Stephen Bowler

FOREGOTTEN LOVE (2023) Captivating..Charming..Emotional Just a wonderfully driven emotional film of lost love and lost memories, of an eminent surgeon Proffessor Rafal Wilczur, played just wonderfully by (Leszek Lichota) he has a deep love for his family especially his adorable daughter Marysia, and with his wife Beata wanting for nothing but very unhappy in her marriage, as her love lies elsewhere.. While the Professor is out working at his practice, on his return home he finds his wife has packed her bags and gone, taking their young daughter Marysia with her.. Proffessor Rafal overcome with grief, goes looking for his wife and daughter in a deprived part of the city, and there he is set opon and mugged, and then just dissappears, and after weeks and months pass, with no sign of the Proffessor, people start to believe and assume the Proffessor is dead... And from there the Proffessor who is still alive, and so begins a journey and a wonderful story, of a man now with his lost memories, and so now calls himself Antoni Kosiba... As the years pass, Antoni Kosiba now a wandering vagrant, picking up work here and there, then by chance on his travels he meets Zoŝka, played just superbly by (Anna Szymańczyk) Zośka who owns and runs a corn mill, she offers Antoni a job, and there he stays and works, when fate plays out and takes its wonderful magical course, as Antoni Kosiba doesn't realise, but he now lives and works in the same community of his now beautiful grown up daughter Marysia, played just wonderfully by (Maria Kowalska) With just terrific camerawork throughout this film, showing stunning countryside scenery, and with every actor playing their wonderful memorable roles, just making this film a beautiful alround watch, all accompanied by beautiful enchanting music throughout, and finishing with a wonderful emotional ending... And finnally on a nostalgic note for me, this beautiful movies structure and story telling style, reminded me of a few wonderful old period films of yesteryear... Of interest... Over 2300 people worked on this beautiful film, with over 1700 extras needed and participating on this production... This movie adapted from a famous Polish cult novel (Znachor)... Filming locations were entirely in Poland, with the towns and cities such as Zgierz, Lublin, Nieboròw, Falenty and Glowno being used... This movie reached the film charts top 10 in 59 countries not long after its release in 2023...

GREENLAND (2020) Captivating..Thrilling..Tense Finding a good movie is such an enjoyable passtime for me, i just love finding a good watch and being emotionally invested for the night, and this movie catered for all my needs... Greenland (2020) A world extinction disaster event movie, but what sets this movie apart from all the other disaster movies for me, is the human storyline of the events that play out... As this films story is as real as it gets, and could realistically and possibly happen... John Garrity a structural building Engineer, played by (Gerrad Butler) has been selected by those powers that be, recieves an emergency mobile alert, telling him to get himself and his immediate family to the nearest designated evacuation airport, his friends and neighbours receiving no such alert... (Comet Clarke) has been tracked racing through our solar system, and has been calculated to slam into Earth, and with fragments of this comet being large enough to cause a massive worldwide extinction event, so humanity has to act and be saved... John and his wife Alison, and their young son Nathon aged 7, make their way to the airport, but unfortunately it doesn't all go as planned, as John and his wife are unintentionally split up, the storyline then follows both John and his wife Alison and their son, showing the ugly side of humanity, preceding this cataclysmic comet event... A wonderfully driven emotional movie at times, with Alison (Morena Baccarin) and John (Gerrad Butler) acting out some wonderfully touching scenes, with young Nathon (Roger Dale Floyd) just adding captivating depth in their journey to safety... This storyline also showing upsetting life ending scenes, of people taking and doing dreadful unimaginable actions, as it dawns on them their fate, and having not being chosen to be evacuated.. With just terrific Computer-Generated Imagery, of explosions and of Comet Clarke, and with amazing camerawork throughout this movie, with each and every actor playing their parts just wonderfully, in the making of this thrilling movie.. And finishing with an emotional ending, and certainly a film that sticks in the memory, and really did make me think, as if this scenario was ever to happen in reality, I for one know i will not receive that mobile emergency text alert, but never the less, I'll definitely be watching this terrific movie once again... Of interest... The US airforce was a huge help in the making of this film, with the extensive use of a military base and military equipment, and also military personnel... Despite the title Greenland, the final scenes were actually filmed in Iceland, with Icelands famous Skògafoss waterfall shown in one of the final scene's.. A sequal is in the pipeline scheduled for early 2026, with the title being Greenland Migration, so I'm really looking forward to that...

