wells-barry

I've really enjoyed the Urban Myths series but not this episode. Who was responsible for the bizarre casting of Frank Skinner as Johnny Cash? He had neither the acting ability nor the physical presence to carry it off.

At the time of writing, this movie only has two very negative reviews. This has motivated me to write a review to provide some balance.

While I don't rate this a great movie, I quite liked it. It was nicely shot, the acting was competent and the story line was intriguing. One reviewer's objections were the cinematography, which I thought very good, and the inclusion of corrupt police, which is a staple of industry.

The other reviewer's objection seemed to be the ethnic diversity of the actors for a movie set in Romania. It is a movie, a work of fiction, not a documentary. As far as I know there are no Hobbits living in New Zealand and no wizards living in the UK, that hasn't stopped the Lord of the Rings movies or the Harry Potter movies being very popular (although not my taste). As far as I know interstellar space travel is not possible, but Alien was a great movie.

The story line of this movie reminded me of Homer's Odyssey mixed with elements of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The cinematography was Felliniesque. The interest is in character development and the reactions of characters to the situations they find themselves in. If you only are interested in Hollywood action movies then you may want to avoid this movie. If you want to sit down with an open mind for 90 minutes and think about what you are seeing then I suggest you consider watching this movie.

Before I watch a movie I look at the plot summary and read a few reviews. There are a some very negative reviews of this movie here on IMDb and I am left wondering why these people watched the movie? A few seemed to think there should be more fighting and sophisticated effects. Some seemed to think there should have been a stronger story line. This is not that kind of movie folks. This is the kind of movie that requires the viewer to engage and think about the human condition. If you want banging and smashing action or a fairy tale story don't bother watching this movie. If your attention span is just long enough to manage handfuls of popcorn don't watch this movie. If you want to be engaged in a thought process then you are in for a treat. I was reminded very much of the classic war movie "Hell in the Pacific" as I watched. Here the two characters are comrades rather than adversaries but there are similarities in the lack of a common language and the reliance on strong visual images. I don't want to give away the plot or ending but without spoiling anything I can say the penultimate scene makes a very strong statement about how we remember the victims of a war. In summary people should watch movies according to their tastes. If you want big budget Hollywood action and a story don't bother with this movie, and moreover don't half watch it without concentrating and write a lambasting review. If you want something more existential and thought provoking, I recommend this movie to you.