Head over to Movie Rob’s Site for more reviews here.

“Half a tick, Mr. Holmes. Ye can’t go walkin’ into someone’s residence, pokin’ about their personal possessions, disruptin’ their privacy… That’s for Scotland Yard.” – Inspector Lestrade

Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 Jul 2021)

Brief Synopsis – Detective Dr. John Watson hires an actor to pretend to be the intelligent Sherlock Holmes in order to keep his true identity a secret.

My Take on it – This is a film that I never had seen before and after recently coming across it, felt it was perfectly suited for this series.

Hilarious concept that works so well largely due to the performances of Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine in the lead roles.

The film presents a very interesting scenario that slightly changes the entire premise of who really was the famed sleuth.

The find some really ingenious ways to keep this farce afloat and plausible as things move along.

Both Caine and Kingsley are superb in these roles and make things seem so realistic the whole way through.

The movie utilizes known Holmes lore in order to keep things even more powerful and engaging as the story unfolds.

The dialogue is done really well and helps make the viewer believe the fact that Holmes is a trained, yet undisciplined actor who is able to make everyone believe he is a sleuthing genius.

The supporting cast is also great with Jeffrey Jones, Paul Freeman (of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) fame) and Peter Cook all helping to keep this so enjoyable to watch unfold sometimes in very unexpected ways.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The closing credits offer an apology that states: “With apologies to the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.” (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

Head over to Movie Rob’s site for more reviews here.

“I may be a beginner at some things, but I’ve got a black belt in shopping! ” – Phyllis

Number of Times Seen – 1 (19 Jul 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A Beverly Hills divorcee decides to volunteer to lead her daughter’s girl scout troop in order to bond with her.

My Take on it – Horrendous Fish out of water story that just doesn’t work well at all.

Shelly Long is a great actress, but her work in this film is too over the top as she plays a spoiled Beverly Hills housewife.

The antic that she plays along with the ones played by the rest of the cast isn’t very funny and it is quite torturous to watch this story unfold.

There is no chemistry between Long and the rest of the cast and that disconnect hurts things far too much here.

The girl scouts aren’t developed at all and they all seem to fit into various stereotypes that make this movie feel so unoriginal and boring the whole way through.

The cluelessness of the main character is absurd to watch here and this hurts things far too much as the story unfolds in a very unrealistic fashion.

The film has a nice supporting cast, yet none are given enough to do here.

Craig T. Nelson, Mary Gross and Betty Thomas are all wasted in this film because they have so much more to offer than what this story allows them to give which is such a shame.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Lily’s mother was modeled after Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines. There are ‘in-jokes’ made about Karina’s husband being a dictator and how Karina has thousands of pairs of shoes (as Imelda did). Also, the couple have a son, Ferdinand Jr., who is fondly called Bong Bong. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (2/10)

This is going under Q because I have too many questions about what the hell was going on.

Director: James Franco

Writer: Paul Felton, Ian Olds (Screenplay) Steve Erickson (Novel)

Starring: James Franco, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen, Joey King, Jacki Weaver, Dave Franco, Craig Robinson

Plot: A young ex-communicated seminarian, Ike “Vikar” Jerome, arrives in Los Angeles on the same August day in 1969 that a crazed hippie ”family” led by Charles Manson commits five savage murders.

Tagline – Sex, Cinema, and Punk Rock

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Final Thoughts – Zeroville I really didn’t understand this film, it just seemed aggressive, messy and all over the place.

This is Movie Rob’s pick, head over to his site for more reviews.

“You must have really messed up if they sent you to Leo.” – Eckhart

Number of Times Seen – 1 (14 Jun 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A discredited drone pilot is sent on a secret mission with a top secret partner in order to try and stop a nuclear war from erupting

My Take on it – Intriguing idea that works quite well.

the story is planed out well and besides the sci-fi aspects of the story could theoretically take place in the present.

The plot is filled with some great discourse between the two main characters which helps keep things more intriguing to watch due to the philosophical and moral issues that they discuss along their journey into the unknown.

The action scenes are done quite well and give the viewer the feel of truly being within a war zone the whole time.

The story is definitely augmented by the sci-fi aspects which allow for things to feel a bit more futuristic along the way.

The unknown technologies that the story has created helps add to the suspense and tension of the story and characters as things move in directions that might not always seem so clear cut.

The film’s message about war is on the mark even if it doesn’t feel original in its delivery, yet the environment helps give off a fresh vibe the whole way through.

Anthony Mackie once again delivers in this film and lets his character feel quite realistic in plausible in all that he does along the way.

Damson Idris is also great here and the two of them have contrasting chemistry that helps make them a formidable team on their journey.

Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In the movie, Anthony Mackie runs with his arms resembling the way the Terminator T1000 runs after Sarah Conner and T800 in the Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

Head over to Movie Rob’s site for more reviews here.

“You know those movies where the picture just starts to slow down… and melt? Then catch fire? Well, that’s Berlin.” – Lorraine Broughton

Number of Times Seen – 1 (1 Jun 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A British agent is sent undercover into Cold War Berlin during the mid-1980’s in order to recover a stolen list of deep cover operatives.

My Take on it – Movie with great action sequences that feels a bit too unoriginal in the way that the plot and story play out.

Charlize Theron once again proves that she is the female Keanu Reeves and can hold her own in any kind of battle on screen and she does is so effectively here.

The story is fast paced and moves along swiftly in order to keep things flowing the whole way through.

Theron is helped here by a fun supporting cats that includes James MacAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Sofia Boutella.

The overall premise of a secret list of deep cover operatives getting stolen has been used and used and reused so many times that it’s about time that someone would think of a more original back story for spy thrillers that sounds just as plausible.

Theron’s acting skills are great here because she allows her character to take on so many different kind of roles and personas along the way that helps keep things so enjoyable to watch unfold.

The twists and turns are also great and help add to the suspense of the story especially when they throw a few nice surprises at the audience along the way to help keep things a bit more ambiguous as it all progresses.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The key fight sequence that unfolds in a real Berlin building lasts for almost 10 minutes in what appears to be an unbroken take when, in fact, the sequence comprises almost 40 separate shots seamlessly stitched together. Though filmed chronologically from start to finish, nearly half the splices needed some degree of CGI assistance. Swish-pans provided the simplest solutions for smooth cuts and door frames provided vertical seams for smoothly bridging some segments. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (6/10)