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Surveillance
The Beatles
Eight Days a Week
Inspiring reminder of the sheer volume of trail blazing laid down by The Beatles.
22nd Jan 2017
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The Goonies
Seminal kids movie that I underrated in '85. Shot with an easy pace, until the free-swim at the end.
Halliwell says: The bottomless pit of the Spielberg genre, a silly tale which takes forever to get going and is acted by children who have not studied elocution. The trick effects when they come are OK, but it's a long annoying haul to that point.
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22nd Jan 2017
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A Bigger Splash
Glacially paced, pretentious arthouse fluff, that fritters away a potentially interesting set up.
21st Jan 2017
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Our Kind of Traitor
Unremarkable potboiler from Le Carre, with a disappointingly bland turn from Ewan McGregor.
17th Jan 2017
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Carol
Small scale period drama, anchored around strong central performances.
15th Jan 2017
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10 Cloverfield Lane
Ambitious small scale sci-fi that drags a bit before it all gets a bit wacky.
11th Jan 2017
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The Hateful Eight
Tarantino zeros in on the most-tedious-film-ever award. Someone get the guy a new editor.
7th Jan 2017
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Joy
Inventive ensemble drama, as David O. Russell takes another shot at Scorsese's crown. Great soundtrack too.
7th Jan 2017
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Batman vs Superman
Dawn of Justice
Mind-boggling, convoluted actioner that seems to have been written by picking ideas out of a hat.
4th Jan 2017
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Captain America
Civil War
Extended super hero punch up, not dissimilar to the news man brawls of 'Anchorman'.
1st Jan 2017
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The Jungle Book
Seamless CGI remake, lacking in humour and executed with the seriousness of LOTR or Apocalypse Now.
30th Dec 2016
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When Harry Met Sally
Text-book rom-com that rebooted the genre and set the template for the next 3 decades.
Halliwell says: Over a period of 12 years, a couple meet occasionally to debate whether there can be friendship without sex between a man and a woman.***
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26th Dec 2016
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Zootropolis
Decent enough animated parable from Disney. Lacking the usual emotional Pixar punch.
25th Dec 2016
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Rogue One
A Star Wars Story
Second viewing and it's still holding together well. The third act is incredible.
22nd Dec 2016
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ROGUE ONE
A STAR WARS STORY
Impeccable world building and a nail biting finale mark a solid expansion of the universe.
18th Dec 2016
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Bridge of Spies
Solid Cold War drama. Unfortunately lacking the impact of both Spielberg and Hanks' best.
18th Dec 2016
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Midnight Special
From 3 minutes in this was the best film I've seen in ages. Nostalgic indie sci-fi.
13th Dec 2016
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The Overnight
Arkward and occasionally hilarious Duplass-esque LA comedy. And only 75m long.
26th Nov 2016
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Spotlight
Worthy, watertight journo movie. Full of great performances, but staying well between the lines.
21st Nov 2016
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Triple 9
Derivative, badly cast cops + robbers pic. A pale imitation of Heat, without the style or performances.
12th Nov 2016
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Everybody Wants Some
Glacially paced re-hash/follow up to Dazed and Confused, with moments of fun. Great music.
11th Nov 2016
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Deadpool
Stupid action movie that never stops winking at the audience.
4th Nov 2016
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The Nice Guys
LA Confidential meets The Big Lebowski in the best way possible. Great turns from Reynolds and Crowe.
4th Nov 2016
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The Magnificent Seven
A classic story and allstar cast, but John Sturges' vintage western seems slow and dated now.
Halliwell says: Popular western based on the Japanese Seven Samurai; good action scenes, but the rest is verbose and often pretentious.**
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2nd Nov 2016
Read more 3.5 star reviews
13 Hours
Beard-heavy special ops bloodbath, with more than a passing nod to the equally impartial Black Hawk Down.
26th Oct 2016
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Black Mass
Boring, meandering re-tread of The Departed. Wannabe Scorcese, with a typically OTT Johnny Depp.
19th Oct 2016
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The Big Short
Smart-ass financial drama. OTT Bale, reasonable turn from Pitt, Reynolds steals the show.
2nd Oct 2016
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The Day After
Terrifying post-nuclear drama. Dated to the mood of its era, but still effectively realistic.
30th Sep 2016
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Room
Intense indie drama. Pacing is a little lopsided, but the sentiment and strong performances carry it through.
24th Sep 2016
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Steve Jobs
Electrifying script, captivating performances and effortless, accomplished direction. Outstanding.
18th Sep 2016
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Magnum Force
It's only episode 2, but it's Dirty-Harry-by-numbers. Luckily those numbers still add up to something.
Halliwell says: Toned-down sequel to Dirty Harry; the violence is still there but the hero no longer commits it.
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18th Sep 2016
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Pete's Dragon
Superior kids movie. ET meets King Kong. Bit slow, but ten times deeper than the wafer thin original.
1st Sep 2016
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Keeping Rosy
Half baked British thriller. Some decent ideas, but it's all a bit studenty.
28th Aug 2016
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Pan
Another disastrous Peter Pan reboot. Nonsensical gibberish, trying to capture some Baz Luhrmann weirdness.
18th Aug 2016
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Dope
Super sharp teen movie, bursting with style and originality and loaded with an impeccable soundtrack.
17th Aug 2016
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Beginners
Thoughtful, creative, mainstream indie from Mike Mills. Lovingly performed and put together.
8th Aug 2016
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20,000 Days on Earth
Pretty standard music promo from Nick Cave - extended to feature, executed with superior style.
3rd Aug 2016
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Self/Less
Modern tut, disposing with the style of 'Seconds', science of 'Primer' and even the action of 'Face/Off'.
3rd Aug 2016
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Contact
Ambitious 90s sci-fi. Not entirely successful, but it has a seriousness and scale that's rarely seen today.
2nd Aug 2016
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Everest
Tension free wander up and down the mountain. Everybody plays it worthy, only Gyllenhaal vaguely impresses.
23rd Jul 2016
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Mission Impossible
Rogue Nation
Collection of tired Hitchcockian set pieces, with very little tying them together.
11th Jul 2016
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Samsara
It's familiar ground , but this Baraka sequel hypnotises with embarrassing images of poverty and consumerism.
26th Jun 2016
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Macbeth
Ambitious, arty, sumptuous take on the old classic. I still got a bit lost but Fassbender remains entrancing.
18th Jun 2016
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Monsters Dark Continent
Money grabbing sequel that ups production value and bypasses the charm of the original.
9th Jun 2016
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Legend
Tom Hardy gives two 1-note performances in this dull, derivative Goodfellas wannabe.
9th Jun 2016
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Trainwreck
Enjoyable modern comedy, but it's bloated by improv and missing the magic ingredient. And no Paul Rudd.
29th May 2016
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Southpaw
Cookie cutter boxing pic that can't decide if it's ripping off Rockie, Raging Bull or Million Dollar Baby.
8th May 2016
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101 Dalmatians
Dated effort from 60s Disney, sacrificing production value for cheap gags.
Halliwell says: Disney's last really splendid feature cartoon, with the old flexible style cleverly modernized and plenty of invention and detail in the story line. The London backgrounds are especially nicely judged.**
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8th May 2016
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Far from the Madding Crowd
Surprisingly straight adaptation from Vinterberg. Shapeless, but with a few nice moments.
7th May 2016
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48 Hours
Dated buddy cop movie that wrote many of today's movie cliches. Dated, but still brutal and funny.
16th Apr 2016
Read more 4 star reviews