FilmMcCool Reviews

The Responder (2022– )

Top Notch Production.

[8/10 · 15 May 2024]

This review is mainly in respect of Season 2. This is a Top Notch Production. I watched Season 1 of the Responder and while I enjoyed it it was not the best TV stuff I'd ever seen but still very good. However Season 2 is just better in all respects, Martin Freeman is a joy to watch. Outside of Liverpool people nobody would even suspect he is not a Liverpudlian, his delivery is spot on. He drags you into his character as do most of the other actors. The scene in the movie where Freeman arrives at the house looking for Vernon and the two women pretend to be a bit do lally is hilarious. The police officers are portrayed as ordinary ppl with all of the issues life throws at us and all the actors raise to the challenge. Great TV, don't miss it.

Fool Me Once (2024)

Same old same old

[2/10 · 15 January 2024]

It really is disturbing when one realizes the amount of good projects that are not made because they cannot raise the money needed and then to watch this drivil that must have cost a pretty million to get made. They throw in everthing they can, the army, war crimes, lots of weapons, stupid cops etc, nothing is original. There is nothing here we have no seen a million times before and even then it has not been done any better, in fact worse. From the opening scene you know why whats happening is happening, vengeance one way or the other. To claim Richard Armitage stars in this is a joke, he is hardly seen in the production, literally seconds in most appearances. The pace is so slow you are in danger of snoozing off, I did.

Keep Breathing (2022)

Mediocrity is the Norm.

[3/10 · 28 July 2022]

Casting for this must have included, a mirror, a tape measure and a weighing scales because it had nothing got to do with acting. More meritocracy from Netflix, while the forest scenery is beautiful it is not enough to rescue this, don't bother.

Most Dangerous Game (2020–2023)

why did they bother

[2/10 · 16 July 2022]

I am tired of these movie makers treating people like idiots. From the get go its stupid, he jumps of a moving bus at a random spot but he is found in seconds. Within minutes of the game starting the wife somehow cops on he is in trouble because money has been deposited in their account, for most of up this is a reason for joy. The stupidity just gets worse, it's never explained how he is found so quickly or easily nor what drives these ppl to want to kill, real rubbish.

Operation Mincemeat (2021)

Boring

[5/10 · 2 July 2022]

All I can say is because they did not want to be accused of copying verbatim the original Movie(The Man Who Never Was) they invented an unnecessary sub plot about a love triangle which did nothing but add an extra 25 minutes to the movie. Watch the original if you have not already seen it.

The Old Man (2022– )

Do Yourself a Favour, Watch this.

[8/10 · 2 July 2022]

At 73 Jeff Bridges is good if not better that anytime I've ever seen him, just brilliant, as are most of the rest of the cast. The story line is excellent and holds together and is believable for the most part. The way in witch they stitch the story together from past to present is pretty good. The dogs add a nice bit of menace to the scenes they are in. However so far it is not without it's faults, the Zoe character while technically kidnapped would be dead but for it. She is tight for money but on learning Dan(Bridges) is giving her $500,000 she does not bat an eyelid nor get with the program, in fact she goes the other way. There is also the contention that there is a leak from Harolds office(which there is) but it is based on Dan leaving the house with his bags packed when the contract killer arrives, however Dan and Zoe were stopped at a police checkpoint the night before and their details taken, surely a trained agent would have been on his bike in any case because of the stop and he should have expected the law to show up at the address pretty darn soon, these are issues but not grievous enough to stop the enjoyment of the episode, just disappointing. Either way I an excited and look forward to the remaining episodes if only for the great acting.

Death on the Nile (2022)

Very Flat

[3/10 · 31 March 2022]

This was the worst performance I have seen from Branagh ever and the rest of the cast were not any better, it was as if they all wanted to be elsewhere.

From (2022– )

More half baked Drama

[3/10 · 7 March 2022]

None of this stuff made sense to me. Driving into an area with no cell reception, an area they don't know and they keep going even though they haven't a clue where they are. Then the only other car on the road for miles causes them to crash even though they see the car approaching and had plenty of time to just stop and how going at that speed timber came through the shell of the car to embed itself into a persons leg? Then the father of the family killed couldn't be bothered to stick a few nails in a window knowing this would keep monsters out and all because he likes a drink. Then the mother runs up the stairs and instead of running into the bedroom and grabbing the daughter away from the window she stopped at the bedroom door to watch allowing the girl time to open the window and btw why did the mother not nail the window shut if the alco dad couldn't be bothered. Maybe I'm getting old and less tolerant of nonsense but it seems like some writers think they are writing for kids in kindergarten or idiots.

