Directed by Dexter Fletcher

Born in the mid-1960s in Enfield (now a London borough), Dexter Fletcher is an actor, film director and producer. He is the British equivalent of USA's Ron Howard. Both became famous as actors and have gone on to direct some great films. Fletcher's quirky style brings enjoyment to a mostly family audience, through such movies as:

• Sunshine on Leith (2013)
• Eddie the Eagle (2015) 
• Rocketman (2019) 
• Ghosted (2023) 
  

I've just got round to watching Ghosted, which features big stars in small roles (e.g. Anthony Mackie and Ryan Reynolds). It's a love story, it's an action-packed spy film, it's humorous. Summary: a recommended watch; great fun!

I know that I watched Sunshine on Leith and Eddie the Eagle, both of which I enjoyed, but it was so long ago that I can't remember details! Not a fan of Elton John but I may watch Rocketman some day. 

Unrelated quote:
‘I am constantly mistaken for Ben Elton...' - David Baddiel. 

Indiana Jones - the fifth and final film

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 

Everyone was excited about the next Indiana Jones movie until the studio started to shoot itself in the foot and put out negative vibes. Even after it was released, there was no love for the film at Disney. Unsurprisingly, one of the highest budget films was not a box-office success and, at the time, made huge losses. These factors niggled at an audience who wanted to love Indy's last adventure (bearing in mind that Harrison Ford must be nearly 100 years old by now). 

So we waited. We've now watched the movie and have our own opinion on it. Generally, the public awarded a 3.6 rating and we wouldn't argue with that but we believe it could have been higher with a better final cut. For example, it's a long film at 2h22m and much of the first half dragged on a bit therefore just removing 20 minutes or so from the first half of the film would have been beneficial. Possibly the scenes where old Indy became younger Indy, thanks to CGI, were only kept in to justify the CGI cost? 

That aside, once the action got going, it was entertaining.

Resurrecting the Nazi element as the antagonists was a terrible idea but the fantasy element of the franchise (e.g. Arc, Aliens) was topped by time-travel. The antagonists meet their doom in the distant past as Indy meets with Archimedes who, apparently, discovered how to time travel around 2000 years ago. 

All in all, quite entertaining and a must-see if you've seen the others. 

Personal ratings by release:

• Raiders of the Lost Arc ~~~ 5* 
• Temple of Doom ~~~ 4* 
• Last Crusade ~~~ 5*
• Crystal Skull ~~~ 4* 
• Dial of Destiny ~~~ 4*
  

 

Movies: Freelance, Witless Protection, About My Father - our ratings

We've watched three more films on three consecutive evenings, wow. 

1. Freelance

Genre: action and humour. If this had been made at the end of the last millenium, it would be starring Arnie and possibly co-starring Antonio Banderas. However, it was released in 2023 and stars John Cena, Alison Brie and Juan Pablo Raba. It's not a new plot but it was entertaining and for that, we give it 4 out of 5 stars. Cena and Brie were good and Juan Pablo Raba was excellent.

2. Witless Protection

Genre: comedy. We nearly abandoned this quite early on as it's cringey rather than funny but we let it run and there was some worthy humour. Added to that, the plot developed nicely, so we can award 3 out of 5 stars. For those of you who know of the comedian 'Larry the Cable Guy', the humour is probably typical but for the rest of us (especially Brits), this is a B-list movie.

3. About My Father

Genre: comedy. Based loosely on the relationshop between the writer/leading actor Sebastian Maniscalco and his father, played by Robert De Niro, this hardly believable plot is entertaining, with characters who you may like or loathe as the story unfolds. It's entertaining, so somewhere between 3 and 4 stars out of 5. 

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