Connor Macgregor Reviews Thread

^^By far the best thing about the film^^

Connor Macgregor Reviews...Cars 2

The First Cars was good, but not fantastic like other Pixar films. So when watching the sequel, I had low expectations. But honestly, I was surprised.

After Mater gets his best friend, star race car Lightning McQueen, a spot in the very first World Grand Prix, he is given the job of pit crew chief. But while they are in China, Mater crosses paths with Holly Shiftwell, a spy searching for an American spy. Unknown to Mater, the American spy attached a tracking device on him while being attacked. Thinking the tow truck is the spy, Holly and another spy, Finn McMissile, take Mater around the world to find and stop an evil plot created by "lemons," old cars considered ugly.

Don't get me wrong, Cars 2 isn't one of Pixar's greatest films, but its one that improves on the original and does let you care about the characters more. For example, they do develop Lightning & Mater's friendship a lot more and the film is centered around Mater rather than Lightning. I also like the fact that it doesn't follow the stereotypes (To a most part) with the other countries and portrays them as normal countries like America rather than what America thinks the countries are like (Believe me they get it wrong with the UK so many times). I also predicted who the main villain was very quickly, so come the end it wasn't a big surprise, however it was very anti climatic which added to my disappointing. What they did get right however was the action sequences. They were great and made the film prevent from being boring. The races and the spy plot really worked and we saw Pixar try something new and exciting.

Overall, Cars 2 is good but not a masterpiece and strikes better than the original.

Rating - 73% - B+

Connor Macgregor Reviews...The Muppets

Remember these guys. Well in 2011 they came back and now in 2012 they are bringing their comeback to The UK. But me, I got a sneak peak of the film before it got released nationwide. Here is my review.

When 3 muppet fans learn that Tex Richman wants to drill under the muppet theater for oil Gary, Mary and Walter set out to find the muppets who have been split up for years Kermit lives in his own mansion depressed in hollywood, Gonzo is a high class plumber at Gonzo's Royal Flush, Fozzie performs with a tribute band called The Moopets , Miss Piggy is the plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, and Animal is at a celebrity anger managment rehab center in Santa Barbara.

Growing up, I didn't really watch a lot of Muppets, but I was aware of their huge following and realized how big they were around the world. So when seeing this film, I had some solid expectations going in. However what I got was a piece of movie magic that you rarely see in film anymore. From start to finish, this film understands its audience instantly and plays to them all in many different ways. New audiences is really an introduction to the muppets, and to old fans its to those jokes that made the Muppets well known the first time around. All of the hit characters are there and couldn't be better. New character Walter has a solid back story and really is crucial to The Muppets coming back together again.

The Music & Songs are superb. The opening "Life's A Happy Song" is the best song of the year for film. So joyful and up lifting that it gets you into the film's world with ease. They also use "We Built This City" by Starship perfectly and very original as well.

My one problem with the film is that it overuses fourth wall jokes which is quite distracting at times. I get a point where I am quite invested in the story, and then a fourth wall joke takes me out of focus.

Overall however, The Muppets is a real treat and a family film all round. A big recommendation.

Rating - 100% - A+

Connor Macgregor Reviews...The Artist

The film that everyone is talking about right now and while people may have different views on the film, it may just be the key to the revival of the format that launched cinema in the first place.

Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: "Who's That Girl?" and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin's world upside-down.

The Artist is one of those films that remind you just how good films really were back in the day. The film didn't need explosions, 3D and marketing to make money. What it needed was a story and an old format that got a good revival that had everyone talking and quite rightly too. The acting is very good, without the use of dialogue. People could never think a silent film would be a hit in today's medium, but this film is gearing towards best picture faster than a flaming bullet. The two lead actors in the film are great. Jean DuJardin & Benice Bejo completely fit into the film's world and perform in the moment. They embrace the silence and its brilliant acting. John Goodman & Uggie The Dog are also great additions to the film that give it that extra magical charm.

The film is shot and made just like an old silent film. Cinematography, Music, Costumes, camera, etc. Its a true nostalgia feeling for old time cinemagoers. As well as that, it introduces new audiences to how the medium was before, and it totally works. I highly recommend this film to everyone while its still out in cinemas.

Rating - 94% - A

I think Jean Dujardin (hope I got the name right) is one of the finest actors right now.
Just saw both the OSS 117 films, not bad.. it's by the same guy who directed The Artist.

I hope to see more of this fine actor.

I do too. Seeing as he has won an Oscar, some studio will have an interest in him..just hope its the right one.

Cars is in my opinion, the worst Pixar film, I only went to see Cars 2 for 2 reasons-
1. Michael Caine as a spy.
2. It spoofs spy films.

& in spite of the above 2 reasons, I was still bored by it. I hope they wont make another sequel, I rather see Pixar work on something else..

Connor Macgregor Reviews... Super Size Me

This documentary has been seen and talked about around the world, and it has taken me too long to see it and longer to review it. So here is it for your reading pleasure.

