I’m not too sure about “Bronco Billy” as it’s an intriguing effort by filmmaker Clint Eastwood (“Sudden Impact”, “Absolute Power”), who works on both sides of the camera for this, but I’m on the fence about what it accomplishes and which audience it is aimed at.

Like “Every Which Way But Loose”, I’m not sure if it’s really meant to be a family movie or a guys’ movies as in “Bronco Billy” we meet the sharpshooting modern cowboy Bronco Billy (Eastwood) who struggles to keep his wild west show running after a series of unfortunate events including wounded assistants and a tent burnt to a cinder.

Clint Eastwood gives a performance that seems charming enough to satisfy but I’m not sure how good it really is. I really love the performance by Sondra Locke (“The Outlaw Josey Wales”) as the already rich heiress named Antoinette Lily that is forced to join Billy and the show but finds as she continues performing that she is a real cowgirl at heart. By far the worst performance by any of the main stars is by Geoffrey Lewis (“Kelly’s Heroes”). I wasn’t too fond of most of the performances including the one by Scatman Crothers (“The Shootist”) as Doc Lynch.

“Bronco Billy” is a strange movie as I’m not sure what exactly it aspires to be and I’m not entirely convinced on what it actually does achieve. If you’re a fan of Eastwood, I’m not sure what you’ll make of this but perhaps you should give a quick go if you spot it on television at some point. I laughed during parts of the movie, I felt sympathetic during parts of the movie and I was puzzled by bits of the movie. Maybe children will enjoy this picture, maybe adults will because all I can say is that I’m not sure.

“Broken Arrow” is a fun action flick with some very impressive action sequences. The film was directed by John Woo (“Hard Target”) and stars John Travolta (“Saturday Night Fever”, “Pulp Fiction”) and Christian Slater (“True Romance”). Woo and Travolta would go on to work together on “Face/Off”, which I actually think is somewhat better than “Broken Arrow” as it combines the spectacular action with a really intriguing premise.

In “Broken Arrow”, Riley Hale (Slater) and Vic Deakins (Travolta) are two U.S. Air Force pilots that are on a training exercise in a stealth bomber armed with nuclear missiles. Deakins is a traitor and drops the unarmed missiles in the middle of Utah so that he and a team of mercenaries can help a client blackmail the government. Hale must try to stop Deakins but he’s going to need the help of a park ranger (Samantha Mathis “American Psycho”).

John Travolta is over the top and amusing as the villain. I think Christian Slater is pretty underwhelming and wouldn’t have been my choice for the hero role. Samantha Mathis is okay as Terry the park ranger. The other characters are okay as we have the frantic government officials and the rough mercenaries that you always get in these types of films.

The action scenes in the movie are really exciting as we see several helicopters explode, chases involving cars and a runaway train, shootouts and fistfights. Unfortunately, the film is not without its flaws as I really wasn’t impressed with Slater and the plot is barebones. I think a lot of aspects of this movie felt very clichéd and I think people that watch a lot of actions movies will feel as though the writing for “Broken Arrow” is a little lazy. If you love John Woo’s “Face/Off” then “Broken Arrow” contains the same brand of explosive action scenes.

“British Intelligence” (also known as “Enemy Agent”) is a WWI spy thriller. It’s notable because it stars Boris Karloff (“Frankenstein”, “The Body Snatcher”). It came out during WWII and gives off some propaganda vibes with the way it draws parallels between the threat of the Germans during the 1910s and the 1940s.

The British realise that a spy loyal to Germany is leaking information. They initially suspect that he must be operating somewhere close to the frontline but they later deduce that he must be embedded near the heart of the British government. A British cabinet minister’s home is where the spy is hiding but his identity is unclear. The authorities must find out who the spy is if they are to win the war.

Boris Karloff is obviously the most famous face here but sadly he does not get to shine as brightly here as he did in classics such as the early “Frankenstein” films. He plays the butler Valdar and he is entertaining as always. Margaret Lindsay (“Scarlet Street”) plays Helene and she does a good job. The other characters are okay and I did not have any complaints about any of performances. Of course, with spy films you often do not really know who everybody truly is as anybody could be a double agent or something like that.

“British Intelligence” has some enjoyable scenes and I was particularly impressed with the effects with the planes during the dogfight sequence. However, it is rather forgettable picture and is unlikely to satisfy many people. It’s not as gripping as Hitchcock’s spy thrillers “Notorious” and “North By Northwest”. The only real reason to see it is if you are a big fan of Boris Karloff. Even then, watching or re-watching “Frankenstein” or “The Mummy” would probably be a more sensible way to spend your time.

Nicolas Cage (“Vampire’s Kiss”, “Snake Eyes”) stars in “Bringing Out The Dead” from director Martin Scorsese (“Taxi Driver”, “Goodfellas”). The movie is dark and disturbing psychological drama and it has a dreamlike quality like “Taxi Driver” and “Eyes Wide Shut”. It is far from being a classic but it achieves a fair amount with some solid performances.

