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Fargo (2014)
Series 5. Fargo rediscovers itself
Fargo series fans will be relieved to discover that the series is reborn after the tedious series 4. This time we're back to Minnesota in the snow with those unique accents and a general commitment to good old homespun American rural values including relentless neighbourliness and freewheeling capitalism.
It's satisfyingly packed with well drawn and quirky characters and manages to combine the traditional dark Fargo perspective with some enlightened comments on family abuse. It's a good solid adventure story too with good guys and bad guys and lots of tense and disturbing moments. Thoroughly recommended!
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Ludicrous torture porn
I've never watched a Luther instalment on TV and if this expensive bad-taste shambles is anything to go by, I've missed nothing. It makes Saw look like Shakespeare... The blatant paradox is that viewers who enjoy this kind of fantasy must be suspiciously close to the pathetic customers for elaborate snuff movies who are clients for the pantomime monster played by Andy Serkis ( yes he's behind you), who in some incomprehensible way profits from an elaborate live sadism show. The fact that the last place you would base your operation would be on a remote Norwegian ice lake is just one of the several mind numbing plot holes in this shameless farce.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
A complete mess..
I know that usually when a film or series polarises viewer's responses it's because they either get what the producers are trying to do or they don't but I can't see how anyone could be gripped by this mess. The only thing that even remotely works is the design and CGI work.
Otherwise it's hard to decide what's the worse thing about it. For a start it's clearly a cynical attempt to exploit the Game of Thrones market ( with a clear eye on sales in the Far East and South East Asia) but instead being able to draw on a credible world of politics and belief it exists in a vaguely Asiatic indeterminate nowhere, dominated by wishy washy magic and mysterious powers that can be drawn on, destroyed, or ignored as suits any required twist in the dire script.
And it's boring, long long tedious conversations about nothing in particular, unbelievable relationships which draw not the faintest empathetic response in the viewer, probably the least charismatic principal players in the history of tv series.
Compare this with The Witcher currently streaming on Netflix and it's no contest..
The Pride and the Passion (1957)
Pointless suffering
From a modern perspective it's impossible to miss the number of times that the hundreds of mules involved in this film are beaten, especially around the face when they notably flinch..
The Flight Attendant (2020)
Derivative and tries too hard
I hate to say it but I think this is an attempt to replicate the quirky charm of Russian Doll, starring Natasha Lyonn. Lyonn manages to make the travails of a natural born junky almost endearing, and the fantastical plot succeeds because it manages to get us to suspend our disbelief. Alas in this series the fantasy flashback and split screen sequences are not beguiling, and Kukuo, as an astonishingly successful member of the 'Big Bang' gang, has obviously come to believe that she has the skill to endear us to a relentlessly gurning nymphomaniac alchoholic. Alas, she doesn't.
The Silencing (2020)
Alas completely derivative
Banal. Full of cliches and plot holes. Seems to have been put together from a 'write your own serial killer in the woods movie' kit. Suspect it was put together to cash in on an Ontario government film fund..
Coyote Lake (2019)
Where's Dirk?
This film starts in a very beguiling way and indeed for for the first half an hour or so it looks as if it's going to develop into one of those films with at least one clever twist. But guess what? In the end every single character turns out to be the banal cliche they appeared to be at the beginning and the one potential super twist, Dirk, who appears to be a moron but may be something much more interesting, is just a moron. Indeed he simply stops appearing for the last ten minutes of the film. We last see him dumping yet another victims car in his favourite spot ( ah! Will that turn out to be a crucial mistake? Answer, no.) and sets off home on his bike. Meanwhile the juv female lead has decided to murder her Mum, and...The End?
I honestly believe this was going to have a much more interesting ending but someone ran out of nerve, or money, or something. It's the only explanation for the total banality of the plot..
The Comey Rule (2020)
Hard to fault..
The only weakness of this excellent series ( four episodes by the way, not two), is that the director yielded to the temptation to allow Gleason to play Trump as an obvious scoundrel. The actual facts of what Trump is known to have said and done speak for themselves and don't need this interpretation which ignores Trumps capacity for snakelike charm and childlike naivety. The music score was either in the classic 'patrician' style, used in American movies to refer to majestic American values, or the repeated use of simple piano tones to evoke poignancy and sympathy, which if anything diluted the factual impact of the narrative
Still I enjoyed it immensely, it takes a position but is clearly basically accurate and definitely not propaganda..
Sweetheart (2019)
More a C movie than a B
This is half a film. The dialogue script such as as it is is clearly a first draft.. " A monster? You must be imagining things." otherwise a few irrelevant cliches contributing nothing to the narrative.There was plainly going to be a sub plot about a stabbing on the life raft ( blood on a pocket knife, get it?) but that apparently got cut ( hence 1' 20" run time). The only good bit is the tough resilient lead but you can't build a whole film around a girl who's good with sharp sticks...
