Wicked Little Letters (15): You'd have to be a ******* **** not to enjoy this one.

#OneMannsMovies #Film Review of "Wicked Little Letters". #WickedLittleLetters. Sweary comedy genius from Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley. 4/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Wicked Little Letters” (2024). It always gives me great joy to walk into a cinema screen and see that virtually every seat in the place is taken. A gasp-inducing joy! That’s what happened to me yesterday afternoon seeing “Wicked Little Letters”. This sweary but lovable tale is hitting a sweet spot with the ‘silver-dollar’ audience and I think word of mouth might…

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Hamlet (2024) (15): Glittering McKellen in a Quirky but Exquisite Age-Blind Version.

Hamlet (2024) (15): Glittering McKellen in a Quirky but Exquisite Age-Blind Version. 5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies Film Review of “Hamlet” (2024). The Covid lockdown in 2020 did a lot of damage to the performing arts in the UK, but none more so than to theatres. One of the productions severely disrupted was Sean Mathias’s “Hamlet” at the Theatre Royal Windsor and acknowledgement of this is recognised in the opening titles for this quirky film version of the play. Unlike the illustrious…

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Anyone But You (15): It's Shakespeare, but not as you know it.

Anyone But You. #AnyoneButYou. A loose Rom-Com adaption of Shakespeare's classic: ``Much Ado About Nothing``. Join Bea, Ben, Halle, and Claudia and find out what happens!

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Anyone But You” (2023). Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” has been filmed many times for TV and (most notably) for the cinema in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 movie. It also got a more modern treatment in “Messina High” in 2015. Here in “Anyone But You” we go full Rom-Com for what I think scholars will probably agree to be a “lose interpretation” of Shakespeare’s…

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The Marvels (12): A Marvel that cat-lovers in particular will enjoy.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "The Marvels". #TheMarvels. Frenetic, funny Marvel film that sometimes loses the plot. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Marvels” (2023). “The Marvels” seems to have crept into cinemas with relatively little fanfare for a $250 million film. As if Marvel seem a bit embarrassed about it and have already filed it in the “failure” bucket. But this feels more than premature, since the characters here have a lot of appeal, particularly with the proportion of the audience that can…

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Freelance (15): Bad Guys from the Stormtrooper School of Marksmanship.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "Freelance". #FreelanceMovie. Latin American hocum with John Cena and Alison Brie. 2/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Freelance” (2023). “Freelance”, currently streaming on Prime Video, sets an early bar for the most brainless bit of movie nonsense in 2024. I don’t mind fantasy adventure films… but grounding them even vaguely in common sense is a pre-requisite for me. Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: Mason Pettits (John Cena) is unhappy in his life. He is ex-special…

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Ferrari (15): Enzo Juggling with Debt and Frenetic Parallel Lives.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "Ferrari". #FerrariMovie. A much better movie than other critics led me to believe. Enjoyed this. 4/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Ferrari” (2023). This was my last cinema trip in 2023. Given the ‘ho-hum’ reviews about Uncle Michael’s new film*, I was in a bit of trepidation about going to see “Ferrari”. But I actually found it a really solid watch. It’s a bit like John Frankenheimer’s motor-racing epic “Grand Prix” from 1966…. a bit of action mixed with some heavy doses of melodrama. But…

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The Bikeriders ('15'): A Luminous Comer completely passed me by!

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of “The Bikeriders” (2023). #LFF. Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and lots of bikes. Impressive. 4/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Bikeriders” (2023) (from the London Film Festival). Is “bikerider” a word? I really don’t think so! But that’s the title of this impressive new movie by Jeff Nichols, apparently decades in the gestation. Using an innovative technique, “Bikeriders” takes us inside the lives of a biker gang in the US Midwest (the movie was filmed in Cincinnati) during the period…

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Thanksgiving (18): Carving up a slashing treat.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "Thanksgiving". #ThanksgivingMovie. A fun, gory, slasher-horror that ticks all the right boxes. 4/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Thanksgiving” (2023). There is virtually nothing novel about Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving”. We are firmly in teen-slasher territory, with a masked figure terrorising the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. But, that being said, there’s a certain exhuberant energy behind the mayhem that makes the whole thing far more entertaining than most recent horror offerings. Bob the…

