Rainsford5's reviews

I am not a Sci-Fi fan, but I am a Danny Boyle/Cillian Murphy fan.

On the strength of this, I went to see this in the cinema. It's highly advanced and fantastic visually and holds your attention throughout. Even though I couldn't always follow what was going on. Murphy and the fellow cast members are excellent and do a great job. It really is a non-stop roller coaster ride even though it does go on a bit long and a little slow in places.

The influences from Space Odessey 2001 are apparent. I'm glad I went to see it, but it is very technical. I kept losing my hold on the plot every so often like reading a text book.

Perhaps it could have been a bit more "user friendly" so to speak. I gave it 8/10.

Bette Davis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scott Glenn and Beah Richards... put together guarantee's great viewing. It moves along at an interesting pace and features some great moments. Beautifully shot with gorgeous imagery, it does contain a few unanswered questions and a sort of rushed ending however, all in all, I loved this film and highly recommend it to anyone. A must see for Bette Davis fans. Miss Davis second role following her devastating stroke and double mastectomy, however she met the challenge with triumph and comes off with a brilliant characterization. She has her great moment in court and shows that she still was at the top of her profession right till the end. Give it a go !! You'll enjoy it.

I'm a New Zealander and I live in Australia. I'm also one of the many guilty people who do not support his own film-making community. I didn't make any effort to see this in a cinema and when I did finally sit to watch this magnificent film on DVD, I'm totally ashamed of myself for not having seen this in the cinema. This is brilliance from New Zealand. Sheer brilliance.

Superb film-making at it's very best.

Bravo to the cast and wonderful crew who helped put this together. I was glued to my seat, rocked by every emotion in turn throughout what is a very high value piece of art. The cast is brilliant and I'm very proud to say that New Zealand can put something out like this one. Not only did it make my so homesick for my home country but inspired me to continue in my own quest to make quality productions.

I gave this 10/10. How could I find a flaw? You can't, so don't look.

I guess it had to happen, but Ken Loach has disappointed me with this one. I gave it 5 out of 10, due only to the good acting of the majority of it's cast.

It doesn't seem to be able to make up it's mind whether or not it's meant to be funny or serious and it certainly doesn't delve into a major issue with the intense passion that is strikingly apparent in Loach's other films (e.g. Ladybird 10/10) and the conflict created by multi-racial relationships is dealt with far better in "Bend It Like Beckham". The love scene is unnecessary and very unLoach like - in fact, its inclusion plus the cutting away too soon from the conflict between the two lovers gives the film it's superficial feel.

My other favorite directors (Mike Leigh, Polanski, Von Trier) have disappointed me as well so it's proves that even the genius of the world can make errors, so I'm still a major fan of Mr Loach but have to say, looking forward to something much better next time.

Opening shots of main character, Lyle, masturbating and fantasizing in a cornfield, releasing his pent up frustrations in the only way he knows how, is well balanced with the most jarring opening music I have ever encountered. The score, partly written by the real-life former wife of Jean-Marc Barr, Irina Decermic, lends the overall theme of the film its disturbing nature and is in retrospect well balanced with the storyline. Dealing with small town attitudes, hypocrisy and puritanical American values, Barr attempts to deal with a fairly contentious issue here that sadly fails with the poor acting and the stilted dialog, but is to be commended for the attempt.

PLOT: Supposedly, Lyle has been married to Amy for five years but the marriage was never consummated due to the town gossip having told everyone years previously that Lyle's penis was extremely large and out-of-proportion (thus "Too Much Flesh"). Amy, the wife, never having recovered from her long lost love that had died tragically years prior to the arranged marriage, finds the situation satisfactory. Furthermore, she intends to conceive a child with artificial insemination. However, when Lyle's childhood friend and author visits for the first time in many years and brings along his very liberal and sexy french girlfriend, all hell breaks loose within the small community when Lyle discovers his own late sexual awakening in her arms. Not only this, but he brings into the equation a young man to share the ménage-a-troix. Containing some very erotic images that this film has no compunction in showing. I am not a big fan of blatant sex in films, finding a loss of subtlety a sorry affair, but I will add these scenes are truly erotic.

I had to watch this film three times to understand what it was the film was trying to say, however I don't think that that was the films fault, rather my own disappointment in the story's delivery took precedence. Where the second installment in Barr's Free-trilogy (the others being "Lovers" and "Being Light") is a brave attempt at a complex issue, it fails to deliver. I was expecting a higher standard of writing, acting and production values, given Barr's extensive filmic background. Arquette and Bouchez give disappointingly lame performances and the supporting cast is below average to say the least.

