Movie review - "Masters of the Universe" (2026) **

 I can see what they were going for - tongue in cheek a la Guardians of the Galaxy. But there's no heart here and the actors aren't up to it at least not the leads. 

Movie review - "Minecraft" (2025) ****

 A wonderous movie full of imagination and genuine flair. The spirit of Terry Gilliam in the best way. Some of Hollywood's top hams - Jack Black, Jason Mamoa, Jennifer Coolidge - having the time of their lives.

Movie review - "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986) ****1/2 (re-watching)

 Fun. So Howard Hawks. Wonderful teams. Engaging. Can't believe it wasn't a hit. Kim Catrall so funny. Ditto Kurt Russell. Everyone.

Movie review - "Made in Heaven" (1987) **1/2

 Alan Rudolph tries studio filmmaking and turns it into an independent film. This cost a lot of money but it didn't have to - it would be better if it was cheaper. Tim Hutton falls for Kelly McGillis in Heaven and tries to find her in the real world.

Debra Winger is an angel, Ellen Berkin is a devil. Tom Petty pops up as does Neil Young.

The movie has a compelling dream like state. There's a structural issue in the second half as both characters draft along in Earth waiting to meet. In Sleepless in Seattle Meg Ryan knew about Tom Hanks and tried to meet him, and discuss him; he came into contact with her. Here Kelly McGillis has relationships with Tim Daly and another guy. Hutton drifts. It's frustrating. It's like they don't deserve true love or something.

Best bit is Hutton meeting his own parents. 

Movie review - "Time Bandits" (1981) *****

 I didn't like this much as a child because I wanted it to be a Monty Python film when it's an adventure movie. Watching it years later it's just a wonderful piece of work, Terry Gilliam at his peak, beautifully complemented by Michael Palin. The lead kid is fine, the little people are terrific, the cameos splendid - Shelley Duvall is as good as Palin and Cleese - Sean Connery gives it heart. The second half felt more Gilliam than Palin - he's in his element. The imagination is lovely - the boat on the top of the giant's head, the swinging rope in the dark. Dave Warner a lot of fun, so too Ralph Richardson.

It's a terrific film. Has aged incredibly well.

Movie review - "Gremlins" (1984) *****

 So much fun. It simply works. The concept, the rules, the anarchy, the cast. Zach Galligan is warm and likeable, Phoebe Cates is wonderful, the creatures full of personality, Dick Miller steals every scene he's in. Joe Dante really brought it all together. Jerry Goldsmith's jaunty score.

Movie review - "Avatar: Fire and Ash" (2025) **1/2

 Gorgeous visuals. Excellent action scenes. Acting fine. Knows how to pull at the heart strings. Too long. Feels choppy. Endless subplots. I nodded off and at one stage thought I was seeing the first movie, with similar action sequences, whales, and Brendan Cowell (didn't he die? Why bring him back? Can't they kill anyone these days?)

Full of unresolved plots - like the general, the nasty tribal leader (great character). I'm not even sure Stepheh Lang and Brendan Cowell are dead, they keep bringing people back.

They should've attacked the human base at the end.  And Spider is more trouble than he's worth.

Better that they'd wrapped this up. 

Movie review - "Dreamchild" (1985) ***

 Interesting. Three strands - Alice Liddell (Coral Browne) arrives in New York and gett s a lot of publicity for being Alice and her companion has a dull romance with a journalist Peter Gallaher). There's also young Alice inspiring Lewis Carroll (Ian Holm) who is a little lecherous towards her. And trippy scenes where young and old Alice have tea with characters from Alice in Wonderland - these are the best thing in the film.

This doesn't entirely work but it's made with skill.

Expensive - all those extras at the speech at the end, and scenes of people dancing. Didn't have to be. 

Dennis Potter wrote it. 

