning exercise in visual storytelling. It's brilliant. Is it a new small screen art form? Maybe. Whatever it is, it's a masterpiece.

So Matthew Vaughn had a WWI epic in mind and decided to use it as a premise for a satirical Bond spoof prequel? Otherwise I have no idea what the heck I just watched. But despite all of its flaws it was still a solid 2 of 5. I mean it had none of the charm, the excitement and the tongue-in-cheek action of the first two, but I still managed to sit through it. But then the post-credits scene came up and it became a solid 1/5. What an insulting stinker.

On the one hand, there's nothing new about the story and the message. On the other, this little movie is a gem. Quirky and charming just like its protagonist, it has a spectacular cast led by Ben Kingsley, an easy-going story, natural dialogues, a homely feeling, and a relatable and important message.

Starts well as a throwback romcom, but within 20 minutes forgets what it is and becomes a hot bods "Home and Away" type Aussie soap. Gets worse and worse with every passing minute until you end up spending more time checking the watch and letting your mind wander than looking at the screen. Also I never thought the Sydney Opera House could be so annoying, but by the tenth time it appeared in background I couldn't stop myself from groaning "not again". 2/5 for the first 20 minutes, and some nice scenery.

Just like the main antagonist of the movie, Rian Johnson seems to think of himself as a genius while being nothing but a hack. From Looper to Star Wars to Glass Onion, Johnson is responsible for some real big budget stinkers, especially when he's involved in writing them. Glass Onion is a story that wouldn't look out of place as a forgetful Columbo episode, a script that tries too hard to be smart while being annoying ridiculous, with pacing and editing that make you want to keep fast forwarding, altogether making it for a barely watchable experience. The cast try their best, and there are some really good performances, but they aren't being helped by the lazy editing and the skull-numbing story line.

Matt Rife is channeling Sean William Scott's characters from early 2000's, not realising he's at least 20 years too late. It took me about 15 minutes into his special to realise why I haven't laughed even once. And the answer is simple. Matt is confidently cocky yet desperately unfunny, and his myopic material is completely unrelatable. Why he thought any of it would resonate with his audience is completely beyond me.

I think I just watched a male version of Tig Notaro. The audience is losing their mind at his material, but I just find myself staring at the screen wondering - what am I missing? It's like everyone in the audience drunk from the Shane Gillis Kool-aid making them laugh at the most mundane observations, repetitive bottom of the barrel jokes, and awkward pauses.

An amazing movie. A careful blend of history and dramatisation, with spectacular performances by an outstanding cast backed by inspired direction, fantastic effects and a poignant score. It somehow manages to avoid the usual hagiography traps and presents Oppenheimer as a complex, flawed person, and same can be said about his achievement. It's hard to single out one cast member, but Emily Blunt is absolutely outstanding. Look out for Gary Oldman's cameo. 5/5 or 10/10 or whatever you want to give it.

Clearly an adaptation of Fredrik Pohl's classic "The tunnel under the world", with a bit of blaxploitation sprinkled on top; this does hit all the right notes even though it fails to deliver a true message of substance, opting for a very uninsipiring ending instead. In fact, the climax of "Tyrone" feels like it was taken from a completely different movie, not really matching the rest of the movie stylistically or message-wise. Other than that, a solid 4, with some great acting, vibrant dialogue, and an awesome soundtrack.