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olivematuka
Reviews
Cyber-Seniors (2014)
Excellent
Went to see this with my senior mum and we both had a great time; fantastically sweet, heartfelt, hilarious and inspiring. And totally spot on that technology has come on so fast and strong that it leaves anyone to whom a cordless phone was a big deal in its wake. In my mid-40s I can barely just keep up with what's going on out there; I can't imagine how it's been for my mum and her generation! (well, I do know since I was the one who walked her through Computers 101, and it was nearly as painful for me to teach her as it was for her to learn!:)) Can't recommend it enough; everyone should see it - if not for a laugh, then to see the reality of what - or who - lies on the other side of the techy explosion. Totally great.
I Give It a Year (2013)
Broke My Heart
I was really looking forward to watching this movie since I loved all the actors, they'd never before let me down, and in general, I knew, even the worst UK flick was 10X better than the best American one.
But ick was I disappointed. Trite, jarring, jabbery and annoying. Kind of like an American sitcom with a British accent and without the laugh track.
It was almost as if the director (producer, writer...whatever) was trying really hard to milk the crap out of an already inherently funny & unique British Quirk - "More quirk, actors! I need MORE QUIRK!" - leaving the potential funniness to sort of backfire and caves in on itself.
Hunted (2012)
Huge fan. But...just one season?
FantAstic show, cinema-quality experience, fab cast of thankfully non-American actors. Considering that pretty much everything out there on TV is cheap, tortuous class-A crap (and we get an embarrassing # of channels) this is the first series in a loooooong that I've been able to both watch and more than enjoy. Am absolutely bummed that it appears they've only written one season; was this lack of funding? Lack of an audience? (that'd be weird since everyone I know plus their pet LOVES it). Boo. Come on, Hunted Execs....we need another season. Or 6!
Hm it seems I've not written enough lines. Gee how much raving can a girl do? I though less was more. OK I think this is it.
Dream House (2011)
A good twisty, thriller
Bit of a late review; oh well.
As with some other thriller-y type movies I've really dug, this one provides that cool little 'twist' about 2/3 of the way through, which sort of ties up all the strange, confusing and seemingly-inept bits of storytelling and brings everything into focus. Perhaps I was too tired - or just inherently slow - but I didn't see all those twists and turns coming.
The only gripe I've got is having to endure yet another sloppy, quickly-slapped-together ending, which always both bugs and insults me; it's almost if the filmmakers thought, 'ok, we've got the punchline out there, let's just get this baby wrapped up and into the theatres.'
So essentially the last 10-15 minutes or so turned me off of giving this movie a big fat 9.
Regardless, well worth a watch :)
Absentia (2011)
Best real scare I've had in ages
I caught this movie some time ago, so although this review is quite late coming - and probably redundant at this point - I still wanted to get in my two cents in appreciation for a really great scare.
I'm happy that this movie has as many good reviews as it does, and to all those pretentious twa...ddlers who feel it necessary to spend 18 paragraphs telling the world why a movie sucked, why don't you get off the sofa and make a great movie on a teensy budget.
Not only is this just a really good movie, it so scared the crap out of me that it took 2 attempts, across 2 different days, to screw up the courage to finally watch it all the way through. Maybe stupidly extreme, but I'd like to consider my particular brand of freaked-out-ness a testament not just to Mr. Flanagan's vision, talent and skill, but to the subtlety and conviction of the acting and creepily authentic portrayal of what, technically, could be lurking somewhere...in some leaky dimension close to home.
Naturally, any crappy and inane axe-wielding horror movie has nothing on Absentia, but neither do the majority of similiarly-themed ultra-realistic paranormal/extradimensional-type flicks. Really fantastically-done.
Don't lose your touch, Mike!
Rust (2010)
Gorgeous
Grabbed this movie last night from one of the last remaining DVD-rental places on earth, I'm assuming. Although I wasn't a big Corbin Bernsen fan during his LA LAW days - ick - I love what he's become since: so much more lovely and thoughtful and scruffy and manly:) I figured this movie would be sweet & raw & real based on the cover's synopsis and knowing it was filmed in small-town Canada (as a cynical Canadian, I even cringed a bit in anticipation of small-town Saskatchewan acting skills to come), but I really wasn't expecting the beautiful little movie which softly enthralled us for those 2 hours.
The story unfolds gently - so imperceptibly - that you wonder if there IS a point to the film. But unfold it does, under the guidance of some really brilliant acting by the locals recruited within the community where they were filming. Of course we were especially blown away by the eerily genius acting chops of Lloyd Warner's Travis - gobsmacked, we were - but we were equally impressed by the actors playing Corbin's sister and father. No reason why non-actors shouldn't be able to 'act', but still...amazing.
SOooo refreshing to just watch a movie with a cast of genuine people (lumps, wrinkles, awkward pauses and all) and a plot line of such understated importance. Great work.