Tag: Toby Jones

REVIEW: Tetris (2023)

Taron Egerton and Nikita Efremov in “Tetris,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Jon S. Baird — Screenplay by Noah Pink.

Jon S. Baird’s Tetris is a biographical thriller about the struggle to acquire the licensing rights to the hugely popular video game Tetris back in the 1980s. The film follows Henk Rogers (played by Taron Egerton), a game developer, who, while advertising another game at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is introduced to a video game known as Tetris, which instantly hooks him. This love-at-first-play-session sets in motion an attempt by Henk to secure the rights to the video game for the purpose of reselling them to Nintendo. However, that is much easier said than done, since it was invented by a Soviet programmer and since he will have to travel to Soviet-era Russia to have any chance of securing the rights, thus putting his life at risk, while another far more wealthy potential buyer is willing to do whatever it takes to get the rights before him. 

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REVIEW: The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Christian Bale in THE PALE BLUE EYE — PHOTO: NETFLIX.

Directed by Scott Cooper (Hostiles) — Screenplay by Scott Cooper.

Netflix’s first major film release of 2023 is Scott Cooper’s (very late entry into the 2022 movie year) The Pale Blue Eye. The film, which is based on a historical fiction novel of the same name from author Louis Bayard, features an incredibly well-known author, Edgar Allan Poe, as a character that is integral to the narrative, and it should go without saying that the film does not come close to becoming even a little bit as notable as the author the creatives have built a fictional mystery around. That would be a tough ask, to be honest. Still, though, this is a pretty decent crime thriller, even if it won’t end up on many best of 2022 lists. 

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REVIEW: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — Directed by J. A. Bayona.

When Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World in 2015 tried to bring back the world that Spielberg perfected back in 1993, it came with the promise of a fully functioning park. But in living Hammond’s dream of a fully operational dinosaur park, we also knew it would eventually all fall apart — there wouldn’t be a movie if it didn’t.
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REVIEW: The Snowman (2017)

British Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a quick review of The Snowman – Directed by Tomas Alfredson

The Snowman is based on Norwegian crime-writer Jo Nesbø’s bestseller of the same name, which was actually released ten years ago. The film follows Harry Hole (played by Michael Fassbender), a well-regarded detective with a serious alcohol problem, who is investigating the disappearance of a woman. When that woman turns up dead, Hole teams up with Katrine Bratt (played by Rebecca Ferguson) to find and stop a Norwegian serial killer who likes to build snowmen.
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REVIEW: Sherlock: The Lying Detective

Sherlock - Reviewed

The following is a spoiler-filled episode review of the Sherlock: Series 4, Episode 2 – The Lying Detective

In The Lying Detective, which is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Dying Detective, Sherlock (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) meets the daughter of entrepreneur, Culverton Smith (played by Toby Jones), who claims that her father is a murderer, but she doesn’t know who he killed because Smith used a drug on her to make her forget about his confession. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sherlock: The Lying Detective” →

RETRO REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One (2010)

Poster - Warner Bros.
Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a spoiler-filled retro review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One, Harry Potter (played by Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (played by Rupert Grint), and Hermione Granger (played by Emma Watson) are unable to return to Hogwarts and, instead, go on the hunt for Horcruxes and ways to destroy them.
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RETRO REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a spoiler-filled retro review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) – a house elf – is trying to stop Harry Potter (played by Daniel Radcliffe) from reaching Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, a message has been written in blood: “Chamber of Secrets has been opened, Enemies of the Heir beware.”
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