Movie reviews of Bob Mann

Will this stand out in my long term memory? Probably not. And as a bunch of young people to spend time with, they were hyper-annoying! However, I found the movie surprisingly entertaining and was never bored. And the denouement was a surprising twist! Review

Although dropping some points for originality, this is a neatly executed film by the British-Iranian writer/director Babak Anvari. It has enough “gotcha” moments for me to recommend it. Review

Given that this is such an intelligent and thought-provoking drama, it seems a crime that it has been given such short-shrift in UK cinemas. It’s certainly, imho, one of the better films I’ve seen during this summer. Review

It’s harmless enough entertainment that would certainly pass a rainy afternoon rewatch when it comes on the box. It was all just disappointingly “meh” for me. Review

It’s the definition of a park-your-brain-at-the-door action thriller, but it’s been done very well. Review

There’s nothing particularly wrong with this movie. And it had some moments of brilliance in the vignettes it painted of the Djinn’s past adventures. But overall, for me, I found the whole was less than the sum of its parts. Review

This proved to be a really interesting little horror film, beautifully shot, fitting and well chosen music and – above all – skillfully directed and paced by Hanna Bergholm. Review

I wasn’t expecting very much from Beast, but my expectations were not even remotely met. A real summer dud for me I’m afraid. Review

It’s a harmless and beautifully filmed costume drama. It’s inoffensive and I found it a pleasant enough watch for two hours. Review

Fall neatly develops this into a tense and enthralling survival movie. Review

It has high ambition but came across as a rag-bag of elegant bits of content that just didn’t mesh into a satisfactory story. Review

I personally thought it was a hoot, with more than enough depth for adults (and superhero-fan adults in particular) to enjoy. Review

Directed by Deadpool 2 director David Leitch, Bullet Train is similarly loud, brash and very violent. But it is also, spasmodically, very entertaining, moving and – most importantly – very funny. Review

As a remake of a classic, this movie was always going to be dicing with disaster. It’s fine as a gentle, undemanding watch. But if it is aiming for a nostalgic older audience, it feels underpowered on both the nostalgia and the plot. Review

It’s both trying to be a melodramatic pot-boiler and a courtroom drama, and neither work particularly well. It just feels like it’s trying to cram too much into a movie. Review

I was prepared for a “Taken” style “park your brain at the door” actioner. But there’s “park your brain at the door” and “labotomise and liquify your brain in a blender”. And this movie is certainly more the latter. Pretty poor stuff. Review

This was marketed as movie firmly at the ‘comedy’ end of the MCU spectrum. But, for me, it really struggled to meet the “six laughs” test. Sure, there were multiple smiles, but very few decent belly laughs... Review

This is undoubtedly one of the films of the year. You feel like you really are watching Elvis in the story. Review

The French Dispatch is a rag-bag of disconnected episodes, all of varying degrees of bat-shit-craziness, but which never quite congeal into a satisfying movie experience. Review

We are firmly in B-movie territory here. But although it’s pretty mindless fun, it still manages to entertain. Review

Insightful and thoughtful, it was a terrific movie that will appeal to many older people. Review

Lightyear is a reasonably entertaining yarn and as beautifully animated as you would expect. Review

I was rather mystified by the enormous success of It and its sequel It Chapter 2. I found them to be glossy but insubstantial. In contrast, I found The Black Phone to be far superior in every way. If you like your ‘small’ indie horror films, then this one comes with a recommendation. Review

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It seemed to have a lot of potential that got frittered away with an over-eager rush to chuck in action. As a curate’s egg, it’s well worth watching for the bits where the script zings along nicely. And overall, it’s a perfectly pleasant movie for a rainy afternoon. Review