Allied

I liked this, not the best film ever made but pretty good.

I don't get the negative reviews,even if I am being too nice about the negative issues it really is not that bad overall.

I thought the film looked great, lots of period detail and M.C is gorgeous and has acted wonderfully. When I talk about the acting, it's kind of hard to explain how I thought things turned out. Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are both great actors and I think they do good work individually here but I still think they didn't sell the intimacy of their relationship. They're supposed to be willing to die for each other and I found the scenes where they were supposed to be falling in love to be stilted and a little robotic.

7

Miracle

Don't let the fact that this is a Disney movie deter you from watching a thoroughly enjoyable and adult-level sports movie for two-plus hours. Kurt Russell does an excellent job portraying coach Herb Brooks as a complex and sometimes ruthless and inscrutable leader. Very UN-Disney-like indeed.

I am not a hockey fan - in fact I dislike the game intensely - yet I enjoyed the well-crafted scenes of competitive team play. Knowing the outcome of the BIG GAME did not detract at all from the excitement and suspense surrounding it. Sort of like the suspense Ron Howard achieved in Apollo 13 (where we knew in advance the outcome, but were worried about and later relieved for our astronauts).

A must-see for sports fans and non-fans alike.

7.5

Sully

Having seen various documentaries and media reports about the 'Miracle on the Hudson', I always believed that whilst the story was amazing, the story was far too short from which to make a motion picture. In my humble opinion, I'm still not wrong. The direction, acting and visual effects were absolutely top-notch weaving together absolutely the most that could have been scraped together, and often delving into Captain Sullenburger's personal life to find extra material.

Whilst the film is entertaining, I was on occasion actually bored from being overly familiar with the few minutes of the main story.

In short, a worthy picture that does its best with meagre material, whilst resisting the temptation to descend into fantasy. Absolutely worth your time and its quite short at just over 90 minutes.

7

Train To Busan

Koreans are good at making horror, and this zombie movie attempt shows how skillful they are. You have fast-running zombies, blood spattering, and selfish people. The film delivers shock value, and decent drama along the way. It feels like World War Z without CGI zombies piling on each other. Being set on a train, the plot is also similar to Snowpiercer, another train horror movie. (what is this obsession with trains, or is it the only place in Korea where the space is cramped?) The acting is decent, and the casts are pretty average-looking; with the exception of the lead actor, which makes the story more credible. The director did not focus too much on morality issues like the Walking Dead, but sets up new problems for the characters to face at different stages of the movie. This makes the plot move quickly and smoothly. The ending was rather conventional, but I guess no one hates a happy ending.

7

The Wailing

If you're looking for a good horror film I wouldn't really recommend this as I didn't find it scary but it was still entertaining enough to sit through and I would say it's worth a watch in general. I'd describe it as a supernatural modern mystery fable with horror elements and dark comedy, the tone really does vary though. The comedic dialogue and slapstick moments peppered throughout gave it a slightly goofy feel in places but there's plenty of dark imagery and nasty violence too. It's all wonderfully shot and well acted which definitely keeps it engaging. I preferred the first half of the film to the second; I thought the set up was really good but found it slightly predictable once the story started coming together. Overall; not bad, well shot and entertaining but overly long and unfocused.

6

Nocturnal Animals

Visually stunning, with something clinical about the way it dissects the relationships it depicts (with heat, anxiety and fear). The film is revelatory in some ways, a study in how heartbreak can be as savage as physical assault. The story-within-a-story structure works, mostly, though it also halts the momentum at times. Still, Nocturnal Animals, which was inspired by Austin Wright's book Tony and Susan is certainly worth watching. And not just for Adams, who's impressive here, but also to witness writer-director Tom Ford's confidence. If only the film more closely embraced the emotions at its core.

7

Arrival

Seriously the premise is good but the movie failed to deliver excitement, drama, tension, action, character development etc. Stay away. I was expecting something better than The Martian, but this was so below that. I'd rate this a b grade movie. I just can not understand how this slipped through the goal posts. You don't get many good science fiction movies made these days they seem to make movies that are just mindless. Love Amy Adams though.

5

The Accountant

I was hesitant about seeing this movie because I am not a Ben Affleck fan. I find his acting to be stiff and unemotional. That is why this is a perfect vehicle for him. Being stiff and unemotional is exactly how you would play an autistic. Think about Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.

The movie however was very good. The use of flashbacks to explain his skills was done excellently. They were done sparingly and spaced at just the right time to change the pace of the film which was just right.

The casting was spot on and the acting was top notch. All the actors were believable.

7.5

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

With 4 chart buster numbers this movie had created buzz enough for movie buffs like me to watch it, but what turned out was a big disappointment. Anushka is a charm to watch and the only saving grace.

The biggest problem is the weak story and direction, specially the last 30 minutes were too heavy to bear out.

Seriously disappointed, though I will keep listening to the chart buster numbers for a while! haha

5.5

Jack Reacher : Never Go Back

I was a fan of the first movie, so naturally, I was worried. A lot of people gave devastating reviews, which made me lower my expectations.

I needn't have worried, because the movie was actually pretty good. And I say this as an action movie veteran. Having read some Jack Reacher novels, I thought the movie captured the instinct for trouble that pulls Reacher into these situations pretty well.

The fight scenes were intense. Especially the final fight had a harshness to it, that one does not often see in movies.

I also liked how they did not make the female co-star the beautiful bystander. She was just as tough as Reacher. A great role for a woman in an action movie! So don't expect a bullet-proof plot. There are some elements that are a bit convenient, but I can forgive it. Let yourself be entertained!

7

Inferno

A movie that had everything to be a 9 or 10, ended up a not so solid 6. I felt the movie was completely rushed, not being explained the conclusions Robert Langdon comes to take the next step in the investigation. Some scene were not very well staged, and I felt quite a bit is given away in trailers.

I love Tom Hanks, but this was just ok.

6

The Girl On The Train

First off, I will admit that I've not read the bestselling book that The Girl on the Train is based on so my thoughts are based purely on the movie adaptation.

I usually love a fast paced thriller with twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. The trailers had led me to believe this might be the case for The Girl on the Train. Not so unfortunately...

The screenplay and direction were often sloppy while the editing was so messy it often felt like scenes were pieced together purely at random. I really struggled to warm to or identify with any of the characters in a film where all men are portrayed as controlling and deplorable and any sense of female empowerment is lost amidst the absurdity of the relentlessly twisting plot.

I have to call out Emily Blunt's stunning lead performance - she steals every scene she's in with a nuanced, conflicted and honest portrayal of a complex and intriguing character. There are some good quality support performances but they don't save the movie and most other characters are so slight and one-dimensional that they fade into the background.

The Girl on the Train felt like Gone Girl without the tension, emotion or drama.

6