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Paint (12): Sex, Oils and Mount Mansfield.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Paint” (2023). In my eyes, Owen Wilson always seems to play himself in movies. But here, despite the character’s name, he most definitely plays someone else…. someone beloved of bored Covid-lockdown painters like me! Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: Carl Nargle (Owen Wilson) has been the star of “Paint with Carl Nargle” on PBS Burlington for decades. On…

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Maggie Moore(s) (15): Highly enjoyable small-town cop thriller.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Maggie Moore(s)” (2023). I’ve found Jon Hamm’s movies to be a bit of a game of Russian Roulette. For every “Bad Times at the El Royale” or “Baby Driver” there’s been a “Confess, Fletch“ or “Wild Mountain Thyme”. “Maggie Moore(s)” proves to be a quirky and engaging film on the positive side of the Hamm balance. Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: Jordan…

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Eileen ('15'): Two Parts Thomasin Perfection to One Part Bat-shit Crazy.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of “Eileen” (2023). #LFF. Almost the glory of a "Carol 2" until derailed by a bizarre 3rd reel plot twist. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Eileen” (2023) (from the London Film Festival). Arrghh! You know that on One Mann’s Movies I very very rarely use my 5* rating. For about the first two-thirds of this film, I had the 5-star card out of my pocket and ready to apply. But then, through an utterly crazy plot-twist, the train came off the rails. The 5-star card went back into my pocket again. As such,…

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May December ('15'): Dredging Up the Facts about an Under-age Sex Scandal.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of “May December” (2023). #LFF. Todd Haynes melodrama with a fabulous turn by Natalie Portman. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “May December” (2023) (from the London Film Festival). “May December” is the latest from Todd Haynes who directed, for example, “Carol” and “Dark Waters”. This was, again, a film I caught at the London Film Festival, several weeks ahead of its UK release date. Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: Famous star of film and TV, Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman),…

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Scrapper (12): Of childhood grief, bike theft and talking spiders.

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "#Scrapper". A novel and funny look at childhood grief but with an uplifting ending. Out on Friday. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Scrapper” (2023). Seen as a Cineworld ‘Secret Cinema’ event (where you don’t know what the film will be before it starts) “Scrapper” is the debut from writer/director Charlotte Regan. Looking at the feedback from that screening, it is clearly a “marmite” film, with some loving it and some hating it. I found it brilliant in places but frustratingly lacking in…

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Heart of Stone (12): Plain Girl turns out to have a certain set of skills.

#onemannsmovies review of "Heart of Stone" (2023). #HeartofStone. Implausible #Netflix Jane-Bond-lite with a decourous Gadot. 3/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Heart of Stone” (2023). Having helped Netflix deliver one of their massive movie hits with “Red Notice“, Gal Gadot returns with “Heart of Stone”: a similarly glossy spy-type thriller. We are definitely in ‘park-your-brain-at-the-door’ territory here. Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) is a tech expert “in the van” for an MI6 team…

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Haunted Mansion (12A): Stanfield is SUPERB. The film... not so much.

#onemannsmovies review of "Haunted Mansion" (2023). #HauntedMansion. Lacklustre horror-lite that not even Stanfield can save. 2/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Haunted Mansion” (2023). You often get a feel for the target audience for a film from the adverts and trailers that get played before it starts. Films aimed at kids are all toys and “Troll” previews. Teens is video games and “Hunger Games” trailers. Adults is electric cars and “Strays”! As I commented to the illustrious Mrs Movie Man before “Haunted Mansion”…

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Elemental (PG): A relationship where the sex gets steamy.

#onemannsmovies review of "Elemental" (2023). #pixarelemental. The latest #pixar offering is still good but didn't light my fire. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Elemental” (2023). This Disney/Pixar release had the worse opening of any of their films. But having said that, “Elemental” is currently (July 14th 2023) on a worldwide box office of $263m, which is no loose change. But on a budget of $200M it still has some way to go (it needs double that after expected profit and marketing expenses) to be considered a “success”.…

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