The Desperate Hour (2021)

Terrible, Boring

[2/10 · 25 February 2022]

Running around with a pone to your ear, is that what passes for a movie these days, it's cheap and really trying to cod the customer. How this movie got the finance to get made is baffling, it can only be because Miss Watts would draw in the punters and while I like her running around with a phone to her ear does not a movie make.

Reacher (2022– )

Great Stuff

[8/10 · 4 February 2022]

Firstly, they cast Reacher much better than the movies but while Tom Cruise was not in any way a physical representation of Reacher he nailed reachers temprement and Reachers nasty side. Ritchsons " just out of the gym using roids", physique is a bit ott, reacher walked miles most days so while he would be big and super fit he would not be built like a body builder, imo. The storyline and supporting cast are excellant so if you have read the book, Killing Floor you will not be disappointed and even if you did not read the book it is well produced and worth your time. I would have liked Reacher to be a tad more gritty and the story is a bit convoluted and as they introduce Hubble so early in the book and he knows exactly what is going on it is a tad unbelieveable, we dont get the full picture until so late in the book but that is me nit picking. Very enjoyable series and well worth a look.

1883 (2021–2022)

Top Drawer Western

[8/10 · 17 January 2022]

When you see a TV series that includes Sam Ekkiott and Billy Bob Thornton not to mention an apperance from Tom Hanks small as it is you know it could be well worth a look but Tim McGraw has been top notch, an actor I had not seen that much of. In fact the whole cast do a bang up job with material that really is so well put together. It really captures what the old west was most likely like and the characters really bring it to life. I am only up to series 3 but already I am warming to the characters and am looking forward to how they are developed. If I had a critic it is it could be a bit more raw, sometimes it looks a bit to clean but that would be nit picking, well worth anyones time, one of the good ones.

Anne (2022)

Contempt Shown for Working Class, by Police, Govt, Press.

[8/10 · 2 January 2022]

The way ordinary working class people were treated by both the Police and Govt having lost their loved ones due to police mismanagement boardered on Evil. The rush by senior police officers to cover their own hides at the cost of the dead was nothing short criminal and the Newspapers were just as bad. The attempt to lay the blame for the deaths on the dead or surviving fans was Evil, however lets gets something straight I do not blame the rank and file police officers apart from the ones that lied to support the story put out by the polices PR machine. What those people did to the parents of the dead was disgusting, trying to cover their own asses, evil B'strds, these people are paid to protect the people. Now to the drama itself, the acting is top notch, understated but dramatic where needed. It must be very difficult to relay a story like this, you must show the grief but also the anger while being respectful to the deceased, not easy but this episode was spot on. I hold a special phrase for The Sun newspaper, Scumbags, from top to bottom and BTW not a lot has changed but for the fact most ppl catty a camera with them 24/7 so these ppl cannot get away with what they got away with back then, if they could they still would.

Around the World in 80 Days (2021– )

What is going on

[2/10 · 28 December 2021]

Why do Hollywood types think the rest of us are even remotely interested in their wokey pokey take on stories from our past, obviously they live in a different world. Movies in the first place should be entertaining, thought provoking or just plain laughs, this movie is none of those.

Ragdoll (2021)

Rubbish

[3/10 · 26 November 2021]

This has got to be one of the worst dramas ever, so stupid, if real cops are anything like these idiots we are all in big trouble. As an example the end of series 2 is ridiculous. The cop Rose is feet away from the solicitor who killed the prisoner, she is on the phone, all he has to do is grab her but no he stands off her with his arms out, pleading while she steps out in front of a conveniently passing truck. The same is true in series 3, the cop Edmunds is in a car being covered in water so she cannot see out, all she has to do is move the car a few feet, does she, heck no.

FBI: International (2021– )

The Arrogance of the Concept

[2/10 · 29 September 2021]

The Arrogance of the Concept says it all. Taken went to Americans heads, a lot of them thought it was based on a true story, I kid you not. This idea is born out of the same gung ho attittude and is detrimental to the partener shows, FBI and FBI MW which are really good with great production values. The writing in this is lame born out of a lame concept.

