Mac's Movies

UK Release Date:  01 April 2022 Certification:  12 Director:  Richard Linklater Cast:  Jack Black, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Natalie L'Amoreaux, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins, Bill Wise Rating:   49% Review: Richard Linklater garnered a reputation for crafting delightful coming of age films - Boyhood , Dazed and Confused and School of Rock - as well as completing one of the most acclaimed trilogies with 'The Before' trilogy.  Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood released on Netflix  last year to diminishing buzz and to some became an underrated gem of the 2020s.  For me that wasn't the case. I couldn't connect to the animation style for the life of me. It felt so off and unauthentic compared to the sincere story being told, not fitting the plot whatsoever. From a surface level the backgrounds shine with their unique level of intricacy and detail but the character design looks awful - rather artificial. And if an animated film fails to enti...

UK Release Date:  27 December 1971 Certification:  18 Director:  William Friedkin Cast:  Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Gene Hackman, Bill Hickman, Frédéric de Pasquale, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider Rating:   68 % Review: Two years prior to the release of esteemed horror The Exorcis t, director, William Friedkin took to the streets of New York crafting a gritty crime thriller very much of its time. The French Connection picked up five Oscars at the 44th Academy Awards as well as introducing the world to Roy Scheider.  The French Connection is complete with sequences of great quality action, a predecessor of the thrill of Michael Mann's Heat . Numerous devilishly designed and thought-out set-pieces unprecedented for 1971 that surprisingly still hold up. The intricate, prolonged car chase stands out. No dialogue plays as the film lets the sheer power of the engine and the overhead train tracks put the audience on edge.  The film often relies on its stu...

UK Release Date:  23 February 1996 Certification:  18 Director:  Martin Scorsese Cast:   Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Kevin Pollak, Don Rickles, Sharon Stone, Frank Vincent, James Woods Rating:   75 % Review: Heralding the end of Martin Scorsese's obsession with deteriorating gangsters in a crime filled filmography spanning as far back as Mean Streets in 1973 before delving into a mix of religious epics and traditionalist biopics, Casino feels like a mesh of Scorsese's previous work. There's nothing truly original about the story, certain scenes reminiscent of Goodfellas , but Scorsese ensures that the film remains entertaining.  There is no doubt that the second and third act of Casino are a riveting watch but in fairness this film takes a while to become truly invested in. A slow introduction beckons the audience to eventually behold the downfall of these characters - making for a tremendous end with a sluggish start.  Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci c...

UK Release Date:  23 September 2022 Certification:  15 Director:  Olivia Wilde Cast:  Kate Berlant, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Kiki Layne, Chris Pine,  Florence Pugh, Timothy Simons, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde Rating:   56%                                                                                                                                                                                          Review: Cl...

UK Release Date:  22 October 1999 Certification:  15 Director:  Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez Cast:  Rei Hance, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams Rating:   30 % Review: A horror phenomenon released in 1999 and changed the genre forever. With a measly budget of $60,000, found footage horror, The Blair Witch Project took the world by storm grossing $248 million. The film is highly influential with one of the most viral marketing campaigns for a film. Marketed as a real documentary - the actors were said to be missing and presumed dead - The Blair Witch Project is often touted as the scariest film of all time.  Most of the film is shot on a Hi8 camcorder on 16mm film giving it a grainy essence. Found footage became the most popular horror sub-genre for the next ten years spawning the Paranormal Activity franchise. For the first half hour of the film it works but by the end of the runtime it's simply a gimmick used to cut down costs and separate The Blair ...

UK Release Date:  04 January 2002 Certification:  15 Director:  Rod Lurie Cast:  Steve Burton, Clifton Collins Jr., James Gandolfini, Delroy Lindo, Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo, Robin Wright Rating:   50% Review:   Arguably the most distinctly average film of all time. Receiving mixed reviews initially and bombing worldwide at the box office, grossing $27 million with a budget of $72 million, The Last Castle has largely been forgotten.  Everything in this film lacks originality. It has all been seen, in some shape or form, before. A fairly formulaic prison break reminiscent of Escape from Alcatraz or The Shawshank Redemption . Events on screen are filmed to a fairly decent standard and for the most part entertaining but it is completely lacking in both inventiveness and imagination. Thoroughly devoid of any new ideas and largely predictable from start to finish. Alongside dated CGI that ruins the third act.  Released during a...

UK Release Date:  22 October 2021 Certification:  15 Director:  Wes Anderson Cast:  Mathieu Amalric, Bob Balaban, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Willem Dafoe, Lyna Khoudri, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Park, Kiev Schreiber, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Benicio Del Toro, Christoph Waltz, Owen Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Henry Wrinkler Rating:   55 % Review: The French Dispatch saw Wes Anderson tell an accumulation of short stories through the technical lens of a magazine detailing events taking place in the fictional town of Ennui-sur-Blasé.  Strictly, from a narrative standpoint this is the best way for Wes to convey his signature distinct style. There's an abundance of ambitious filmmaking flair on display. Constantly shifting between black and white and colour as well as aspect ratios - the film is a technical marvel. The trademark symmetry, the elaborate set-designs and the dynamic frames of vivid col...

UK Release Date:  17 May 2021 Certification:  12A Director:  Lee Isaac Chung Cast:  Noel Kate Cho, Alan Kim, Han Yeri, Steven Yeun, Youn Yuh-jung Rating:   95 %                                                                                                                                                     Review: A24 does it again. To quote the film itself, 'Minari is wonderful.' Minari is worthy of being one of the best...