The Silence of the Lambs 1991 by AverageMansReviews

The Silence of the Lambs 1991 by AverageMansReviews

Review Time

Warning: there is flashing effects/colourful effects/shooting/rainbow community component/transformation/shooting/stabbing/animal cruelty/man on woman violence/decomposing/cutting/disfigurement/swastika/medical/reference to cannibalism and sexual assault

To catch a screw loose, you have to rely on a more sophisticated screw loose: briefly; FBI Agent Clarice Starling [Younger: Masha Skorobogatov/Older: Jodie Foster:] she is a bright up-and-coming trainee agent for the FBI, she has been given the task to get help with this case, but the only problem is; the person that they need help from is currently presiding in Baltimore State Hospital for the criminally insane; his name is Dr. Hannibal Lecter [Anthony Hopkins:] he is a brilliant if heavily mentally unstable Doctor of Psychology/Forensics Psychology and is a complete master of playing three-dimensional chess with people's emotions, minds and brains if you don't pay attention and have the wherewithal about you, not to say something he can use or exploit later.

Generally speaking: the framework, character developments, performances and pacing of this 118 minutes long; now and again we do get some exposition character developments on FBI Agent Starling; but as an adult; she may be highly intelligent amongst other talents, but she is going to be thrown in at the deep end; as she will be going up against Dr. Lecter which on all counts is supremely better, but in comparison and connection wise she is the equivalent of a very highly intelligent apprentice to him and that right there are; is what appeals to Dr. Lecter; someone that doesn't waste his time and mentally he can/they can joust with one another.

Meanwhile it has been very carefully constructed to allow Dr. Lecter/Hopkins to construct the world around him, in his head and whomever he comes into contact with, so by doing so he gives off the vibe that he is always in control, he is here because he wants to be and just biding his time for the opportunity to make his escape, but until then he will entertain himself with whatever you can, so people become his plaything and even though he is in a confined space, his presence/stage presence is dark foreboding, incredibly intimidating as everyone knows he doesn't waste his time with small talk; he talks intellectually and on the rare occasion dark comically just to get under someone's skin; individually or together Jodie Foster and/or Hopkins; make their roles iconic as for Foster; her portrayal of FBI Agent Starling on reflection; meaning in 2026; I feel she showed something massively important, that a young female could be more than the scared young female; very similar to that of Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise; as FBI Agent Starling; she could share the space with Dr. Lecter and broadly speaking comfortably hold her own as for Hopkins as Dr.  Lecter what is there to say really? Hopkins took this role and simultaneously made Dr. Lecter and himself become as one, because you can't touch the film version of this iconic character and/or performer, this is one of those where times in cinema history where you have Foster and/or Hopkins in the right place at the right time; everything aligns create this filmmaking collaboration between everyone involved.

Comedy and action; yes as I have already referenced we do have some dark comedy moments such as someone throwing their DNA FBI Agent Starling. The action is limited, a little bit graphic but all good

Character developments and performances; this is very much a cast performance to be honest and fair everyone is doing their part in what will go on to become an masterpiece of cinema and classic

This film receives: 10/10, this film is top-notch entertainment; for its originality, going on to represent the early 1990's time in history with its filmmaking, going on to break the boundaries of what a horror film was and is; with two outstanding, timeless performances; individually or/and together; in Foster and/or Hopkins; cementing its history/legacy simultaneously amongst the greatest figures from the horror genre, but also one of the greatest films of all times as well, as it should be on everyone's list of films to watch at least once in your lifetime, there is an ongoing sequence underneath the ending credits and if you think this section is just a hot steaming pile of garbage;

Allow me to show you just some of it towards that it has accredited to its name; 71 Winners which include but not limited to Academy Awards, USA 1992 Oscar Best Picture Edward Saxon Kenneth Utt Ron Bozman The Silence of the Lambs (1991) became the third film in Academy history to win the "Big Five" Academy Awards for producing, directing, acting, and screenwriting following It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975,) Best Actor in a Leading Role Anthony Hopkins, Best Actress in a Leading Role Jodie Foster, Best Director Jonathan Demme and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Ted Tally. 50 Nominees, which we have more from the same award ceremony/event Best Sound Tom Fleischman Christopher Newman and Best Film Editing Craig McKay, so as you can see at the 1992 Academy Awards, it had an outstanding night.