Mr Inbetween (2018–2021)

Great Series - Great Acting All Round

[9/10 · 19 July 2021]

What a top notch series. Everything about this is well done, from the actors, characters, production, editing etc. It is never over the top but has it's violent moments which are not gratuitous. Scott Ryan plays the lead Ray really really good as do all the supporting cast. Do not miss this, well worth ones time.

Top Gunner (2020)

Top Gun it is Not

[1/10 · 1 July 2021]

If Eric Roberts want to make a comeback he will not be doing it with a movie like this. Avoid, do not waste your time.

Van Helsing (2016–2021)

Up and Down

[4/10 · 24 May 2021]

So I enjoyed season 2, 3 and most of 4, but after that it all got a bit lame, the storyline that is. The storyline developed into an anything goes kind of story and it all kinda fell apart.

Snowfall (2017–2023)

Bogus Reviews

[4/10 · 18 March 2021]

I think it is obvious now, imdb is being ruined by friends of friends leaving 9 and 10 reviews for content they may not have even seen. When a series goes from mediocre reviews to a slew of 9 ans 10's one after the other it's a sure sign of skullduggery. Typically these reviewers will tell you to ignore the bad reviews. reviews are supposed to be ones opinion, so you leave yours and have the good manners to allow others their opinion. Don't these people realize they are only hurting IMDB and in the long run people wont bother visiting the site if they cannot trust the content.

Batwoman (2019–2022)

How can this happen

[2/10 · 15 February 2021]

How can one take a subject like BatWoman and create such a creativeless moviw from it. I suspect a class in film school could produce a better movie given this topic. How these guys produced such a soulless, rubbish story line mess of a movie with terrible acting and I mean terrible is beyond me. Watch anything else.

Planet of the Humans (2019)

Richard Branson, the word on being Green?

[4/10 · 7 February 2021]

When I see a movie supposedly about how the Green movement have it all wrong with one of the stars being Richard Branson, an Airline owner who pollutes our skies every day, a guy that wanted a huge payout of taxpayers money over Covid, well for me it looses all credibility.

The Expanse (2015–2022)

Can't get Better

[9/10 · 1 February 2021]

Just a brilliant Sci-Fi program. It has it all and then some. It has a rawness that you do not get in Star Trek and although ST is also great except for a lot of the Discovery season The Expanse seems more grown up. Anyway the way the story line fits together so well over a season is great writing and the character development is second to none. To think SyFy cancelled the series after 3 Seasons just shows what they know, there will be six seasons altogether. If you have not already watched any of this do yourself a favor, sit down and indulge yourself.

Dead Again (2021)

Terrible

[1/10 · 1 February 2021]

I will not waste any more time on this drivil just to pass on a message, do not waste your time. It is one of those movies that are actually painful to watch. I do not like putting actors down, it is a difficult profession but the acting in this movie is just not good, not good at all. it is as if the actors were not trying and the result is everything else is effected, don't bother, there is nothing redeemable about this movie.

Life After the Navigator (2020)

Who Cares

[4/10 · 1 February 2021]

I did see "Flight of the Navigator" when released but I cannot say I ever felt the need to either watch it again or check up on the lives of the actors therin. The movie was a bit of escapism and it was enjoyable. I would have been more interested in Joey had he used that movie to launch an acting career. That he did not and fell into drugs and criminality is sadly a story often told and happens to a lot more actors that those that make it a career, it is a tough profession starting out. This documentary, for that is what this is, is midly interesting if you do not particullary care abour Joey or even remember his name. The doco is well put together but again the subject matter is a matter of taste or interest.

PS* I get suspicious of movie reviews when there are 20 pro 9+ reviews in a row, even the best blockbusters do not get reviews like that.

COVID-19: The System (2020)

On youtube you would be booted off.

[1/10 · 25 January 2021]

People on social media platforms are at the least being given warnings and at the most having their accounts cancelled for touting unproven information like this. While I am not a fan of censorship the CoronaVirus is just too dangerous for unproven information to be allowed masquerade as fact. I have noticed since the beginning of the Covid outbreak when you had the likes of David Icke claiming all sorts even that 5G was the cause, lately he has gone very quiet as the virus mutates and the infectiousness of the virus gets worse. This Pandemic is to deadly for a lot of people to allow either misinformed or self serving people to spread fake facts about the Pandemic. Our information must come from the scientists and medical people working at the coal face, some even loosing their lives in an effort to keep the rest of us safe. Please do not waste you time with this kind of stuff but if you must watch it please do not spread the so called misinformation they call facts, do some research first.