Mac's Movies

UK Release Date: 26 April 2012 Certification: 12A Director: Joss Whedon Cast: Chris Evans, Clark Gregg, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders Rating: 87 % If we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it! Review: In 2012 Avengers Assemble [Original title, The Avengers ] was the biggest thing to come out of the comic book movie genre.  The storyline is basic but t he main reason this movie works is because of what came before. The movie is enjoyable in it’s own right but watching the earlier solo character movies definitely make Avengers Assemble so much better. Avengers Assemble was the first team-up movie and the culmination of five different movies released over four years (four solo movies and a sequel). And no one would have expected that seven years later we would be in the Avengers: Endgame . The six original Avengers are brilliant...

UK Release Date: 12 January 2018 Certification: PG Director: Joe Wright Cast: Stephen Dillane, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Gary Oldman, Ronald Pickup, Kristen Scott Thomas Rating: 73% V for Victory. Review: Darkest Hour depicts the first couple of months of Sir Winston Churchill's time as the Prime Minister. The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture [ Darkest Hour won Best Actor and Best Makeup and Hairstyling]. Gary Oldman is absolutely incredible in Darkest Hour and thoroughly deserved his Oscar for his portrayal of a moody and unpredictable Churchill. But he is not alone - the supporting cast are on top form as well. Lily James plays Elizabeth Layton, Churchill's secretary. I thought she was one of the best characters in the movie and provided elements of humour in a very serious movie. Ben Mendelsohn is excellent, as usual, in his portrayal King George VI, always with a witty comeback to Sir Winston Churchill. Kristen Scott Tho...

UK Release Date: 5 April 2019 Certification: 12A Director: David F. Sandberg Cast: Asher Angel, Jovan Armand, Ian Chen, Grace Fulton, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Djimon Hounsou, Zachary Levi, Mark Strong Rating: 68 % Superman meets Big in Dc's new release. Review:  Shazam! is by far the funniest movie of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The strength of Shazam! is it's cast - I thought the cast were brilliant. David F. Sandberg trusted in the youth and it paid off. And whilst Zachary Levi and Mark Strong are excellent in Shazam! , both are definitely overshadowed by the younger actors especially, Jack Dylan Grazer, who I thought was absolutely amazing. Jack Dylan Grazer steals the show as Freddy Freeman, a disabled foster kid who is a superhero fanatic. It is Freddy who knows what to do when Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is turned into Shazam! Freddy helps Billy discover his superpowers only to be repaid by being blanked by Billy. At different points in the movi...

UK Release Date: 7 May 1993 Certification: PG Director: Harold Ramis Cast: Chris Elliot, Marita Geraghty, Andie MacDowell, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky Rating: 70% "Okay, campers, rise and shine." Review: Imagine living the same day over and over again. Well, that is the plot of  the 1990's classic rom-com, Groundhog Day. The main reason Groundhog Day works so well is plain and simple - Bill Murray. He plays weatherman, Phil Connors, who is sent to cover a story in  Punxsutawney to see if Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, predicts a six more weeks of Winter. To Phil Connors this assignment is beneath his talent and is extremely boring, and as a result he is disinterested, bad-tempered and mean to everyone. But he wakes up the following day to find out he is reliving Groundhog Day again and again. The ever watchable Bill Murray is selfish, self-centred and despicable in the role of Phil, yet somehow still engaging. Reliving the same da...

UK Release Date: 29 March 2019 Certification: PG Director: Tim Burton Cast: Alan Arkin, Danny DeVito, Colin Farrell, Joseph Gatt, Eva Green, Finley Hobbins, Michael Keaton, Nico Parker Rating:  55% "When I See An Elephant Fly" Review: Dumbo is a delightful reimagining of the original all-time classic Disney movie released in 1941. Read my review of the original here . Dumbo was incredibly faithful to the original storyline and spirit. Characters like Casey Jr, Timothy Q. Mouse and Mr Stork make cameo appearances. The brilliant Danny Elfman creates amazing reworkings of the original songs such as 'Train's a Comin' and 'Baby Mine'. The screenwriters even manage to fit in the lyrics of 'When I See An Elephant Fly' to announce Dumbo's debut at Dreamland. Tim Burton, who is one of my favourite directors, did an absolutely amazing job in creating a new storyline for Dumbo , with not much to base his story on, as the original Dumbo ...

UK Release Date: 2 January 1942 Certification: U Director: Samuel Armstrong, John Elliotte, Norman Ferguson, Jack Kinney, Wilfred Jackson, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen  Cast: James Baskett, Herman Bing, Mel Blanc, Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Sterling Holloway, Margaret Wright Rating: 40 % Mum, I'd be lost without you! Review: Dumbo is one of the all-time Disney classics that is loved by many people, both young and old. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Dumbo is perhaps the oldest (released in 1941) and shortest (running time of one hour and two minutes) movie I have ever seen. I feel Dumbo isn't really a complete story, it is more a series of events that are put together to make a movie. Because of this Dumbo doesn't hold my full attention. The movie was released nearly eighty years ago - Dumbo was Disney's fourth animated movie - not long after the demise of the silent movies, so there is little dialogue apart from Timothy Q. ...

UK Release Date: 26 December 1975 Certification: 12A Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gray, Murray Hamilton, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw Rating: 93% "You're gonna need a bigger boat" Review: Jaws is an absolute classic. It was the first movie to gross one hundred million dollars worldwide and started the trend of the summer blockbuster (US Release Date: 20 June 1975). Jaws is my third favourite movie of all time. The soundtrack of Jaws , created by legendary composer John Williams, is one of the most iconic and recognisable pieces of music of all time. The use of the music is integral in building tension and suspense. Whenever you hear the main theme you fear that someone is in danger.   The story of the movie is incredibly simple. A shark terrorises the beaches of a small, tourist-dependant fictional island, Amity Island. The mayor of Amity Island puts together a team - a local police chief, a marine biologist and an old seafa...

UK Release Date: 24 January 1997 Certification: 15 Director: Peter Jackson Cast: Trini Alvarado, Jake Busey, Jeffery Comb, Peter Dobson, Michael J. Fox, Dee Wallace Rating: 26% Frighteningly bad. Review: To date, The Frighteners is the worst movie I have ever seen. I have no idea what an accomplished director like Peter Jackson was thinking of during the making of this horrific movie. I guess everyone has to start somewhere? [This was Peter Jackson's fifth movie as a director]. The performances in The Frighteners are terrible, other than the always likeable Michael J. Fox. I especially hated Dee Wallace in the role of Patricia Ann Bradley. Her character was annoying, over the top and morphs into a psycho out of absolutely nowhere. There was near to no character development and from around 20 minutes into the movie you could guess Patricia's role in the climax.  The actions of Trini Alvarado's character (Dr. Lucy Lynskey) made little sense. She flipped ...