 

Logan 2017 by AverageMansReviews

Logan 2017 by AverageMansReviews

Review Time

Warning: there is flashing effects/colourful effects/shooting/stabbing/disintegrating/squashing/disembowelment/decapitation/transformation/child abuse/regeneration/stabbing/impaling/drugs/immigration/mental health/robotics/torture/burning/self harming/vehicle crash/vehicle hit/animal cruelty/kamikaze/medical/reference to the suicide

One last ride... for this Wolverine in 2029: briefly; it has been years since we have seen Logan/Wolverine/other name/other character [Hugh Jackman:] he is even by his standards looking older, and now has problems regenerating, as the sands of time has caught up with him, so have they caught up to Charles Xavier/other names [Patrick Stewart:] he is now suffering from some kind of degenerative cognitive illness which with someone of his abilities/powers: telepath/telekinetic and being one of the strongest using these gifts when he has a seizure or has an off moment or loses control as you can imagine, don't be anywhere around him for a safe radius of I would say 5 miles. But Logan is not alone he has Caliban [Stephen Merchant:] he is an albino mutant that like Logan he tries to take care of Xavier, he has the gifts/abilities to track down other mutants, he did for some time work for Transigen the company behind the Project X Programme and as an albino he really does struggle with sunlight. But Logan/Wolverine has one final mission, before this trio can hopefully sail off into the sunset; Logan has to save when take Xavier, himself and Laura/X-23 [Dafne Keen:] she is an experiment of Transigen, very similar to what happened to Logan back in the day, but she is the evolution version of him and they took some of his genetic coding to make her, so this is as close as Logan has to having children, so yes she has the abilities/gives which adamantiun provides and on top of that she is very similar to her father in personality traits as well; they are heading to a place called Eden.

Generally speaking: the framework and pacing of this 137 minute film is good, but it does need some time to find itself; like the opening section or somewhere around here.

Action, art, character developments and comedy; the action and art are a simultaneous partnership from the aspect of they are brutal and visual action, we now have Logan doing the usual after being hurt, just getting out and starting again, but a little bit slower than he used to, not later on Logan stops Laura from hurting people, like he used to at the beginning of his new life or/and getting her to be civil at the dinner table [I will discuss this more later on in this content.]

Character developments and performances; now broadly speaking to begin with a character developments and performances of the vast majority of this cast are a all good; they have assembled a good cast of characters and performers; you see there is a reason why I took the time to mention/reference all the characters and performers I did earlier in this content; you see this film project is very character and/or performance driven; at its heart amongst the action, but also to separate that away from it; this film is about the hard reality of we all get the old in Logan's case it is just taken him much longer to get there, so we have the complexities of Xavier and Logan very much doing the role reversal of son taking care of his father or to keep everyone happy, the father that he can remember and has always tried to be there for Logan; Logan being the only one of Xavier's children figuratively speaking of course, so Logan has to carry the responsibilities of looking after Xavier; yes absolutely Caliban is a nurse figure to Xavier and tries his hardest to take care of him and the place they call home for while; but he has a different journey in this movie, but I digress; and on top of that Xavier has as I have already referenced some kind of degenerative cognitive illness, where at one point he tells Logan something to the effect of he has disappointed him, which if anyone has experienced a degenerative cognitive illness from their loved one; you know they didn't mean it; but it really beautifully incorporates everything that they were going for; that Xavier is someone with his level of intelligence, compassion and being a mutant could still break any normal person's neck with the most tiniest of mental flickers, but under all of that is a very frail old man, with Logan now experiencing his version of old age and now dealing with his equivalents of a daughter, but we don't have the standard father and daughter relationship oh no... we have the kind of relationship where Logan/Wolverine was just created in a medical facility kind of relationship but Laura/X-23 lived experiences; which she is a handful and has a very strong head and aggressive tendencies just like a father; so without a shadow of doubt I have decided to award is project extra mark, based on these four quintessential performances.