Frank Pierce (Cage) is a burned-out ambulance paramedic on the graveyard shift in Manhattan, who is haunted by the patients he failed to save. He struggles to maintain his sanity over three turbulent nights while also trying to befriend a young woman (Patricia Arquette “True Romance”), whose father has suffered from a cardiac arrest.

Nicolas Cage is terrific as Frank Pierce; you can really tell this is a tired and tormented soul. Each night, Frank is joined by a different colleague you get to see him partnered with John Goodman (“Barton Fink”), Ving Rhames (“Pulp Fiction”) and Tom Sizemore (“Black Hawk Down”) and all of them are excellent. All of the men are very different yet Cage manages to have some real chemistry with all of them. Patricia Arquette is very good as Mary Burke. Some of the other characters became a little tedious.

“Bringing Out The Dead” is filmed rather well and the performances are what make a really good watch but the movie still has its faults. Some of the sequences where Pierce keeps seeing the face of a deceased teenage girl feel come across as overdone and arguably unnecessary because Cage’s performance already convinces us that this guy is traumatised. I also did not care all that much for the subplot involving a drug dealer as it just felt like a distraction. I recommend “Bringing Out The Dead” because it has some wonderful performances and it will likely grip you with its bleak subject matter.

“Brightburn” provides an interesting twist on the superhero genre by providing us with a character that parallels one of the most famous figures in fiction. This film essentially gives us an insight into what Superman may have been like if he was evil. It’s interesting to see a whole movie dedicated to this idea and I was relatively pleased with the execution.

Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn “Avengers: Endgame”) is a kid growing up on a farm in Kansas but he is no ordinary boy. He possesses amazing abilities and is not from this world. He becomes increasingly aggressive and decides to use his powers not for good but for evil.

Jackson A. Dunn does a good job as Brandon. The kid is clearly disturbed and as the film goes on, we see just how truly sinister he is. Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”) and David Denman (“Logan Lucky”) play Brandon’s adopted parents and they are okay. The other characters in the movie get very little time on screen as the real focus is on Brandon and his parents. There was a young girl character that Brandon appeared to be interested but it seems to be pretty meaningless. It seems odd that the movie seems to build up a relationship that goes nowhere.

“Brightburn” is so very similar yet so very different from the “Superman” movies. Brandon Breyer obviously shares a lot in common with a young Clark Kent but there are some crucial differences. “Brightburn” is also an exceptionally violent movie with many graphic scenes that will make you feel a little icky. As much as I like the big budget superhero movies with flashy effects such “Avengers Assemble” and “Justice League”, I also have respect for more unconventional pictures such as this and “Unbreakable”. If you want to see a dark version of one of the most beloved comic book characters of all-time then check out “Brightburn”.

Perhaps the only thing I’m not too keen on with this film is the inclusion of the ‘s’ after the apostrophe in the title as apart from that “Bridget Jones’s Diary” is a funny, heart-warming and genuinely good movie.

In “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, Renée Zellweger (“Jerry Maguire”, “Chicago”) stars as Bridget Jones, who causes as much verbal chaos as Mr. Bean causes physical. She decides to lose weight, stop drinking and smoking and most importantly find herself a suitable boyfriend but with her inability to communicate with any level of reasonable success, she’s about to find out that it’s harder than she could have anticipated.

Zellweger is charming and funny simultaneously as Bridget Jones, delivering ridiculous lines at the worst of times. The character is typically British but without seeming forced. The first love interest she has in this film is a sleazy publisher named Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant “About A Boy”), who seems to naturally oozes with slime. Bridget’s other special someone is Mark Darcy (“Colin Firth “The King’s Speech”), who appears about as dull as watching paint dry. The whole film is about these characters and they’re silly yet somehow ‘real’ encounters full of spontaneity, humour and awkwardness.

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” gets the romantic comedy formula right as it does both the romance and the comedy with a big smile on its face. It’s a cleverly crafted comedy as it isn’t as simple as set-up followed by punch-line; it has that but then tricks you into thinking that’s it before immediately delivering a bigger set-up midway through the scene, enabling an even greater punch-line to be used. While it isn’t my normal choice of genre this is a splendid film and “Bridget Jones’s Diary” ends on the perfect note for its kind a film; I cannot begin to imagine how a sequel could possibly be successful.

The original “Re-Animator” is a horror comedy classic and while “Bride Of Re-Animator” features many of the same cast members and the same great special effects as the original, there is just something missing this time around.

Doctor Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs “The Frighteners”) and the reluctant Doctor Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott “Bad Dreams”) discover the secret of creating human life and intend to make the perfect woman using the body parts of various deceased women. They might just get away with playing God but a police officer is on their case and Doctor Hill (David Gale) wants his revenge.

Jeffrey Combs is great as Herbert West and by this point, he really is at the Doctor Frankenstein level of ambition with his desire to create a new being by snitching together different parts of the dead. Bruce Abbott is alright as Dan Cain. The other characters are okay but just like in the first movie, it’s Herbert West that steals the show. There are some intriguing creations in this film such as a collection of fingers with an eye that scampers about as well as a dog with his missing leg replaced by a human arm and the effects for all the creatures look great.

