markjholloway-60408 Reviews

Lift (I) (2024)

Wooden acting and predictable plot passes the time well enough

[4/10 · 15 January 2024]

Good enough idea but the execution is spoilt with wooden, rushed acting, even from experienced actors like Sam Worthington and Vincent D'Onofrio.

The scene where everyone demonstrates their loyalty to Cyrus (Kevin Hart) was a particularly cringe-worthy example for me.

Some plot points (the business week in Paris) were repeated ad nauseam.

The special effects are great and the plot is enjoyable enough, if entirely unbelievable and hugely predictable.

Kevin is trying so hard to be more than a comedian and, frankly, doesn't leverage his huge comedic talents enough in the movie. He is actually one of the better actors in this though.

Overall a movie that passed the time easily enough but was spoiled by the poor acting and predictable plot.

The Menu (2022)

That scene ...

[9/10 · 6 July 2023]

Loved it!

The whole movie has a unique plot that reveals itself slowly and perfectly as the menu progresses, descending into dark, dark comedy/drama before your eyes.

I also enjoy how the elements slowly weave themselves together and present themselves in the final scenes, as you understand why he's doing this.

The one scene I just love & have watched several times is when Margot finally joins the dots and realises how to de-stabilize Chef Slowik.

Ralph Fiennes' acting genius shows in this scene as his subtle facial features show his genuine pleasure at re-creating something that brought him into the profession and gave him enjoyment early in his career.

Surprisingly great movie with some great acting and surprises.

Extraction II (2023)

Non stop, over-the-top and VERY predictable violence

[3/10 · 18 June 2023]

If you want a yet another very predictable movie about the guy with special skills that returns from 'retirement' to perform some impossible task (in this case recover his sister-in-law from an Eastern European mafia-style family), with non-stop and, frankly unbelievable scenes of fighting and violence, then this is the movie for you.

The fighting and shooting is non-stop in an attempt to distract you from the highly predictable, almost non existent plot.

How actors like Chris Hemsworth and Idris Elba agreed to perform in this is beyond me. I can't even find Idris in the Cast list. I understand why.

If you like explosions, shootings, stabbings, miraculous recoveries from life-threatening wounds and mindless revenge - this is for you!

Mr Inbetween (2018–2021)

Surprisingly funny.

[9/10 · 10 June 2023]

You start this series thinking it will be a dark, gritty series full of violence.

Yes, you get the violence but the series does well for the same reason all good series do well: interesting plot, great acting, some humor and, most importantly, about humanity.

A hired killer, working for a psychopathic boss, trying to deal with a divorce, find love and bringing up an 8 year old daughter shouldn't be entertaining but it is!

I found myself laughing out loud several times and empathizing with the lead characters, despite their horrible acts and characters. This reminded me of The Sopranos a little.

The Diplomat (II) (2023– )

Outstanding, funny and relevant

[9/10 · 24 April 2023]

A great series written so well by Debora Cahn. Congratulations

Outstanding acting by. Keri Russell, David Gyasi and. Rufus Sewell really bring the characters to life with witty and rich dialogue.

The differences between American and English culture are dealt with well and in a humorous manner. The strengths and weaknesses of US and English foreign policy and how it is impacted by petty politics are covered nicely.

The plot(s) are rich, carefully inter-woven, detailed and come with twists and surprises.

Frankly, the episodes ended way too early and I cannot wait for the next season. When is that?

Wrong Side of the Tracks (2021– )

Interesting storyline, good acting

[7/10 · 19 April 2023]

I like this series a lot.

A storyline that is not the same as all the other series available. A healthy mix of cynicism, sarcasm, revenge mixed with marginal Spanish racism.

The acting is great - with a variety of characters. Coronado is awesome and encourages me to hunt down other stuff he has been in. The only disappointment is the overly obvious glamor ornament, Irene - continually parading around in skimpy clothing, awful acting and repeated emotionless crying. However look beyond her butt and stomach and the other characters are great.

I've only watched the first 5 episodes so far but it has me addicted.

Back to 15 (2022– )

Good idea and execution

[8/10 · 5 February 2023]

We binge watched this series as the idea is fairly unique. I don't remember any other movie or series covering time travel in this manner.

A good teenager 'growing up' type of movie.

The acting and small insights into Brazilian culture were well done as well. The effort put into ensuring young and old Anita looked similar, even down to her hair was pretty amazing.

Anita does a good job of learning from her time travels and stops her, frankly, irritating habit of feeling she knows best and can interfere in the lives of others.

We hardly noticed that this was dubbed into English; this seemed seamless to us.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Stunning visuals, really amazing. Story just plain lazy

[6/10 · 5 February 2023]

As many others have said, the visuals and the imagination that went into the visuals is the best I have ever seen.

