Emmy says:
I love musicals and this is no exception. I adore the style of dancing and physical acting in this, and the costumes are just gorgeous. 10/10.

Jeff says:
This has always been one of my favourite classic movies. I feel that Donald O’Connor is unfairly overshadowed in name recognition by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. A few YouTube clips from I Love Melvin (released the year after Singin’ in the Rain), and an inability to find some way to watch it, lead to us re-watching the much more successful predecessor. Hollywood’s love letter to the early talkies still holds its appeal – and certainly entranced our young intern, who seems to want to be Gene Kelly even before learning how to talk. 10/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
The set up for this story was weird. It simultaneously felt incomplete and hurried, and yet dragging and bloated. The characters were well developed and the earth story was great. Very enjoyable. 8/10.

Jeff says:
An enjoyable movie. I would describe it as The Martian crossed with The Fault In Our Stars with a happy ending. I realise that is probably more spoilery that I would usually post, but it’s relevant. This movie seems to know what it wants to borrow from, but not how to integrate it all together. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but much of the interesting bits were skipped over without even a ‘xx months later’. Presuming any readers here have seen the trailer, I wanted to know more about preparing for the journey to Earth. So few montages just so the movie could be full of the results … leaving them feeling unearned. A pretty movie, with an excellent cast doing a fantastic job with what they have. 7/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
I still struggle with the language of Shakespeare and I feel that my enjoyment of this film suffered for it. I was unable to empathise with any character or grasp the impetus of their motivations. The costumes were amazing for the time this was made. 7/10.

Jeff says:
Polanksi’s classic (which was a failure at the time) is a violent nihilistic masterpiece that takes the Scottish Play and shows what the play often only mentions or hints at. Tweaked to fit the world view of a man who lost his wife and unborn child to violence, and who was also somewhat pessimistic about that state of the world, this film is more about the director than the Bard even if the words belong to the latter. The cast is excellent though and the staging, costumes, and attempts at authenticity are impressive for a film 50 years old. This is not the griping tale I remember the play being, however. 7/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
This story should not work yet it provides a perfect vehicle for the brilliantly witty dialogue and outstanding direction of physical acting. Add in the frenetic music coupled with the copious sprints between rooms you have an entirely quotable movie that is a blast to watch. 10/10.

Jeff says:
One of the most memorable, and quotable, films of all time. Great script, great acting, great atmosphere. How do you turn a board game into a movie? Generally, don’t try (ahem, Battleships), but this worked. The mid 50’s era paranoia plays perfectly into a story that works. To cut a long story short … this is very rewatchable and perfect light entertainment when you don’t know what to watch. 10/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
This movie still packs a punch with effects that don’t look dated. Strong story and script with phenomenal fight choreography. Love the look and feel of this one. 10/10.

Jeff says:
Firstly, this movie still looks great. Amazingly good work, when CGI is needed, and a reliance on the practical when possible, meant that this movie does not look like it came from previous century. The story is strong after many re-watches, and a basic understanding of philosophy makes this so much more than just a fun action film. Film-making done right, from start to finish. 10/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
I found this movie quite enjoyable as I do love a horror movie and don’t feel let down by the lack of action. The characters had some nuance and the effects were great. I don’t think that the payoff at the end was earned which did bring down my mood. 7/10.

Jeff says:
Despite the well-publicised delays, alleged re-writes and studio ‘notes’, I actually rather enjoyed this. Now, it is NOT an action film, and it’s NOT a superhero film. It’s just a story about kids in a universe where mutants are known and part of the almost-everyday. This is closer to a psychological horror film like The Stepford Wives or Rosemary’s Baby. If you understand that, I think you’ll enjoy it more. Movies are challenged to treat the audience like they have brains but when they do, too often they find they’re criticised for not explaining enough. This happened here. Things aren’t explained to the characters unless it would normally be. They know more than we do, so they don’t get exposition dumps. I like that about this film. I would have loved to see the true-horror vision the director had for this story. 8/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
This is the type of movie you go into knowing what the whole plot will be. I had a lot of fun watching it unfold and enjoyed the characters, although there isn’t much depth to any of them. Great dancing and music with wonderful costumes. 7/10.

Jeff says:
This reminded me a lot of Bring It On, in a lot of ways. This is not a bad thing, as I love Bring It On. Predictable and formulaic, it still works – the dancing is great and there are some amazing cameo performances (the disabled break dancers were something to behold). An enjoyable movie that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. 7/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
I must admit this was not what I expected, a lot less action than I thought. Holds up well with the staging and effects used. Great pacing of the story and attention to detail. 7/10.

Jeff says:
The movie that started it all. Wow, Sean Connery is so young! A classic that started more than just a franchise, it really started a whole genre. More spy thriller than action film, it’s what Bond was always meant to be. 8/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
This movie is full of silliness but it really is such a love letter to Eurovision. Outstanding songs and characters and absolutely lovable even while totally predictable. 9/10.

Jeff says:
Filmed with the co-operation of the real Eurovision Song Contest, its competitors, its organisers and even its fans, this movie – which seems like satire – is really a sweet homage to everything that the hard-core Eurovision fans love. The music is on point, the costumes and staging are excellent. Small technical errors of fact that can be spotted by those who know Eurovision, but that’s not really enough to detract from an actually quite lovely film. Douze points. 9/10.

IMDb

Emmy says:
A real fun zombie movie with interesting characters. Great design and script with a predictable plot. Laughed and cried 8/10.

Jeff says:
This is an interesting addition to the Zombie genre, but it could have been better. It’s easy to see what Zack Snyder cares about by the plot contrivances and “important” story points just overlooked at the conclusion. Predictable in almost every way that matters, it’s still a fun romp. I cared about the characters, I just wish the narrative did a bit more. 7/10.

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