newtonpost Reviews

Halo (2022– )

In case you haven't noticed...

[8/10 · 21 June 2022]

I admittedly only seen two episodes so far and enjoyed both.

The reviews on here fall into two distinct camps; those who wanted it to be a retelling of a computer game plot with little or no variation (as this would as one gamer called it, be "blasphemy") and those of us without any distinct knowledge of the game.

Gamers have low marked to vent their collective spleens that the story doesn't slavishly follow the game, so if you are a Halo game devotee you may want to save yourself the potential teenage angst and go play the game.

For everyone else, it's (so far) an interesting story arc and well worth an hour of your time to judge for yourself.

The Last Bus (2021)

Good story well told

[9/10 · 19 September 2021]

A film not so much made as crafted. Timothy Spall puts in a phenomenal performance as the 91 year old determined to keep a promise.

Such a shame that the chain cinemas will be unlikely to carry this and allow more people to see an extraordinary film.

A truly remarkable piece of film making.

What If...?: What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger? (2021) Season 1, Episode 1

Good start

[8/10 · 13 August 2021]

No spoilers!

Great that they got (most of) the live action actors to reprise their roles in this. Good story, but REALLY would have benefited from at least an hour in the telling.

Would make a great live action story.

Stardust (2007)

Absolutely Outstanding

[10/10 · 1 January 2021]

I can count on one hand how many films I'd give 10/10 to. Brilliantly written and superbly acted by an outstanding cast who were clearly having fun making this.

Watch this

Nothing else need be said.

Summerland (I) (2020)

Good story, great acting.

[8/10 · 17 October 2020]

Just returned from my little local independent theatre after seeing this. Firstly, it wasn't what I expected at all from my interpretation of the synopsis, but I'm very glad I didn't let this one slip by.

The script has not fat - every character contributes to the telling of the story and the lead actors deliver their characters in an understated but highly engaging way.

If you want to see a good uplifting story told well, then don't let this pass you by.

Bloodshot (2020)

Works as a comedy.

[4/10 · 5 September 2020]

The plot has more holes than a Swiss cheese and the main protagonist is more interested in trying to look macho than getting the job done efficiently. This may be because all his previous military training is dropped for the much simpler method of trying to stop all the flying munitions with his body. Fortunately the baddies have no ideas and none think of just blowing his head clean off and dealing with him before he can regenerate properly.

The film is unintentionally funny, full of cliches and has military personnel who you would want on the enemies side, including the lead character.

Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)

Dire.

[4/10 · 8 March 2020]

This is really, really bad. Apparently the soldiers have received no basic training apart from an inexplicable desire to shout "Hoo-rah" every 30 seconds, get in close to the giant insectoids despite having underpowered ranged weapons and try any number of stupid actions in an effort to get themselves killed.

How are the insects losing? We did watch it through to the bitter end, putting up with the cheesy dialogue, playground tactics, brain dead leadership and amateur soldering, whilst cheering on the insect queen and her minions.

Read the book or watch the excellent cgi TV series (Roughnecks). Watch this, if you must, for the laughs.

You have been warned.

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Star Trek Corrupted

[4/10 · 24 February 2020]

When Gene Roddenberry created ST, it was with a sense of optimism and a profound belief in the power of people, whatever their planet of origin. This was encapsulated by the concepts of the Federation and the desire of people to expand our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and the universe around us. The original series reflected and recognised the social problems of the time and looked forward to when we were bigger than these issues by being better.

ST: Picard is set in a slow, depressing and down beat galaxy (how did that happen?!?), the main protagonists, including Picard, are self absorbed, self serving and self centred. Gone is the ambition to make the world(s) a better place. They are operating in a cess pool of greed and corruption and appear to be very comfortable in that environment.

I started watching ST TOS in the '70s, having enjoyed ALL the various iterations to varying degrees (yes, Discovery too). This however, is not Star Trek and after trying to find some redeeming feature in any of the 5 episodes aired so far, I'm giving up on it.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

So far, so slow.

[4/10 · 6 February 2020]

I have just finished watching episode 8 (the last one) and have to say that my hope that something revelatory was going to happen has been dashed.

What is essentially a cowboy film in space is slow, dull and lacking any memorable characters. I understand that a second season will be made and hope that somebody decides to employ better scriptwriters and stop feeding us this mogadon.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Getting darker....

[9/10 · 13 December 2013]

Saw this yesterday and thought I'd share first impressions.

Firstly, it's a BIG film at nearly 3 hours, with an awful lot to take in, ( I realised even as I was coming out of the theatre that I would need to see it again to "get my head around it all").

The none Tolkien additions, It is an adaption after all, fit in seamlessly and help contextualise some of the events not only in this story, but also in The Lord of the Rings follow on. Smaug is suitably terrible and terrifying. There are no weak performances and the story clips along at a fast pace.

If you've read the book, then most of the key elements of the story are addressed. If not then you are in for a real treat as this wonderful story unfolds for you. The cliffhanger ending of this film is excellent!

A brilliantly realised mid section of this classic story. ENJOY!

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Well, that was a surprise

[10/10 · 30 October 2013]

Just got back from seeing this and thought I'd put in my thoughts.