The quality of them frankly just dominate the movie.

The acting is good too.

However, the story is just lazy, in my opinion, feeling like a shotgun appropriation of ideas central to American and Western culture.

Want a little of the Vietnam War burning of villages there? Got it!

A little of a Western vs American Indians with their arrows and war cries? Sure!

A little military might and blind capitalism being mis-used to destroy traditional cultures and murder whales for economic gains? Done!

Even a little New Zealand Maori tattoos and Haka? Just slip it in!

All wrapped together in a neat parcel of David vs Goliath little guys beating the big guy.

Maybe Cameron is showing us the most awful elements of Western culture, to shame us, or laugh at us? Or, maybe, he is just recycling familiar stories for us to pay for?

Who know?

Slow Horses (2022– )

Outstanding Spook series

[9/10 · 31 December 2022]

Gary Oldman is brilliant in everything he does and he shines in this series about an outcast bunch of spooks working in a derelict building in London.

The storylines are great, with a deep, unpredictable, twisting plot filmed well and acted well by everyone.

The story covers an infrequently covered topic - MI5 and their shenanigans, more often than not putting internal politics ahead of the health and safety of the British public.

Locations are lovely as well: beautiful hotels, houses, corporate meeting rooms, lovely Cotswold villages as well as seedy restaurants and office buildings.

This is classic British TV with a feast of a plot and a light tasting of car chases, special effects and sex, rather than the reverse typically exported from across the Pond.

Black Adam (2022)

Great special effects, CGI and action. Storyline ... Meh

[6/10 · 24 October 2022]

The scenes, special effects, GCI are all great. Essentially non-stop action from the beginning.

All the actors do a good job, with decent acting. Dwayne is awesome, of course, with his characteristic facial expressions.

Where I was left disappointed was the plot, or lack of it. The highly predictable storyline provided little more than a vague justification for fight after fight, after fight ... after fight.

You will not be surprised by much, if anything in this movie but, if you like action, it's a movie for you.

If you're looking for a plot and sub-plot with surprising twists in it ... maybe not so much.

Nope (2022)

Great concept

[7/10 · 23 July 2022]

Loved the unique concept (how has no-one thought of that before?) and cinematography.

I did struggle to understand what was being said at times and it was slow in some parts.

Overall a good movie I enjoyed.

Would I Lie to You (II) (2022)

Awful, slap-stick variant on a subtle and hilarious British show

[3/10 · 9 May 2022]

Exactly the same format as the UK show that has been running forever.

However, the slapstick comedy and over-acting (not everything is hilarious guys) makes this an awful, cheap copy of the original.

Maybe it'll get better after time but the over-acting just makes the first 2 episodes terrible.

Would I Lie to You? (2007– )

Hilarious every single time

[9/10 · 9 May 2022]

Great dead pan humour and genuinely great lying. Some of the players (David, Lee, Rob and, of course, Bob Mortimer) are just awesome!

Love this series.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Shotgun approach to ideas did not work for me

[3/10 · 16 April 2022]

Yes this is very different. Yes I imagine this IS what it's like to be on a trip.

However, I found the storyline and plot confusing, possibly simplistic to the point of insulting (woman leverages skills from the multi-verse to fight an evil force and learns to love her family as a result? The consequences of simple decisions in our lives has major impact?).

The movie felt like the result of firing a shotgun of innovative ides at the screen and letting the viewer to sort it out. I couldn't.

I loved the blending of Chinese and English to help convey how full and confusing Evelyn's life is.

The fight scenes, special effects and ideas (beating people up with dildos and hot dog fingers?) are very impressive and Michelle Yeoh does a great job but fails to pull the scenes together.

Sorry.

The Batman (2022)

Dark, slow detective story

[7/10 · 5 March 2022]

I found this just too slow and struggled to stay awake at times.

The story and plot are great and come across more like a police/detective story than your usual 'punch them and move on' Batman movies.

It seems the modern take on Batman is dark and this movie doesn't disappoint - it is dark, dark, dark.

It's also good to learn more about characters like the Penguin and Riddler and a little more about Bruce Wayne's struggles.

However, for me, there wasn't enough of the Batman athletics, gadgets and fighting and the pace would've been preferable in 2 hours, not 3.

Fortress (2021)

Awful acting, directing and editing

[2/10 · 22 December 2021]

Wow

Awful movie. Bruce Willis was embarrassing, with wooden delivery and no energy. Several scenes were obviously filmed at different times, even locations.

The action scenes are an amateurish joke of disjointed, poorly edited and filmed scenes.