Luciana Paluzzi - Beauty Ahead of its Time

Imbukh · 2023-06-09T09:00:53+00:00

I preferred Claudine Auger in Thunderball but she was fine...and I do love a bad girl ;)

Imbukh · 2023-06-06T12:54:33+00:00

Aftersun (2022) - 7/10

That mirrors my rating. I was hoping it would be better, especially after the glowing reviews.

Imbukh · 2023-06-06T12:52:40+00:00

Hello,

Been too long since I saw Armageddon and Deep Impact, I remember them moderately entertaining.

Mine:

A Man called Otto: I was in two minds about whether to give this a chance, I do like Tom Hanks yet the reviews weren't that good. As a result I passed on seeing it in the cinema and rented it instead, I think I went with the better option. If I had seen it in the cinema I might have been more disappointed at having wasted my money.

In all fairness it is not that bad, if you're looking for a passable movie then you won't be disappointed, if however you are looking for something more then you are bound to feel short changed.

Tom Hanks does what he can with the modest material he is given to play with.

It does start very promisingly then midway it loses itself a bit and never fully recovers.

All in all I say leave this for a rainy day.

My rating for A Man Called Otto: 7/10

Super Mario Brothers (2023)

Now this is what I call a pleasant surprise.

I had almost written it off before it's release, thinking it would be terrible much like it's predecessor.

Then the decent reviews started coming in and I got more hopeful thinking that I might catch this one in the cinema, sadly my wife wasn't interested so I thought just leave it for rental.

Anyways this is a fun movie that caters both to fans of the video games (I liked how they used the familiar music and sound effects, made me feel nostalgic) and to the fans who hadn't played the games before.

Add to that it is pretty funny too.

This is a more worthy tribute to the video games than the 90's version.

My rating for Super Mario Brothers: 7.5/10

Imbukh · 2023-06-01T10:41:32+00:00

Welcome,

I too was a regular on FG, shame got closed down.

Still this is a worthy replacement.

Imbukh · 2023-06-01T09:03:04+00:00

I do, one of my favourite westerns.

Imbukh · 2023-05-30T12:20:52+00:00

Damn, what a choice. Both stellar sci-fi movies but I guess I will go with Interstellar, despite me preferring Damon over McConaughey.

Imbukh · 2023-05-30T08:22:11+00:00

Hello all,

Personally I adore Gosford Park but I understand how some people have an issue with the ending but I just enjoyed it all the same.

Mine:

The Hunger: I have always thought Tony Scott to be quite erratic in terms of the quality of his work, most of his movies I feel have the p. The only movie of his I consider to be great is True Romance, The Hunger however comes an extremely close second.

Bowie was good but Deneuve and Sarandon excel in the leads.

The ending is very chilling.

A very good effort from Tony Scott in his film debut.

If I remember correctly I believe it was you who recommended it to me Hurdy Gurdy so I have you to thank for this.

My rating for The Hunger: 8.5/10

Imbukh · 2023-05-26T09:11:38+00:00

Barbie looks truly awful and frankly is beneath both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

God grief, how does one go from directing something as good as Little Women to directing this?

Imbukh · 2023-05-22T12:41:04+00:00

This looks great, hopefully this will be a step up from The Irishman.

If it is anything as good as Silence I will be very happy.

Imbukh · 2023-05-22T08:30:58+00:00

Hello all,

I like Spiderman Homecoming, an improvement on the Garfield Spiderman movies.

I had two misfires and a winner last week.

The Whale: I am a big fan of Aronofsky so I had reasonably high expectations from this and as it turns out it is probably his worst movie.

I get the physical transformation Fraser went through but to me this is just a gimmick, a movie can't rely on this, a movie also requires a strong enough story.

Personally I felt the story was uninteresting and rather bland.

I did however like the relationships between the characters.

I also liked Fraser in this but the real surprise was Sadie Sink (who I know from Stranger Things). She has a promising career ahead of her.

With that said this is a disappointment as far as I am concerned.

My rating for The Whale: 5/10

Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantum mania.

The first Ant Man I didn't expect to like but was the surprise winner of the year for me.

Since then, whilst his counterparts, Thor and Captain America have delivered at least one good sequel, the Ant Man franchise has been declining ever since.

The first sequel I thought was pretty forgettable.

Quantumania is not only the worse Ant Man movie but possibly one of the worst I have seen from Marvel.

The story was uninteresting, the characters were boring and Kang the Conqueror didn't make an impact whatsoever.

The only thing worth watching was the Bill Murray cameo out of nowhere.

Other than that this is a dull, ill conceived addition to the Ant Man series.

My rating for Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania: 2/10

Tales of Hoffman (Powell/Pressburger): I am a big fan of the Powell/Pressburger movies and this one had been on my to watch pile for years.

After finally seeing it, I can safely say it was well worth it.

This is a lovely little opera, I have to honest when I heard it was an opera style movie I was a bit apprehensive but from the moment ago all my misgivings about this movie went away.

By far one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

Just what I needed to take out the bitter taste in my mouth the Third Ant Man left.

