Desperation, over-riding greed, blame passing, perception trumping truth. Are we talking about low life criminality or corporate America? Tightly written and searingly directed, this is a film that thrums with tension and has a lot of interesting ideas at play. 9/10
I would think this would be frustrating to watch if you speak Korean. Some of the dialogue is recorded so quietly that I think I would have to watch it subtitled even if I spoke the language.
Some excellent elements including some great acting and a very strong final third but very slow to get going.
Totally underrated. It's not the film that the trailer said it would be but I had avoided this for a long time because people said it was so bad. It's not true. This film makes loads of interesting choices throughout and was very enjoyable.
The Book: Has some really excellent elements (Katniss' character, a brilliant opening, the societal commentary) but some really rubbish ones (the Capitol scenes, the pacing, the mutts) which makes for an interesting and enjoyable read but not a great one.
The Film: Improves on the weaknesses of the book but lessens the power of the highlights. Therefore also good but not great. 7/10
An excellent intro to ghost films. I particularly loved some of the early scares which so well juxtaposed the supernatural with the natural. Throughout the film there were some impressive scares and a brilliant atmosphere of grief, sorrow and tension.
I really enjoyed this film. Dave Brown (Harrelson) is a compelling character to be in the company of and each of the supporting characters is well drawn and interesting, particularly Brown's family and Linda (Wright).
Whilst it has a couple of impressive performances from Streep and Broadbent, The Iron Lady is deeply unsatisfying and fatally flawed as a piece of filmmaking. There was no examination of Thatcher's politics or how those politics developed. In fact, the character of Thatcher didn't change, grow or develop throughout her life according to this film.
The director, Lloyd, is more interested in a Thatcher suffering from dementia in her old age but had remarkably little to say on the subject. The unrelenting adherence to Thatcher's own perspective in her remembrance of her life also means that there is no political analysis beyond the surface; anyone who disagrees with her is just "weak, weak, weak". This is not good enough when tackling this giant of a woman.
This was a great portrait of a family's life as the first generation move to America and the second generation identifying as Americans. A great study in family and cultural identity and on being an immigrant beautifully told by highlighting the small moments.
A brilliant and fascinating portrayal of a truly ugly way of life with a bad-ass central character. Jennifer Lawrence gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from someone so young.
A stunning film. Incredible performance from Tilda Swinton as a mother who has never liked her child and is now wracked with guilt about that. We see her trying to carry on with her life in the wake of some tragedy in a small town that hates her now as she reminisces tries to make sense of what has happened.
Lynn Ramsey's film is brilliantly structured, incredibly taut with a shattering tension throughout. A frighteningly good portrait of a woman in despair. A Masterpiece.
Melancholia: a hauntingly beautiful film about Depression from Von Trier with a violent end to the planet Earth and humankind. Two stunning central performances from Dunst and Gainsbourg. Armageddon this is not.
Why is Superman Returns so maligned? Yes, Routh and Bosworth are poorly cast as Supes and Lois and too much action happens off screen BUT it has a great STORY, complex and real characters and powerful themes. These make it vastly superior to 90% of the "Blockbuster" guff Hollywood puts out.
This isn't a twist movie. Scorsese is telling it to you from the very beginning and not trying to hide it. The "twist" isn't the point. The journey to get there is. And the final choice is a great commentary on the character.
It looks like Scorsese had a lot of fun making this movie and I certainly had a lot of fun watching. Dicaprio was fantastic as he almost always is.
I preferred Australia to both Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet but it still had some familiar Luhrmann problems. It was structurally flawed, had some non-sensical beats and concerned itself too much with the visual that it forgets to tell a proper story. Also, the kid's performance was grating which is a problem when he has such a big part and it was much too long.
For me it was watchable for its interesting historical setting, aesthetic and Nicole Kidman but not rewatchable. 5/10
An absolutely incredible documentary, possibly even the best I've seen; brilliantly compelling. I recommend it to everyone, it is edge of the seat stuff.
Rape Me is not a title that is accepted by the directors, nor is it an acceptable reflection of the content of the film.
It is not a great film but does have some redeeming qualities. I thought Karen Bach was particularly good.
NB: Before you accept this lukewarm compliment as a recommendation, do know that this film does contain several instances of real sex and plenty of senseless violence, although that is completely in keeping with its essentially nihilistic themes.
Comments 1 - 25 of 52
Movie comment on Killing Them Softly
Chaz
Desperation, over-riding greed, blame passing, perception trumping truth. Are we talking about low life criminality or corporate America? Tightly written and searingly directed, this is a film that thrums with tension and has a lot of interesting ideas at play. 9/10Movie comment on Waking Ned
Chaz
In the UK this was definitely known as Waking Ned whilst in cinemas. I remember going to see it as that.Movie comment on Smokin' Aces
Chaz
A strong set-up and some good action but in the end tiresome and uninteresting "twists" undermine this movie.Movie comment on Ne le dis à personne
Chaz
A little bit too heavy on the exposition and mad leaps of logic in some key parts to be excellent or great. In the end, just solidly good.Movie comment on Volver
Chaz
It is exactly a Soap Opera. But this is one of the very best feature length Soap Operas you'll ever see.The presence of television throughout the film just served to highlight that Almodovar is intending this as a Soap.
