The Addams Family (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

The Addams Family (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
The Addams Family isn’t perfect but it certainly tries hard and, whilst every joke doesn’t land, just enough do to make this a pretty diverting and often fun 90 minutes.  A great voice cast (Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bette Midler & Finn Wolfhard) with some witty Tim Burton/ Laika inspired animation help the film along and for sure I was never bored, even if the film does little better or different than the original live action movies.  So a fun distraction for sure but hardly essential viewing.

Best Bit: School.

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: The Addams Family (1991), The Addams Family Values, Beetlejuice 

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Ford V Ferrari (aka Le Mans ’66) – A Quick Capsule Review

Ford V Ferrari (aka Le Mans ’66) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Le Mans ’66 tells the story of the battle between Ford & Ferrari for dominance at the famed race event in the 60’s.  Well actually that’s not right because really it’s the battle between Shelby and Ford that sits at the heart of this true life tale. It’s a great story – full of twists, turns and surprises.  It’s also a damn good film as well, with director James Mangold once again delivering a tense (but never over the top) film that allows Damon and Bale to really shine.  Once you get past Bale’s accent. For a film closer to there hours than two it flies by and the racing is everything you ant it to be. Had I seen this in 2020 it would have hit my best of teh year list for sure.

Best Bit: Le Mans

Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema

If You Liked this Try: Senna, Rush, Le Mans

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Pan (2015) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

Pan (2015) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
It don’t want to see like I’m being overly harsh here but Pan possibly rates as one of the films I’ve least connected with in my long history of watching movies.  And I sat through The Thin Red Line.  Pan is admitably visually stunning but it lacks any cohesion, leaving you feeling oddly hollow. Ye this is as corporate films get.  The Birds Eye Fish fingers of movies.  What’s sad is there is a great idea in here, it’s just so clumsily  put together with dull, flat and noteless performances alongside a script devoid of any wit or charm.  Sadly then this film is worthy of the panning (get it!) the critics gave it.  One to leave.

Best Bit: NOT singing Nirvana thats for sure.  Probably the visuals.

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Avoid

If You Liked this Try: Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Goonies, Never Ending Story

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Queen & Slim (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

Queen & Slim (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Uncategorized

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Prolific TV and music video director Melina Matsouka makes her feature debut with the impressive Queen & Slim, a film that transcends its lazy “Black Bonnie And Clyde” tag to become something quite unique and beautiful.  With it’s hip-hop, blues, Jazz soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography, this story of two young African Americans on the run for a crime they did , could have been a naive and irresponsible call to power or worse a retreading of similar themes we’ve seen many times before.  Instead focusing on leads Jodie Turner-Smith & Daniel Kaluuya’s blooming closeness as they are thrown together by circumstance and chance allows you to connect and care for the titular characters. Queen & Slim isn’t the paciest film you’ve seen and the trailer does it little justice in that respect but the film you get (rather than maybe the film you want) is far better on reflection.  One of the 2020’s best so far.  

Best Bit: The soundtrack

Cinema, Stream, Avoid: Cinema

If You Liked this Try: Bonnie And Clyde, True Romance, Thelma & Louise

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Black and Blue (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

Black and Blue (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Black and Blue has a great idea at it’s core (rookie on the run from a web of corrupt narcs and beat cops) but it’s so unexciting and baffling at times that you kinda wonder if they set out to make a deeply average film.  It starts with Naomie Harris who is sadly miscast as the ex-small time street criminal, ex-army veteran now rookie cop – as much as she tries (and she really does) you just never buy into her back story.   And when you are up against someone with the intensity of Frank Grillo you are going to struggle.  Beyond that the action is slow, the story makes no sense (just call IA/Your Captain/The Press/ANYONE) and you start to see the challenge.  It’s far from terrible but it’s also far from engaging.

Best Bit: Grillo. Always Grillo

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Rampart, Training Day, The Departed

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Parasite (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

Parasite (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Parasite is a really hard film to review.  Even by specifying genre you risk giving things away.  One thing I can say is that regardless of my thoughts on Parasite, it’s a film you need to see.  Rarely has a releases garnered such positive press – jumping into to some critics films of the decade. So what did I think… well Parasite it’s really good. It’s not in my top films of the decade and I don’t love it as much as many others but yup I can certainly see why it’s getting under the skin of a lot of people.  My best tip – try and read as little as possible in advance and just go see what is a really unique and interesting film.

Best Bit: Oh it’s that film…

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Old Boy, Barking Dogs Never Bite, Train to Busan 

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Burn (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

Burn (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Burn is an odd little independent thriller set in and around a service station in rural America.   And for sure whilst it’s pretty conventional (robber turns up at a nightshift), it does manage to throw in a few twists and turns… all held together by an excellent central performance by Tilda Cobham-Hervey.  Okay so it’s little new and if you grew up watching 90’s films you’ve for sure seen this before.  But it zipped by, never outstaying it’s welcome and has some nice tight direction from relative newcomer Mile Gan.

Best Bit:Tilda Cobham-Hervey is super convincing

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Sweetheart, Slither, From Dusk ‘Till Dawn

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Dolittle (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

Dolittle (2020) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Dolittle is a film that promises very little yet still manages to underdeliver, made in such a way it seems like the director cant wait for the film to end.  Something which we both had in common.  In truth Dolittle is the sum of its parts – numerous reshoots, director issues, script changes and, it seems, a desire by star Downey Jnr to ‘Do Something Different’… which in this case was to deliver a performance almost totally lacking in charisma.  Oddly Dolittle is a film that skews narrative structure and convention in such as way you’d think it was an arthouse film.  But it’s not.  It’s  a $100+ million dollar film that should’ve been a tent pole summer blockbuster, but instead dumped into January.   The best thing about Dolittle was it’s brief run time.  This said Kid 1 enjoyed it so what do I know…

Best Bit: Urm… it was pretty short.

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Avoid

If You Liked this Try: Doctor Dolittle (1998), Zookeeper, Babe

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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The Secret Life Of Pets (2016) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

The Secret Life Of Pets (2016) – A Revisited Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
Secret Life of Pet’s is basically Toy Story without Pixar.   That’s not a bad thing of course but it does feel like somewhat of a retread of the much better Pixar classic.  It’s charming, funny and (occasionally) smart.  It’s also not as funny as it should have been, not as clever as you want it to be and not as charming as it thinks it is… which is a shame as the film has bucket loads of potential. Ultimately the kids will love it, adults with find it witty and it will make money.  Hopefully of the sequel they can develop the bits that worked best into a what could be a comedy gem.

Best Bit: When the owners leave…

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: Toy Story, Despicable Me 2, Toy Story 3

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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The Informer (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

The Informer (2019) – A Quick Capsule Review

by Phil Hobden Quick Review

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review:
The Informer has a good central idea but kinda looses it as the film goes on, very much failing to become the sum of its very impressive parts – not least a cast that includes Ana de Armas, Rosamund Pike, Joel Kinnaman & Clive Owen.  It’s not bad – the film is tense, smart, well made and violent when it needs to be, but overall it throws in so many story turns that by the end you’re not quite sure what the film was trying to achieve. So for sure it passes the time well but I get the feeling theirs a far better film to be made here.

Best Bit: Undercover

Buy, Stream, Avoid: Stream

If You Liked this Try: A Simple Plan, The Departed, Edge of Darkness

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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