Skif (2018)
Great costumes and mis en scene
This is a good old fashioned historical action movie absolutely crammed with guts and violence. It's a got a strong cynical Russian feeling, the participants are macho beyond belief, and they spend a lot their time wounded and covered in gore, slashing and chopping and betraying one another. But the best things about this movie are the huge open skylines, the wonderful ethnic costumes and armour, the dances and grotesque masks, and the completely over the top makeup. It seem everyone but the women is plastered in gold leaf and tattoos with the occasional all white ash suit with splatters of blood. It's also got a feeling of historical accuracy, even if it isn't really, because the storyline is merrily sprinkled ancient religious beliefs and rituals. Much more convincing than a sentimental Hollywood attempt would be.
Il racconto dei racconti - Tale of Tales (2015)
As usual, huge enthusiasm or appalled rejection.
This is yet another example of how viewers can either buy in to a radical project or else feel so outraged by it that they often not only give it low ratings but try and stop others even sampling it. Personally, I'm one of the lucky ones when it come to this film. I found it to be a rich, satisfying and sometimes terrifying experience, wonderfully exemplifying the deeply realistic understanding of human nature of the original story makers. Try it!
The Dam Busters (1955)
Meticulous sense of tone and period
65 years after it was made this film still provides an enjoyable Sunday afternoon experience, despite the primitive special effects used in the final sequences.
It's a jolly good story in its own right but the best thing about it is the tone. It catches perfectly the low key style of the British of the period and the attention to pace and detail gives it an almost documentary authenticity. The last few hours between the final briefing and takeoff on the mission are taken at a leisurely pace which if anything increases the sense of tension. There's a lovely tracking shot of a couple of minutes or so as the pilots sitting round in the sun whiling away the time transform into a body of determined men off to war. It gets you every time.
The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)
Pseudo stylish mediocrity
Makes annoyingly obscure references to previous two movies but then goes on to be a standard hack Hollywood thriller. The winter scenes of a grey hued Stockholm are the only good things in it. Claire Foy has no future as a Cyber super hero.
The Assistant (2019)
As usual, haters vs beguiled
Lots of viewers resented this film, many critics loved it. On balance my partner and I came down firmly on the side of the aficionados.
I suspect, as quite often happens, that an over stated trailer misled the expectations of many viewers.
The reality is that the film uses a clear narrative arc and a very successful technique of micro analysis to articulate the daily soul destroying oppression of many modern workplaces, never mind those dominated by a sexual oppressor. But you have to have eyes to see and ears to hear. If you do you'll realise that there is scarcely a redundant shot in this film. After a time you Actually start wincing as yet another tiny indignity is heaped on the central character...
So, don't approach this as a thriller(!), it's making an important statement that can only be made through film, but you have to give it the time to do it..
La grande bellezza (2013)
A delicious menu of rich and fulfilling insights
Many reviewers seem to think this film is meaningless hodge-lodge of exotic images, or a rip off of La Dolce Vita or 81/2, far from it. In this mesmerising and highly coherent film the key characters all have in common that they have essentially lost their way, they delude themselves about who they are and what they have achieved. Their lives are like a meaningless wild party in which they distract themselves. For example a character describes a conga dance as, "the best train dance in Rome", as they all go round and round to no purpose.
Jeb, the key character knows he has failed to be brave enough to write more than one successful book years ago, so has assumed the character of an elegant cynic and a critic, not only of the arts but relentlessly of everyone around him and all their rituals. He can be truly cruel..He destroys an old friend at a supper part and a fragile performance artist. He can't recognise the real talent and commitment of an inspired and unpretentious child painter.
He only really trusts one or two people: he allows himself to speak in his original Neapolitan rough accent to his faithful cook. He trusts his editor because her stature means she can only go so far with self deception. She will always be a small person whatever she accomplishes.
Some people offer hope of redemption: a glamorous but tragic 42 year old who wants to be an eternal stripper for example:he wants to care for her rather than have sex with her but just as he begins to find some real feelings for her, the stripper dies.
Now he wants to somehow discover the 'trick' becoming authentic again. He asks a magician can he really make things disappear. He asks a cardinal who has become a faux chef if he really does exorcisms. Theres hope in a saintly nun, appalling ugly, but profoundly tranquil,with the ability to attract wild birds (and the guts to crawl up stairs at 104),she is all that Jen and his many alienated contacts are not. She puts his comfortable despair in perspective. He may make it!
There's lots of other elements that make this film wonderfully cohesive, and the mise en scene and the rich range of images and music are a delight. I loved it and would unconditionally recommend it to other movie lovers.
Urban Myths: The Sex Pistols Vs. Bill Grundy (2018)
Barely watchable..
As a member of the production crew that actually participated in this debacle, I just want put on record that this cheapo production bore only the vaguest relation to actual events, and only that because the producers had access ( as everyone does) to the Youtube footage of the actual studio interview. The makers clearly had only the vaguest idea how a daily features programme is produced. I far as I know not one of us who were there were consulted about what really happened, and the characterisations of key characters are ludicrously ( not amusingly ) inaccurate. Particularly invidious was the depiction of Bill Grundy, a skilled and talented presenter who took the hit for miscalculations by the production team he should have been able to rely on.
