Film

Avengers: Infinity War Review

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Avengers Infinity War

So here we are at last. After 10 years of films and six years since Thanos first appeared on screen, the big pay off… or at least, the first half of the big pay off. To be honest they should have kept the Part I and Part II in the title like they were going to originally, but hey-ho, it’s still a hell of a two and a half hour ride full of amazing fight scenes, amusing banter and a surprisingly (and very un-MCU-like) fleshed out villain at the centre of it. Now more than ever, I’d skip straight to the “Overall Thoughts” at the bottom of the page and avoid all of this review under the *spoilers appear from here on out!* tag if you haven’t seen the film already…

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Captain America: Civil War Review

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Cap Civil War

So I’m going to watch Avengers: Infinity War tomorrow (or today, when this review goes up!) but I didn’t really have the time to watch a lot of MCU films leading up to it… in fact I just squeezed this one in, but still! Let’s have a look at Civil War, the film that could be argued as the real Avengers 3, though I feel that’s unfair given the focus is still very much on Captain America rather than the ensemble of heroes around him. It’s also the film that introduces us to both the MCU’s Spider-Man and Black Panther, the latter of whom’s solo film would turn out to be more successful than the former, which no one would have guessed a few years ago! So let’s dive in!

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Live and Let Die Review

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Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die sees Roger Moore debut as 007, and arrives right in the middle of the early 70s “blaxpoitation” era, as such it sees Bond deal with Harlem drug lords, voodoo cultists and a New Orleans funky brass band that kills people… Okay, maybe that last one wasn’t a common trope, but still! Harlem, Caribbean islands and New Orleans, that’s three stereotypical locations for the price of one! Let’s take a look and see if this actually works as a film or not in general, let alone in 2018…

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Thor: Ragnarok Review

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Thor Ragnarok

After sadly missing it in the cinema, I finally got to sit down and watch Thor: Ragnarok this week. It’s an odd film, it seems to want to be Guardians of the Galaxy more than a Thor film, though given the high standard of the former and the low standard of latter, I can see why. It also wants to be a Planet Hulk film, and wants to up the laughs and pull back on the drama, so rolling all those things together makes this a bad adaptation of the Ragnarok storyline from the comics, but makes it one of the funniest and flat out most enjoyable films in the MCU… So, let’s take a closer look!

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Diamonds Are Forever Review

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Diamonds are Forever

Diamonds Are Forever is one of my least favourite Bond films, it has to be said. It has a lot of the silly humour that would later define the Roger Moore era of the franchise, but given it has (an admittedly older, tubbier and un-arsed) Sean Connery it just doesn’t seem to work. It also has a really unsatisfactory ending and two of the most annoying “henchmen” ever… So yeah, this isn’t going to be a pretty review!

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Blade Runner 2049 Review

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Blade Runner 2049

A sequel to Blade Runner was always a good example of a sequel that doesn’t need to happen, or that straight up shouldn’t happen. Well, it happened, and it was… good! It doesn’t quite match up to the original in a lot of ways, being more a good sci-fi story than a neo-noir story that’ll make you think, but it’s a damn fine near-three hours of storytelling. Let’s take a closer look at Blade Runner 2049!

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Blade Runner Review

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Blade Runner

Much like when I start to look at the Star Wars films and I pondered “how do I review the original Star Wars?”, I have to repeat that process by saying “How do I review Blade Runner?” I wanted to review the sequel, 2049, so I thought I’d do them together, but what is there left to say about the original? It has to be among the most looked at films, the most often broken down into its component parts, the most examined both from a visual and a storytelling viewpoint. I guess the only thing to do is just do it! Say what I like, and if you want something super in-depth I’m sure a quick google search will grant you a look at the film from every possible perspective. So, without further ado: Blade Runner! (the “Final Cut” version, for the record…)

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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Review

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OHMSS

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, otherwise known as “the George Lazenby one”, is an odd film. I’ve properly watched this three times now, once on VHS, once on DVD and now once on Blu-ray, and I think I’ve had a different opinion each time. I thought it was boring, thought it was a good spy story with a great ending, and now I’m somewhere in between the two, though leaning towards boring. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look!

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You Only Live Twice Review

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You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice is an odd one… It has great stuff like the first (and eternally parodied) Blofeld in person, the volcano lair (also parodied into oblivion) and a great set of climax scenes, but it also has the awkward 60s idea of Japan, with ninjas, “in Japan men come first, women come second, Mr. Bond-san”, and James Bond “becoming a Japanese” by being painted slightly yellow, given slightly slanty eyes and a bowl haircut… A mixed bag, but at least it’s a fun mixed bag!

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