tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23759007855968148902026-10-14T14:51:23.238+02:00Because Everybody Else Has OneJust another fan's take on the worlds of cinema, music, TV and comic books.Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.comBlogger705125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-59553703611902787132024-04-04T21:27:00.009+02:002024-04-08T02:17:26.966+02:00The First Omen I haven't posted anything on this blog in a while, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about what is this year's biggest cinematic surprise so far: a "legacy" horror prequel/ sequel/reboot that is actually really good!After approximately seven hundred thousand Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, prequels, and reboots and especially after last year's crushingly terrible The Exorcist: Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-58894534520545706442024-01-02T18:22:00.005+02:002024-01-02T18:22:56.346+02:00Godzilla Minus OneGodzilla Minus One has been out for weeks in South Africa and even longer elsewhere, but I only just saw it yesterday and I simply had to share a few quick thoughts on it.For context, I've seen a few of the American Godzilla movies, but I've always felt like I should enjoy Godzilla, and Kaiju (giant monster) movies in general, more than I actually do. I have no real connection with these movies Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-72476376843403245362023-11-09T19:45:00.001+02:002023-11-09T19:45:35.874+02:00The MarvelsHowever tempted I am to give The Marvels 10/10 just to piss off the women-hating troglodytes who have, for months, been piling hate on the film for committing the unforgiveable sin of being led by not one, not two, but three female superheroes, that would rather be stretching the point. What I would say, though, is that they're wrong, wrong, wrong: not just morally, but because for all its Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-82223243224691526092023-10-20T02:24:00.000+02:002023-10-20T02:24:10.434+02:00Killers of the Flower MoonI'm somewhat swamped with paid work right now, but I needed to jot down some of my thoughts about Martin Scorsese's latest juggernaut of a film.And by "jot", I mean I'm mostly just going to expand slightly on the comment that I already made on Mark Kermode's review of the film on YouTube.In very short, I think there's a brilliant two-hour, even two-and-a-half, long movie buried in here, but I Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-61775209190770453692023-08-22T17:26:00.005+02:002023-08-22T17:26:58.335+02:00Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant MayhemTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a phenomenon that has been quietly blowing me away since the late 1980s when I discovered the original cartoon at the impressionable young age of seven (or thereabouts) and became a massive fan almost at first glance. Like those famous Marvel and DC superheroes before them, the Turtles have managed to transcend their humble comic book origins to become an Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-20480372515601722082023-08-16T18:29:00.001+02:002023-08-16T18:29:59.086+02:00You PeopleSo, You People on Netflix. I have thoughts. And none of them positive. (Reprinted in part from my Twitter multi-post).First off, on a simple, artistic level how the hell did they get this many excellent comedic actors in a movie this unspeakably bad? David Duchovny, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Rhea Pearlman, Matt Walsh, Nelson Franklin, and Eddie frickin' Murphy, but not a single laugh Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-67242163427124957032023-08-16T18:08:00.004+02:002023-08-16T18:08:57.699+02:00OppenheimerThe other half of the Barbeheimer phenomenon, Oppenheimer, hasn't been quite as controversial as Barbie, but it has still drawn some controversy. Not controversy about the morality of atomic warfare, of course, but about Florence Pugh's nude scenes. Because that's the world we're living in, I guess.But I begin with a digression.Much like Barbie, there's probably not a ton to be said about Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-57405983963558415862023-08-09T21:11:00.003+02:002023-08-09T21:11:51.650+02:00BarbieAt this point, is there anything more to be said about either part of Barbenheimer? Probably not, but that hasn't stopped people from continuing to weigh in on both films. Just yesterday, Bill Maher was trending on I'm-not-calling-it-X-Twitter (yet again) for saying how much he disliked the film for being both preachy and presenting a militant feminist view of the world that doesn't actuallyIlan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-1176574561487087132023-08-07T18:40:00.002+02:002023-08-08T01:58:11.217+02:00I'm back! So, yeah, it's been a while... I abandoned this blog some four years ago for the simple reason that it just wasn't getting very many hits and it wasn't really worth the time and effort to maintain it. A couple of significant changes happened recently career-wise, though, that I decided to bring this old blog back from the dead. First, with a new emphasis at News 24 on in-depth Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-78396015363564765262019-07-10T22:19:00.000+02:002019-07-10T22:19:28.070+02:00YesterdayOh, I believe in Yesterday...
No, really, you have to be pretty cold-hearted not to go along with this movie, even though it was clearly just made for me.
My review has been up over on Channel 24 for, like, a week. So hope you saw it there.
What it’s about
Jack Malick is a struggling singer/ songwriter whose only fan is his best friend and manager, Ellie. When an unexplained worldwide Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-74523785824004886022019-07-10T19:56:00.000+02:002019-07-10T22:19:55.246+02:00Spider-Man: Far From HomePosting this late again but hopefully, you already say this over on Channel 24.
Not that you need another review telling you how much fun the latest Spider-Man movie is but hey ho...
What it’s about
Picking up from the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker has to come to terms with a world irrevocably changed. After helping to save the world from Thanos and his minions, all Peter Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-78373351439636035192019-07-01T16:41:00.000+02:002019-07-01T16:41:54.843+02:00Annabelle Comes HomeIt may well be a freaking awful horror film but as a surprisingly self-aware mixture of teen comedy and schlock, Annabelle Comes Home is a surprisingly fun time. I still think it's way past time to close the book on the "Conjuring Universe", though...
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
The Conjuring Universe continues in this third Annabelle film. After their last Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-77959794832320817972019-07-01T16:27:00.000+02:002019-07-01T16:27:01.127+02:00StockholmThe subject matter may have deserved a better, or at least more substantial, film but Stockholm certainly deserved better than to crash and burn at the worldwide box office.