Movie review - "One More Shot" (2025) **1/2

 Sweet, if over-familiar time loop comedy with Emily Browning taking shots that bring her back to the start of the night and it's New Year's Eve. Starts off a little wonkily and maybe doesn't develop all its subplots and support characters well (eg lesbian couple) but gets better as it goes along.

Movie review - "Excalibur" (1981) ****

 Silly but fun. Great integrity. Tremendous cast of future stars but it's Helen Mirren who steals the show. Great spookiness. They could've made Arthur and Percy look more different.

Movie review - "Dragonslayer" (1981) **

 Classic Ron Miller era of Disney - great idea, technically accomplished, good story, lousy execution. Perfectly simple story - village under threat by dragon, king sacrifices women to dragon... but it's confusing to watch. I wasn't sure where it was set, or who we were following or the rules. Ralph Richardson disappeared then came back, they were following the travelling group then not. The film just needed to say things straight up - open with the sacrificial woman being killed, establish the girl dressed as a boy is a girl and say why, have them meet... 

The princess is so nice and her death is a downer. What's at stake? The dragon attacks the village anyway yes? Why does Peter Macnicol need to go on his own once the princess is threatened?

Just a mess. This needed a script exec riding shotgun. 

Movie review - "Mad About Men" (1954) **

 Sequel to Miranda isn't as good although from the team of Ralph Thomas and Betty Box and with Glynis Johns and Margaret Rutherford reprising their roles, plus colour.

This had tremendous potential. The idea is very good: Miranda, the mermaid, decides to swap places with a lookalike distant cousin, then sees a photo of said cousin's fiancee and decides her relative can do better and goes around seducing men.

But the story is wonky. Miranda needed to focus on Donald Sinden, who is a rich fisherman (playing it in leading man mode, serious and dreamy, with dyed blonde hair)... he should have had Anne Crawford as fiancee. Also she needed to genuinely love someone. There's nothing at stake. There needed to be more differences between the two Johns' characters - the landlubber needed to be more of a presence. Miranda needed to love Sinden, who needed a fiancee to wreck things.  Get Miranda's friends out of the water.  Use the dull Johns character more.

This film could've been good. It's not.  It's also hollow because Miranda pretends to be her cousin to get the guy but he falls for Miranda, right? So he's not with the girl he thinks he's with?

These Rank movies of the 1950s were so frustrating. This one especially because it's a rare film driven by a woman.

Movie review - "The Undead" (1957) **** (re-watch)

 Oh the rating is too high but I love this film. It's ambitious, its spookiness, the quality of its script, the dialogue - Griffith said Corman cut out the iambic pentameter but there's a bit in there. Acting quality varies - Richard Garland slightly OTT, Pamela Duncan is okay but Alison Hayes is wonderful and Val Dufour a great slimy shrink plus Mel Welles has the time of his life as a gravedigger.

It throws in dancing girls, Satan, a little person (Billy Barty), witches.  The ending has emotional power with Duncan giving up her life.

Movie review - "Wicked" (2024) ****

 Extremely well directed - John Chu deserves more kudos than he gets. A real film. It's opened up. Leans in to the benefits of filmmaking in 2024 with animatronic animals and so on. Gets points fot giving the juiciest role to a relative unknown Cynthia Erivo - who will no longer be unknown. Ariana Grande is more limited but is perfectly cast so it doesn't matter.

Gorgeous colours. Gutsy story. I did feel the momentum dropped when they got on the train - the film could've ended there really (as it was the end of the emotional connection between the two leads). 

Jonthan Bailey seems to channel Rupert Everett - a good thing for the role.

Movie review - "Heaven Only Knows" (1947) **

 Angel fantasy which had more potential - Bob Cummings is an angel sent down to reform Brian Donlevy who has grown up bad as a scowly saloon owner in the old West when he's meant to be good. Cummings is ideal as a breezy angel and Donlevy as a baddy and the Western setting had potential because it's full of violence.

