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From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. June 2025: Countdown to: Top 10: Best horror comedy movies - Upcoming review: There's Still Tomorrow (2023)
Something seems creepily amiss on this poster for Nick Murphy's The Awakening
In 1921, England's leading supernatural debunker gets hired by a countryside orphanage, which is possibly haunted by a boy who passed away years ago ...
The Awakening slowly builds up its story with relatively few and simple scare effects. It features good acting from Rebecca Hall (The Gift (2015)), Dominic West (300 (2006)) and Imelda Staunton (Another Year (2010)) as well as deft camerawork (by cinematographer Eduard Grau (Buried (2010))) in which everything is held in cool, desaturated tones. It produces chills and goosebumps more than once, SPOILER in particular in the scenes with the dollhouse.
On the downside, The Awakening is a bit overlong, which makes our attention with it at times a bit strained. SPOILER It all culminates as one of the saddest, most tragic ghost stories that I can recall.
The film is written by Stephen Volk (Octane (2003)) and co-writer-director Nick Murphy (Blood (2012)). It is a fair ghost horror although a few steps under a film like The Orphanage/El Orfanato (2007), which it clearly aspires towards.
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Reportedly 3 mil. £, equal to approximately 3.7 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 4.4 mil. $
= Big flop
[The Awakening was released November 11 (the UK) and runs 107 minutes. Filming took place in England and Scotland from July 2010. The film opened #41 in 70 theaters to a paltry 95k $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 209k $ (4.8 % of the total gross). The film did better in its native UK, although its other country grosses are not reported online. The Awakening is fresh at 61 % with a 5.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
The exciting, wildly invitational poster for Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane's Finding Dory
Finding Dory is the sequel to masterpiece Finding Nemo (2003). It is written by returning Massachusetts-born master co-writer/co-director Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life (1998)) and Victoria Strouse (New Best Friend (2002)), and directed by Stanton and Angus MacLane (Burn-E (2008), short).
After getting Nemo back to his father Marlin, blue amnesiac fish Dory begins to recollect her own parents, whom she herself got lost from years ago. Without the initial assistance of Nemo and Marlin, she heads out on a new quest to find them.
The scope of the adventure can't but feel smaller and less novel here than in the first film, which went through several incredible ocean sequences before ending in a fantastic section set in a tank in a dentist's office in Sydney, Australia. The storytellers make an auspicious and smart turn in Finding Dory by getting the story pretty quickly out of the familiar endlessness of oceans and setting it firmly within a much smaller setting, a public aquarium in California.
Stanton and Co. manage to make another fun-filled adventure work here. Any fan of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen (1994-98)) will enjoy her empathetic, excellent voicing as Dory, a fish whose forgetfulness would likely be annoying if performed by a less endearing actor. Ed O'Neill (Modern Family (2009-16)) is good as the voice of the biggest new character, disheartened octopus Hank, and other fun star turns, of which there are too many to notice and fully appreciate in just one viewing, include Idris Elba (The Jungle Book (2016)) and Dominic West (Pride (2014)) as two sea lions. Two more lovable characters are the whale shark and the beluga whale that Dory befriends in the aquarium. The animation is great as expected, and the 3D dimension never gets the driver's seat: Story is king, which is just as it should be. My only negative note on the animation is the design of Dory as a baby fish, in which she has grotesquely oversized eyes. Anyone with some knowledge of character animation knows the importance and power of characters' eyes, which is why they are usually oversized, but this level of oversizing seems unnecessary overkill; - plus we know that Pixar's skilled animators can make us feel for characters even if they have less oversized eyes. So a small burp to that. There's some darkness before the funny and awesome conclusion of the over-all wonderful film, a solid sequel that doesn't lessen the strength of the original but also never comes near to it. The film is accompanied by Alan Barillaro's shortPiper, his first effort as writer-director, a sweet, incredibly vividly animated story of a little bird's learning to find its own food.
Cost: 200 mil. $ Box office: 930.9 mil. $ and counting = Big hit [Finding Dory premiered June 8 (El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood) and runs 97 minutes. Disney initially planned to make a sequel without the involvement of Pixar, after their purchase of the company, at their Circle 7 Animation, - which however never produced any films before it was closed again in 2006. Stanton was not interested in a sequel for many years, but after his mega-flop John Carter (2012), he developed a script with Strouse and got the very enthusiastic DeGeneres involved. Documentary Blackfish (2013) resulted in some changes to the script and its SeaWorld-like setting. The film opened #1 to a 135 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it dropped pretty slowly week-to-week, keeping in first place for 4 weeks before dropping to #3, then #4 and then out of the top 5. It has so far grossed 479.7 mil. $ in North America. It is the 4th highest-grossing movie worldwide of the year at the moment, and in North America, it is the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. It has yet to open in Italy, Austria and Germany and so is likely to cross the 1 bil. $ mark before finishing theatrically. Finding Dory is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Finding Dory?
+ Best English movie of the Year + Best LGBT Movie of the Year
The infectiously happy poster for Matthew Warchus' Pride
Pride is the second feature by English director Matthew Warchus (Simpatico (1999)), written by Stephen Beresford (That Thing You Drew (2010, short), actor).
In the mid 1980s England, the miners' strike drags on week by week, weakening the economical life in all the affected villages, as a gay rights group from London begins to collect funds for the miners, contributing to a fundamental change in the traditional country.