IREANA`S VOW (2023) Upsetting..Remarkable..Intense Sometimes you watch a film that just leaves you opened mouthed with astonishment, this movie did that and more, it stands alone as a good watch, but what elevates this movie for me, is the fact this film is adapted from a true story.. (Ireane Gut Opdyke) played wonderfully by (Sophie Nélisse) as a young 19 year old Polish nurse, who witnessed the brutal horrors of the German oppression of the Polish people during the 2nd world war, and made a Vow to herself to do something positive, and when the opportunity presents itself, Ireane saves the lives of 12 Jewish people, hiding them in the basement of a Germans officers large Polish house, seized by the Germans in the Polish City of Tarnopol (Now Ternopil in Ukraine) Ireane serves as a personal domestic Housekeeper, looking after high ranking German officer (Major Eduard Rűgemer) played superbly by (Dougrey Scot) Ireane serving this officer and organising multiple house parties, knowing 12 people are hiding in the basement, and if caught, all including Ireane would be put to death immediately.. Remarkably, Ireane kept her story quiet for decades after the war, before revealing it in the (1970s) Sadly Ireane passed away in (2003) but this films ending, shows photo's of many of real life people portrayed in this movie, and a wonderful video clip of this remarkable lady (Ireane Gut Opdyke) meeting (Roman Haller) the unborn child she saved, by insisting too the hiding group of 12, in keeping an unplanned pregnancy.. Of interest.. This films locations were shot in Warsaw and Lublin in Poland... With the war coming to an end, Ireane fled into the forest where she suffered further hardships, and being imprisoned by Soviet troops.. She was falsely accussed of callaboration with the Germans... She later emigrates to the United States.. In Ireanes late life, her faith being Catholic, she was recieved by (Pope John Paul 11) and given a papel blessing for her heroism, one of many befitting tributes given to this extrodanary and remarkable lady...

ME BEFORE YOU (2016) Emotional..Heartbreaking..Quirky After watching this movie i decided not to pen a review and share, so i moved on.. Then after rewatching this film many months later, I found my decision not to review rather puzzling, as this was such an enjoyable nights watch, and invested me from start to finish, i must of been having a bad day, with this storyline being respectful, but also joyful funny and heartbreaking of equal measures, and with all the actors, some being household names, just playing their roles wonderfully in the portrayals of their characters.. Louisa Clark, played just extraordinarily by (Emilia Clarke) a lovely bubbly quirky young woman, with a dress sense all of her own, and one of those rare lovely souls, who you never hear saying a bad word about anyone or anything. Louisa looking for a job to help her family, money being tight as Dad Bernard having lost his job, and those bills never stop coming through that letterbox.. Then Louisa (Lou) gets a job as a carergiver for a disabled young man Will Traynor, played also extraordinarily by (Sam Claflin) Will Traynor, the son of Steven and Camillia Traynor, a well known wealthy family living on a large family estate.. Will Traynor, a young man in his prime, is hit by a motorbike while crossing the road, he suffers a terrible life changing spinal injury, paralysing him and unable to use his limbs and torso, a condition known as quadriplegic, and needing to have constant care... As Louisa nervously starts her new caregiving job, looking after Will and learning on the job, and with the breaking down of very difficult emotional boundaries, as Lou starts and tries to win over Wills confidence and approval, but Will making it very difficult and uncomfortable for Lou from the start... A heart warming emotional film, and dealing with many difficult emotional scenario's, of love loss and assisted suicide... Of interest... This film being a adaption of the author Jojo Moyses novel, the author was inspired to write this book by real life events.. With Pembroke castle in Wales, and Wytham Abbey in Oxfordshire England, being two historical scene filming locations... In this novel by Jojo Moyses, Louisa (Lou) gets a Bumblebee tattoo, and Actor (Emelia Clarke) enjoyed her role so much, she herself also gets a small Bumblebee tattoo, to commemorate this wonderful movie.. (Sam Claflin) prepared extensively for his role as the quadriplegic Will Traynor, losing a significant amount of weight and muscle mass, also studying and asking disabled individuals their experiences and emotional feelings and difficulties, who were more than happy to help Sams understanding, of their everyday difficulties, just showing Sam Clafins wonderful dedication he has for his craft...

