Movie review - "Deep Water" (2022) **1/2

 Adrian Lyne returns to the movies - not exactly the big screen, but with a tale in his wheelhouse: sexual jealousy. It's made with polish and some excellent actors - Affleck and Ana de Armas are genuine stars.

I think the story would've had more resonance if still set in the 1950s - I'm sure kinkiness still goes on, I just think the reality of why you'd be stuck in that marriage when it didn't please you would've "sold" more.

The discovery of a dead body doesn't happen until an hour into the film. De Armas takes probably two too many lovers (after a while it's like "alright already"). And I think the ending of the book was more believable.

Tracy Letts is great as an all too believable self important writer. Very good cast. Affleck and de Armas are terrific - Affleck has all this pain on his face, and you'd put up a lot for de Armas.

Movie review - "Blonde" (2022) **1/2

I loved how the film got people arguing about a movie again, as in it's the foyer of a film festival. The music is divine. The photography. Many of the images have stayed with me. It's long. Don't think it needed to be. It makes the same point again and again - she was mistreated by men. And her crazy mother.

People say it's made up. Well, a lot of it could've happened. Joe di Maggio did beat her. Zanuck could've raped her. She could've had a fling with JFK.  You didn't head the head job scene, I don't think. I know why it was there. I just didn't think it didn't need to be.

It was a slog at times, it was hard at times. I get why people don't like it. But it stimulated me.

Ana de Armas is terrific.

Movie review - "The Grey Man" (2022) **

 Tired. A tough agent with a moral code. A female agent with a moral code. A psycho agent. A tough boss. Two tough bosses. A cute kid who is sick. Big titles indicating different locations.  Very familiar action sequences. No one has a character to play everyone is a type. Torture. Dull action scenes.  Unsatisfactory resolution.

Movie review - "No Time to Die" (2021) **** (warning: spoilers)

 Some of this ranks with top level Bond - the gloom, the references to On Her Majesty's Secret Service (including a reprise of "We Have All The Time in the World"), the new 007 (I loved that), the locations, Bond's dream house in Jamaica, Ana de Armas' Cuban agent, the acting, Remi Malek's villain, the action scenes.

The debits are clear and frustrating because so avoidable. Well, in a way. Lea Seydoux is gorgeous, can act and I loved her character and the romanticism of her relationship with Bond... but she looks so much younger than Daniel Craig it's like he's romancing his daughter. It never goes away. If only Monica Belluci had played this part in Spectre. Or they'd recast. But I guess they had to double down on a bad decision.

I didn't like that they killed off Felix Leiter. I guess they figured they needed motivation but if you can't get motivation in a film where Bond finds out he has a daughter... I mean, seriously?

The third act is a mess. And this was easy to fix. Just have them discover the plan, and the island, the world leaders get together (why keep it a secret, really? I know they try to explain it by having it be a secret British operation but it wasn't necessary), they decided to blow up the island, they need to open the hatch, Bond asks if he can extract his daughter and Seydoux, so you have a ticking clock I wish they'd brought along de Armas for the final attack. She was fun. The ending is messy. Malek is there, then he's gone, then he conveniently comes back.

And the death. It's a cheat. Because you know he's coming back and a missile hits him. They didn't even set up a clever "out". It's enough he can't see the woman he loves and his kid again. That's enough. Death is a cheat.

I think I could spot some Phoebe Waller-Bridge bits like the Ana de Armas being a bit ditsy and the associate of Leiter gushing over Bond. I could be wrong.

Movie review - "Knives Out" (2019) ***1/2

I get why Rian Johnson is so beloved by film buffs - his films are full of references to other movies and they tend to have a clearly understood theme which is spelt out; they are also generally entertaining to watch and he seems like a lovely guy.

This is a homage to Agatha Christie murder mysteries - but also Hitchcock and Anthony Schaeffer and that whole genre, complete with an all star cast, an old dark house, a will reading, a corpse. It's a bit over long and wobbly in places -I keep wishing Johnson would use a co writer - and could have used more spooky stuff like the body in the cellar, but is smart and I'm delighted a non comic book movie did so well at the box office.

There's lots of close ups of Ana de Armas' face reacting to things -Johnson really loves putting her center of the frame - she is the leading person more so than Daniel Craig, who has a high old time with his Mississippi  accent as the detective.

Excellent support from Don Johnson (having a career renaissance with this and Watchmen),  Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Plummer, Chris Evans... actually everyone is good.

Movie review - "Blade Runner 2049" (2017) ***1/2

The original wasn't very popular at the box office, you know! Just saying! Because it was confusing in a lot of places - even with the voice over (which I've got to say I liked) and often gloomy. It's reputation has risen and risen in recent years and it's now a classic.

So it was brave of them to tackle a sequel - and they did it very well. Harrison Ford is back, as well as Edward James Olmos and a re-enactment of Sean Young.

I liked Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, David Bautista, Lennie James and Ana de Armas as his fake girlfriend. Jared Leto was fine. I didn't like Sylvia Hoeks as the assassin replicant - her scenes felt tonally off, like they were from a more stock action film. Denis Villeneuve is a very good director.

There are some stunning visuals and scenes - the opening worm farm, the orphanage, the final battle. There were a frustrating amount of unanswered questions - no resolution to the fate of Leto, or the status of the revolution.

It's a very good movie, and there's much to be proud of. I never got wrapped up in it the way I did the original. It lacks a scene with the emotional power of Rutger Hauer's final moments, or the pace and suspense that comes from tracking down people who may or may not be robots.