James Mangold is not Steven Spielberg. No one said he was. But stepping into a film series whose other four instalments were directed by Spielberg, comparisons will be drawn as Harrison Ford grabs his whip and fedora and settles into the iconic role of Indiana Jones one last time. There are lots of things to…
Tag: narrative
Deep Impact (1998) – 4K Review
I remember the summer of the duelling asteroid movies, 1998. There was Michael Bay’s Armageddon and Mimi Leder’s, with Steven Spielberg in her corner, Deep Impact from Paramount Pictures. Deep Impact opened first in May, with Armageddon following up in July, which completely ended up overshadowing Impact, which is unfortunate, because of the two films,…
The Equalizer (1989) – Endgame, and Suicide Squad
Endgame is a tale of manipulation, and revenge, and seems to almost sneak up on the fringes of Saw territory, as the episode finds two sisters pitted against one another. Written by Coleman Luck, the penultimate episode of The Equalizer aired on 10 August, 1989, well after the season should have finished in May. McCall…
The Equalizer (1989) – Trial by Ordeal, and Silent Fury
A few years before Al Pacino declared the whole courtroom out of order, Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) got to do it in Trial by Ordeal. With an airdate of 1 March, 1989, the episode is actually a clip show. That statement can put a number of people off because clip shows can be really iffy,…
Skinamarink (2022) – Kyle Edward Ball
What could have been a descent into a childhood nightmarish dreamscape is frustratingly held back by a gimmick that overstays its welcome and leaves viewers struggling to grasp at any strands to form some kind of coherent narrative. With unusual camera angles that prevent the viewer from seeing anything of import or creating a context…
Finders Keepers (2015) – Stephen King
Finders Keepers is the second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, though he, Jerome and the wonderful Holly Gibney don’t show up until about halfway through the tale. That doesn’t mean King doesn’t dole out another captivating tale, rather the reverse. We’re introduced to Morris in the late 70s. He’s arrogant, and while not…
Young Guns II (1990) – Geoff Murphy
The amount my life changed between the first Young Guns, released in 1988, and Young Guns II in 1990 makes the movies themselves feel years upon years apart. Seeing that there was only two years between them is rather shocking seeing how many things happened in the space of that time. Rewatching it now Young…
The Unbearable Weight of Immense Talent (2022) – Tom Gormican
Nicholas Cage plays a hyper version of himself, Nick Cage, in Tom Gormican’s hugely entertaining and laugh-filed action-comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Immense Talent. Nick Cage is haunted by a version of himself that pushes him to be a movie star, not a constantly working actor. His daughter, Addy (Lily Mo Sheen), wants to be…
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (2018) – Stuart Turton
An Agatha Christie story with some Ground Hog Day/Quantum Leap thrown in for good measure? When I read the blurb on The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle I was immediately intrigued. Turton’s execution of the story is whipsmart and incredibly enjoyable, combining classic English mystery with some time loops. What’s not to love? Sebastian Bell…
Uncharted (2022) – Ruben Fleischer
Some questionable narrative choices and other stylistic angles held Uncharted back from being a solid blockbuster and probably crippled its chances of turning into a franchise, which is too bad, because despite the drubbing it took, most of the film is really fun, and there’s a nice interplay between Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg who…