While the film has good moments, notably Majorie Reynolds as a saloon gal taken by Cummings and the death of Edgar Kennedy with a sobbing boy, the film never quite works. It takes itself too seriously when it needed to be lighter. It could've lent into the Western tropes more. There's a dull pastory in the town and the action screeches to a halt when boring school teacher Jorja Curtright (the future Mrs Sidney Sheldson) had scenes with Donlevy. Like, give her some life and fun.  The whole movie could've been more fun. More matchmaking from Cummings, more Donlevy-Cummings by play.

I was confused by the mum giving up the kid at the end - so he's meant to die? She gives her kid up to die? I was just a little confused.

Movie review - "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" (2024) *** (warning: spoilers)

 It's not terrible! Sorry to be cynical. Burton's record hasn't been great. And it's not as though he's got new ideas (I don't think there's a song older than the 1990s). But the old film had plenty of ideas and it benefits from the long gap because it's about Winona Ryder's daughter. 

Catherine O'Hara smashes it as always and Michae Keaton is fun and Jenna Ortega does her thing (there's a few throwbacks to Wednesday eg a dance and a cute boy who's a killer). The film kicks into gear when Ortega starts romancing a ghost. It's sweet to see Ryder in the lead of a big studio feature again.

Lots of fun. Some genuine cleverness. I had a good time.

Movie review - "Twilight Zone The Movie" (1983) **1/2

A film totally overshadowed by the accident, which is fair enough, people died (though more people die on films than you might think).

Interesting people constantly pop up in the cast - Steven Williams from Jump Street, John Larroquette as a Klan member. 

The Landis segment is in the spirit of the show - heavy handed but effective, and Vic Morrow is very good. The Spielberg one isn't very much - he does his tricks, all that, it's just meh. 

Joe Dante's with the powerful kid is better, even if Kathleen Quinlan seems bored. The George Miller segment is, as commonly agreed, the best, helped with the strongest story, John Lithgow going for it, and high stakes.

Movie review - "Willow" (1988) ***

 Considered a disappointment at the time but the years have been kind - the family feel, the novelty of a little person in the lead, young and attractive Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, gorgeous production design. Warwick Davis is winningin the lead.

The movie does lacka little something. Maybe the humour doesn't quite work. Maybe Whalley is, for all her beauty, a little bland. Maybe a baby is a dull maguffin.

Actually I think I know what it is - the film doesn't work on its relationships: Davis and Kilmer, Whalley and Kilmer, Davis and the kid. There's lots of interesting character by play at the top in the little people village but not on the journey. For instance at the end when Kilmer shakes Davis' hand it's like... what do they mean to each other? Ditto Whalley and Kilmer. In Star Wars the relationships were clear.

Like I say though the film has a lot of pleasures.

Movie review - "Ladyhawke" (1985) ***

 Sweet fantasy adventure. Public didn't go for it though it's developed a cult. Good script. Maybe they didn't like Rutger Hauer as a hero though he's fine... a believable knight. Michelle Pfeiffer is gorgeous (I would've preferred long hair). Matthew Broderick is very New York but that's fine it suits the character. Leo McKern and John Wood fun. Maybe this needed to be set in England? Who knows. Kurt Russell, the original choice, would've been interesting. Very satisfying ending. I guess they could've done more with the extras who sat around watching the fight - didn't they have an opinion?

Movie review - "Mannequin" (1987) ***

 Good medium-budget commercial filmmaking - high concept, easy to follow, bright colours, cheap stars (Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattral), support players hamming it up (GW Bailey, James Spader, Mescach Taylor, Estelle Getty), a surprisingly complex performance by Carole Davis as the fake love interest (meant to be the bitch but very sympathetic, she's constantly sexually harrassed), a hit song.

Taylor's Hollywood, an over the top black gay character, is progressive for its time in its own way. It's silly, best for kids, but also sprinkled with adult humour, mostly about McCarthy having sex with a wax dummy.

The film was influenced by One Touch of Venus but a bigger inspiration was Splash.