This is by far the most intricate and thoughtful of the Marvel films to date, with a great story and some superb performances, particularly Hiddleston's as Loki. The characters from previous Asgard related outings are there, but thanks to some good writing, are more 3 dimensional and therefore, interesting. This is one of the few films that would have benefited from an extra 15 minutes or so to explore further the motivations of the key protagonists.

There is plenty of large scale action, as well as some laugh out loud humorous moments that help to keep this kicking along.

I am both surprised and delighted that this is not only the best superhero movie to date, (even eclipsing Spider-Man 2), but currently the best movie I've seen this year.

Don't miss this!

Pacific Rim (2013)

Bum clenchingly bad

[4/10 · 14 July 2013]

This is a B movie with a massive CGI budget.

The characters are 2 dimensional and the plot is predictable. I kept myself amused spotting the plot holes and inconsistencies. How come you need a monster to use the lift of the way down, but not on the way back? A giant robot falling from a few thousand feet could possibly survive, the people inside - no. Heavily reinforced metal body armour might help you survive in a robot/monster battle, but will drown you the moment you try and swim in it. The robot pilots move their legs at one speed, the robot legs move at another, although the arms were more closely synchronised. I could go on. And on. And on.

The action sequences are over the top and very repetitive and the dialogue is embarrassingly gung-ho.

I really went wanting to enjoy this. I am also a huge fan of Idris Elba. I hope they paid him a lot for his time. Me, I wasted 131 minutes of my life.

Bring back the chap in the rubber Godzilla suit.

Redemption (I) (2013)

Very good in surprising ways

[9/10 · 2 July 2013]

Just got back from seeing this and was very impressed.

Let me start by saying that if you're expecting the "standard" Statham action film, you may be disappointed. This is much grittier and harder edged than anything I've seen him in to date, with a character far more complex than those he usually portrays.

Yes, the plot is somewhat contrived, but still enthralling for all that.

I will not push out any spoilers or plot lines. I will say that it is his most substantive role to date. If you are in the mood for a well crafted, well acted film of some depth, then give the formulaic summer blockbusters a miss and immerse yourself in this film.

You won't be disappointed.

Man of Steel (2013)

Oh dear....

[4/10 · 20 June 2013]

Crash, bang, crash, bang.

Huge plot holes, poor script, wooden acting (with the surprising exception of Russell Crow), huge budget, characters which generate little empathy.

Growing up, Kent publicly performs all manner of superhuman feats, all of which avoid any public reporting, comment or investigation. Until the arrival of Lane, who manages not only to unearth these feats existence, but link them together and back track them to the Kent farm. In a matter of weeks. Amazing.

Lane knows Kal Els secret identity. The world knows she knows. Are we seriously supposed to believe that she wouldn't be enjoying a quick water boarding & toe-nail removal by some government agency for such information?

Superman is able to physically overcome a collection of similarly empowered, militarily trained, technologically advanced people from Krypton. Yeah right.

When Zod is killed, our hero shows great remorse. For a genocidal maniac. Interesting that he showed no remorse for the tens of thousands of innocents that died as collateral damage from the super conflict.

Considering the budget of this film, this is a wasted opportunity to reboot the franchise. Trite, superficial scripting with no reason for the audience to engage with the characters, this is style over substance at its worst and must surely follow the previous reboot into obscurity.

Red Dawn (2012)

Bum-clenchingly bad!!

[2/10 · 13 March 2013]

Saw this in the US in December.

Plot holes that you can drive a tank through; e.g. how does impoverished North Korea fly 4 million troops to invade the US - not enough planes on the planet and how is it that this vast, imaginary armada is invisible to radar, as the invasion is a total surprise? How is a lowly NK Captain (the primary villain), in charge of the thousands of troops that invade and hold the local town?

The script matches the plot line and the acting follows the script. If you want to see a "Reds under the beds" paranoia film, I suggest you look at some of the 1950's B movie classics.

Quite probably the worst film I saw last year, with no redeeming features.

Super 8 (2011)

Off the shelf plot line

[5/10 · 12 June 2011]

Oh dear....

This is not a bad film, but not really worth a second look once seen. The plot could have been put put together over a coffee and has no suspense elements on screen. The lead actors do their best with a muddled script and Abrahams has fallen back onto the special effects to try to make the film have some impact - he falls short by a distance.

Taking from ET, The Goonies and various bland monster films, the failure to engage the audience with any real concern for the protagonists is masterful. The heroes are unsympathetic, the villain two dimensional and the creature (supposedly intelligent), has no interesting characteristics.

Come on people - make an effort!!!

Season of the Witch (2011)

Good story, well told

[8/10 · 7 January 2011]

Finally, a film set in the dark ages where life appears to be pretty nasty, brutish and short (as opposed to Hollywood's usual interpretation of dry cleaned, sanitised and full of hidden beauty parlours).

The film itself is well paced and the plot's internal logic hangs together well. Cage and Perlman are convincing in their roles and the relationship between their characters is understated and more powerful because of it.

