
Not posted for a while as you may have noticed, or maybe not.
Why I hear you ask?
Well you did ask so lets get some thoughts down and will be interesting to read any comments (or lack thereof)…..
- Streaming and fragmentation of the movie market. With numerous streaming platforms pumping out movie “content”, arguably on many occasions just “filler”. Yes looking at you “Red One” & “Red Notice”.
- Reviewing movies that only people who have that streaming platform, does not make sense. See “Air” and “American Fiction” for details – both good films by the way.
- TV series are stealing all of our film stars and luring them to arguably better, long form intelligent stories that allow actors to explore their characters better
- Movies are no longer great, most feel like “content” to use that dreaded word.
- Do we really need more Sequels, Prequels, Re-imaginings, Reboots, Spin-offs?
- CGI/Special effects are ruining movies – now effects are cheap to make, we are now watching computer games rather than actors. “Andor” proved that audiences want gritty “real” characters and locations.
- Budgets, spending $300m on making a movie and then the same again on marketing, effectively means a box office less than $1.2B is a flop (box office is halved with theatres), this is not sustainable.
- Violence in movies, we know it sells but do we really need the extremes we now see even at 15 certificate. I know, we have seen the Simpsons episode where Bart tells Lisa she needs to de-sensitive herself but is that really what we want?
- Am I just getting too old, is 59 old? – maybe I should stick to “Miss Marple” repeats?
- It costs real money to host a blog, it’s not getting any cheaper.
- But you make lots of money from your blog? Nope – not a bean….
- Blogging is hard if you want to build an audience, I certainly have never “broken out” but you need regular content to remain relevant. To paraphrase, life is too short to watch bad movies just to review/and/or trash them.
- I am a Horror movie wimp, no sofa is big enough to hide behind. Unfortunately we seem to be going through a Horror phase, no not the US election, I mean movies. So no reviews of Horror movies ever…
- But you enjoy writing on your blog? True but for the reasons listed above, maybe not so much. For every “Oppenheimer” or “Dune” there are many “Borderlands”, “Madame Webs” etc, etc
To use the famous music lyric, “should I stay or should I go now?”……
Next time you click on this link, you might not arrive here because 500 movie reviews will have disappeared into the ether (admittedly backed up), so let me know your thoughts.
Jules (not quite 60 yet)


Well written as always and yes had noticed , do agree with your comments and being honest can’t remember the last movie I went to see. Do know it was a kiddie movie and they loved it . Suffice to say find the theatre’s way too loud , I can hear and like to retain my hearing, cotton wool does not work ! Also like my food in a restaurant and I can survive two / three hours without eating . So guess easy answer for me is no longer the treat it used to be.
However do enjoy movies but like you , possibly genetic, don’t need the violence and usually check reviews prior to watching.
Might be my age but prefer to be entertained and feel good rather than unable to sleep for weeks .
Do persevere as know others enjoy your comments and I personally agree with most of your comments. Gives me a start when I venture to the movies.
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Thanks for the reply, much appreciated – Jules
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Don’t give up Ken, but do understand and agree with your frustrations . Posted a comment.
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks for the very kind comment from a complete stranger who is not in anyway associated with my direct family 🙂
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Hi Jules,
I am still here (lurking) and really enjoy your movie reviews. I agree with a lot of your points and the movie world, just like the real one, can feel cynical and without any heart sometimes.
There is certainly a lot of dross but I am not sure there is more now than in the past. Maybe back then they would have gone straight to video without most ever hearing about them. Now the Internet helps get them noticed and streaming services are willing to host them just for content.
There are also way too many sequels, etc., and it can seem like no one is willing to take a risk on something new. We watched Wicked a few nights back (which as a huge fan of the stage show did not disappoint – looking forward to hearing what you think) but every single trailer was a sequel or a live action remake of an animation.
Big budgets, CGI and violence – could not agree more. It seems like we are addicted and only a bigger and bigger hit will satisfy. I also never watch horror – just don’t enjoy being scared or watching people being hurt.
But I think there is cause for optimism and hope. Television might now have some great long form content with big names but that means we have another source of the art form we love (perhaps the only truly relevant art form left). But the really encouraging thing for me is that good movies are still being made. We may have to dig through a lot of rubbish to find them but they are there. I recommend “Your Monster” if you fancy a relatively low budget, really enjoyable movie.
Anyway, sorry for my rambling reply. Reading your reviews is always a lot of fun and, through it, I have been guided to some really excellent movies I might otherwise have missed.
I hope very much you continue.
Greg B.
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Thanks Greg and hope this finds you well, really appreciate the reply, it’s good to know somebody is looking at what I type, lurking or otherwise! Clearly my ego is easily satisfied as even a couple of positive comments helps inspire me to keep going.
Checked out “Your Monster” trailer, looks interesting…..
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Your reviews are excellent Jules – witty, perceptive, and invariably accurate. You’re probably a tad more generous in your ratings than I would be but that says more about me than you!
Yes, the points made in your latest blog are salient. Consider for example, the latest Day of the Jackal remake set in contemporary times. It’s now a series on TVNZ+ starring Eddie Redmayne giving him more scope as you would say for his considerable acting talent. It’s pretty violent in places which is to be expected for a series about an assassin, but some of the murder and mayhem apart from the ‘marks’ seems deliberately gratuitous. I wonder if even Eddie became cynical about his character’s increasingly desperate and nasty behaviour?
I’m not sure where to go from here. I always appreciate your reviews. They’re an intelligent and entertaining read.
Deb
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Great insights on how movie review blogs are evolving! I completely agree that blogs still hold a unique voice in a world full of quick video reviews. For those who enjoy discovering movies or TV shows from around the world, I recommend checking out PhotoCall TV it’s a free platform offering access to hundreds of global TV channels and movie content. It pairs well with the kind of in-depth reviews you write here. Keep up the great work!
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