This film receives: 9/10; this film is excellent; as I have been indicating at one point or another; this title does offer something different than most superhero projects, in the sense of above everything else is the sense of authentic realism; let everyone involved in this project should be delighted with any given high praise. This film has some awards accredited to its name such as 29 Winners which includes but not limited to Odyssey Awards 2017 Odyssey Award Best Lead Actor Hugh Jackman and Best Support Actress Dafne Keen 82 Nominees which also include but not limited to Academy Awards, USA 2018 Oscar Best Adapted Screenplay Scott Frank James Mangold Michael Green and back to Odyssey Awards 2017 Best Support Actor Patrick Stewart   and Breakthrough Star Dafne Keen

In Dedication: now sad news; Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86; he was  struggling with his health what with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia; Obviously I would like to send my condolences to his family, friend, associate, network and others going through this very difficult time. Sir Stewart very much had a vary on stage; Waiting for Godot 2009, 2013-2014 and No Man's Land 2016, both with his very best friend Sir Ian McKellen. They would also build and infamous legacy working of one another in the X-Men movie franchise [20th Century Fox/Marvel Studios/MCU] as Charles Xavier/Prof X and/or  Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto; their chemistry let's be honest was and is absolutely priceless; it became the backbone of the 20th Century Fox universe as it relates to their series of films.

Sir Stewart has also had Film/TV success with being a part of the Star Trek Universe as Jean-Luc Picard; Star Trek: Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard and an episode in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Emissary," he also did the TV show Blunt Talk; full disclosure I have never watched a complete episode of this but I have seen trailers for it and Let's just say it is an adult comedy about a TV anchor/ presenter.

Sir Stewart has done various works for Seth McFarlane in his project/predominantly as the voice of Avery Bullock: American Dad! and even in the worlds of Matt Groening; The Simpsons; 1995 as the Voice of  Number One “Homerer the Great” and as Homer’s bold co-work in “The Fabulous Faker Boy” and we even have Futurama as the voice of Huntmaster.

I am just really disappointed that Patrick and Ian won't be able to go down their red carpet together for the final time on the premier of Avengers: Doomsday 2026; Let's just see I know better than most that we don't get the choice on when we stop feeling out our life book, but these two best friends deserved to do that, so over this weekend, Just drop McKellen a message I will be taking my own advice and dropping McKellen a message on social media, because the chances are he and indeed anyone associated with with Sir Stewart is not doing okay.

I think I will let Picard/Sir Stewart say something here; "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” RIP Sir Patrick Stewart 1940-2026

Next instalment switched from 20th Century Fox to Disney: Deadpool & Wolverine 2024 Link https://averagemansreviews2017.blogspot.com/2025/02/deadpool-wolverine-2024-by.html                                              

 

Average Extra of: Walter Koenig Dies aged 90 by AverageMansReviews

Average Extra of: Walter Koenig Dies aged 90 by AverageMansReviews

Related content: Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1979 Link https://averagemansreviews2017.blogspot.com/2025/07/star-trek-motion-picture-1979-by.html

Warning: there will be some censored adult language references in this content

Well the hits keep on fudgin’ coming don't they: straight from the very beginning I would like to send my condolences to his family, friends, work colleagues and anyone else connected to his network; Now as the original member of the Star Trek universe in its first anyways in its entirety; it has to be said; a big thank you for showing us the way to at least try and coexist with many different ethnic backgrounds or nationalities or others without and this is very important without being preachy or virtual signalling or  this cancel culture or any of these horse manure methods, through the vessel of this original universe he tried alongside your cast mates to make the world better in your own ways and even with portraying Pavel Chekov a Russian character; Which was in reference to the Cold War and I quick the side note can I just point out that history is not meant to repeat itself as a global society we are meant to learn and evolve, Chekov was a warm welcome addition to the crew and slotted in perfectly with his unique charm. But Again thank you for showing us via this original generation on how it should be done and how many generations you may have happy through the Star Trek original generation which things too hard work encouraged and spawned many of a generations of TV programs and projects and many upon many fans.