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
Based on the true story that gave rise to the psychological condition known as Stockholm Syndrome in the early ‘70s, an American criminal doesn’t so much rob as hole Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-68687336849494072662019-06-24T02:20:00.000+02:002019-06-24T02:20:27.276+02:00TolkienSolid movie is solid.
On the other hand, not everyone agrees. My review is also up on Channel 24 but, for something of a change, you will also get Channel 24 editor, Herman Eloff's more enthusiastic take on the film right along with it.
What it’s about
The true story of J.R.R Tolkien who, before becoming one of the most famous and acclaimed fantasy writers ever with the Hobbit and the Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-38933741498479121512019-06-24T02:11:00.000+02:002019-06-24T02:11:39.274+02:00AnnaThis, I believe, is what a stream of consciousness review looks like.
The review is also up on Channel 24.
What it’s about
Anna Poliatova may look like your average supermodel with the rags to riches story that often goes along with it but there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye. Beneath her beautiful façade lies a trained killer with the sort of keen intelligence and cold ruthlessness Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-29308313898563032992019-06-23T21:32:00.000+02:002019-06-23T21:32:32.739+02:00Men In Black: InternationalI totally forgot to post this last week. Ah well, I'm sure no one really cares that much about the new Men in Black flick, right?
Either way, it's been up on Channel 24 since last Friday so hopefully, you saw my review of it there.
What it’s about
After finding her way into the Men in Black, new recruit Agent M teams up with the roguish Agent H on the seemingly simple assignment of showing Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-19910121658258982162019-06-18T15:22:00.000+02:002019-06-18T15:22:52.519+02:00The White CrowNot a sequel to Black Swan.
And all the worse for that.
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
The true story of Rudolf Nureyev, an acclaimed Soviet ballet dancer who, in the early 1960s, defected to the West after the KGB viewed his behaviour during a successful tour in Paris as seditious and a betrayal of communist values. Nowhere more so than in his increasingly Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-20988609434386548132019-06-03T00:13:00.000+02:002019-06-03T00:13:54.572+02:00Godzilla II: King of the MonstersYou wanted more Godzilla? Well, you got that at least. A good movie, though... not so much.
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
Five years after Godzilla wreaked havoc on Chicago, Dr Emma Russell has finally broken the code on how to communicate with Godzilla and other Titans like him. This is not a moment too soon as an eco-terrorist organization unleashes a succession of Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-41080251728988294312019-05-19T22:34:00.000+02:002019-05-19T22:34:09.529+02:00John Wick Chapter 3: ParabellumMore John Wick? Is it still quantum, baby? Well, maybe. Baby.
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
Picking up immediately after the events of John Wick 2, John Wick is now classified as “ex communicado” by the shadowy syndicate of assassins known as “The Table”, which means that every other assassin on the planet is out to get him and he is entirely cut off from all Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-56423899748434361992019-05-13T22:35:00.000+02:002019-05-13T22:35:22.274+02:00The HustleOK, this isn't quite as bad as you may have heard. It's certainly not good, though.
This review is also up on Channel 24
What it’s about
When low-level con artist, Penny, worms her way into her life, high-class hustler, Josephine, does her best to remove Penny from her life as quickly as possible before she has a chance to ruin the life she has built for herself on the French Riviera. When Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-88690726282342138582019-05-13T16:29:00.001+02:002019-05-13T16:29:48.659+02:00PomsNot a good week for female-led comedies, I'm afraid...
This review can also be found on Channel 24.
What it’s about
After being diagnosed with cancer and refusing treatment, Martha moves to a retirement village to simplify her life while she awaits the end. Though prickly at first to all the other residents, she soon sparks up a friendship with the vivacious Sheryl and, despite the Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-88428491921121809842019-04-29T00:00:00.000+02:002019-04-29T00:01:39.269+02:00Avengers: EndgameBetween this review being posted on Channel 24 and now, this tiny independent movie has made over a billion dollars worldwide and shattered every box-office record ever. The only reason I mention this is that, aside for this pretty definitively putting to bed the idea of there being anything approaching "superhero fatigue", I can't help but wonder if that means that a bunch of people who Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-26682102396468163472019-04-18T17:20:00.001+02:002019-04-18T17:20:58.793+02:00CapernaumFrom the hideous to the sublime...ly hideous. No, really. This is a seriously, seriously good film that deals with very serious subject matter with real compassion and skill. But, boy, are you going to need a stiff drink/ joint/ Brooklyn Nine-Nine marathon (delete where applicable) after seeing it.
And, maybe it's just that I'm familiar with Hebrew, but isn't Kfar Nachum so much easier to Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-87778284335794254412019-04-16T02:35:00.001+02:002019-04-16T02:35:45.685+02:00Hellboy (2019)Hell is right.
This review has been up on Channel 24 all weekend. I hope it did some good and dissuaded at least some people from wasting their hard-earned money on this steaming pile of doo doo.
By the way, I wrote this immediately after seeing the film at a public screening last Thursday night (no critics screening, what a shocker), mere hours before it was to be released in cinemas so Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375900785596814890.post-54445463113838996022019-04-15T16:29:00.001+02:002019-04-15T16:29:11.347+02:00Shazam!I'm probably the last person in the world to review this but I can't help but throw in my own two cents on a superhero movie. Especially not one I enjoyed as much as this.
Unsurprisingly, this review ran a little long and more than a little late but, as I'm about to post my *shudder* Hellboy (2019) review, spending some time on a film like Shazam feels all the more appropriate...
The Plot: Ilan Preskovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00971332712956679744noreply@blogger.com0