The Quite Nerdy Blog

Ready Player One is the new Steven Spielberg film and before we get into it, I want to point out where I stood on this film before I saw it. The film is based on a book by Ernest Cline which I read and really enjoyed as the fun, reference filled romp it was. When Steven Spielberg was announced as director, that was exciting too because no one does romps like Spielberg. Hell, I'll even go to bat for The BFG, one of his less popular films recently. These factors come together to create a film I was really excited for and now sadly have to tell you is just not that good. Plenty to get through before that though, including the plot, which may sound familiar. The creator of a virtual world dies and leaves behind three secret keys that will lead to his fortune. We follow Wade Watts on a quest to find these keys and have a rocking time on the way. Impressively, the plot is actually fairly different to the book but I still knew what was going to happen at every step because the plot is...

A couple of years ago, I did a list very similar to this and seeing as I have a hole in my schedule to fill (I won't lie to you if you're kind enough to read my ramblings) and I've since seen every film on the first list, now felt like the right time for an update. For those who haven't worked it out, the point of this list is basically a list of the films I most want to see but out of films that have been released (so something like Infinity War wouldn't make the list for example). To be elligible, these just have to be films I haven't seen, want to see and to have come out more than a year ago. And hey, for a little bit of fun, why not go back and read the first list and compare how much more pretentious my tastes have got in the space of three years. 7. Fruitvale Station The name of director Ryan Coogler may not mean anything to you but recently, he did this little indie film you might have heard of called Black Panther. I really enjoyed that film and ...

Isle of Dogs is the latest Wes Anderson film and if you know anything about his previous work, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that it is an absolute delight. The story centres around the eponymous  (Japanese) island, one that used to be home only to trash but after an outbreak of snout fever is reshaped into a home for all the infected and unwanted dogs. We follow a pack of dogs who encounter a young pilot, who has flown to the island in search of his dog. The plot can be boiled down to that but there is actually much more going on under the surface. It's not exactly a film of twists and turns but its plots and sub-plots are all fully fleshed out and like many of Anderson's other films, it ventures out beyond the compounds of story you're expecting. This is the bit where I talk about the performances in the film but honestly, it's pretty hard to do when there's a cast as embarrassingly huge as this, so I'll just list some notable people and point ou...

A couple of weeks ago, a film came out called Game Night. It was a comedy with some action and intrigue mixed in, in which an elaborate game goes horribly wrong. For me, I heard this premise and thought "huh, this sounds just like The Game", a film by David Fincher, my favourite director. On the back of this and surprisingly good reviews, I checked the film out and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is the film really funny and a great time but it's also one made with real, genuine care, with actual cinematic techniques where many comedies would be flat and uninteresting. In this way, and many more, the film basically rips off the work of Fincher but honestly, it works wonderfully and makes this a comedy that works on its technical elements perhaps better than the comedic ones. In style, there's plenty of elements that are distinctly "Fincher-esque" and as a fan, getting to pick them all out was a delight. Primarilly, what I spotted was a lot of reall...

Annihilation is... Honestly, it's quite an overwhelming film and a lot of this review is going to be me processing it. That's your warning that there will be mild spoilers dotted around and that this film is brilliant, on Netflix and best enjoyed with minimal information about it. The setup is moderately simple, in that a wall (called a shimmer) appears around a section of land, scientists are sent to investigate but none return. One (the husband of Natalie Portman) does return but in baffling circumstances so she and four other scientists head into The Shimmer to investigate. It's when inside that the plot gets crazy and that's the beauty of it. A lot of the stuff that happens isn't fully explained. There are little pieces to put together but no easy explanation and that's amazing. Word of warning though, as the plot gets on, it becomes much more metaphorical than literal, although not to the degree of mother!. There's also plenty of thematic connection...

My experience with the Paddington franchise didn't actually begin until this year so I'm still coming from a fairly novice place but let me break down my love for theses films. When the first one came out, I was still very cynical and fully believed that a film like Paddington was just for kids and that I shouldn't waste my time with it. Many told me it was good but I felt I had "more important" films to watch. Cut to the release of Paddington 2 and I was again hearing really good stuff but wasn't all that interested. That changed when my Film tutor came in one week raving about it but having not seen the first film, I felt I'd missed the boat. My chance came around when the campus cinema showed Paddington 2 though and I thought I'd catch up on the first one and then see the new one. Dear God, what a delightful weekend I had. I'll break them down one film at a time then, starting (obviously) with the first Paddington. It re-positions the stor...

We're now done with the 2018 Awards season and it's been a hell of a ride. Sure, I only ended up getting one prediction wrong with my Oscars predictions but there was admittedly a lot to like. Even with that though, there are plenty of films and people who deserved much more attention, not just at the Oscars but throughout the rest of the season. That's where this list comes in as I try and show some love to those who didn't get as much as they deserved. To clarify, any entry on this list will only be here if they had some attention over the season so films like Ingrid Goes West or Wind River, both of which were brilliant, aren't eligible as they were overlooked entirely. 7. The Boss Baby Haha, no, not even close. This film got way too much praise and it only works to be a joke (like here). To the real heroes! 7. Lady Bird Despite not winning anything at the Oscars, Lady Bird can't really make it much further than number seven because it won Best...