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john-5515
Reviews
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Great film, a bit long but really enjoyable.
Really good fun, lots of humour, good actors, beautifully filmed and rendered. The story is, predictably, somewhat clichéd in essence but it has been given a good treatment and the humour and great characters and structure of the story allows the film to get away with this.
The critics seem to have been unbelievably harsh about this film. I should think this film will become a regular Christmas favourite on television in the future. It is a real shame that the film has not done better at the box office as everyone involved deserves better.
Thoroughly recommend this film. Even though it is quite long I liked the pacing on the whole. The action finale is really wonderful and quite original so it does build up steam at the end but overall it's quite a laid back pace.
Buried (2010)
Unbelievably bad, utter waste of time
I've marked this as having a spoiler but I do not reveal the ending or anything you wouldn't find out in the first half hour.
After 2 minutes of Paul with his zippo lighter blazing away eating oxygen in a confined space with limited oxygen I had a really bad feeling about this film. But I stuck with it, hoping that there would be some explanation for what seemed ridiculous. Some kind of air pump connected to the coffin by the terrorists perhaps? No. Nothing. This film was so incredibly stupid, as stupid as the main character.
An idiotic film that requires you to sympathise with an idiot who has no redeeming qualities and to ignore fundamental knowledge like 'fire eats oxygen'.
I hated this film and recommend you avoid it like the plague. Atrocious. The fact that this film has so far got 7.5 stars makes me feel sad - are audiences really so dumb as to enjoy this frustrating and pointless film? The only positive thing I can say about this film is that the main actor cannot be blamed for how rubbish it is - he does his best with an awful script and scenario.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Fantastic film - funny, fast paced, original
Went to see this last night at Brixton Ritzy and was blown away. So much effort has been put into this film technically - the camera work, post production, audio are astounding - not just technically impressive but creatively wonderful.
The story is really fun and rockets along - when the pace isn't fast because of the action sequences which are many and both exciting and funny - then it doesn't ever seem to slow down because all the slower scenes are full of the tensions between the characters.
You can tell watching this film that Edgar Wright has complete respect for the comic book and has succeeded in translating it to a great film. The performances of the actors are all wonderful and you can't help but think that Edgar must be really good at allowing actors to relax and feel free to give it there all.
Really blew me away this film. So much fun. I hope Edgar gets Oscars for this - he must have worked so hard on it.
Go and see it! Go go go whilst it's still on the big screen
Four Lions (2010)
Excellent original film made primarily for a British Audience.
4 Lions is an excellent well thought out film with a great pace, very funny, and very thoughtful.
After watching the film I wondered at some of the choices Morris had made concerning the depth of the characters in the film and their motivation. On reflection I could see the extremely clever and thoughtful way that he had written the script. This film is a fantastic means of attacking the media's paniced frenzy regarding Muslim extremist's bomb attacks.
I went to this film with no more knowledge then 'it's a black comedy about Muslim extremist bombers in Britain written and directed by Chris Morris'. Although I have followed Chris Morris' work throughout his television career. I didn't know what to expect at all - whether it would work or not. Some friends who said they had seen the trailer for it at the cinema said it didn't look that good. It proved to be very good.
It entertains very well and holds your attention. But the depth of the film is that after it you have plenty of thoughts on the subject matter and they all encourage an open minded re-exploring of thoughts on the Muslim communities in Britain and the media's frenzy around terrorism and Muslim communities in Britain.
There are specific parts of the film which are so clever in how they raise questions that I'd love to talk about them but I'd spoil the film. I think that it's best to go see the film and enjoy it as great entertainment. On the way out of the cinema all the issues involved will be real food for thought.
One of the thoughts I had after leaving was that Chris Morris had perhaps written this with the first audience in his mind as British Muslims and not in any patronising or preaching way, but further thought made me believe the film was for all English people specifically. Undoubtedly this film can work internationally and is well worth watching if you are from some other country. But it was great that Morris had made no concessions to this so he could tell the story the way he wanted to.
Other nationalities watching the film may well have trouble with some of the dialogue but you'll be OK. Watch this film, it's undoubtedly the most important film to come out of the UK for a very long time, and what's more it's bloody good entertainment.
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Stupid film unless I suppose you are Italian American
Despite a great cast I found this film to be poor. Despite being a murderer we are supposed to like the main gangster character 'Sonny'. His care of the protagonist, taking him under his wing and not wanting him to grow up like him, is frankly completely unbelievable. The character Sonny doesn't make any sense, on the one hand he is violent and treats people with disrespect, abusing his power, on the other he is kind but the two sides of his character are not shown in a way that would make sense. Also this film suffers from a really annoying narration from the protagonist - a sign in itself that the story is not well thought out and cannot make sense without this narration stitching it together. Robert De Niro doesn't appear that much and his role as the protagonist's father isn't really explored. Just about every plot turn doesn't really hold water. A romanticised silly film that I wouldn't watch again. I wouldn't bother if I were you.