Several legal suits have been brought against MacDonald's Restaurants that they are knowingly selling food that is unhealthy. Some of the court decisions have stated that the plaintiffs would have a claim if they could prove that eating the food every day for every meal is dangerous. As such, documentarian Morgan Spurlock conducts an unscientific experiment using himself as the guinea pig: eat only MacDonald's for thirty days, three meals a day. If he is asked by the clerk if he would like the meal super sized, he has to say yes. And by the end of the thirty days, he will have had to have eaten every single menu item at least once. Before starting the experiment, he is tested by three doctors - a general practitioner, a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist - who pronounce his general health to be outstanding. They will also monitor him over the thirty days to ensure that he is not placing his health into irreparable damage...

This film is seen through my eyes as a experiment and to show a wide audience that fast food is not what it all seems. McDonalds and Burger King, major fast food companies rely on advertising in a bid for their product to get out. But by now, its so well known and tasty, many people end up only snacking on those brands. Its a real expose into how fast food in general is damaging the health of america and how people are trying to fight back.

Morgan's experiment is daring and shocking at the same time. You have some physically making themselves sick in order to prove to people that fast food and the business in general is doing a lot of bad in the world. Its very distressing at the same time, but by the end, it proves a lot to many people. It proves that despite the advertising and the world wide access, its the choice of the consumer that makes them fat and ill, not the corporation.

Overall, Super Size Me is a great documentary fronted by a terrific personality and tackles a subject not many people were aware of.

Rating - 91% - A

Have you seen the tv series, A Day In The Life? I'd recommend that if you liked this.

Connor Macgregor Reviews...Submarine

Indie films are more and less about the vision of the filmmaker rather about the money. They allow a director to unleash their imagination and vision of stories and characters onto the screen. Submarine showcases a vision that is worth seeing.

Precocious Oliver struggles with being popular in school but when a dark-haired beauty takes interest in him, he's determined to become the best boyfriend in the world. Meanwhile, his parents' already rocky relationship is threatened when his mother's ex-boyfriend moves in next door. Oliver makes some unorthodox plans to ensure that his parents stay together and that Jordana still likes him.

There are a number of things that makes this film work. Firstly is the visual style of the film. It totally reflects the main character's morbid view of the world and how he sees now life and livelihood in his town. Craig Roberts performance in the film is really good and there is a hint of maybe he suffers from aspergers syndrome. Its not confirmed, but its highly encouraged and hinted that he does. There is a lot of focus on blue and red in the film and those colours and camera techniques help make the film trippy and art focused.

A lot of film is very cheap. The costumes of the parents make them feel very working class. The lighting and the music gives that alternative feel that it isn't the top notch hollywood film and it does everything to separate itself from it and appeal to a niche audience, and in my view, it pulls that off very well. My one nagging problem is that it tends to be 4th wall a bit too much.

Overall, Submarine is a well made film with excellent stories and characters as well as good camerwork and cinematography.

Rating - 92% - A

Connor Macgregor Reviews...The Hunger Games

So I saw this on the first day aware of the hype and fanbase this film already contained, so this was going to be a film that really needed impressing.

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

The film itself is a very thrilling and gritty tale about survival and control over the mass. The character of Katniss is a fighter, but is forced into the fighting position rather than taking it on herself. She volunteers for the games because she has no choice, and only did it to protect her younger sister. The first half of the film is the hype and fear of death and what The Hunger Games is to this society and world. Katniss is forced to train and develops a unique relationship with Peeta, which slowly involves throughout the film. When the battle begins, it becomes dog eat dog and Katniss is in a fight for survival with the nation fully engaged in the fight. Its brutal and sometimes terrfying, but you root for Katniss throughout the film and there are moments that leave you on the edge of your seat.

The one issue is the camera work. The stedicam can be a little tiring at points and while it doesn't get point, it annoys me that the film couldn't sit still and relax for one point and proceeded to move around and go so fast. But that again works for the film because the story is fast paced and leaves you breathless.

Overall, The Hunger Games is a good old blockbuster with terrific visuals, cinematography, a star studded performance by Jennifer Lawrence and a great dark story for teens to get excited for.

Rating - 94% - A

Connor Macgregor Reviews...War Horse

Steven Spielberg has mad many films that has cemented him as a iconic film director of modern times. But this film may be one of his most special and touching ones to date.

Dartmoor,1914: To his wife's dismay farmer Narracott buys a thoroughbred horse rather than a plough animal, but when his teenaged son Albert trains the horse and calls him Joey, the two becoming inseparable. When his harvest fails, the farmer has to sell Joey to the British cavalry and he is shipped to France where, after a disastrous offensive he is captured by the Germans and changes hands twice more before he is found, caught in the barbed wire in No Man's Land four years later and freed. He is returned behind British lines where Albert, now a private, has been temporarily blinded by gas, but still recognizes his beloved Joey. However, as the Armistice is declared Joey is set to be auctioned off. After all they have been through will Albert and Joey return home together?

To those who say that Spielberg is staring to make less than good films and that his best days were behind him, then this film will prove many wrong. What War Horse achieves is that Spielberg at 65 can still deliver touching and wonderful entertainment for families, and that when the day comes when Spielberg ceases to be in this world, Cinema will be a very different place. War Horse is a film in which instead of a human character, the main character is an animal and one that you instantly care about when the film starts, and we follow the horse's journey throughout the first world war. There are some scenes which are harrowing, and then some that show the horse in a more friendly and calm atmosphere, but those last briefly. We meet many different characters that the horse connects with, and it helps that we see different characters react to the horse differently in different circumstances.

