Film Review No. 50 The Lion King (PG)

Strong Points:
The photorealistic graphics are incredible
Some new jokes and altered lines work well...
A huge technical achievement
The songs and story still contain the magic
Timon and Pumbaa lift the film up to new heights, with their animal friends
Singing was great from all
Subverted expectations
Little extra scenes filling in the transitions were great and didn't slow the pace down

Weak Points:
...Although some lines were oddly removed
Some of the new song additions don't really live up to the originals
Animals aren't anthropomorphised, so there isn't much emotion around the eyes
Photorealism removed the ability of animation to have clever, non-realistic ways to show a shot

Some minor spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 49 Pokémon Detective Pikachu (PG)

Strong Points:
Brilliant designs for the Pokémon
Detailed animation and world-building
Ryan Reynolds is brilliant as Pikachu
Funny
Use of more than the first 151 Pokémon
Small details show the seriousness the filmmakers had with the film
Doesn’t push for a franchise
Some twists and turns I didn’t guess
A mostly well-connected screenplay combining drama, meta-comedy and cheese...

Weak Points:
Some cliché or stilted dialogue
Not a lot of Pokémon battles
...Sometimes crosses the line between knowingly cheesy and cringe-inducing
Most of the human cast doesn’t get a lot to do
Opening minutes crammed a lot of exposition and explanation into itself
Could have done with the classic Pokémon narrator

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 48 Tolkien (12+)

Strong Points:
Great, confident acting from the cast, young and old
Confidence in the audience to have references to Tolkien’s work in the background to find as well as in the foreground
Great cinematography
Nice production design
Focussed on different areas of Tolkien’s life than you might expect
Good, subtle but apparent score
The right amount of fantasy

Weak Points:
The opening ‘montage’/set up didn’t engross me
Slightly ‘by the numbers’
A lot of information was passed on all at once
Pacing issues

Note: as I only have a passing knowledge of Tolkien’s life, I won’t be commenting on any potential historical inaccuracies (I’ll leave that for the comments). However, remember this isn’t a documentary, it’s a dramatic biopic and should be treated as such.

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 148 Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee - Nintendo Switch (7+)

Strong Points:
Streamlined approach to the games
Great graphics and art style
References to other games in the series and general lore
Legendaries are an event to catch again
Catch mechanics add a different style to catching Pokémon...
Small cutscenes show visual flair and small changes in gameplay show creativity
Pokémon in the overworld means you can pick Pokémon you want
Customising appearance of Trainer and Partner Pokémon is nice
Rideable Pokémon help to speed the game up (and have some nice visual gags)
Pokémon Go comparability is well implemented
Catch combos reward perseverance...
Master Trainers offer a tough endgame...
Shiny catching is improved and visual
Pokémon Box and secret techniques being taught to partner are efficient...

Weak Points:
Unreliable motion controls
Barebones co-op
Removal of many conveniences and well-established features
Some lag in areas such as Viridian Forest doesn’t bode well for the sequels
...although they don’t offer a lot of depth
A slight jump in animation between walking and running (allows rideable Pokémon to get out of Pokéball)
... although catching every Pokémon in sight so as to transfer removes the special bond between trainer and Pokémon
Partner Pokémon becomes an unstoppable machine by the end, and you are pushed towards not changing your team
...albeit a slightly tedious one
...Although the need to go through multiple menus isn't
Actual Pokémon battles against legendary Pokémon and minibosses feel tacked on

Nitpicks:
Eevee gets more costumes than Pikachu

Review No. 147 Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection - PS4 (16+)

Strong Points:
Strong characters
Humour
Stunning graphics, detail and animation
Great set pieces
Intriguing story...
Great use of parkour, especially in the latter two games...
Nice gunplay
Throwing grenades back mechanic adds a touch more strategy... (Uncharted 3)
Brilliant voice acting
Great value for money (the collection)

Weak Points:
...That sometimes feels too quick or too long
Jet-ski levels (Uncharted 1)
...Although the objects used can be quite samey (Uncharted 1)
...Until you throw a grenade at a wall (Uncharted 3)
Sometimes feels like there's little point to any of this
Some large difficulty spikes
Detailed environments but lack of climbable objects (Uncharted 2/3)
Boss fights (Uncharted 1/2)
The villains don't get quite the attention of the heroes

Film Review No. 47 The Favourite (15+)

Strong Points:
Great production design
Interesting camera shots
Good acting from all
Great casting
Some bits of humour
Original story
Characters constantly change status, including in the minds of the audience
Lots of subtext in dialogue

Weak Points:
Some odd camera shots
Some odd plot choices
Gratuitous with language and sex

Some spoilers below:

Review No. 146 Bioshock 2 Remastered - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Great expansion of the world
Awesome voice acting
Interesting story concept - communism instead of capitalism
Sense of time running out
Gunplay was mostly great...
Plasmids were also fun...
Choices
Hacking was sped up a lot
Reduced sense of dread made sense in terms of story...