North West Frontier (1959)
Good old fashioned actioner
I first saw this film years ago. I enjoyed it all , with lots of good tense moments, (although it seems outrageously islamophobic by modern standards). It manages to maintain a strong sense of period, it's a strong cast, and the railway engine that is the key to the story is a major player.
On small goof, in the top shot of the conversation on the bridge the background is keyed in fairly convincingly but seems to show rows of olive trees on the ground far beneath...
This Country (2017)
Deeply addictive and enormous fun
As often happens with a significant development in creative imagination, this show polarises its viewers into a great majority who absolutely love it and a minority who just don't get it. A shame for them but a joy for the rest of us. Best of all, despite achieving series three the show hasn't lost its fragile balance between the absurd and the deeply insightful. A real world has been created. Great achievement.
Uncut Gems (2019)
They get it, or they don't
One of the most depressing aspects of the excellent IMDb system of user reviews is that it consistently reveals that there is a vast body of viewers who have very set ideas about how a movie should work. They basically want simple straightforward narratives which operate within the conventions of a comfortable established genre. When a film doesn't meet their expectations ( apparently often within the first twenty minutes) they switch off and rush to slap an outraged 1/10 rating into viewer reviews. It appears that they never take a minute to check out the lineage of actors, writers, or directors since those crucial elements have no effect on how they approach a film. A shame for them.
You can probably guess that I don't agree at all with the scathing dismissals of this film. In fact one clue as to whether a film is worth pursuing or not, is a really good movie often provokes a binary division into lovers and haters which is what you will see in the reviews here.
You either get this movie or you don't. I get it.
I loved it. I was hugely impressed with the ambition and commitment of everyone involved. Soundtrack, imagery, direction, writing and acting were all outstanding. It has a real documentary feel and rightly or wrongly I now believe I have some sense of the timbre of life among New York's precious gems commercial community.
The film tries to convey the frenetic roller coaster life of a man who surfs from crisis to worse crisis in his outrageous attempts to win what he sees as the the game of life, at any cost. An essentially kind man, he still manages to break the heart of every on he comes into contact with during his doomed life journey, yet the film is funny, uplifting and ultimately life affirming.
Like all of us I've seen a lot of movies in my lifetime and it takes a film with something special for me to gasp aloud as I sit on the edge of my seat.
This exhausting movie has it. Enjoy!
Destroyer (2018)
Profoundly satisfying and grown up
A good story ingeniously told. Beautifully rounded characterisation by Nicole Kidman. Give it a try.
Den skyldige (2018)
Gripping all the way to the last shot!
Lots of other people have given this ecstatic reviews so it doesn't need another paean from me. I just want to stress: don't be put off by the fact that so much of the action is just a man on the phone in a room. The amount of imaginative work you have to do as an eavesdropper to the various callers is exhilarating and entertaining. You are working as hard as he is to solve the mystery behind the calls, (and I predict you won't work it out)...great ending too.
Designated Survivor (2016)
Latest season moves up a notch
The earlier seasons of this series declined into a series of shallow comic book subplots, but the rescued rebbotn is a real eye opener. I believe it's an attempt to recreate the kind of thought provoking behind doors story lines that made The West Wing so popular. I'll be following it closely!
The Thing (1982)
A masterpiece of special effects ingenuity.
As most of the reviewers for this film will agree, this is a genuinely gripping story from start to finish, as well as being a horror classic. But it's also an important milestone for two reasons.
First it was one of the very first horror films to actually give you in detail, a really good look at the various monstrous expressions of the key villain. Up to that time most horrors were implied and as soon as you saw the the rather dodgy special effects representing the actual monster, the illusion started to fade.
Secondly, despite this challenge, absolutely no CGI or anything like it was used. Computer graphics in those days were so primitive that it took the makers several days to create a simple computer screen showing the cells of the monster transforming into those of a host. Instead the special effects team took a delirious joy in dreaming up ingenious ways to show various horrors using simple techniques like reversing the film, the use of plentiful amounts of plasticine, string and goo, and stop motion photography.
Lastly there was brilliant use of a trained Alsatian dog. The strange stillness and focus of its gaze before it's finally revealed that it has been invaded by the alien sends a chill down the back and was completely convincing.
Watch and enjoy!
All the Devil's Men (2018)
Needs a good edit
This feels like really good first effort at a low budget action film ( though it's the director writers second) but where was an effective exec? Scenes go on too long, there's far too much talking, and the battle scenes at the end are shot from so many angles you can't see who's on which side. In one sequence a villain protects himself against high velocity gunfire by standing behind a fragile wooden framework.
Finally, I know it was shot in west London but did almost all the car sequences have to be shot going up and down the A40 near Paddington?
But, great night exterior lighting!
Close (2019)
An action movie for by and about women
Fascinating !
The rhythms and stresses of this film only make sense when you realise that it's a film for females primarily. Understand that and you'll really enjoy it.