michael-kerrigan-526-124974
Joined Nov 2012
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews289
michael-kerrigan-526-124974's rating
The Day of the Fight. On Prime. We may think we have seen this type of film a million times before - The Wrestler (okay, that's wrestling rather than boxing but hey ho) being the most obvious comparator. Washed up fighter seeks redemption through one last fight. This low budget version shot in stunning black and white offered something different. Set over just one day in (I think) the early 90s. 'Irish' Mikey Flanagan has come to terms with his past and seeks to right his wrongs and meet all the people he cares about. The fight itself is almost incidental - we know quite early on what is coming - and when it does, it feels right. Michael C Pitt (not sure I've seen him in anything before) is brilliant as the reborn Mikey, and we have nice cameos from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Joe Pesci and Ron Perlman. A lovely little film. 8 out of ten.
I'm no horror fan as a rule. I find the supernatural uninteresting, unless it's tongue in cheek with laughs (e.g. The Evil Dead - hey I'm a child of the 80s). What is so disturbing about Bring her back, is that it is horror but without the supernatural - in theory it 'could' happen. And this makes the horror all too real. For pretty much the last hour of the 100 minute running time I was lock jawed and have to admit let out a few loud squirms in the cinema - don't think I broke the code as you'd have to have a very hard stomach / emotional vacuum not to.... Probably the best horror film (that's not a horror film) I've ever seen. Brief synopsis - Sally plays Laura, a bereaved mother who fosters recently bereaved children to help them through their pain. Only Laura has a sinister plan for these children as she tries to come to terms with her own grief. No spoilers here but Sally deserves an Oscar nod for her combination of 'happy go lucky' and apparent evil sinister performance. She won't get an Oscar nom, of course, as 'horror' never does. Newcomer Sora Wong, is also superb as the partially sighted Piper, who is key to the troubling motivations of Laura. I'm not sure I can recommend this film cos it's one of those. It might be one to endure and admire rather than enjoy. For me though, it's my joint film of the year so far, along with A Real Pain. And 2 hours since I left the cinema I'm still freaked out!
Two sisters, September and July, are not your 'normal' kids. But what is normal anyway? It seems September has a hold over July, hence what September says, July has to follow. They are a two, and hence when one does something inexplicable, they both have to escape to Ireland with their mother. Mother herself has her own demons - how does she cope with her inexplicable children? The film is tense throughout but for the first hour, it's kinda conventional. And then September asks July to do something that we, the audience, are pleading NOOOOO! We realise that the September / July dynamic may not be what it seems.
September says - give this movie a chance, it is fabulous!
September says - give this movie a chance, it is fabulous!