The cinematography is really good and the color of the film is showcased in particular good shots. Many critics have also said that Spielberg shoots some of his best camera work in this film, and there is some terrific shots in the film that are both beautiful and horrific. The Story is also well written with some good acting by newcomer Jeremy Irvine and Peter Mullan too. You can say its a British Film with an american director at the helm, and it truly does feel British all the way.

Overall, War Horse is a real treat and probably one of Spielberg's best for a while. e has two projects on the way which could both increase Spielberg's reputation.

Rating - 95% - A

Connor Macgregor Reviews...Jesus Camp

I was quite excited and interested when watching the trailer, and so you could tell by my huge disappointment. that this film is nowhere near as good or interesting as It was hyped up to be.

Jesus Camp follows several young children as they prepare to attend a summer camp where the kids will get their daily dose of evangelical Christianity. Becky Fischer works at the camp, which is named Kids on Fire. Through interviews with Fischer, the children, and others, Jesus Camp illustrates the unswerving belief of the faithful. A housewife and homeschooling mother tells her son that creationism has all the answers. Footage from inside the camp shows young children weeping and wailing as they promise to stop their sinning. Child after child is driven to tears. Juxtapose these scenes with clips from a more moderate Christian radio host (who is appalled by such tactics), and Jesus Camp seems to pose a clear question: are these children being brainwashed?

Now there are some interesting bits in the film in which we see kids literally on their knees in tears praying to god as well as an insight into the people who are so in belief of Christianity and the fact that nothing else is right. That part got to me, but the rest of the film just doesn't live up to me. It was slow and dreary and eventually got boring after a while, mainly because the interest of the subject and the characters and the shock factor of people believing a religion faded away pretty quickly.

Overall, not much to say other than its a pretty underwhelming documentary with a disappointing and slow premise.

Rating - 61% - B

Connor Macgregor Reviews...The Descendants

George Clooney & Alexander Payne's finest hour. A film based on a small known book, but for no longer. The story goes like this. With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.

This film is very good. Alexander Payne is a director that knows how to make a good film, with a tremendous story attached. Clooney really does give a good performance about a flawed father trying to remend his broken family. You buy into his character and his situation very quickly and you can tell he is trying, but he has never really been in there lives that much and he refers himself as "The Backup Parent" and this is where it comes into effect. The two daughters are also very good and played by two talented actresses. Matthew Linard who is also known for Scream and The Scooby Doo movies is also very good in this film and plays a real crucial role in the film's plot.

What works about this story is the setting. Hawaii is well shot and well colored in the film and you get the feeling that the characters aren't happy even in the happiest of places. There is a sense of depression and unsatisfactory throughout the story, and even at the end, there is a sense of while things are resolved, they still don't feel at all happy. The direction and screenplay are also well done and its translated greatly on screen.

Overall, The Descendants is a well crafted film, and while its not Payne's best (Sideways) he still proves that he's a director with a hell of a career to come.

Rating - 94% - A

Connor Macgregor Reviews...Taxi Driver

One Of Martin Scorsese's best ever films. A film which delves into a decaying city of sleaze and crime and throws Scorsese into the big leagues.

Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night, watching porn movies at seedy cinemas during the day, or thinking about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He's a loner who has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with mankind. For him, the one bright spot in New York humanity is Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palatine. He becomes obsessed with her. After an incident with her, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to to make the world a better place in his opinion. One of his priorities is to be the savior for Iris, a twelve-year-old runaway and prostitute who he believes wants out of the profession and under the thumb of her pimp and lover Matthew.

Taxi Driver is a rare watch because its one of those films that takes its time to process and allows you to think about what you are watching rather than throw everything at you at once. Firstly is the performance by Robert De Niro. His performance is very good and up there as one of his best. His early work is arguably some of his performances of his career before he starts phoning it in. We get a sense of a character who is sick of the life he lives and sets out to make some form of change in himself, as well as the society around him. Its a slow and physiological journey that he goes through and its great to watch as we see him in some way being transformed into something very threatening and dangerous. Jodie Foster is also very good in it and looks incredibly gritty and manipulated by his pimp. Horrible to watch, but great performance none the less.

The direction by Martin Scorsese is well done and cements himself as an upcoming and very skilled director. His skill with camera is really good and sets himself separately from other directors. He captures the grittiness of NYC perfectly during that time period.

Overall, Taxi Driver is a superb watch with some great camerawork, acting and a very entertaining experience from Martin Scorsese.

Rating - 97% - A

^ Excellent movie, though not as good as Raging Bull.

I love and adore Taxi Driver. One of the greatest films I've ever seen.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Scorsese really showcases in this film what he can do with so little. I haven't seen Raging Bull, but I really want to and hopefully will very soon.

Great reviews. Have read through a lot of the older ones you did. They are very good. I agree with most your ratings but we are all have different ideas of what is good and bad. Keep up the good work.

thank you very much