Aetyr

There are 2 films in the Iron Lady, and perhaps they would have worked better as separate stories in their own rights. As I understand it from history lessons and the stories of my parents' generation, Thatcher's political career had more than enough going on to make a long, interesting story even if it had been separated from the other half of this film (AKA "The Notebook 2012"), and the parts of The Iron Lady which focus on her years in office are certainly more interesting than the scenes set in the present. The way the flashbacks are executed makes the real story feel disjointed and haphazard, further cementing my belief that this film would have greatly benefited from a script based purely on the political career of a woman whose actions still shape British politics today. The acting was stellar, the one part of the film which truly shone - particularly Streep's contrasting portrayals of Prime Minister Thatcher and senile old Margaret. I'd certainly recommend the political half of this film, but unfortunately that's only half the story The Iron Lady tries to tell, and the finished product suffers because of that.

This is a fantastic homage to the spirit of The Muppets which gave me and countless others so much joy growing up. It's 100% cheesy, musical, family entertainment but even though I usually give such films a wide berth I was happy to sit through this movie and I'll do it again when it comes to blu-ray. It's hard to fit every old Muppet sketch into the restrictive 90 minute time slot so I understand why some old favourites get little to no proper screen time, but I'm glad they at least used some old jokes to jog the nostalgic memories of us grown-up fans while still dedicating sufficient screen time to the new story to make this worthwhile for a new generation of kids who might have no existing attachment to the franchise.

Sure, **** Punch isn't getting any points for depth or originality, but its got a really enjoyable combination of eye-popping, over-the-top, unashamedly-CGI action and weird, otherworldly insanity most befitting of the mental institution in which parts of the film are set. The visuals are really stunning and while no individual scene really stands out as unique in its genre, the way in which they all fit together creates a film which is more than the sum of its parts.

I gave it 1 point because it did one thing well; it made me feel exactly what the characters were feeling. Unfortunately, what the characters felt was lost, desperate and at some points in intense pain. It doesn't have any metaphors or philosophies to analyse because it has fewer words in the script than most films have on the back of the DVD box. If you like long, silent, beautiful views of desert scenery feel free to try this, as it's all you'll get. Though you could always just go on the Internet, search for a photograph of a desert and stare at that for 2 hours for much the same effect.