This is one of the very few films I have seen in the last couple of years where I wanted it to be longer in order to go into more background of the plot and characters. this film felt like it lasted an hour (actually 95 minutes).

Well worth seeing!

Despicable Me (2010)

OK for young children

[4/10 · 8 August 2010]

Oh Dear! This is fine you children 8 and under. However, for anyone older the plot is highly predictable, the characterisation belaboured and most of the jokes purile in the extreme. Comparisons with similar recent offerings (UP, Toy Story 3, How to Tame your Dragon) are inevitable and DM does not compare well on any measure you care to use. Might be worth buying the DVD to keep young kids occupied for 90 minutes when it's raining, but there are far better animated films out there that will entertain you better and will be worth a second or third showing.

Dadstheman

2012 (I) (2009)

Utter drivel

[1/10 · 7 December 2009]

Gross insult to your intelligence! What were they thinking? By all means have great CGI, but use it sparingly to enhance the story - not to become it. Protagonists have move lives than a black cat wearing four lucky rabbits feet.

Did anybody look at the screenplay/story before the camera started rolling? A modern day "B" movie with all the common sense removed. Don't get me wrong - I love fantastic movies where my sense of belief is put to one side for a couple of hours, but when I am told that this is "real science", then I expect it to be so, or at least a reasonable approximation.

Here are some of the things that really irritated me - there's bound to be a lot more, but I'd lost the will to live after 20 minutes...

Neutrinos pass through the earth unchanged - don't drop energy when they do so, so how can they microwave the earths core? If they do microwave the earth's core, why don't they microwave the surface - i.e. life? Volcanic explosion of the magnitude depicted would have sent out 600 degree gases at speeds just below the speed of sound. Baked in 30 seconds - dropping debris irrelevant - dead already.

Can't get Tsunamis in the middle of an ocean - needs shallows to build up - i.e. coasts.

China (a country, not continental Asia), moves 1500 miles in @ 12 hours - 125 miles an hour, but remains intact and unchanged until...

1500 foot tall Tsunami overwhelms the Himalayas - a range of mountains 10s 0f thousands of feet tall - how?? Why did they not build an super arc on mount Everest - cheaper, quicker and safer? Plane escape - first car leaves off the back of the plane and drives away. Wrecked cars fall off 30 seconds later (1 mile away guessing on plane stall speed), and pass the escape car - they'd be travelling in the opposite direction - how does that work? Don't waste your money seeing this - buy Larry Niven's book "Lucifers Hammer" if you want a really good global disaster story.

True Blood (2008–2014)

Quirky, well acted and gripping storyline

[10/10 · 23 September 2008]

Excellent piece of inventive TV from HBO. I'm currently living in the USA and this is the only program I actively set time aside to watch.

It's an unusual perspective on an old theme. Vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are not generally accepted by US society (lots of overt connections to the civ1l liberties issues of 1960/70s America).

The heroine is a telepathic waitress, the hero (at this stage at least, a 122 year old vampire). This series is aimed squarely at an adult audience, with sexual content and graphic violence, although it is not overdone and does not feel gratuitous.

This is really 'must watch' TV. Keep an eye out for it when it hits the UK - and it will! Fantastic programme, well written, directed and acted.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Oh dear....

[2/10 · 26 January 2008]

2 dimensional characters have you cheering both the alien and predator on... 'Kill them....kill them all'. Should have got a screenwriter, script editor, director in when making the film. Tried to make it style over substance, but lacked the style. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of both series and actually enjoyed the original AVP.

This however went out of it's way to try and shock (as other reviews will confirm), but failed to do so because it was trying to get attention too hard, (like a 5 year old).

If there is another, please move away from the simplistic teen slasher, 'Gosh, look at me, aren't I terrible' approach and have something a little more thought out.

There was 1 plus point - we did get a brief look at the Predators' homeworld and a nod to the original 'Alien' film.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1997 Video Game)

A really engrossing game

[10/10 · 14 October 2007]

Okay, I'm a trekkie, but I did find this game very atmospheric (especially if you're a fan of the original series). Good use of music adds to the tension and the dual plot lines work well together. You should be able to get this game for very little now (Oct 2007), but take the risk! I load this up to play every 12 months or so - still can't finish the final(?) mission though! There is also an expansion pack with Chekov taking a more prominent role. George Takei, (Mr Sulu) and Bill Shatner (Kirk) are also in the first game. The video effects are looking a little data now, but the shot of the Enterprise coming out of space dock is special.

Smallville (2001–2017)

The best rendition of the Superman character to date

[8/10 · 22 July 2006]

A very interesting spin on the usual Superman theme.

I must admit now that I have never been a great fan of the Superman character - as a child reading the comics I found him too powerful, lending support to the idea of brawn beating brains. The Christopher Reeve films did little to change this perception (was I the only one cheering on Lex?).

Smallville however, has introduced a more troubled, amoral and dare I say it, 'Marvel themed' hero, facing physical and emotional issues with much less certainty and simplicity. The excellent writing is also supported by an equally talented cast, although the teen angst is sometimes overplayed.

This is still being aired in the UK (and in the US?). If you like more complex characters and plots in your heroes, then this is for you.