Ian Patterson

Concise movie reviews

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

American Fiction - This “Charlie Kaufman” style narrative satire is certainly interesting. Yet at the back of my mind I can’t help think that my cultural bias is influencing my interpretation of the medium. Isn’t that the point though, you can’t really escape who you are! (B+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Apex - There have been quite a few “Outback” thrillers over the years. So this comes into an already saturated market. You can hear the elevator pitch for this, it’s basically a mashup of Deliverance and Cliffhanger, but the main selling point is the spectacular environment. (B)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War - I think Krasinski plays the eponymous character well. But let’s be honest, this is mainly a promotional advertisement for the Dubai and London tourist boards. Unfortunately, Jack Ryan will always be the poor relative of Ethan Hunt! (B-)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Midnight in Saint Petersburg - Another lacklustre “Harry Palmer” television movie. The post Soviet location of St. Petersburg is interesting enough, but the plot reminds me of one of those cheap “airport novels”. If this was made today it would definitely be an Amazon series! (C)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Heretic - This is a pretty solid horror from A24 who tends to make more “offbeat” content. The theological debate is a little overwhelming, but the performance from Hugh Grant is remarkably disturbing, and so far removed from his normal stereotypical “nice guy” performance. (B+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Heads of State - This is the sort of “buddy” movie that you would have watched in the 80s & 90s. You know: ‘Lethal Weapon’, ‘Tango & Cash’, ‘Bad Boys’, ‘Rush Hour’… This isn’t the same high octane action as the directors other movie ‘Nobody’, but it’s certainly watchable. (B-)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Bullet to Beijing - This mid 90s reboot of the “Harry Palmer” spy franchise is a bit lame. It’s more of a television movie than a fully fledged feature film. The acting isn’t too bad, but the script seems to sway around with either too much or too little plot exposition! (C)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Greenland 2: Migration - The first movie was just about watchable! This sequel really suffers from a small budget and naff special effects! Also, it’s probably best not to pay too much attention to the plot. It’s such a deep hole you could literally get lost in the abyss! (C)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Billion Dollar Brain - It’s pretty obvious that the creative team were chasing after the “James Bond” money! Unfortunately, the third act is more Austin Powers than Bond! The main villain being a bonkers Texan Oil Baron that would give Dr. Strangelove a run for his money! (C+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Funeral in Berlin - Harry Palmer is such a fascinating spy. Almost the antithesis of James Bond! This is nowhere as polished as ‘The Ipcress File’, nether the less it’s still a bloody good spy yarn. Especially fascinating to see a divided Berlin, with its eponymous “Wall”! (B)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - This oddly doesn’t feel like a traditional zombie movie! It’s more like a thesis on the evil of humanity. Garland certainly has a dark sense of humour! The “Jimmy” references might not resonate abroad. But in the United Kingdom, Holy Hell! (B+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

F1 - The racing genre reached its peak in the early 90s with ‘Days of Thunder’. Hollywood again is putting a tentative foot on the accelerator. This well shot film almost feels too real. The racetrack action is hyperkinetic and is surely to become the benchmark for racing. (A-)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

The Drama - This is one of those rare movies that will probably divide audiences! Whatever side of the fence you sit, the script is definitely top notch and thought provoking. It has that rare ability to make you laugh and squirm at the moral ambiguity of its characters! (A)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Crime 101 - It’s pretty obvious that this crime drama takes a lot of inspiration from the likes of ‘Thief’, ‘Heat’ and ‘Drive’. The cinematography is top notch and it’s certainly well acted, but it’s definitely not in the upper echelons of the criminal noir genre! (B)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire - There is something incredibly satisfying about watching giant monsters “tag team” wrestle each other! It’s certainly dumb, but it’s also great entertainment. Cinema isn’t always about the next Cameron, Nolan, Tarantino or Villeneuve epic! (B)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Bugonia - Yorgos Lanthimos has become the “go to” director for strange movies! This remake of the Korean movie ‘Save the Green Planet!’ is definitely weird. It plays with your expectations, is it a conspiracy movie, is it an alien movie! What the hell is happening! (B+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

We Bury the Dead - The zombie genre has matured enough that it’s being used as a backdrop for other stories. This is about emotional pain, unresolved relationships and the search for answers. In some ways this reminds me of ‘The Quiet Earth’, slow and contemplative. (B-)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - Although not as good as the first film, this does a good job of weaving Nintendo’s IP into a coherent plot. It’s certainly for the kids, but if you’re an adult of a certain age, there’s a lot of nostalgia from the golden days of video games! (B+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Mercy - This is somewhere between ‘Minority Reports’, ‘Unfriended’ and ‘Hardcore Henry’. It’s quite an interesting surveillance based murder mystery, but it’s ultimately let down by a clunky action oriented ending, that really feels like it’s entirely from a different movie! (C+)

[Ian Patterson @EditGeek]

Dracula - Luc Besson’s adaptation of the seminal horror tale is certainly a unique vision! This is a camp baroque love story reminded me a lot of Roman Polanski’s ‘The Fearless Vampire Killers’. It’s part Disney on hallucinogens with an antihero that you actually root for! (B+)