THE TIME TRAVELLERS WIFE (2009) Emotional..Romantic..Devotion Having read the book The Time Travellers Wife, and watched the (2009) film adaption of the same title, I really enjoyed author Audrey Niffenegger novel, but i was totally and utterly blown away with the movie, and to date after buying this movie for my collection, I've lost count of my watch tally, but still it emotionally grabs me, and plays with everyone of my emotions every time, and oh!! that Movie ending, just wonderful... With terrific performances from (Rachel McAdams) as Clare, and (Eric Bana) as Henry, both playing and having just a wonderful chemistry, and making their scenes just wonderfully captivating and emotional, and that bedroom marriage proposal scene, just being a terrific peice of acting, which continues throughout this movie.. With time travel at its heart, as Henry with a genetic anomaly, making him travel through time, to various points in his life, meeting his younger self, his wife to be and his mother on the train, and with just emotional endearing scenes when their daughter Alba appears, through time travel and eventually her birth.. As this Movies storyline plays out, and with every actor playing their terrific memorable roles, all accompanied by beautiful emotional music throughout, that just catches those joyous and heart breaking scenes just perfectly.. And with amazing camerawork throughout this film, and terrific emotional scenes, just prepare yourself for those joyful and heartbreaking penultimate scenes, and that beautifully shot meadow scenery ending, that will just leave you in an emotional awe, just a wonderful beautiful movie in every sence of the words.. Of interest... Henry and Clares daughter Alba, were played by real life sisters Hailey and Tatum McCann, Hailey playing Alba 9-10 years of age, and Tatum playing 4-5 years of age.. Brooklynn Proulx played young Clare in the meadow aged 6 meeting Henry... Alex Ferris played young Henry aged 6, in the car with his mother.. All those adorable children playing their parts just wonderfully, and now all immortalised in this wonderful movie forever..

I'M YOUR WOMAN (2020) Absorbing..Thrilling..Suspense Like a fine wine, my patience has matured over the years, and with this movie starting at a gentle pace, probably a few years back, i might of (Stop/Deleted) this movie, and what an enjoyable night's watch i would of missed... So now blessed with an abundance of patience, and this films storyline gradually gaining momentum, as a passive demure housewife Jean, played wonderfully by (Rachel Brosnahan) at home waiting for her husband Eddie, played by (Bill Heck) who she clearly loves and dotes on... Eddie a rough round the edges demeanour, has a serious gangster life, leading to a secrecy that Jean is prepared to put up with.. Eddie then comes home with a baby, telling Jean, he's ours now, what name do you want to call him.. As the weeks pass, Jean is struggling but managing with her new baby Harry. Then one day, Eddie out at work doesn't come home, then in the middle of the night, Jean is woken up by loud banging on the door, its Jimmy one of Edies friends, frantically telling Jean, pack your bags grab the kid, you've got to go. Outside a driver is waiting, another friend of Eddies called Cal, Jean and Harrys life take a disturbing twist, and they are now on the run.. With just a terrific storyline, that increases in intensity, and with some disturbing scenes, as Jean starts to find and figure out more about what's going on, all the while on the run, and caring and looking after Harry her new baby, with the help of Eddies friends Cal, played superbly by (Arinze Kene) as he helps Jean and Harry, but all the while evading some ofJean's questioning about Eddie, and why are they on the run.. Just a wonderful film, that held my attention from start to finish, full of intrigue and tension, and with just wonderfully shot scenes throughout, as this 1970s vibe film, navigates through some wonderful twists and turns, and leading to a drive away ending, that is just wide open for a sequal, but sadly, no sequal is in the pipeline... Just a wonderful movie for me, and a gem of movie I love to find or stumble on... Of interest.. This film being a wonderful look and focus on the wife of the criminal, very often and usually overlooked in crimes stories of this nature.. A great deal of detail went into the clothing and feel of that 1970s vibe, done just wonderfully as i recognised some of my clothing choices of the 70s, oh dear!! (Rachel Brosnahan) who played Jean, was also the producer with Jordan Horowitz.. Director Julia Hart, who co wrote also with Jordan Horowitz.

