Death Wish (2018) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

Death Wish (2018) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
It goes without saying that this remake of Charles Bronson starring Death Wish is inferior in every-way to the original.  And that’s saying something because whilst the original has a raw charm it’s fair from perfect.  The issue here is the film – from it’s direction by Eli Roth, it’s script by Joe Carnahan, to its cast – it just feels flat.  Willis in fact looks bored for the most part and for a sub two hour film it takes forever to get going. It’s not bad but there are so many better films you can watch and so many better revenge films.

Best Bit: The gunshop payoff

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Taken, Death Wish (1974), Oldboy

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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The Wolf Of Wall Street (2014) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2014) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
The Wolf Of Wall Street is a perfect partner of Goodfellas and Casino – a trilogy about greed, crime and excess. And whilst it doesn’t quite hit the heights of those classic Scorsese films, Wolf is probably one of the best movies the director has made in over a decade.  But for as good as the direction and craft is, its the cast that sell this film.  Margot Robbie debuts and makes an immediate impression, DiCaprio delivers a career best performance and Johnna Hill steels almost every scene he’s in.  The film is uncomfortable watching, as horrible people do horrible things not always getting the comeuppance they deserve but rather than glamorising this, Scorsese manages to reflects the true life story of the thousand of Wolf’s on the hundred’s of Wall Streets around the world. One of the best movies of this decade and gets better with each repeated watch.

Best Bit: Ludes.

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Buy

If You Liked this Try: Goodfellas, The Big Short, Casino, Boiler Room 

★★★★★★★★★★

 

Hall of Fame

 

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Stuber (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

Stuber (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Stuber has a nice central idea – a temporally blinded cop being driven by an Uber driver called Stu whilst investigating a case – but be it the poor chemistry between the two leads or the pretty pedestrian script, the film fails to deliver.  Even the usually reliable Kumail Nanjiani seems to be phoning it in and Dave Bautista never seems that comfortable with the role.  It has a few nice moments and rustled up a couple or laughs but overall in a year packed with some pretty entertaining films, Stuber just doesn’t grab you. Shame.

Best Bit: The first fight

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Collateral, Let’s Be Cops, 48 Hours

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Immersive Wolf of Wall Street – A Quick Capsule Theatre Review

Immersive Wolf of Wall Street – A Quick Capsule Theatre Review

by Phil Hobden Local Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
So let’s be honest – is this the most polished, high budgeted, slick theatre show you can see in London? Hell no. But does it have a super enthusiastic cast, some cracking scenes and a whole load of FUN interaction and silliness? Yup. And for that I both commend and, ultimately, recommend this show. One tip – if you’ve never seen the film or like my oft partner in crime Ross think it’s one of the most disgusting and pointless things ever – steer clear for this is excess, OTT, in your face immersive Wolf as you’d expect and , I guess for me, hope. Yup it has issues – it’s a bit disjointed, not all the cast are firing to the same level and we certainly missed a few bits as we branched off into two separate groups. But considering some of the less than favourable reviews I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Best Bit: Our first chat with Danny, Jordon & Team in the club house

Attend, Avoid: Attend

If You Liked this Try: Secret Cinema, The Immersive Great Gatsby

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Jurassic Park (1993) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

Jurassic Park (1993) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Jurassic Park was made almost 25 years ago and it still, for the most park, feels as fresh as if it was released yesterday.   Even the CGI, which was at the forefront all those years ago, still mostly holds up and the combination of practical and digital work means that the dinosaurs still feel real.  Its odd that Jurassic Park has never been topped by any of its sequels – in quality or FX – and Spielberg’s less is more approach (see Jaws) means that the money shots are really something to savour.  It’s also that for all the magic on screen Spielberg puts relatable humans at the film core.  It’s a stunning film and demands a rewatch.

Best Bit: T-Rex Attacks

Worth a Rewatch: Yes

If You Liked this Try: Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic World, Jaws

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Anna (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

Anna (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
What happened to Luc Besson.  From the heady heights of Nikita and Leon to the brilliant but more controversial Fifth Element he was the darling of early 90’s cinema. But it all went a bit wrong after that.  Joan Of Arc to Lucy and everything in between director Besson was desperately in need of a hit.  Sadly Anna isn’t it.  A messy plot, phoning it in performances and a bloated run time does little to help what is yet another rerun of Nikita. It’s just pretty dull and commands neither your time or your energy when there are FAR better action films this year (see John Wick 3).  Sadly yet another miss for the once great director.

Best Bit: The restaurant fight… maybe

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Avoid

If You Liked this Try: Nikita, Leon, The Fifth Element, John Wick 3: Parabellum

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Stand By Me (1986) – A Hall Of Fame Quick Capsule Review

Stand By Me (1986) – A Hall Of Fame Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Hall of Fame Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
It’s been a while but rewatching Stand By Me there was one thing that struck me now more than ever – River Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell , Will Wheaton and Corey Feldman genuinely couldn’t not have given better performances.   They ARE their roles and it’s not surprising that arguable at least three of the cast have never really bettered their work here.  The film is still fantastic and remains one of King’s best adaptions, showing once again that his short stories are often ‘easier’ to adapt than his weightier tomes.   In 2019 Stand By Me still remains and essential watch.

Best Bit: The Junk yard

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Buy

If You Liked this Try: The Shawshank Redemption, IT (2017), Mystery 

★★★★★★★★★★

Hall-of-Fame

 

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Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Yup it’s back and this time it’s travelling across the Globe. It’s as insane as you’d imagine and oddly the rather bad Katie Price cameo isn’t the worst acting in it (Tara Reid who once shone in American Pie is beyond phoning it in these days).  Yup each country has it’s own unique set of cameos as the film goes from one set piece to the next, in one country to the next, with zero logic or story effort.  But who cares when it’s this fun. And it IS fun, probably the fact the most fun since the second Sharkndao film all those years ago.  It wont convert new fans for sure but as a piece of forgettable fun the Sharknado films always deliver.

Best Bit: Sidney Opera house

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Sharknado, Lavalantula, Sharknado 2: The Second One

Sharknado Rating ★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Author: Phil Hobden

Light Of My Life (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

Light Of My Life (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Light Of My Life isn’t a fun film to watch.  It’s also not one that delivers much pace or narrative drive.  This is a film about the relationship between a father and his daughter in a post-apocalyptic world where children don’t seem to exist.  You can mostly work out what will happen from the start but its less about the story and more about the relationships and writer/director/star Casey Affleck does a good job making this film feel very real.  For sure it could have been shorter or a little pacier but fans of films like The Road will have a lot to enjoy here.

Best Bit: The opening shot

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: The Road, Birdbox, Leave No Trace

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Cube (1997) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

Cube (1997) – A Rewatched Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Cube was a break out 90’s hit that did a superb job at making the most of a very small budget, one location and a small cast.  Think Clerk’s with deadly traps.  It predated and influenced Saw and came around the time of break out low budget films like Blair Witch.  The 90’s was a really fun decade. However nostalgia aside, Cube has also aged less well than either of those films.  The effects and central concept still hold up but some of the acting can be pretty ropey at times and a slew of less regarded sequels and imitators has somewhat dampened its impact.  This all said it’s still a solid watch and shows what innovation can be done at a lower budget level.

Best Bit: Oh bugger.

Worth a Rewatch: Yes

If You Liked this Try: The Blair Witch Project, Saw, Clerks

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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