The Brown Note Movie Review

After an entire James Bond (why are James plural by the way?) special last year, where I listed every Bond film in order of greatness, how does the final Daniel Craig effort shape up to his 3rd best in my list, Casino Royale, or his rock bottom last outing in the terrible Spectre. Thankfully a lot better, though I still expected more.

Although promising a great deal through its first half, this Marvel Universe exploration into Asia, becomes a little too rote and World of Warcraft as it peters out, to feel rather low stakes by the end. The stellar reviews I feel make it another film where critics have simply celebrated another middling superhero effort, due it not being a straight white man in the lead. At least we get the immor...

This American remake of a modern Danish, one room classic, is a remarkably solid turn from the often wayward Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua. He doesn't get in the way of an anxiety inducing thriller starring (almost entirely) a powerhouse Jake Gyllenhaal. Underappreciated.

When one of the world's greatest directors, Denis Villeneuve, had already landed an impossible 1980's sci-fi godhead classic in Bladerunner 2049, he was the obvious, unimpeachable choice to tackle Frank Herbert's impossible to film best seller. Yet the enormous acclaim afforded this effort points to it being the emperor's new clothes of the modern era, his worst film and the most disappointing fil...

Todd Haynes much heralded documentary about a band who are pretty much ground zero for alternative music and created multiple entire universes that are still explored today, is an artistic triumph. If I wanted to nit pick, I'd say it's a little to abstracted. For a band so influential on the history of music, it needs a lacking wider context, it's a little too insular, to be a definitive documenta...

Ignoring the pointless furore over the director's use of artificial intelligence, to speak a couple of Bourdain's written lines, Morgan Neville does everything I could've hoped for in his biopic of one of my favorite people ever. Namely, take me on the same chronological journey I took with the late lamented star, from the beginning of his career to the bitter end, imbuing each stage with far deep...

This sequel to the memorable 1992 horror comes with the pedigree of Jordan Peele writing and great reviews, yet, for me falls wildly short of the mark. The setting in the remanents of the most notorious housing project in American history and the subsequent gentrification is about the only thing this slight film gets right.

Arguably the world's apex stand up comedian, Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix stand up, The Closer, is the most controversial of the modern age. Why I think it's also the most important. The most fearless, deliberate and confrontational work of his career, less concerned with being funny than staring down the zeitgeist, taking a blow torch to the sound bite universe and running a freight train thro...

This post Iraq war gambling morality play came with impossibly high standards for me to hold it up against. The director, Paul Schrader not on;y wrote Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, but his last film, the devastating state of the world address, First Reformed was my film of the year. It doesn't quite live up to those expectations and feels a little unfinished, but it's still one of the years most in...

A massive let down to be honest and far closer to the awful Ready Play One than I'd hoped. Living inside a fake reality films set a high water mark back in the 90's with the likes of The Truman Show and The Matrix, this offers next to nothing. The basic concept of Non Playable Characters inside video games attaining sentience is ripe for exploration, but ideas are thrown up in the air and never ex...

Through sheer relentless volume, Aussie director James Wan gets called the king of horror, because it sure isn't quality. I've rarely been impressed by his films. Though this talked about horror is a wild and strange beast indeed. Never scary and seemingly Michael Bay making the most rote body horror imaginable for two thirds of its run time, Wan then decides to turn into a full blown Dario Argent...

A big fat zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes is like cat nip to me, how bad can it be! Sadly not interestingly awful, more just terrible. Ex Disney star turned adult entertainer, Bella Thorne seems to have much the same level of talent and charisma as the rest of this cast of rock stars, models and people probably just walking past. The controversy generated by the blasphemous poster turns into immat...

Full disclosure - as I am massively in love with Maggie Q, a fair review is not possible, but I have been saying for years this criminally underused actor deserves exactly this kind of starring role. This very much post Leon the Professional, slightly post Kill Bill Hitman (woman?!) actioner has been underappreciated by critics as it does one crucial thing right. Most films like this start strong...

This "inspired by" take on the Amanda Knox murder story has been rightly criticised by her but on its own terms is a hugely underrated film, perhaps as it's been mis-marketed as both a crime film and an actioner. It's neither, it's a very patient, very effecting human drama with a surprisingly bitter sting in the tail. Don't come here expecting a Liam Neeson film, it's far more European and based...

Writer-director David Lowery has become one of the most interesting and exciting auteurs in cinema. This massive left turn for him into the legend of King Arthur thankfully hews far closer to John Boormans 80's classic Excalibur than Guy Ritchie's nadir, though in truth is a far more art-house experience. Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander excel in their meatiest roles in years and the production desig...

The fifth entry into the occasionally polemical and relevant Purge franchise wastes the brilliant choice to relocate in post Trump America to Texas and the border. Despite having a cast array of low-hanging hand grenades it could set off with Mexicans, immigration and red-necks, it never feels like it engages with anything and could've been about anywhere. American Ninja is even mentioned.

We should thank the DC universe for providing never ending intrigue. The operate like a failed state on the border of Marvel's Europe. After the shocking abomination of WW1984 and the totally unexpected triumph of Zack Snyder's Justice League, we now get a poached Marvel director to fairly decently helm a perfectly watchable invocation of Deadpool.

Though sadly hewing closer to the likes of The Mummy or Pirates of the Caribbean than Indiana Jones, a winningly likeable cast, with good chemistry, elevate this amiable romp to being a much needed balm for troubled times.

After a rote first half that presents itself as a Friday the 13th, lets knock the obnoxious kids in the woods, one by one, horror, Wrong Turn explodes in unexpected and far more satisfying ways, recalling the likes of The Wicker Man and ends up much superior to the frankly naff Midsommar.

After reading the less than tepid reviews, I was very surprised by how good the first two acts of this sci-fi actioner were, and how heady and existential the themes it doesn't quite fully engage with are. A dreadful and actually unnecessary third act and frankly lame performance from Chris Pratt crash things back to earth. However I now realise what I've been missing in the stellar Aussie actress...

One of Marvel's only major mistakes was not striking first with the female superhero movie, when they had the perfect woman for the job. Now we finally get to say goodbye to Scarlett Johansson's Avenger properly. This enormously watchable stand alone isn't quite as reverent as I wanted and too often crashes her party with new franchise concerns - but the leads have great chemistry.

Incredibly the third mediocre Liam Neeson actioner already this year and sadly the weakest of a pretty lame bunch. A low rent re-make of Wages Of Fear has some decent suspenseful action but dreadful special effects and zero originality.

Zack Snyder's first film since the pivotal Synder Cut of Justice League shows him continuing his Guy Ritchie like rise to actually becoming a decent director - here continuing to show the patience from that previous film, in letting a screenplay build and breathe around characters rather than bludgeoning the audience to death Michael Bay style. Also combining the heist and zombie movies to imagina...

Making the case that the band that came from the UK's dreariest town yet turned into the most glamorous act on earth were not only the best singles act of the 80s, who released the most dramatic singles but also the best 'boy-band' since The Beatles and the last great boy-band before it all went to hell.

Despite yet again wheeling out the rusting concept of a deadly weapon that can take over the world's computers, the ninth entry into the Fast and the Furious franchise is far less about its main story and more about back story and decent fan service returns. Finding unexpectedly wide scope and fertile ground to explore and expand previously hinted at Fast-lore in satisfying ways in a totally solid...