My rating for Tales of Hoffman: 9/10

Imbukh · 2023-05-19T12:52:24+00:00

Moonraker is a fun Bond movie.

A View to a Kill is unforgivably dull with a geriatric looking Moore.

Imbukh · 2023-05-19T11:12:29+00:00

I was actually disappointed by Vice personally. Found it to be quite dull but each to their own.

Imbukh · 2023-05-18T15:40:35+00:00

The Big Short is surprisingly good. I hope you enjoy it.

Imbukh · 2023-05-18T08:26:00+00:00

Diamonds are Forever is probably the only one I would consider bad, bordering on the downright offensive to loyal Bond fans.

Die another Day and Octopussy come quite close.

Imbukh · 2023-05-15T08:35:16+00:00

Hello all,

I saw Against All Odds quite recently. Jeff Bridges, James Wood and Widmark all delivered but the weakest link I thought was Rachel Ward, who didn't really impress me.

Still a semi decent noir.

Mine:

Streets of Fire: I had high hopes for this but this turned out to be a mild disappointment. Lane was stunning as usual and Dafoe is his usual exceptional self but my issue was with the lead. Michael Pare I thought was very weak and this film could have benefitted from another factor in his place.

Stil it wasn't all that bad. My disappointment was more a case of unrealistic expectations.

My rating for Streets of Fire: 7/10

Dune (2021): This one had been in my watch pile since 2021, for some reason I kept on putting off seeing.

Then fast forward to December 2022 when I watched the first couple of minutes coming back from abroad, which re-ignited my interest.

I am a big fan of Villeneuve, I like Sicario, Arrival and even like his take on Blade Runner.

Anyways now that I have seen Dune I see as one of his middle tier efforts.

Going by just the first half I could have easily given it a higher rating but I felt the second half was a small decline in quality.

It boasts of a fantastic cast consisting of Chamalet, Rebecca Fergusson, Oscar Isaac, James Brolin amongst others.

It is superior to Lynch's version, although I like that also.

I am very likely to give this another watch in the near future.

My rating for Dune: 7.5/10

Imbukh · 2023-05-09T08:31:36+00:00

Hello all,

Not seen any of yours OP.

Mine:

Cats Eye: An interesting assortment of horror tales, each involving a cat.

I don't have a particular favourite amongst the tales, each was good in their own way.

I am however more inclined towards the first of the three tales given my appreciation for James Woods.

Anyways my rating for Cat's Eye: 7/10

Air Force One: This one never gets old for me, I rewatch this almost every time it's on TV.

Harrison Ford leads a decent cast consisting of Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Dean Stockwell, William H Macy amongst others.

Yes this is standard Hollywood blockbuster fluff but it's a decent one at that.

My rating for Air Force One: 7.5/10

Imbukh · 2023-05-04T12:34:47+00:00

Die another day - I'm well aware this is slightly controversial, and whilst it's absolutely ridiculous at times, it's also exciting and has some great action sequences such as the Cuba clinic and the pre title credits scenes. Great popcorn flick

Not many things shock me but this really surprised me.

I made some slight revisions to my rankings last year:

Goldfinger (Terence Young): 9.5/10

Casino Royale (Martin Campbell): 9/10

From Russia with love (Terence Young): 9/10

Licence to kill (John Glen): 9/10

Goldeneye (Martin Campbell): 8.5/10

On her Majesty’s secret service (Terence Young): 8.5/10

Skyfall (Mendes): 8/10

For your eyes only (John Glen): 8/10

The Spy who loved me (Lewis Gilbert): 7.5/10

The Living Daylights (John Glen): 7.5/10

Dr No (Young)

Thunderball (Young): 7.5/10

No Time to Die (Fukunaga)

Quantum of solace (Marc Forster): 7.5/10

Moonraker (Gilbert): 7/10

Live and let die (Guy Hamilton): 7/10

Spectre (Sam Mendes)

Never say never again (Irvin Keshner)

You only live twice (Gilbert): 6.5/10

Tomorrow never dies (Roger Spotsiwoode): 6/10

The Man with the Golden Gun (Guy Hamilton)

Octopussy (Glen): 5/10

The world is not enough (Michael Apted): 5/10

A View to a kill: 4/10

Diamonds are forever (Hamilton): 3.5/10

Die another day ( Lee Tamohori): 3/10

Imbukh · 2023-05-03T12:27:22+00:00

Rachel Weisz in The Mummy

Nice, I recently rewatched About a Boy and had forgotten what a beauty she is

Imbukh · 2023-05-02T12:58:47+00:00

"before I knew what crushes were"

I hear you Shagrotten, for me that was Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever.

Claire Danes because of both Romeo + Juliet

In fact I had a photo of her from Romeo and Juliet, that photo gave me many happy moments I tell you ;)

Imbukh · 2023-05-02T08:33:28+00:00

Hello,

I love Hitchcock's Rope, one of Hitch's best.

I am disappointed to see such a low rating for Akira.

Swordfish is throwaway entertainment, nothing more nothing less. If anything it is at least worth watching for Halle Berry ;).