HEADS OF STATE (2025) Enjoyable..Chaotic..Very Funny This movie is just a wonderful chaotic blend of comedy and enjoyable acting, with just wonderfully choreographed scenes, I was soon hooked, and finding myself laughing out loud on many occasions.. A movie star President of the USA, and Priminster of the U.K, having a mutual contempt and dislike for each other, which regularly spills over on live tv and public events... With (Idris Elba) as Priminster Sam Clarke, and (John Cena) as President Will Derringer, find themselves unexpectedly thrust together, and both surviving an assassination attempt on the presidents jet Air force one, and parachuting to safety into a Belarusian forest.. Meanwhile in the city of Buñol Spain, an MI6 agent Noel Bisset, played superbly by (Priyanka Chopra) while on a secret mission, she survives and escapes a terrorist attack, but with all parties thinking she is dead, the perfect undercover situation, Bisset is able to uncover a worldwide politics destabilising plot, that involves the dissolving of Nato, resulting in the world spiraling into worldwide chaos.. So now the race is on, with a flourish of comedy capers, the Priminster and President, and MI6 agent Noel Bisset, have to get to the Heads of state summit gathering, taking place in the City of Trieste Italy, and expose this worldwide plot, all the while being pursued by malevolent and vengeful people.. With just terrific camerawork, and wonderful Computer-generated imagery (cgi) that just adds a touch of reality, and with every actor playing their part, in the making of this movie, and what really screams out to me, is every actor enjoying themselves, while acting out their humorous scenes, as i can imagine one or two retakes being taken due to actors fits of laughter.. Yes a thoroughly fun enjoyable watch for me, and I'm hoping a sequel is already in the pipeline... Of interest.. Filming locations included London and Liverpool in the Uk, Belgrade in Serbia, Trieste in Italy and Nice in France... The world famous Spanish tomatoes throwing festival in Buñol, was recreated in the village of Sospel Southern France... Observant viewers of the film, noted a mistake in this movie.. The lorry full of sheep where the President and Priminster are hiding scene, with sheep only having two nipples, but the funny nipple scene shows four cow nipples, nevertheless a very entertaining scene all the same...