But you will never die really you will just join the other stars in the sky to show us the right way into the future; R.I.P Walter Koenig 1936- 2026

Average Extra of: Tom Skerritt Dies aged 93 by AverageMansReviews

Average Extra of: Tom Skerritt Dies aged 93 by AverageMansReviews

Related content:  Alien 1979 Link https://averagemansreviews2017.blogspot.com/2023/07/alien-1979-by-averagemansreviews.html and then Top Gun 1986 Link https://averagemansreviews2017.blogspot.com/2019/08/top-gun-1986-by-averagemansreviews.html

Warning: there will be some censored adult language references in this content

Can the Grim Reaper slow the fudge down a bit!: straight from the very beginning I would like to send my condolences to his family, friends, work colleagues and anyone else connected to his network. I don't know too much about this performer, I am a member of the generation that knew him from Top Gun 1986 [CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf] and then when I grow older Alien 1979 [Captain Arthur Dallas] and even when he safely into his 90’s he was still getting film roles; Broke 2025 [Cliff.]

But what I do know about him is he had the ability to raise the standard of the scene or film or project he was a part of at that time when he was on screen, Which he made this look effortlessly easy, he Was one of those performers that you could rely on to just put anything North of an excellent performance in, basically he was a very rare commodity by today's standards of a High quality pair of hands on the project at that time.

Performers never really die, as they leave the volume of work for the present and the future generations to see and hopefully enjoy: RIP Tom Skerritt 1933-2026

In-depth Predictions/Other elements for NXT Halloween Havoc 2026 by AverageMansReviews

In-depth Predictions/Other elements for NXT Halloween Havoc 2026 by AverageMansReviews

Shiloh Hill vs. Naraku; Singles Match: I can only see one winner here, But then again I have been wrong before

Wren Sinclair vs. Champ Kelani Jordan; Singles Match for the NXT Women's Championship:  likewise I can only see one outcome here at this point anyway.

Zilla Fatu vs. the BirthRight's: Charlie Dempsey [with Arianna Grace, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, Lexis King, and Uriah Connors;] Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: TBA Match: so even though I haven't seen the wheel of choices yet, I am going to get my crystal ball out and say The stipulation will be something to the effect of; No outside interference.

Izzi Dame vs. NXT Women's North American Championship Zaria; Singles Match: ok I am just going to come out and say it, someone must have suffered a brain injury whilst putting this feud  together, because I have actually seen the moment where this match goes from a potential championship opportunity match to just a single match and there are only two possible reasons; it was written by AI or someone suffered brain injury whilst writing this and just to cover my back from future criticism, I can say statements like this because I have a life-term brain disability go to from birth, either way this is just embarrassing for NXT or/and the WWE on the whole. I mean I have no idea why they didn't just make this match a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: TBA Match. That would have made but more better than sense, but then again I am asking this situation to actually make sense which it doesn't. But my pick here is so they put the championship on the line next event.

Tavion Heights vs. Myles Borne; Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: TBA Match: whenever I see bits of this feud online, I don't get the feeling that this is the final or the conclusion, they may squeeze it out before another event cycle.

Tony D'Angelo vs. Champ Grayson Waller; Singles Match for the NXT Championship: I don't see this championship going anywhere for a little while longer, now before I continue I want to state that I don't want him to be released, but with the amount of years I have been  watching wrestling, I just have this feeling that after this  run and isn't around or in the picture with this Championship, I can see his name being circled for release when the time comes for apparent budget cuts.

Now  is it me or has the WWE/NXT hierarchy stopped putting in so much effort with these events since the closure of the network as in the WWE network, I based my opinion on the lack of variety of stipulations as in their current product for this brand has a lot of in one way or another single stipulations and etc over these more recent times instead of various tag team or more participants, They just seem to be doing the Bare minimum compared to reaching the high-qualities but they once were.

 

Whalefall 2026 by AverageMansReviews

Whalefall 2026 by AverageMansReviews

Review Time

Warning: there is flashing effects/colourful effects/animal cruelty/animal feeding/environmental/suicide/medical/theme and references to cancer and rainbow community

Now I know how Pinocchio felt: briefly; we meet Jay Gardiner [Youngest to Oldest; Baby: Unknown/Grayson Paul Solomine/Ronin Pribble/Sam Franich/Austin Abrams:] as he goes diving for any signs of remains of his father, but let's just say it isn't going to be his day.

