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Film Reviews
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Page 5
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| Film Reviews Page: 1 2 3 4 |
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District B13 A bit of fun from director Luc Besson featuring the athletic talents of parkour expert David Belle as well as martial arts stuntman Cyril Raffaelli. Considering the leads are played by non-actors, it's surprisingly professional and the action scenes are stunning. It's not exactly profound, but it is entertaining and a showcase of some pretty awesome physical talent. Eye-candy Dany Verssimo is a nice bonus. |
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Casino Royale There were a lot of good reviews of this film but I thought it was weak. The opening parkour sequence was quite good but in general the writing and the plot just weren't up to scratch. Episodes of CSI are better written. In fact they should get Sarah Goldfinger to write the next script. The last section of the film is also very flat and could have been done much better. There should have been more effort to male the sets and locations look more naturalistic too. Disappointing. |
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Carandiru A powerful Brazilian film that's based around the true story of the massacre of 111 inmates at Carandiru prison in 1992 using the eye-witness accounts of a doctor who regularly visited the prison. It has the feeling of authenticity and after watching the depiction of conditions at the prison you'll feel like a shower afterwards. It's one of my favourite films and one I urge you to watch. |
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Dark Water A horror film that's definitely not a classic but I sat through it fairly entertained. Jennifer Connelly is watcheable in so many ways. There are a couple of good scary moments. |
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Down By Law A film by Jim Jarmusch, one of Piero's favourite directors. It follows three men who end up in prison and then escape. It's shot in black and white and looks great and is very funny in places, especially Roberto Benigni of course. I liked it. |
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind A thoughtful little film that uses a fictious memory erasing technology as a device to explore how we deal with romantic relationships and their problems. I really enjoyed it. Carrey really does play it straight for most of the film and Winslet is excellent as the female lead. |
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Open Range I've never been a fan of Westerns and only watched this because there was nothing else available. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be very watcheable. It's set during an interesting period in American history when some farmers started fencing their land, angering those who felt the land should be shared. All in all a good film, I thought. |
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Fellini: I'm a Born Liar A retrospective of film director Federico Fellini's life and work in his own words. I've only seen one his films but I still found this interesting. It would have been better, though, to have checked out some more of his movies first. He clearly wasn't swept away by a sense ofhis own legend and is refreshingly self-deprecating in his assessment of his illustrious career. |
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The Caiman A political Italian film about Silvio Berlusconi, the thankfully ex-prime minister of Italy. I got a lot of background from my Italian friends before I watched it and they kept me up to speed during the film. Basically Berlusconi is about as corrupt a prime minister as a democracy can handle before it turns into something else It's easy enough to follow, though, even if you don't know too much of the background. Funny and frightening. |
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Basque Ball A documentary about the political situation in the Basque region of northern Spain and south-western France. It's a little overwheliming to be honest but very interesting if you can stand the pace. Medem interviews important figures on all sides of the political debate and I like some of the ways he shoots the interviews. My only slight complaint is that it' feels a bit relentless at times, but if you want to get up to speed quickly on the issues it's perfect. |
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American Blackout A stark reminder of just how little democratic power the average American has and what a terrible job the media is doing of holding the government to account. Blatent voter fraud in the last two general elections in the United States have gone virtually unpunished. Depressing. |
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Cocaine Cowboys A documentary about the cocaine trade in and around Miami in the seventies and early eighties. It's very interesting even if some of the editing, direction and soundtrack are a bit overcooked. But I suppose that's appropriate for a documentary about cocaine. |
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City of Ember A fantasy film based on a book of the same name that suffers a little from the fate of many book adaptations. Because there is so much plot and character development that has to be trimmed to keep it within an acceptable time limit the story feels like it skips here and there. There was a lot I enjoyed about it though (acting, costume, sets) despite the fact it was clearly made for a younger audience. I thought the ending was a bit silly but overall it was a decent attempt. |
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Kung Fu Hustle I love this film. It's a kung fu comedy/drama from Hong Kong that uses cartoon-like special effects with great results. It borrows from American cowboy and gangster films to create an enjoyable romp that frankly puts Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill series to shame. Far cooler, far funnier, far better. |
 | Festival Express A documentary following a travelling music festival that toured Canada in 1970. It's a fascinating film with some good performances and fascinating behind the scenes footage of the nusicians, including Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead, jamming on the train that ferried them to the gigs. The stage set-ups were a bit basic which limits some of the performances sadly but one of Joplin's numbers sticks out in my mind. |
 | The Great Dictator Unfortunately for the first 30 years of my life I thought Chaplin was basically a clown in boring, silent, black and white films. That all changed when I saw this and another of his films, 'Modern Times'. The political bravery and insight of these films is hard to match. A seminal piece of cinema. |
 | Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events I'm a fan of Jim Carrey's and this is a really enjoyable film. Not only because of the comic performances but also for the way it looks. It's a beautiful looking film and the plot is nicely put together. I do wonder whether some children's entertainment is a little too dark these days though. Adults scaring children is usually considered a bad thing and some of these films seem to me to go a little far. |
 | Kidulthood This caused some huffing and puffing in various circles when it was released, some of which I can understand, some of which I can't. There's always a danger that a film like this will glamourise 'anti-social behaviour' but I thought this was a responsible and intelligent piece of filmmaking. I live in the area where this film is set and believe me it's pretty accurate if condensed depiction of life there. |
 | The Lives of Others A fine German film about life in the old East Germany. It's very well acted by the whole cast and looks extremely polished. It deals with East German spying on artistic types and other dissidents. There have been a few criticisms here and there, I think partly because it received quite a bit of hype and deals with some issues that Germans still find a bit sensitive, but I thought it was very good. |
 | Portishead - Roseland NYC Live A live concert by Bristol band Portishead shot in New York. They were such a breath of fresh air when they came out |
| Go to Film Reviews Page: 1 2 3 4 |