Weak Points:
Crashes
Slow start
Hard mode goes against the game design
...Felt the Rivet Gun wasn't different enough to justify
...Although not very different from the first game
...But removed some of the atmosphere
Removal of choice at one point felt odd

Note: this is a review of The Bioshock Collection rerelease version and won't include multiplayer or Minerva's Den (might come separately)

Also, some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 145 Mr Shifty - PC (12+)

Strong Points:
Great art style
Tongue-in-cheek humour without resorting to vulgarity
Teleport (Shifting) technique
One hit deaths add suspense...
Can pull off great moves
A large array of items at your disposal
Slow-Mo
Shift Meter adds risk and reward
A short, easily digestible game...
Satisfying combat

Weak Points:
...But can also lead to frustration
A few oddly placed checkpoints
Removing the ability to teleport to make the game artificially harder
...Which still suffers pacing problems
A tower block doesn't make for the most interesting environments

Film Review No. 46 A Star Is Born (15+)

Strong Points:
Great acting from all
Brilliant songs with variety
Confident direction
Character's backstories slowly being unveiled
Funny
The 'inevitability but surprise' of the ending
Great concert feels
The dog/cloud/ball of fluff

Weak Points:
The Southern drawl was sometimes impossible to decode
Using real-life award shows for fictional people feels odd
They sort of throw you into the beginning

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 45 Bohemian Rhapsody (12+)

Strong Points:
Outstanding performance by Rami Malek
Great selection of hits - more than you can count
Performance feel for the concerts
Great costumes
Good supporting cast
Very strong second half
Some outstanding scenes...
Some dramatic irony helped to make comedy...
Wayne's World joke and cameo

Weak Points:
Odd pacing
...and some mediocre ones
Some of the hair and makeup seemed cheap
Little development for characters besides Freddie
...but could also come across as patronising
Emotional pacing
The backing score was poor in comparison to the songs

Some spoilers ahead:

Note: I haven't judged the film on any historical accuracy as I, myself, don't know enough about Queen and Freddie Mercury to pass judgement on this. However, if you were expecting a documentary, perhaps look elsewhere.

Film Review No. 44 Christopher Robin (PG)

Strong Points:
Amazing CGI
A great message
Funny
Some great bits of cinematography
Ewan McGregor plays Christopher Robin excellently
Inspired plenty of more games to play
Pooh's way of speaking
Christopher Robin's neighbour
Great chunks of nostalgia
Little bits of traditional animation
Classic songs make a reappearance

Weak Points:
Some of the animals are left out of most of the film
Christopher Robin's neighbour
The film sometimes relies on nostalgia too much, including with the time period - the entire film feels like a memory
Some of the darker elements

Warning: spoilers ahead

Review No. 144 Grand Theft Auto IV - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Strong voice performances
Great animation for cutscenes...
Variety of missions
Niko is well rounded and complete
Strong supporting cast
Great story
Gunplay is tight and versatile
Lots of cars to drive around in, with them behaving mostly like they should
Niko actually questions what's being asked of him...
The detail of the world and dialogue
Plenty of references
Detail of world - being able to skip tolls if you are in an ambulance with sirens on

Weak Points:
...Even with the occasional glitch or pop-in
Seems confused as to whether Niko is the main character or just a vehicle for the player to see the city
...Although doesn't necessarily do anything about it
Dark and gritty city fits the mood but isn't particularly fun to drive around
Constantly jumping between islands can get repetitive
The chronology of the game doesn't necessarily fit with the amount of time you play it for
Constant phone calls
No checkpoints in missions
No quicksave option
Tolls and bottlenecked traffic slow travel down
Some interesting physics with the cars

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 43 Ant-Man and The Wasp (12+)

Strong Points:

More fun and interesting uses of the Pym Particle powers

A great script

Some brilliant one-liners

Interesting villain powers

More Luis lip-syncing

A better look at the Quantum Realm

Some great costumes

Mid-credit scene

Explains the repercussions of Captain America: Civil War and why Ant-Man wasn’t in Infinity War

