TBT

TBT Review – Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 1 out of 5.

I know that there is a lot of debate at this time of year about what the best Christmas film is. Something that will keep happening until everyone just accepts that it’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. Many people may mistakenly believe that Home Alone is superior. Some may even believe that its sequel is the best. While both films are great in their own right, they’re just not the greatest. A lot of what makes the films good is down to Macaulay Culkin. So, it was very upsetting for me to learn that there is a fourth film in the franchise that sees Kevin McCallister played by some other kid. Yes, I knew about the disappointing 3rd film but another sequel that tried to recapture the magic of the first two? I had to see what this was about.

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TBT Review – The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is old. How old? So old that we used to own VHS copies of all of the films. Also, it turns 20 this week. It’s been a while since I last sat down and watched any of films in the trilogy. I used to watch them all the time. Well, I used to repeatedly watch the scenes where Aragorn was a full-on hunk repeatedly. It probably didn’t do the videos any good, so I quickly upgraded to the DVDs. As tomorrow is the official anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, I decided that it was a good time to go back to Middle Earth.

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TBT Review – Hot Shots! (1991)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once again, I find myself running out of time. I’m writing this way later than I should be and rushing to get it finished. It doesn’t help that I really don’t know what to say about this film. Sometimes you can watch/read something and it just doesn’t leave much of an impression either way. It’s not so horrendous that you can rant about it or so good that you’re gushing praise. This is a film that I first watched at university a long time ago. It was really hyped up beforehand, so it never really lived up. It’s not one that I rewatch very often but I will give it a go every now and then. This seemed like a good week to do so.

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TBT Review – Hotel Transylvania (2012)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 2 out of 5.

I’ll be honest, I’m not really in the mood to be writing this review. I had a third Covid jab yesterday and am feeling pretty tired and rotten at this moment in time. So, finding out that I not only had to watch a film but also write about it for today’s post was pretty devastating. I’d already been planning to be tucked up early with a mug of tea and a book. To make things as easy as possible, I found the first vaguely Halloween related film that I could find with a running time of under 2 hours. Of course my best bet was picking an animation. This is a film that I had never seen before but one that my friend is always telling me to watch. She has kids though, which often means she has different opinions about what makes an animation good. But, at this point, I’ll take what recommendations I can.

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TBT Review – A Bug’s Life (1998)

film, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Do you remember how for a short period in the late 90s there was a load of drama about two animated films about bugs. It was a crazy time to be alive. For years, I believed that I had watched both Antz and A Bug’s Life. However, it has come to my attention that this was a false presumption. I definitely watched Antz because I remember Woody Allen’s voice. Admittedly, I doubt that I knew who Woody Allen was at the time but I probably thought it was funny. I also wouldn’t have known who anyone in A Bug’s Life was either because I was 10 in 1998. Good job I’m watching it now I’m 33. That way I can spend the whole time going “I recognise that voice” as I Google the cast on my phone.

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TBT Review – Superbob (2015)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Have you heard the news? Brett Goldstein isn’t CGI. Is it weird that this had to be confirmed? Yes but that’s the world we live in. And I can kind of see it. I mean, I’ve not seen an episode of Ted Lasso but the pictures do look suspicious. I guess he just has one of those slightly uncanny faces. It’s such a ridiculous story but is one of my favourite conspiracy theories in recent years. I love the internet. With the focus on Goldstein, I decided it was time to finally watch his 2015 British superhero movie. I used to listen to his podcast every week and always meant to watch it. Why not now?

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TBT Review – Spider-Man 3 (2007)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Yesterday, the official teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home was released. It comes after months of speculation about just who would be turning up wearing the spider suit in this film. Are Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield really make an appearance? We’ve known for some time that some of the familiar villains would be returning for this film and the trailer gave us a glimpse of what we’re in for. With obvious references to the Green Goblin and Electro, there is also the possibility that Sandman and Lizard are hiding in there. With so many evil faces returning, it reminds me of the last time that a Spider-Man film tried to cram too many foes into one film. So, I decided to do what many wouldn’t dare and watch the worst Peter Parker film of the lot. Yes folks, I actually went back to watch Spider-Man 3.

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TBT Review – Ideal Home (2018)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

I know that people complain that Hollywood has run out of fresh ideas and is only interested in sequels, prequels and reboots. Of course, this isn’t true. There are plenty of great films that don’t fit into this criteria. Although, not all of them are worth praising. I mean, if I have the choice between another Marvel sequel or a film starring Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan as gay parents, I know what I’d rather watch. That’s not to say that the concept of a film about gay parents is flawed but the decision to cast Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan in it. As we’ve seen from James Corden’s performance in The Prom, Hollywood hasn’t exactly caught up to our contemporary view of gay people. Coogan is a great actor but, let’s be honest, he’s not known for being subtle. Despite my absolute certainty that it would be a car crash, I decided to watch this film to see for myself. It was short and I couldn’t skip another post.

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TBT Review – Iron Man 2 (2010)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3 out of 5.

During all of the press surrounding Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson criticised the film in which she made her first MCU appearance. Johansson spoke out about the “hypersexualisation” of her character during the film. Of course, she didn’t have an awful lot to say about Joss Whedon’s decision to focus on her arse as much as possible during Avengers but never mind. It’s not like you can disagree with her. Everything about Nat’s first appearance in this franchise problematic when you look back. First and foremost, the way she looks. It’s her worst look by far and speaks to the male gaze that comes from the comic books. That awful red wig doesn’t really work and makes Johansson look much less beautiful than she really is. Yes, she’s still one of the best looking people on the planet so it’s all relative. Now with all of this talk of Iron Man 2, I decided it was time to go back and rewatch it.

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TBT Review – Hancock (2008)

films, reviews, TBT

Rating: 3 out of 5.

When I first head about this film I thought it sounded shit. That’s mostly because a friend of mine described it to me and he didn’t do a very good job. It didn’t help that I just associated Will Smith with bad films thanks to the likes of Hitch. So, I didn’t want to watch it. Cut to a few years later and another friend telling me to watch it. This time, I trusted his opinion and gave it a shot. I didn’t hate it but I can’t pretend that it’s a film I’ve thought a lot about since. Until it appeared on my Netflix home screen the other day. Then I got the sudden urge to watch it again. As it’s been a while since my last TBT, I decided it was worth going back to it. Maybe it would make more of an impression this time?

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