At the heart of Pride is a story truly worth telling, about people coming together and fighting for the common better. A humanistic tale that celebrates unionizing, human rights and solidarity. - Only the most regressive conformist could watch Pride and not enjoy it. - Human spirit and life simply sputters from it in all directions. I got the feel from the film that the people behind it were taking extra care to get it right, because it is an important and real story that deserves the best handling. There were several roads available with the story, but Warchus and Beresford have chosen an uplifting, often funny and several times moving portrait, which doesn't neglect to show the issues and problems, but which fundamentally has chosen the high road, letting us enjoy and celebrate the inspirational story and the pride in a highly festive manner. For that I am grateful. - Pride was a party to watch, as I think it rightly should be.
The solidity of the ensemble makes the film transcend and gain a fullness that is simply wonderful: Ben Schnetzer (The Book Thief (2013)) is luminous as the group's fireball leader; George McKay (How I Live Now (2013)) has a rare youthfulness to him that inspires his performance as struggling Bromley; Paddy Considine (Child 44 (2015)) plays Dai with a strong sense of integrity; Freddie Fox (The Riot Club (2014)) looks stunning as the group's blond bombshell, and Jessica Gunning (Law & Order: UK (2009-14)) is amazing as Sian, whose life changed as a result of the strike and alliance with the gay community. Aside from all of these promising actors are some established star performances that sweeps you away: Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)) as the indignant community leader; Bill Nighy (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)) has a great part that he puts a delightful performance into, and finally Dominic West (The Wire (2002-08)) is wonderful as the group's veteran, and his dancing scene nearly halfway into the film is a reason to see it in itself! Plus Russell Tovey (Looking (2014-15)) has a fine cameo in Pride. Tat Radcliffe ('71 (2014)) has shot the film beautifully in widescreen and not a shot is off. Pride is also bolstered by lots of great period music hits. It is the perfect movie to watch to celebrate the recent court ruling in the US, which makes marriage equality a fact in all 50 states. - Don't miss it!
Who knew that Dominic West could dance like a dream? In one of the best scenes in Matthew Warchus' Pride
Watch the trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown Box office: 14.7 mil. $ = Uncertainty [Pride premiered in Cannes, where it won the Queer Palm award and a standing ovation. It has won several other awards, nominations and has made 3.2 mil. £ in its native UK. Without its budget in public, it is impossible to say whether the film is a hit or a flop.] What do you think of Pride?
Rowan Atkinson is back in a visibly intense way for Oliver Parker's Johnny English Reborn
QUICK REVIEW: Great Britain's master spy gets dragged out of his sanctum in Tibet to stop a coming attack on China's prime minister in London, committed by a terrifying blend of KGB, CIA and MI7 known as 'Vortex'! Some of the gags don't work, and English's new sidekick (Daniel Kaluuya (Kick-Ass 2 (2013))) doesn't add much or make much of an impression. But Johnny English 2 still creates so many laughing fits in its audience (SPOILER I especially loved the chair scene and the scene of the attack on hot Gillian Anderson's (The Last King of Scotland (2006)) mother) that it becomes a big success as the spoof comedy that it is. - In fact, it might even be a tad better than the original Johnny English (2003). Hamish McColl (Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)) has written it, based on story elements by William Davies (How to Train Your Dragon (2010)), and the structure is damn near perfect. Oliver Parker (The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)) has directed it. Comedic genius Rowan Atkinson (Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)) is phenomenal in it. Johnny English Reborn is a must for any Atkinson fan.
Rosamund Pike attending to Rowan Atkinson's leg in Oliver Parker's Johnny English Reborn
Watch the hilarious trailer for the film here
Cost: 45 mil. $ Box office: 160 mil. $ = Big hit [Atkinson and Johnny English are something the North Americans still don't really get; humor sometimes doesn't translate well, and he seems to be one example here: The film only grossed 8.2 mil. $ (5% of the total gross) in the US (following a meager 3.8 mil. $ opening weekend.) Atkinson appeals more broadly in several other countries which made the film a success nonetheless. But a third movie, or a wholly different comedy with Atkinson, hasn't materialized since, unfortunately.] What do you think of Johnny English Reborn?
+3rd Worst Movie of the Year + Most Expensive Flop of the Year
Huge Mars-monsters trying to sell Andrew Stanton's John Carter
John Carter starts well: From the mythic West, with bravado-filmed landscapes, Mr. Carter, who really doesn't want to fight Apache Indians (!), is thrown very mystically to Mars, where another, mythic narrative begins ... - No, unfortunately it does not.
Taylor Kitsch looking at ... no-one knows. In Andrew Stanton's John Carter
Instead on Mars, a silly mash-up of Star Wars, Planet of the Apes and Transformers awaits, with overly powdered 'stars': Taylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor (2013)) and Lynn Collins (The Number 23 (2007)), who plays even less charmingly than he. And the plot is as bad; it seems like a film cut out of a target group template made to forcibly include everyone, but it instead comes out tiring, incredibly boring and about as dumb as corrugated cardboard. Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty (2012)) and Dominic West (The Wire (2002-08)) play deadly boring, weirdly costumed, henna-tattooed villains. The good planet in Carter is idiotically named Helium, and the film wallows in violence, but has no sex and is supposed to be family entertainment, but is so boring it is more likely family punishment. After the first hour, the most likable character in John Carter is the monster CGI-dog seen below, and so continues the over-long, romantic western/sci-fi action adventure:
The most likable character of Andrew Stanton's John Carter
Carter is an adaptation project that had lived in Hollywood for decades with different studios and talent involved, before it was finally made into Andrew Stanton's (Finding Nemo (2003)) debacle of a movie, his first live-action feature. The then head of Disney, Rich Ross resigned following the movie which lost a great deal more than 100 mil. $, thus making it spectacular in one, definite way: As a flop. Stanton is getting back to his (much more successful) roots with his next movie, the much anticipated sequel Finding Dory (2016).
