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Reviews
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Good fun
I bought this movie on DVD months ago but kept putting off watching it because of all the bad reviews. When I finally got round to watching it I realised that the problem was that too many fanboys out there were complaining that it wasn't the comic. Well it isn't meant to be.
The acting is good, as you would expect of the cast, the plot perfectly fine, the action entertaining. On the downside the CGI is pretty ropey.
Sure if you want historic accuracy you need to look elsewhere - but here's a point: Allan Quateman did not really exist.
If you're a fanboy, avoid this and carry on reading the comics. If however you just want to waste a couple of hours of your life on popcorn entertainment, this'll do fine.
Die Büchse der Pandora (1929)
a non-expressionist classic
I managed to watch this at the National Film Theatre so was fortunate to have live piano accompaniment to do it justice. Some other commentators seem to believe that this is an expressionist film but it isn't. The direction is very different and lacks the use of shadow, foe example, and sets one gets in say Nosferatu or even Metropolis. I have also read criticism of Louise Brooke's acting, which is not just unfair but nonsensical. Her subtle acting is without a doubt the best I have seen of any actress in a silent film.
This film is really two plays "Der Erdgesit" and "Die Buchese Der Pandora" and it shows in the film. The first half can be summarised as the glamorous life of Lulu and the second part is her fall.
I have knocked off one point for the unmitigatedly awful comedy scene in the first half. I don't particularly like silent comedy at its best but this was just of the fat blokes walking into each other variety. Still I may be wrong as the bloke behind me was having hysterics.