A Year Unlimited

All Is True is a film in the same vein as Stan & Ollie , and about as gripping. It shone a spotlight on the end of William Shakespeare's career, and life. It looked at his family relationships and how strained they were. It also highlighted his feelings about tragedy and scandals concerning his offspring. That all makes it sound far more interesting than it actually was to watch. The pace of the film was just too slow, the dialogue was too minimal. Judi Dench and Kathryn Wilder were the outstanding actors for us, with Branagh playing Branagh, doing Shakespeare. There were small sections that briefly offered a glimmer of promise but these were few and far between and never amounted to much. As far as we are aware, the story appears to be pretty factual, but, as with The Mule , if the facts as you intend to portray them, don't make for a very entertaining watch, then leave well alone. We will give each film we see a score out of 10 for overall enjoyment. All Is ...

Escape Room was alright. We have a slight difference of opinion as we perhaps both expected different things from this film. One of us feels that in 2019 standards should be higher and that Escape Room was barely a thriller, never mind a full on horror. The other of us felt that as a horror film it was all the better for being a bit naff. It gathered six seemingly random, but obviously connected people together, on the promise of a cash prize if they complete the puzzles necessary to escape from a series of rooms. So.... the acting wasn't Oscar worthy, the plot was barely there, and the characters were so stereotypical that it was embarrassing, however, a couple of the rooms were interesting, as were a couple of the shots, some of the ideas were well thought out, just poorly executed, and it certainly wasn't the worst movie we have seen this year. It didn't really offer anything new, in fact it felt like the concept was taken from several other movies. It was ...

We need to pay homage to the power of the trailer. We have seen the trailer for this movie, a lot, and with each viewing our desire to watch it has grown. Green Book was sensational! A race related road trip movie. Set in the early 60's, a wealthy African American jazz pianist hires an Italian American bouncer to be his driver and bodyguard for a music tour. It stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in arguably the #filmofthemonth. The story touches on their very different cultural backgrounds and we watch as their relationship develops through their travelling experiences. We could discuss and write about this film all day but too much information would verge on a SPOILER ALERT as we feel its a #DMS. The acting from both lead actors was faultless and completely believable, as was the supporting cast.  For a movie where large chunks of it take place in a car, it certainly made the best of the surroundings. The scenery was ever changing and lush, and the music throughout w...

Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a West End musical that was broadcast to the cinema.  It was incredibly busy, which it turned out was mainly because people had been to see it live and were coming to see it again, which added to the atmosphere. As an Unlimited Card holder there was an additional charge of £6 for this (£13.70 without) but because cinemas have started to broadcast more shows it makes the whole experience much more accessible. It was also a nice touch having a programme. The story itself focuses on a schoolboy learning to accept his differences.....in high heels. As with all live performances a different class of actor is required, equally as with all musical performances a different class of singer is required. John McCrea plays the title role and creates a really likeable persona, and Josie Walker, as Jamie's Mum was head and shoulders above the rest with her singing abilities. She was so easy to empathise with, and conveyed so much emotion that we both...

The Upside  was good fun and is laugh out loud funny with lots of touching moments and a few really uncomfortable ones. It centres around a disabled, wealthy, white man who needs help with daily activities and a black guy who has recently been released from prison. We did have the obvious discussion about the ethics of an able bodied person playing a disabled character but agreed that we are okay with it. Bryan Cranston is a brilliant actor, and always seems to add something to the script. Kevin Hart was also great. However, we find Nicole Kidman a really poor actress which is compounded by the work she has had done to her face, further reducing her expressions, which were always minimal. The story was kind of familiar and resulted in fairly cliched realisations on the part of both lead characters, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment in any way. We will give each film we see a score out of 10 for overall enjoyment. The Upside  = 8   Any film with...