Having Death as the narrator kept me focused from the beginning until the end of the movie. Being transported back in time to Nazi Germany felt quite real. For two hours my heart experienced sadness, joy, love and in the end there were tears in my eyes. Sophie Nelisse gives an incredible performance and we see things through the innocence of her eyes. She mocks Hitler with Max her Jewish friend and Rudy the boy next door. The bravery she shows looking for Max as the Nazi's match the Jews off shines through. Superb acting by the whole cast makes this a must see movie with or without teenagers in tow! Perhaps is was slightly too long and it ended to abruptly. Would of liked to have seen a bit more of the what happened after the war ended if they could have trimmed the movie down a bit. But maybe that's how the book ended.
Reviews
5 Reviews
No beginning No Ending
10 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This film was slightly better than The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which was just a mess. The battle scenes may appeal to teenage gamers but I found them boring after about 5 minutes. Apparently a lot of the gamers felt the same as me as there was a glow coming from the rows in front from many mobile screens as the owners texts messages and read emails. The film had no beginning and no ending, it reminded me of the Saturday matinees I used to attend as a boy where the Lone Ranger was left hanging over a cliff and you had to come back next Saturday to see if he was rescued. I for one will not be coming back to see the next part of the franchise. Jackson has taken many liberties with Tolkien's simple children's book and there are too many to name, but the hint of romance between elf and the dwarf was not even in the book and was ridiculous to the plot. The film was dark with very few laughs in it. A lot of the scenes gave the impression of having seen them in other movies such as the spiders or Evangeline Lilly with her bow and arrow reminded me of The Hunger Games. I will give this awful movie 1 because it had some magnificent New Zealand views in it.
The Iron Lady
(2011)
Meryl Streep gives an Oscar winning performance
14 December 2011
First of all let me say before I saw the movie I was neither a fan of Meryl Streep as an actor or Margaret Thatcher as a politician. After seeing the movie I'm amazed at Streeps brilliant performance and can't see anybody beating her for the Oscar. Also for what its worth I'm a firm fan of her now and am looking forward to seeing her next work. With Margaret Thatcher while still seeing her as flawed with regard to her battles with the unions and the Argentinians,IRA etc, I can now see where she was coming from even though her Tory views are not mine. She held high principles and the lady was definitely not for turning. In the end it lead to her down fall. Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher always tried to bring his wife back to reality and reminded me of why kings kept court jesters. Nicholas Farrell as her Conservative adviser gave a strong performance. The movie is virtually a one woman show seen from her viewpoint, so we should not expect it to be historically perfect in all the details. For those that like to see quality acting I can highly recommend The Iron Lady and will be adding it to my collection of favorite movies when it comes out in DVD.
Unknown
(I) (2011)
It's all in the ending
18 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
An effective thriller with a good twist in the ending. Not since The Sixth Sense has a movie given me such a surprise at its ending. Liam Nieson keeps your attention fixed on the action throughout the movie, although some of his lines did not match the scenes or his character. If someone is trying to kill you, maybe some emotion would be shown. The car accident at the beginning is very realistic and makes Liams amnesia credible. The car chase scenes in the movie will also keep the action buffs happy, although the black car driven by the assassin is a bit too corny to believe . Bruno Ganz as an aging former Stasi agent gives a stand-out performance and Diane Kruger supports Nieson without the usual Hollywood theme of girl following for hero. Maybe its because Nieson is old enough to be her father. This film is no masterpiece but if your looking for a couple of hours entertainment with an interesting ending this will fit the bill.
Hereafter
(2010)
Would win an Oscar for the worst movie of the year
13 February 2011
Worst movie I have seen for quite a long time. Apart from the Tsunami at the beginning the rest was rubbish. Life is short, do not waste your time watching this.
Many people started to walk out after about one hour of enduring this awful movie, they were the smart ones. After seeing the King's Speech which I would rate 10 stars and left me on a high. Hereafter left me totally depressed, Eastwood should be ashamed of himself!
Maybe Eastwood was sensing his own mortality, but after seeing this movie people would refuse to die! Could not understand why some of the movie was in French with subtitles. Matt Damon gave a wooden performance and is poorly cast here. At 80 maybe its time to retire, his next movie will tell.
Many people started to walk out after about one hour of enduring this awful movie, they were the smart ones. After seeing the King's Speech which I would rate 10 stars and left me on a high. Hereafter left me totally depressed, Eastwood should be ashamed of himself!
Maybe Eastwood was sensing his own mortality, but after seeing this movie people would refuse to die! Could not understand why some of the movie was in French with subtitles. Matt Damon gave a wooden performance and is poorly cast here. At 80 maybe its time to retire, his next movie will tell.
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