21 Bridges

This film isn't really my sort of genre but with Chadwick boseman in the lead role, it got me excited so I saw it and I've got to be honest, I was quite disappointed.

I'll start with the positives and the standout is the impressive cast. As well as Chadwick boseman, you have Sienna Miller, JK Simmons, Taylor Kitsch etc and they all give some fantastic performances. Also the action we got was directed quite nicely and were thoroughly entertaining.

Now that's all the positives I can give because the rest of it falls flat. First it feels like director Brian Kirk is trying to tell two stories into one; one story about the cops trying to track down two cop killers and bring them to justice and a story about corrupt cops and unfortunately it's not executed well.

If it was just the former, it would have been a better film but because they added in the corrupt cop story, it feels jumbled up, underdeveloped and quite rushed towards the end. I think a different director like Martin Scorsese would have been better for this film if that's the story they wanted to do.

Also the characters aren't great. The majority of them feel bland and very underdeveloped and Chadwick Bosemans character Andre Davis had the potential to be an interesting character but all we got was a brief flashback scene and a scene with him caring for his mother and nothing else for the rest of the film. It felt really forced and a bit disappointment.

What frustrated me the most was the trailer made this out to be a big cop thriller combined with character study and though it was entertaining, it certainly wasn't thrilling or exciting. Just dull, bland and very forgettable.

Overall this is a disappointing, underdeveloped and forgettable attempt at a cop thriller which fantastic performances can't make up for.

⭐⭐

The Good Liar

This is a film I've wanted to see since I saw the trailer. It looked like a really nice love story and I'm a sucker for a love story. However what I saw really surprised me. In a good way. I'm gonna try not reveal spoilers as this films has a lot of twists.

This was such a charming and interesting film. I was never bored or disinterested. Ian Mckellan playing a career con man who begins to really fall for his next potential victim played by Helen Mirren. These two leads had such fantastic onscreen chemistry. When they first meet, it feels like they've known each other for much longer. Even though you know McKellans character has ulterior motives, there are some very sweet scenes between these two.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this film that at times you can predict and others you won't see coming. There's plenty of foreshadowing to help these twists not feel random or sudden. Besides the fantastic scripting and another standout performance by Russell Tovey, what impressed me even more was that the trailer actually hid certain plot elements. I avoid trailers coz they can spoil too much at times so that was a very pleasant surprise.

Now there are a couple of negatives; first at times McKellans character can feel a bit like a soap villain and what I mean by that is even though you know he's done a lot of evil things, most of the time in this film, he's just doing what he can to stop his secrets being exposed. And finally the final twist at the end at times becomes quite convoluted and you may need to rewatch it just to make sense of it.

Overall this is a well written, beautifully acted film with a lot of twists. Apologies for not revealing more but I do not want to spoil this film.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Doctor Sleep

I really think 2019 is my favourite year for films since 2008. We have had so many exciting and interesting films this year and Doctor sleep is definitely in the top 10. This is a fantastic and worthy sequel to the 1980s The Shining and probably when of the best sequels ever made. This is how you make a sequel to a film released nearly 40 years ago.

I am a big fan of films that explore and develop the main characters and this film did exactly that. Dan Torrance starts off as an alcoholic still traumatised over what happened to him years and it makes so much sense he'd still be affected by it. This film does a great job covering the issue of substance abuse and how an addict can head onto the road to recovery.

The performances are absolutely brilliant. Ewan McGregor is perfectly cast as Dan Torrance and Rebecca Ferguson gives a standout performance as the films main antagonist. Where a lot of film villains can fall flat and remain forgettable, her villain makes a big impact and is one of the best things about the film. Film newcomer Kyliegh Curran is also fantastic as Abra Stone.

The main star of this film though is director Mike Flanagan. He gave us a better and at times clever sequel to 2014s Ouija and he created Netflixs The Haunting of Hill House so i had a good feeling once I heard he was directing it. As someone who is able to create genuine scary moments and craft superb stories, I knew this film was in safe hands and I was not wrong. He's able to professionally craft the story and help expand the mythology of 'The Shining'. He also cleverly adds in old footage of the shining which makes sense storywise and they are very welcome throwbacks. The editing is also fantastically done.

Now I only have one bit of criticism which is i would have liked the characters get to the hotel a bit sooner than they did and spend a bit more time at the hotel but thats it. The cast and crew gave it their all and did it justice as a sequel to the shining and an adaptation of Stephen Kings novel.

The performances are brilliant, the story is plausible and the direction is incredible. Mike Flanagan has another hit on his CV and I feel this is just the beginning for him. I'm looking forward to his next production.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Countdown

I'll be honest, when I saw the trailer for this film, I assumed it would be your basic Hollywood generic horror film and even though I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, I was not wrong.

Let's get the negatives out of the way. It's very generic and predictable, it's filled with jump scares, some characters are cliched, the writing is a bit sloppy and rushed at times, there's some humour inserted that feels out of place and at times, the direction can seem a bit lazy where characters make stupid decisions which leads to their deaths.

However it's not all bad. First of all, the concept is very interesting. Someone having a time clock which tells them when they're going to die. It's a great concept which I feel could work as a survival horror film, not a supernatural horror. What I mean by that is i think the deaths would be more plausible if they were the result of life based accidents or disasters like the final destination films.

Even though this film is flawed, the acting is fantastic. Elizabeth Lail and Jordan calloway are fantastic and surprisingly, their characters are given some sympathetic backstories which can help connect with their characters.

I also liked the design of the ghostly figure that was stalking everyone who come close to their deaths. It's was very creepy. The final confrontation with the future also leads to, which I feel, was a very clever final move.

Overall, this is a very generically flawed unscary horror film that relys way too much on jump scares. However it is thoroughly entertaining and it's worth seeing at least once and I would watch it again.

⭐⭐