Paul Rudd as Michelle Pfeiffer

A nice pallet-cleanser after Infinity War

Weak Points:

Felt like a filler episode before Avengers 4

Very quick pacing – because it has to take place in the same time-frame as Infinity War

Perhaps not to do with Ant-Man and The Wasp enough to justify the title

Some comedic breaks in tension fell flat

Spoiler warning for Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War

Film Review No. 42 The Incredibles 2 (PG)

Strong Points:
One of the funniest Pixar movies
The family life details are spot on...
Jack-Jack
Great voice acting from all
Stylish action sequences
Incredibly detailed animation and graphics
Great score
Edna's scene

Weak Points:
Never stops and takes a breath
The villain isn't quite Syndrome
The other heroes aren't really explored
...But the superhero sequences can't quite live up to them
Has some ideas (especially in the monologue) that aren't explored fully
Void's character model seemed off

Nitpick:
Some of the greatest scenes were too short and spoiled in the trailers

Spoilers ahead:

Review No. 143 Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage - PS4 (12+)

Strong Points:
Beautiful graphics
An interesting development on Aqua's character
Smooth and fluid gameplay
Good pacing
Brilliant soundtrack
Helps to explain odd plot holes from the previous games
And sets up Kingdom Hearts 3 nicely
Customisation surprisingly works
Good voice acting
The animation in cutscenes is top notch
You can straight away see Aqua's power

Weak Points:
Some gameplay elements such as the clock gears were little more than gimmicks
Yearned for more
Ice ramps aren't properly explained and a slight change in environment will affect them

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 142 Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix - PS3 (12+)

Strong Points:
Great battle system
Intricate deck building...
A large adventure which demands to be seen as a whole rather than three stories
The Final Mix adds even more story and battles
A nice selection of worlds
Great voice acting from most...
Helps to fill in gaps from the wider KH narrative
Music is brilliant
Mirage Arena is a fun experience
Lots of little collectables...

Weak Points:
...which is slightly at ends with the original portable design of quick play sessions
...Although the three main characters could do with a bit more expression
The three stories mean the overarching narrative isn't filled in until the end, so remember to read up on what you've done before
Slightly barren worlds
Not enough Unversed bosses
...Which aren't really explained as to why they are there
Music sometimes loops too often - Cinderalla's World especially
D-Link takes too long to load

PS4 photo due to sharing option

Film Review No. 41 Ocean's Eight (12+)

Strong Points:
Entertaining and humorous throughout
Tongue-in-cheek...
Didn't rely on raunchy or over the top jokes as many films do when trying to show 'real female characters'
Clever heists
Multiple twists
Some nice references to the previous trilogy...
Low stakes make for an entertaining popcorn flick...

Weak Points:
...sometimes too much so
Slightly too long
James Corden's role wasn't needed
...But was it really needed?
...albeit a forgettable one
Some characters could have had larger, more fleshed out roles

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 40 Solo: A Star Wars Story (12+)

Strong Points:
Likeable characters
Easter eggs
Brilliant special effects
Extreme wide shots and almost painting-like backdrops
Great acting by all, especially Paul Bettany and Alden Ehrenreich
Some good laughs
Cameos
Tense action sequences and dialogue
Subtle score references and remixes

Weak Points:
Very busy on screen at the beginning turns an action scene into a swirl of colour
Emotions didn't always continue as you'd believe
Some themes weren't subtle, some too much so
Some characters should have been in the film more

Nit-pick:
Prequels never really allow you to invest in characters who you know must meet their end or disappear in the film to allow the canon to work

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 141 Bloodborne - PS4 (16+)

Strong Points:
Makes you keep going back for more
Satisfaction of winning
Intricate level design with plenty of shortcuts
Enemy design
No hand-holding encourages experimentation
Tight controls
More aggressive than Souls series
Great world building...

Weak Points:
Voice acting at ends with the polished game
Can be overwhelming without help
No hand-holding can quickly remove options from the game
Some bosses are plain cruel
...Doesn't constitute a great story

Review No. 140 Red Dead Redemption - PS3 (18+)

Strong Points:
Great atmosphere and world building
Likeable hero
Varied cast
The language of the Wild West
Horse riding
Shooting gameplay...
Funny
Lots to do
Great voice acting
Classic Rockstar realism and graphics

Weak Points:
Pacing issues
A lot of the same story trends
...Even if it turns into a bit of an auto-lock sometimes
The amount of people you kill is at ends with the story
Run too fast and you can miss story elements