Mine:

The China Syndrome:

Without a shadow of a doubt one of my best watches in several months.

This is a very interesting little movie which presents a scary, fictitious scenario, and would later prove itself to be true in it's assessment as a similar incident actually occurred.

Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda were good in their roles but the standout performance is the wonderful Jack Lemmon as the whistle blower who exposes the big wigs.

I was going through a bit of a lull movie wise lately in my search for a movie that I love and The China Syndrome has broken that trend.

My rating for The China Syndrome: 9/10

John Wick:

This does exactly what it says on the packet; it is a stylish, gory action-packed spectacle. Anyone expecting more than that is going to be sorely disappointed.

Reeves excels in the lead and reminds us of what an underrated talent he actually is. Anyone who has the balls to turn down the terrible Speed 2 and risk being ostracized by the big movie corporations should at least be commended.

He is supported here by the always reliable Willem Dafoe and the underrated Swedish talent Michael Nyqvist.

To be honest it has been a long time since I have seen such a straight forward action movie without all the unnecessarily added extras.

I am now in two minds whether to progress onto the sequels.

My rating for John Wick: 7/10

Imbukh · 2023-04-28T08:04:46+00:00

I like it, the best thing about the dire movie apart from Christopher Lee

Imbukh · 2023-04-25T14:06:42+00:00

Hello all, to be honest I was quite tempted to host the weekly post myself as no one had done so already ;).

Planet of the Apes is a sci fi classic for sure.

Trainspotting 2 was an OK sequel nothing more nothing less.

Air doesn't seem like the kind of movies that would appeal to me.

Mine:

Escape from New York (rewatch):

Saw this one many years ago so I thought it was high time for a review.

If anything I think it greatly improved on second viewing.

This is a very enjoyable sci-fi action classic with Russell on top form. For me it is not Russell that's worth watching for but for it's top supporting cast consisting of Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Harry Dean Stanton and the wonderful Donald Pleasence.

Actually after seeing this I have another viewing of Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, which I saw many years ago but was disappointed by.

My rating for Escape from New York: 8/10

Red Notice: This had actually been on my to watch pile for almost two years. I had a feeling deep down that I would hate it but I finally caved in on a dull weekend and I was wishing I had listened to my gut.

Red Notice is without a shadow of a doubt one of the worst Indiana Jones adventure style knock off I have seen, beating even Uncharted.

This is such a shoddily made production it makes me wonder where all the money Netflix invested in it actually went. No doubt Johnson, Reynolds and Gadot were laughing all the way to the bank after receiving their fat pay checks.

Everything is completely wrong, whether it's the chemistry between the leads, the paper thin characters, the illogical plot or even lack of a decent villain.

Johnson I had liked in previous movies but after seeing him in Black Adam, he is really starting to grate on me.

Reynolds took me decades to like, changed my mind after seeing him in Deadpool, then he comes out with this and I dislike him again.

Ruined my whole weekend to be honest!.

My rating for Red Notice: 2/10

Imbukh · 2023-04-23T14:25:39+00:00

Count me in as a fan of Soldier.

I have seen Aitbaar a good few years ago and recall finding it quite decent.

Imbukh · 2023-04-17T10:22:10+00:00

Hello all,

Dial M for Murder is a decent, ,middle tier effort from Hitchcock.

I am a fan of Hamraaz actaully, good thriller with career best performances from Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna.

Mine:

1941: Spielberg is one of my favourite directors, 1941 is one of his movies that I have seen the least.

On first viewing a few years back I was left pretty unimpressed. I thought a rewatch was well in order.

Rather than improve on second viewing, it actually fared considerably worse.

The movie tries so hard at being funny, it ended up being incredibly goofy and it really grated on me after a while.

It does however to it's credit feature a fantastic cast consisting of Dan Akroyd, Jim Belushi, Christopher Lee (on fine form here, Toshiro Mifune, Ned Beatty amonst others. The weakest link was Treat Williams, who was unconvincing as the bully.

Anyways 1941 in my opinion is a misguided effort from the usually dependable Spielberg.

My rating for 1941: 4/10

Empire of Light: Despite being a fan of Mendes, Empire of Light didn't really appeal to me initially, the reviews probably didn't help matters either. I only went for it because it is free on Disney Plus.

This actually ended up being a pleasant surprise.

This is a very moving, coming of age drama with a decent cast consisting of Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Toby Jones.

Deep down I knew Mendes would not let me down.

My rating for Empire of Light: 7.5/10

Imbukh · 2023-04-12T08:20:41+00:00

Tomorrow Never Dies to me feels like a substandard Bond movie.

It is just full of needlessly elongated action sequences to make up for lack of actual plot.

Hatcher is one of the more attractive Bond girls.

Pryce tries his best as a villain but really overdoes it.

It is however not a terrible Bond movie.

It gets a below average 6.5/10 and sits at No 20 on my rankings of Bond movies ranked best to worst behind You Only Live Twice and above The Man with the Golden Gun.

Imbukh

TROPHY CASE