Movie comment on Ddongpari
Chaz
I would think this would be frustrating to watch if you speak Korean. Some of the dialogue is recorded so quietly that I think I would have to watch it subtitled even if I spoke the language.Some excellent elements including some great acting and a very strong final third but very slow to get going.
Movie comment on Hancock
Chaz
Totally underrated. It's not the film that the trailer said it would be but I had avoided this for a long time because people said it was so bad. It's not true. This film makes loads of interesting choices throughout and was very enjoyable.Movie comment on The Hunger Games
Chaz
The Book: Has some really excellent elements (Katniss' character, a brilliant opening, the societal commentary) but some really rubbish ones (the Capitol scenes, the pacing, the mutts) which makes for an interesting and enjoyable read but not a great one.The Film: Improves on the weaknesses of the book but lessens the power of the highlights. Therefore also good but not great. 7/10
Movie comment on The Woman in Black
Chaz
An excellent intro to ghost films. I particularly loved some of the early scares which so well juxtaposed the supernatural with the natural. Throughout the film there were some impressive scares and a brilliant atmosphere of grief, sorrow and tension.Movie comment on Rampart
Chaz
I really enjoyed this film. Dave Brown (Harrelson) is a compelling character to be in the company of and each of the supporting characters is well drawn and interesting, particularly Brown's family and Linda (Wright).Movie comment on Elektra
Chaz
I was expecting a film as bad as Daredevil so I was quite pleasantly surprised. I actually enjoyed many elements of this film.Movie comment on The Iron Lady
Chaz
Whilst it has a couple of impressive performances from Streep and Broadbent, The Iron Lady is deeply unsatisfying and fatally flawed as a piece of filmmaking. There was no examination of Thatcher's politics or how those politics developed. In fact, the character of Thatcher didn't change, grow or develop throughout her life according to this film.The director, Lloyd, is more interested in a Thatcher suffering from dementia in her old age but had remarkably little to say on the subject. The unrelenting adherence to Thatcher's own perspective in her remembrance of her life also means that there is no political analysis beyond the surface; anyone who disagrees with her is just "weak, weak, weak". This is not good enough when tackling this giant of a woman.
Movie comment on The Namesake
Chaz
This was a great portrait of a family's life as the first generation move to America and the second generation identifying as Americans. A great study in family and cultural identity and on being an immigrant beautifully told by highlighting the small moments.Plus, Nitin Sawhney's excellent soundtrack.
Movie comment on 17 Again
Chaz
More fun than I expected. Efron is quite good and Leslie Mann is always enjoyable.Movie comment on Winter's Bone
Chaz
A brilliant and fascinating portrayal of a truly ugly way of life with a bad-ass central character. Jennifer Lawrence gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from someone so young.Movie comment on We Need to Talk About Kevin
Chaz
A stunning film. Incredible performance from Tilda Swinton as a mother who has never liked her child and is now wracked with guilt about that. We see her trying to carry on with her life in the wake of some tragedy in a small town that hates her now as she reminisces tries to make sense of what has happened.Lynn Ramsey's film is brilliantly structured, incredibly taut with a shattering tension throughout. A frighteningly good portrait of a woman in despair. A Masterpiece.
10/10
Movie comment on Melancholia
Chaz
Melancholia: a hauntingly beautiful film about Depression from Von Trier with a violent end to the planet Earth and humankind. Two stunning central performances from Dunst and Gainsbourg. Armageddon this is not.9/10
Movie comment on Superman Returns
Chaz
Why is Superman Returns so maligned? Yes, Routh and Bosworth are poorly cast as Supes and Lois and too much action happens off screen BUT it has a great STORY, complex and real characters and powerful themes. These make it vastly superior to 90% of the "Blockbuster" guff Hollywood puts out.7/10
Movie comment on Shutter Island
Chaz
This isn't a twist movie. Scorsese is telling it to you from the very beginning and not trying to hide it. The "twist" isn't the point. The journey to get there is. And the final choice is a great commentary on the character.It looks like Scorsese had a lot of fun making this movie and I certainly had a lot of fun watching. Dicaprio was fantastic as he almost always is.
8/10
Movie comment on Australia
Chaz
I preferred Australia to both Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet but it still had some familiar Luhrmann problems. It was structurally flawed, had some non-sensical beats and concerned itself too much with the visual that it forgets to tell a proper story. Also, the kid's performance was grating which is a problem when he has such a big part and it was much too long.For me it was watchable for its interesting historical setting, aesthetic and Nicole Kidman but not rewatchable. 5/10
Movie comment on Trolljegeren
Chaz
This was a brilliant deconstruction of the found footage genre. Very funny.Movie comment on Moulin Rouge!
Chaz
MehBlog comment on The color of money
Chaz
What is 2.0?Movie comment on Senna
Chaz
An absolutely incredible documentary, possibly even the best I've seen; brilliantly compelling. I recommend it to everyone, it is edge of the seat stuff.Movie comment on Baise-moi
Chaz
Rape Me is not a title that is accepted by the directors, nor is it an acceptable reflection of the content of the film.It is not a great film but does have some redeeming qualities. I thought Karen Bach was particularly good.
NB: Before you accept this lukewarm compliment as a recommendation, do know that this film does contain several instances of real sex and plenty of senseless violence, although that is completely in keeping with its essentially nihilistic themes.
Showing items 1 – 25 of 52