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fishnose12
Reviews
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
If you're a Spider-Man fan you will loathe this film
I'd read some of the lukewarm reviews for this film on a few other film sites, but I was still prepared to give it a chance. But how wrong I was! The film is just plain bad, it's like an episode of Dawson's Creek and they just happened to put Spider-Man in a few shots. I had to turn to my brother at one point and ask when Spider-Man was going to pop up in the film. We spend so much time with Peter Parker, MJ, Harry and Gwen emoting that you forget this is a film about one of the most dynamic superheroes.
The script is lazy and when there are action scenes they just end in the middle of them. The crane scene, which is one of the highlights of the film, just seemed to stop when Spidey (and Sam Raimi for that matter) could have done so much more.
When Pete becomes Emo-Pete (you'll know it when it happens) the audience laughed out loud. In fact all the Emo-Pete scenes are just bad. It's not like Pete is evil, just a bit of a d!ckhead. I was expecting so much more after Spider-Man 2, but this was just plain bad. So bad people were leaving the cinema before the end. This film will do VERY well at the box office, but it'll be lucky to shift a dozen copies on DVD
Layer Cake (2004)
Showing true advancement in British cinema
It's easy for Layer Cake to become lost in the recent flurry of British gangster movies, including the Vaughn produced Lock, Stock and Snatch. However, Layer Cake's direction shows a true maturity and in my opinion is the best British Gangster film in well over a decade with cinematography and soundtrack working in perfect unison to deliver a true great of British cinema. Not bad considering it's Vaughan's debut.
With it's opening assertion of 'Only stupid people think that the Police are stupid.' the film sets the tone for a stark, intelligent thriller that never pulls its punches and uses humour sparsely to break the tension. If Guy Ritchie had directed this, as intended, then I think we would have been treated to something more comedic and wordy, thankfully Vaughan took the reigns and I think we can look forward to some truly exciting work from Vaughan in the future.
Guy X (2005)
Misunderstood black comedy
One of the criticisms I've read and initially felt myself that this film tried too hard to be too many things. Was there comedy? Yeah. Mystery? Yup. Drama? A bit of that too. And when I finished watching it last night I was left wandering 'What have I just watched?' Quite frankly it's one of the better military comedies in the vain of 'M*A*S*H' and 'Buffalo Soldiers'. The film begins brightly and funnily with a soldier being unceremoniously dropped off (quite literally) in Greenland. With a case of frustrating mistaken identity Jason Biggs' Rudy Spruance must find his feet as the bases PIO, delivering news via 'The Harpoon' in a place where nothing happens.
Much like 'M*A*S*H' the army of 'Guy X' is filled with lovable goons that while away they hours with beer "No brew, no clue." and pursuing women, and Spruance is no exception chasing after the lovely Irene Teal. All seems destined for a happy romp beneath the eyes of an ignorant Colonel.
Then comes Guy X, played with subtle futility and anguish by a brilliant Michael Ironside, an un-named amputee secluded deep in the base. And this is where the change in tone comes. As the eternal sun makes may for permanent midnight in Greenland the comedy fades also. The comfortably absurd becomes hellish and violent and the futility and sadness of the soldiers existence becomes ever more apparent "We guard things, that's what we do!".
A sublime comedy that reveals that even what appears to be happily absurd can hide the darkest secret and people trapped in their own personal darkness (all the soldiers are at the base due to their own failings), despite their outward abandon and merriment.