Gun Lala de qiang (2008)
A beautiful and moving story
This film is visually beautiful. I hope there is a part of China that will always look like this but I worry that will not be the case. I suspect that there was some considerable work done to remove more modern items from the villages but no matter.
The story is fairly simplistic but that doesn't stop it being an emotional film. Many good stories are not necessarily complicated. One could argue that the events are not subtle enough in how they tell the underlying story but I think that would be a wasted opportunity to ponder the messages of the film.
I thoroughly recommend this film. It is a quiet film with a relaxed but not tiring pace.
I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.
Looking at the statistics of the voting on this film shows that people between 32-40 enjoyed this film the most and women more then men. So I think you need some maturity to really enjoy this film or perhaps some patience :)
Office Space (1999)
Great film - everyone involved must be proud.
This is a really excellent little film from Mike Judge but all involved have done a fantastic job.
The camera work is great, the wardrobe is perfect, the casting is excellent - although I'd have preferred to not have the too-well-known face of Jennifer Anniston I imagine this was a concession to get the film made (although Jennifer is fine in it her fame sticks out like a sore thumb).
I really enjoyed this film. Having worked in a lot of offices in the past I think it captures the despair of being trapped in a pointless bureaucratic office prison like this full of people with their petty egos in a really funny way. The film moves on from this in an original way and finally ends really well. The characters in this film were so well written and performed that I wish I could watch what happens to them next.
Don't come to this film expecting it to blow you away - it's not that kind of film. It's a warm comedy drawn from real life with some stretches to our imagination that are easy to cope with. I think most people will be very fond of this film when they watch it and although it seems to be largely overlooked if it were to appear on TV and you'd seen it and you were about to go to bed I bet most would think 'I'll just watch a bit' and then end up watching the whole thing again.
How did I miss this film when it came out?
El espíritu de la colmena (1973)
Boring art house film
There are some nice scenes in this film of the two children and they do give pretty good performances. The locations are good to look at too. But I found this film incredibly slow and tedious. There is not much dialogue and I found it difficult to care very much about any of the characters. Hardly anything happens and that which does happens is far more interesting as it was done in "Whistle down the wind".
Although it is quite nice to look at I would not recommend that you watch this film. I don't really understand why it has such a high rating and is regarded as a work of art. It is so slow moving. If this film was made now and set in whatever your country is I don't think there would be much point in watching it at all.
Obviously from the ratings most people seem to be completely at odds with my experience of watching this film but unless you like your films very slow paced and leaving you somewhat maudlin at the end I'd give it a miss.
Burn After Reading (2008)
Weak film from the Coens?
This film was a real disappointment to me. The actors do a great job in this film and it is them that keeps you watching. Although the characters are well written the plot is slow to start and although picking up speed and becoming more engaging in the middle it fizzles out at the end.
I reckon just about everyone has realised by now that the Coen brothers make some great films but sadly I didn't find this one any good. There are some good moments in it and if you're bored it's worth a look but don't expect anything too amazing because you won't, in my opinion, get it. It's true that the past record of the Coens makes you expect more and perhaps if it wasn't them making it I would be less harsh but I'd still say the ending leaves you wondering why you bothered.
The Prestige (2006)
Great performance from the two leads but not a great film
Both Jackman and Bale are excellent in this film and the sets and camera work are also really good. Petty quibbles would be yet another rubbish performance from David Bowie as a scientist and the boring choice of Micheal Caine for the character Cutter.
This aside my main reason for ending up a bit disappointed with The Prestige was that I saw the end coming about 30 minutes into the film. I can't say I'm the most astute at spotting endings and it's not something I concentrate on when watching films either so I reckon the film just made it too easy.
Still worth a look for the beautiful production and for the main performances.
Batman Begins (2005)
A strong start and a weak finish
For the first half of this film I was so surprised. I hadn't really expected to think that much of it and just fancied being entertained. As I watched I got more and more involved, the story was developing well and the acting was good. But then things got really silly in the second half. I know we shouldn't expect much realism from a superhero film and we should just enjoy the fantasy but because the first half of the film really sucked me in and I felt I was going to get a much deeper and darker superhero film the second half really seemed to whither. I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone so no specifics but the premise of the major danger to Gotham city is totally ridiculous and quite at odds with the more thoughtful script elsewhere. I personally wouldn't watch this film again and if you hate stupid science in films then don't bother. Unless it's Christmas or you're in hospital.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Got bored quickly
I like a lot of Wes Anderson films so when this came out I was looking forward to a good thoughtful film. I got bored remarkably quickly. I think if you have never seen a Wes Anderson film you might enjoy this very much. If on the other hand you have seen a few of his films then perhaps, like me, you will find this film very tired. It's the same story told all over again with a change of scenery - over-privileged people with family hang ups go on some kind of journey and sort out their problems along the way.
I was looking through IMDb and wondered what other people had made of this film and was surprised to see that it was very well thought of. So maybe it is best for people to decide for themselves. I didn't write this opinion because I wanted to slag off Wes Anderson, I just thought it worth putting down my reaction - maybe some people with think the same.