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Film Reviews
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Film Reviews Page: 1 2 3 5

	In Bruges I decided to give this a try because it got some good reviews and won some awards. I really didn't like it. I found Farrell's Father Ted style portrayal of a jolly 'Oirish' assassin extremely irritating; the subject matter needed a much darker performance in my opinion, or at least a more subtle comic one. That's not to say there weren't some good ideas in the film but all in all I was disappointed.
	Forgetting Sarah Marshall I liked this. It exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low, but I thought it was really well done. There were plently of laugh-out-loud moments, I love the Yoga scene among others. Russell Brand is really good as the English rock star even though I generally find him a bit hit-and-miss. The lead actor is very good and the supporting cast is also strong. Even though there are a few risqué moments it's ultimately a sweet film that I really enjoyed.
	Max Payne There's nothing terribly wrong with Mark Wahlberg as an actor but, as far as I've seen, he can't carry a film. It's a nice idea for the film but poorly executed by cast and crew. There's a flashback sequence half way through that should just have been put at the beginning to set up the story but ultimately I didn't think that Wahlberg was consistent or convincing enough in the lead. Not awful but forgettable.
	Blades of Glory I'm a fan of Will Ferrell although not everything he does is flawless. Step Brothers was poor (apart from the awkward hug at at the end) and Blades of Glory isn't a classic although it does have classic moments. It's worth watching for jokes like Chaz Michael Michaels' book of poetry Let Me Put My Poems In You and the jaw dropping kama sutra position in the final skating sequence. I thought Jon Heder could have contributed more but I'm sure you'll laugh at some point.
	Napoleon Dynamite This is an old film that I've only just got round to watching. I thought there was a chance I'd hate it but thankfully it was much more intelligent than I'd feared. I thought it was a really sweet celebration of geekhood, although I wonder what effect it's had on the American playground. Full of hilarious sequences all the way through, I immediately skipped through the film to relive them after watching it.
	Two Lovers I spent the first forty minutes or so of this film wondering whether I was watching, in Joaquin Phoenix, an actor on the verge of either a nervous breakdown or an irritating performance art project. His performance in Two Lovers is so heavy that I'm beginning to wonder whether his conversion to rap music might actually be real. A suicidal loser with two lovers is not really a believable premise and the film ultimately disappoints. Nice opening shot, but downhill from there.
	Knowing Not a very good film but still better than War of the Worlds. The special effects were ropey and I laughed at the end (it's not supposed to be funny) but it was reasonable engaging for the bulk of it. There's some heavy religious themes going on, an apocalyptic Rapture-like ending and, like a lot of Nicholas Cage films, I came away feeling unsatisfied but not angry this time. I didn't pay to watch it though and I would advise against that.
	Genova An arty film that I have mixed feelings about. I didn't do much research beforehand, I saw it was labelled as a ghost story so I was expecting something I didn't really get. That's all I can say really without giving too much away but just be aware that it's arty. At times I felt like I was watching someone's holiday slides/video (Genoa looks beautiful) and I felt it dragged quite a bit. In retrospect I can see a point to the whole thing but it wasn't a very satisfying film to watch.
	Burn After Reading I was a bit disappointed by this. I've enjoyed most of the Coen brothers' work that I've seen. Fargo was great, O Brother Where Art Thou is one of my favourite films although I wasn't completely won over by No Country For Old Men. I thought this was weak. I found Brad Pitt's performance irritating for a start and all it seemed a bit cobbled together somehow. That's not to say I wasn't amused a few times but I expected more.
	Tai Chi Master The BBC ran a series of these films quite a while ago and I got hooked. The stories are nice and heroic but the choreography.... The choreography of the fight sequences is just incredible. It's both aesthetic and highly technical and so far ahead of anything the western film industry has managed. Add the beautiful costumes and strong acting and you've got quite a piece of art on your hands.
	Standard Operating Procedure A documentary about the prisoner abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib that I put off watching for far too long. Finally braving the grim subject matter was well worth the effort and I strongly urge anyone who hasn't seen it to give it a go. Although I knew the basic facts of the case, the documentary adds extra dimensions and colour to the story that are absolutely vital in understanding it properly. The presentation is stylish and balanced. Excellent.
	Role Models A silly comedy that I ultimately quite enjoyed. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott each do their usual comedy turns but they're decent routines that I've enjoyed a number of times in the past. The comedy plays on stereotypes and one of the central jokes is a foul-mouthed child so in theory I should have hated it but I ended up laughing like a drain several times during the film. Maybe South Park has softened me up.Deeply flawed but funny.
	Tortured A straight-to-dvd effort that actually wasn't too bad. At times it feels like a play and works fairly well as a metaphor for US foreign policy. I'm not sure whether the filmmakers intended this and I can't be bothered to Google it to find out but it works either way. It explores questions of whether we create our own enemies and what seperates us if we ultimately end up behaving the same way as them. In the end it's a B movie, but it's fairly well acted and cleverer than you'd expect.
	Koyaanisqatsi I watched this a long time ago but I just realised that I haven't mentioned it in my review pages. It's basically a collection of time lapse sequences of various places in the world set to an interesting score by composer Phillip Glass. The title can be loosely translated as 'life out of balance' and the film attempts to hold a mirror up to humanity and its seemingly chaotic and relentless existence. Very interesting. It's influence on subsequent filmmaking is obvious as soon as you've seen it.
	Requiem For A Dream This film is so bleak it would be almost unbearable if it wasn't so brilliant. Ellen Burstyn's portrayal of a woman's descent into amphetamine psychosis is gruesomly brilliant. A fine film.
	The Tai-Chi Master I saw his when BBC1 did a season of these films and I loved every one. This one of my favourites though, starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, who was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The action sequences are stunning and it has the perfect plot for this kind of movie. Good guy discovers super-cool kung fu style to defeat bad guys. Awesome.
	Sherrybaby A well written film that explores some of the problems faced by what sociologists would call the 'social underclass' in America, in particular those to do with heroin addiction. Maggie Gyllenhaal puts in a really good performance as drug addict attempting to get her life back together after three years in prison and definitely deserved the Golden Globe nomination for the role. Very good indeed.
	A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints I really enjoyed this. There's some proper acting going on in a film that's based on the memoirs of the director Dito Montiel. Shia LeBeouf is excellent as the young Dito and his scenes with Chazz Palminteri, who plays his father, are superb. The themes work well and the direction helps to create a mood of frenetic tension at all the right times. Excellent.
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