The script is lame to be honest; for example when Lyle confronts Connie the towns' gossip, he uses language that someone born and raised in middle America would probably never have heard of unless he subscribes to Playboy or watches the adult channel. And again with Amy's addressing of her husband and his childhood friend, speaks as though she is a 90 year old Quaker grandmother, not a sexy attractive but emotionally confused housewife. Predictable, incoherent at times, about ten minutes too long and amateur, the partnership hopefully will team Barr and Arnold again to produce/direct together, but it's my absolute hope that this attempt will be the least successful in a series of much better films. On the positive side, I have followed Jean-Marc Barr's career with great interest and will continue to do so. He has the medium of film in his heart and is true to his art with a great talent to back it up with. No matter my disappointment this time, it's always a pleasure to hear of a new Jean-Marc Barr project in the works.

I challenge any parent who has been questioned over the care of the children or any person who has been unjustly accused of neglect as I have have once been, to sit and watch this disturbing powerhouse of a film. I paused it twice during my original sitting and had to take a moment to deal with what I was being confronted with once again. Rarely . . . yes VERY RARELY does a film or a movie engage me to this point. I have seen several Ken Loach films and I live in admiration of this artist/man, but yet I wasn't prepared for what I sat and watched. I give this 10 out of 10 and am shocked that it hasn't been recognised further by any awards society such as "The Bafta" and "Academy Awards".

Chrissy Rock, I take my hat off to you to have the guts to give all that you gave for your performance, the the actor that played "Jorge" . . you have delivered a standout performance. Ken Loach, you are my hero.

Indeed I stand by my title, possibly the most powerful and disturbing film every made. Magnificent. Ambitious. It delivers.

What a wonderful treat to watch this little gem of unfinished footage of a stunningly beautiful Monroe, looking a little out of sorts (according to "The Final Days" account - she was quite ill at the time) but quite in control of her faculties and looking quite stunning and very very thin! All of her scene's with Martin, Charisse, the children and the dog are excellent and it's hard to imagine the behind-the-scene's tensions that were actually going on. An enormous tragedy that the film wasn't finished so that Monroe would move onto meatier roles like she'd envisioned for herself.

Just weeks before her suspicious death, she had signed an agreement to return to the set to finish the picture and had a three picture deal ahead of her - making suicide highly unlikely.

But back to the film: Dean Martin, handsome and charming as always, sparring excellently with her and appearing the true professional he reportedly was on set.

I wish so much that this was easier to get, but finally getting a copy of this was a dream come true for I'd read so much on the making of this film.

For any doubters that Miss Monroe couldn't act, check this out and appreciate the 37 minutes of 'treasure'. I gave this 10/10.

Ron Howard fulfills a dream to make a western but doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind if this was a western, a thriller or a family yarn. I was very disappointed with this film because I had heard it was worth five stars out of five, but after watching it, I gave it six out of ten !!

It's lovely to watch, great scenery, Cate Blanchett is superb and Tommy Lee Jones is great as her father, but to begin with, the daughter they are searching for is a little toe rag and I was thinking that it would be better for everyone concerned if she stayed away. She evoked no sympathy in me whatever, however the other little girl was cocky and shone above some of the adult parts. I loved her without the actress becoming precocious.

You get to see far too much of the villain's in this piece for the film to work as a thriller. There is no suspense. What begins as horribly cruel and disturbing becomes 'oh not again' when they reappear ten minutes later in another scene.

This is obviously not the genre (Thrillers) for Ron Howard and better he stay with what he's worked on before, "Beautiful Mind", "Cocoon" etc and leave supernatural alone. The script is so-so and the music is beautiful but it doens't rate very highly with me, sadly.

This is worth viewing and I give this 7 out of 10 points for characterisation, cinematography and acting. Nowhere near as lame as some reviewers would have you believe. I've rented/bought worse than this film by far.

Beautiful locations and a storyline that will hold your attention for it's run, give this one a go. Emily Hamilton is quite good in this. She's pretty, acts well and offers a decent interpretation of Rachel. The young actor who plays Rick (James Murray) is handsome but a little hammy and cardboard. Music is nice and the underwater scene's are gorgeous.

It's not going to win any awards for realism, but I don't think they intended to.

I enjoyed it.

The main reason for seeing this film would the chance to see Jean-Marc Barr make good work of his strong role in an otherwise far fetched but entertaining film with a weak supporting cast and a poor script. What really struck me upon first viewing was how dark the story got as the storyline unfolded. Nice images and some good action shots hold it together when the majority of the actors can't.

I have to state that the character of the mother (Eva) is the worst characterization that I've seen in quite some time. I readily will credit European cinema (incl UK) in more originality and risk taking, but this character seems to be derived directly from Cruela Deville in "101 Dalmations" crossed with Jude from "The Crying Game" in both appearance and manner and it doesn't work at all. She's more of a nuisance than a threat. It's her henchmen that are the real antagonists here instead.

Jean-Marc delivers a solid performance and his good press for his acting is well credited in this film. The child "Alice" is okay, but I don't feel as though I connected as well as I could have with this character. What's strongest here is the cinematography and art direction, with some strength from the director in his action shots, believable or not. Overall, it's an interesting film and worth a try but definitely an acquired taste.