Reviews

A prehistoric man from 20 to 40 thousand years ago is found frozen in a block of arctic ice. A research team find him, manage to bring him back to life, and try to figure out how to interact with him.

The performances feel genuine. The first dynamic is between the scientists who want to chop up his body and learn its biochemistry to better humankind vs those who want to study his habits and interact with him. The second dynamic is between the iceman and the ethnographer who gains his trust and friendship.

All the time I was watching it, I was angry at the ham-fisted incompetence of the researchers. Sure, I know, this is a movie and so the scriptwriters put in bumbling incompetence to push the plot forward. But just imagine if it a prehistoric man really were brought to life. It would be such a marvellous opportunity for interaction and learning, and even a halfway competent research team would make something better of it.

So, all the time, I was angry at the scriptwriters for cheating humanity and the iceman of this chance, and this didn't leave space to enjoy the film. 5/10.

The Terminal's two chief protagonists are unable to communicate, and unable to recognize that they're not communicating.

One is a clueless immigration official of a major international airport who has apparently never dealt with a non-English-speaker and who is apparently unable to find a translator. Another is an impossibly inept tourist.

Why should we care to watch a film about failure to communicate at even the most basic level -- when communication is so easy, and should be easy in this situation, and is what all our lives are about anyway? I don't know. I switched it off half way through. Wha a waste of talented actors and an interesting premise.

This is a witty, good-hearted spoof of superhero films. Don't read the reviews. Just click on the "Memorable Quotes" link to the left while in a silly mood. You'll find them hilarious, and you'll enjoy the film even more. (and if you don't find them funny, stop being such a po-face!)

This film is an adult sci-fi fairy tale. It has the sentiment, the structure, the archetypes expected of a fairy tale. It also mixes in some religious themes -- genesis at the start, hell in the middle, heaven at the end. If you've forgotten how to enjoy fairy tales, or how to appreciate magic in a story, you won't enjoy this film at all. I haven't forgotten, and I loved every minute of it.

A great film.

Other viewers have complained that the romantic dialog is poor. True, it's not modern. In fact it's just different, in the same sort of style as Victorian novels or the Arabian Nights. Which is quite appropriate and credible in the heavily stylised "Galatic Republic" in which the film is set. Other viewers have complained that the politics are complicated. True, the goals of the factions are not spelt out explicitly. But we're an intelligent audience, able to put two and two together, and can understand with a little effort precisely what is happening and why. More viewers have complained that Anakin is whiney. I think he exhibits very well the arrogance of youth and power. You see him encountering his own limitations, and the limitations set by others, and straining against both. There's one particular scene where he gives in to his rage. In the aftermath, the recriminations are like those of God to Cain: "what have you done?"

Four young men in 1962 London stand accused of murder. The story of the night in question unfolds through the evidence they give in court, in segments of flashback. The film is not a drama about lawyers. Instead, the drama happens Memento-style as we revisit each event on the night from a different perspective, and build up a solid picture of what they are like. This made it strangely, unexpectedly compelling, especially since we never know which side to believe. It was also interesting to see 1962 life, how these young men dress more formally and behave more politely than we do now, but are also more aggressive and rough.

A.I. is a beautiful fairy-tale. David, the young robot, is expelled from his safe home to face adversity. He helps someone, who becomes his companion. We see a dark side, of David and of the world, just like in every fairy-tale. And finally at the end David becomes complete, and understands. If you're young enough to remember the magic of fairy-tales, you'll be entranced by this film.

There's something remarkable about Bill and Ted. Though they go to hell (literally), yet they suffer no ill. Why? Because of their irrepressible cheerfulness, honesty and generosity of spirit. They escape from hell by challenging Death to a game of chess, and then twister! This is a parody of the deeply serious and philosophical Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal; he played chess with death, and lost. Bill and Ted win. I think there's something to be said for their naive cheerfulness.

"Horrible People" ought to be the subtitle of this horrible film. If you want to see ordinary people doing ordinary things, then look out of your window at real life. But if you want to see unpleasant people doing dull things, you'll have to watch this horrible film by Mike Leigh. The characters talk at length, but never actually manage to communicate with each other. Why not? Presumably because Leigh things that all of us are as ineffective and pathetic as his actors, and he wants to film real life. But we're not, and he failed.

This is a film of great motivation. We see Vincent (Ethan Hawke) desperate to fulfill his dream of space-travel, despite a bad genetic makeup. He isn't put off. He trains, he exercises, he reads books, he "saves nothing for the journey back." The gym work-outs I do after re-watching this film are the hardest in my life. As a motivational video it is perfect.

As a film, it is also perfect. The sets are clean, striking Art Deco. The plot is tense and gripping -- a combination of brotherly rivalry, ambition, romance, crime-story, dreams thwarted and realized, and all these different stories fit together well. The acting is perfect, with Jude Law a perfect biting English wit, and Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke very believable in the futuristic society depicted. Gore Vidal is a wonderful mixture of caustic and genial.

Remember the Titans? I've forgotten them already.

A fishing vessel sets out from a small town in South Australia. A storm comes, and the boat is wrecked. The filming of the storm and its aftermath, out at sea on the boat, are remarkable. In parallel, the film tells the story of a young boy wanting to grow up, wanting to fit into the world of his father and brothers out at sea.

The fishing vessel and the storm might remind you of The Perfect Storm. However, unlike that film, Blue Fin also tells a more subtle tale (of growing up and family bonds), has thoroughly believable fishermen, and describes well their relationship with the sea and with their boat. Blue Fin was written by the author of "Storm Boy"; if you liked one of the two films, you'll probably like the other.

I'm writing at the end of a series of "Fire", in which a debatable incident of sexual harrasment causes division and strife within the fire station. It was a very thoughtful treatment of the problem of sexual harrasment, one that proposed no simplistic solutions and was balanced and gripping. The performances by the crew in the entire series were believable.

Stunning, striking, beautiful visuals throughout --- she walks down a street wearing vibrant colours, everyone else in dull greys -- she has a fit in a luscious florists -- the rubbish in an gothic alleyway swirls around in the shape of paper birds while steam pours out of pipes. The cutting is fast and stylish, reminiscent of Run Lola Run. The story is believable, consistent and compelling.

As for those who think this attacks the Catholic church: nonsense! "The Tablet", the leading intellectual Catholic journal in the UK, is far more critical of the Vatican than this film -- and so are many modern priests.