Generally speaking: the storyline/script In conjunction with the exposition character development/present predicament likewise in conjunction with the framework and pacing of this 106 minutes film smoothly rotates back and forth and moves forward with a good pacing as well

Art and action; the art is on one hand highly detailed as it takes its audience on this journey as well with this really immersive experience of the journey inside, but consequently on the other hand some people may find this somewhat graphic, so you have been politely warned, yet visually beautiful construct of this action sequence in gray-and-white; I just wanted to draw a line between the art and what takes place in this action sequence and even that is just nature; but the entirety of the sequence be it art or action is a strong asset to this project as it does everything with a certain level of balance.

Character development, performance and voice performance; broadly speaking other than what I have already mentioned in this content; they are good versions of what they were going for here, but the inclusion of spiritual component is and was excellent Has it really elevates the movie to the next level, well it would have if this film didn't do something really, profoundly stupid and that is; throughout this film now and again we get told of this letter, furthermore right at the beginning we see it as each child gets one, our lead role does open his right  at the end of the movie, he laughs but we don't get to see what is in the letter. So you put all this important on this letter and we don't see it… What a hot steaming pile of garbage! So the performance is and the voice performance is good

This film receives: 7/10.This film is good, I really would have given something slightly a bit high, but the whole letter thing really did annoy me and this film has an ongoing sequence underneath the closing credits

Educating Rita 1983 by AverageMansReviews

Educating Rita 1983 by AverageMansReviews

Review Time

Warning: there is flashing effects/colourful effects/Nazi gesture/burning/drugs/attempt suicide/medical

A good education is important : briefly; we meet Rita White/another name [Julie Walters:] she is a hairdresser that wants more out of life than just to be the status quo of these times meaning, after getting married pushing out a baby and being a housewife, so to get an education in English/English Literature from Dr. Frank Bryant [Michael Caine:] he is an English Tutor at this university, he does lessons and one-to-ones; Open University, but he does have such a tiny problem with drinking though.

General speaking: the storyline/script is good; it has a good layout; I know this film comes from the 1980s, so this kind of background music is fitting of those times, but then again we have these moments where this background music does absolutely nothing for the film and trust me when I say you will know it when you hear it, because it is so dominating and off putting when it is in effect; it really does stick out like a sore thumb; it really does absolutely suck!  but other than that the framework and pacing of this 106 minutes film is good.

Art and character development; set designs, wardrobe and accessories are excellently thought out to Indicate a clear distinction between an individual of a working class while it is of a higher class, simultaneously we have one individual that is spunky But not stupid, yet the other is articulate, self-destructive and reckless, the best dialogue exchanges take place in his office/study; as in this location they talk about the world and how it is and obviously literature

Comedy, character developments and performances;  for the vast majority of this movie we have a running gag, which involved a stational telephone, which eventually we do get a payoff, on top of the character development I have already discussed as the person I would some of this content with we also have at some point  this change of dynamics of roll reversal between our lead partnership, the surrounding characters and their performances on both counts are really solid and likeable versions of what they are meant to be. But individually or together our lead partnership have been smooth and sparky chemistry, which makes this film what it is and without this sparky chemistry I would take a guess that this film really would have struggled to function; so this partnership is absolutely priceless for it authentic sparky chemistry, which I hasten to add for most of this movie it is non-hostile.

This film receives: 8/10, this film is excellent; yes absolutely the background music is highly annoying, but by and large after taking everything into the consideration what with The individual and/or the partnership of our leadership of Waters and Caine; they are the driving force behind the success of this movie and this should be absolutely no surprise, but this film has some awards accredited to its name such as; 6 Winners which includes but not limited to BAFTA Awards 1984 BAFTA Film Award Best Actor Michael Caine and Best Actress Julie Walters. 8 Nominees which also include but not limited to Academy Awards, USA 1984 Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role Michael Caine and Best Actress in a Leading Role Julie Walters [all together this film has 3 Oscar Nominations to its name.]