The big problem with “Bride Of Re-Animator” is that the movie doesn’t really offer a lot that wasn’t in the first movie and I don’t think it does anything better than that one. This movie is worth checking out if, like me, you really enjoyed the first “Re-Animator” but for those that weren’t so keen on it or haven’t seen it then there is no real point in seeing this movie. This is a movie that sits at that uncomfortable level where you can’t really bash it because it’s not bad yet you can’t really praise it as you weren’t particularly impressed with it.

“Bride Of Chucky” is the self-aware comedy sequel in the “Child’s Play” series about a killer doll. I remember seeing the original film and this one is not much better or much worse than that. It makes a few jokes here and there with references to “Halloween”, “The Bride Of Frankenstein” and “Hellraiser” but none of it is particularly amusing.

In “Bride Of Chucky”, Jennifer Tilly (“Liar Liar”) stars as Tiffany, the girlfriend of serial killer doll Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif “Dune”), who resurrects Chucky but he then kills her so her soul can be transferred to a doll to be just like him. The two then are on a mission to get back a special amulet in order to both become humans again.

The special effects for the doll characters are very good as they always have been in the franchise. The doll characters themselves aren’t as interesting, sure maybe it is kind-of amusing to see the two bicker like a human character and make love like a human couple but there is nothing here that’ll actually get a laugh out of you. The rest of the characters are really dull as they always are in slasher movies.

The original “Child’s Play” was actually quite funny, much more so than it was scary but this movie goes out of its way to parody slasher movies but it doesn’t do all that much with that concept. By far the best moment in the film is the joke involving “Bride Of Frankenstein” but even that isn’t as impressive as the film should be. If you like the series, you’ll either love or hate this film because it does something different but for the rest of us “Bride Of Chucky” is another boring entry in a boring film series in a deadbeat genre.

“Brewster’s Millions” is an intriguing film with a great premise but unfortunately it lacks one key thing, humour. “Brewster’s Millions” is apparently a comedy and it stars two famous comedic actors but it has little to no jokes in it and that’s why it fails to get my recommendation.

In “Brewster’s Millions”, a minor league baseball pitcher named Montgomery Brewster (Richard Pryor “Superman III”, “Silver Streak”) is given the chance to inherit $300 million if he can waste $30 million in a one month period. By the end he must be completely broke and no one must know anything about why he’s trying to get rid of his money. Montgomery or Monty as he’s often called must find every way possible to ditch his money according to the guidelines he’s been given and make sure he’s penniless by the end.

Richard Pryor was funny in some of the other films I saw him in but they were bad movies anyway and his efforts felt wasted. Here he isn’t funny as he doesn’t even try to be and if he were funny it would have made “Brewster’s Millions” a good, possibly great film. John Candy (“Blues Brothers”) plays Monty’s friend and fellow baseball player Spike Nolan. He’s okay but again he doesn’t seem funny or even like he’s trying to be.

“Brewster’s Millions” is an alright movie. I enjoyed parts of it but that vital aspect of humour prevented it from being a good experience.  I liked the eccentric ways Monty Brewster loses his money but none of it is funny. Humour would have made me love the eccentric ways Monty Brewster loses his money. I thought the purpose of a comedy was to make people laugh and I didn’t laugh during this film and that’s a real shame as I saw plenty of potential.

“Brazil” makes almost no sense whatsoever but it does fill the screen with many memorable visuals. The movie feels although it was directly lifted from the mind of its director, Terry Gilliam (“Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, “Time Bandits”). “Brazil” takes on a visual journey while its plot veers off into increasingly bizarre directions.

Set in a futuristic totalitarian society, “Brazil” follows Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce “Glengarry Glen Ross”), a humble civil servant that daydreams about soaring among the clouds. When Lowry tries to correct an administrative error, he is plunged down a dangerous path that ultimately leads to him becoming a target of the state.

Jonathan Pryce is likeable as Sam. Arguably the best scene in the movie involves Sam fighting for his table with a co-worker in the room next door. Robert De Niro (“Goodfellas”) has a role as Harry Tuttle, who goes around fixing heating systems without government approval. The character’s significance is not particularly clear. Other cast members include Ian Holm (“Alien”), Bob Hoskins (“Hook”) and Michael Palin (“The Missionary”) so there are quite a lot of big names in here. There are also some strange beings that Sam sees when he dreams, these include a large samurai and indescribable creatures that wear masks.

“Brazil” seems although it wants to combine “Metropolis”, “Monty Python” and “Flash Gordon”. This is a really strange film littered with spectacular visuals but it is incredibly hard to follow this sci-fi flick. I’m recommending merely because I believe the spectacle of the amazing sets and creative visuals is worth it but I would be lying if I said I cared or even understood much about the plot. It belongs in the same subgenre of sci-fi films as “Total Recall” and “The Naked Lunch”. Terry Gilliam has provided us with an experience that seems completely unfiltered and it is therefore unsurprising to learn that he had to battle with the studio to get it released the way he wanted it to be. My recommendation is only a minor one but it is nevertheless a recommendation.