PASSENGERS (2016) Enjoyable..Romantic..Sci-Fi It never ceases to amaze me when I stumble on an enjoyable film, which I know i have flicked passed probably a few hundred times in the pursuit of a good watch.. This Passenger's titled movie, has just a wonderful human story, about an ordinary man Jim Preston, played superbly by (Chris Pratt) Jim a passenger on the Spaceship Avalon, who has sort a new life as a hands on engineer, to help build a new colony called Homestead 2, on a new habitable earth like planet, but unfortunately it all goes badly wrong, as Jims hibernation pod malfunctions, and wakes Jim up early in the 30th year of the spaceship Avalons 120 year journey.. Jim searches this huge spaceship only to find he is all alone, all except for an android bar tender called Arthur, played wonderfully by (Michael Sheen) and being Jims only source of one on one conversation.. With 4999 people, and 258 crew members, all still fast asleep in their hibernation pods, Jim excepts his situation, with 90 years of this spaceships journey still to go, he starts to enjoy the ships benefits, and using all the facilities that are avaliable to him.. As the months pass, Jim starts to feel an over whelming sense of lonelinoess, that sends him spiraling down into a deep dark depression, then one day after a failed attempt of ending his nightmare, he walks pass a hibernation pod, and a beautiful woman catches his eye, this young woman fast asleep in her pod, looking totally peacefull and serene, This young woman called Aurora, played just wonderfully by (Jennifer Lawrence) Aurora Lane, a journalist and writer, her dream to be the first journalist to travel there and back to Earth and write a fantastic story of her Homestead 2 visit.. Jim now just desperately lonely, short circuits Aurora's pod, and she wakes up early, but she has no idea why her hibernation pod has malfunctioned like Jims, or so she thinks.. As this terrific storyline plays out, of lies deception and love, that just keeps your attention from start to finish, and with just stunning breathtaking cinematography views, of the spaceship Avalon and surrounding cosmos, making this movie just a terrific all round watch.. So what about Aurora Lane, well Aurora doesn't know this yet, but she is going to be the author of the most fantastical story, about how a hands on Engineer Jim Presscot and herself meet, fall in love, and save the lives of 5255 people, probably one of humanitys greatest ever stories to have been told and wrote about, and just maybe even turned into a movie.. Of interest... The spaceship Avalons a.i.voice, was provided by voice over artist Emma Clarke, who is better known for her (Mind The Gap) voice on London underground.. The spacesuit scene where Jim and Aurora kiss, the first shot of that scene, was when they both realised it was one hell of a problem to deliver that kiss due to their spacesuits, but their reactions were so enjoyable and funny, that very scene was kept in the film...

COLD MEAT (2023) Horror..Suspense..Tense Finding movies that get me truly invested are just a pleasure I always look forward too, for me this movie did that and more. Starting at a gentle pace then slowly ramping up, and eventually getting me to the edge of my seat, and there i stayed until the end credits started rolling. With wonderfully filmed scenes and terrific twists and turns, with the first twist I just didn't see coming, it totally flipped this film a complete 180° you'll definitely know what scene I'm talking about, and from there on, my edgy emotions were played like a tennis ball being bashed by two equally matched opponents, as this bleak snow bound shot scenery movie, played out its harrowing tense scenes.. With just superb performances from (Allen Leech) as David.. and (Nina Bergman) as Ana.. acting out their terrific roles, as this tense driven movie, navigates to it's frightening finale... Yes just a wonderful movie that kept me fixated from start to finish, and certainly left an impression in the memory.. Note to self.. Not to watch Horrors so close to my bedtime.. Of interest.. Cold Meat premiered Aug 2023 at Londons Frightfest festival.. Directed by Sébastien Drouin.. This film being shot in only 13 days.. The Cryptid creature the Wendigo, from North American native people folklore

ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET (2023) Moving..Captivating..Amusing Just a charming endearing film, about a young girl Margaret and her family. A film that will make you smile and laugh, and also move you, as you find yourself getting truly invested in many of the wonderful colourful characters. A coming of age film, and shown through the eye's of this young eleven year old girl Margaret, when her life is turned upside down, mum and dad decide to move house. Margaret upset of the thought of leaving her city school and friends, turns to God and prays for guidance and help, but more importantly to her, an intervention.. Like alot of situations in life, the thought is far worse than the actual, and Margaret soon starts to make friends, and with just wonderfully shot endearing scenes, as Margaret starts navigating her way through the intricacies of a young girls life, but all the while, quietly praying and confiding with God.. Margaret, played just superbly by (Abby Ryder) she dearly loves her Grandma Sylvia, a truly funny force of nature, played just wonderfully by (Kathy Bates) With Margaret's Dads faith being Jewish and mum being Christian, but both relaxed about the whole religious situation, telling Margaret she can pick her religion when she's older, so Margaret starts exploring the various religions, and being very grown up about it all, when the grandparents get involved, needless to say, Margaret's world is turned upside down once again. With no more spoilers from me, this movie is just a wonderful enjoyable watch, with beautifully shot scene's, and with each and every actor playing their terrific part, in the making of this enchanting movie, just a truly enjoyable watch for me... Of interest This film being adapted from a book, and written by author Judy Blume.. Judy had a cameo appearance in the film, being a neighbour walking a dog..