jamesrobertfreeman Reviews

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Confusing, Frustrating and Disappointing

[4/10 · 17 October 2009]

I was looking forward to this film for a while and have read many good reviews but was bitterly disappointed and frustrated by the time the film finished.

Although this is a fantasy film I felt this story was both confusing and lacked the depth and attention it deserves. It is quite a long film and I was left wondering exactly what the whole point of the film actually was? The acting was great but even if Heath Ledger managed to finish the whole film, it would not have saved it. I felt that the film needed to be a lot darker and really needed to build on the background of characters. On the plus side the visuals were superb.

If you are a huge fantasy film fan, you might like this film. If not, be warned this film will probably disappoint. Quite a few people walked out halfway through this film, which shows the mixed response this film is getting. I just feel that this film had so much more potential but fails to deliver at so many levels.

If I had to use 3 words to sum up this film... Confusing, Frustrating and Disappointing

****------ 4 stars out of 10

Moon (2009)

Moon - A must see film for 2009!

[9/10 · 20 July 2009]

I have just seen Moon at my local independent cinema after it was mentioned that it won Best New British Feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. To be honest I did not read much into the film before I went but must admit I was totally blown away. This is a LOW budget film, I think about £5 million and it is amazing the overall results achieved from such a low budget.

I wont reveal much about the story but it is about the life of a loner Astronaut Saml Bell who is towards the end of this three year stint on the Moon. The story is intriguing and grabs your interest from the onset. Sam Rockwell plays an incredible role as Sam Bell within the film and Kevin Spacey as the computer GERTY is perfect.

If you have any doubts about seeing this film. Don't. Just watch it and enjoy - this is not a dumbed down hi-budget Scifi Film. It is an enjoyable film which punches many surprises and I can now see why this has been receiving very good reviews. GO SEE.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Great film but key plots from the book missing

[8/10 · 17 July 2009]

Like all Harry Potter fans I have read all of the books and seen every film so far. I would have to say that this film is not my favourite so far and leaves you feeling that some vital parts of the book are missing. However this is worth watching and I feel this will only disappoint the most hardcore Harry fans!

With all of the films you can notice that the acting is improving with the maturity of the characters. You can tell that there is a close bond between the actors of which all pull of their roles well. The directing and visual effects, like all of the films to date does not disappoint.

In all a great family film, a pleasure to watch and I would recommend this film to most people. I am glad that the final film will be split into two parts, to be honest they could have done it with this film!

*** For people who have never seen any of the films or read the books I took my friend with me who has not seen or read any of the books and he was completely lost throughout the film (Although he still enjoyed it!). If you wish to see this I would recommend you need to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix first. Otherwise you may find this film a little confusing.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Entertaining film but needed more depth

[5/10 · 31 January 2009]

I was a little apprehensive before I saw this film as I have never seen any other Underworld films. However it exceeded my expectations and I was entertained throughout. The plot was good and the performances were superb. As a fan of vampire films this film had a lot to live up to high expectations and delivered.

My only criticism is that this film seemed to flow too fast and in my opinion it could have been a lot longer to add more depth to it. In some parts I wanted more, but was left slightly disappointed. The visual effects could have been a lot better.

This is a very watchable film and by any standards it is an average film which falls short of its potential. However as a newbie to the Underworld series I now want to go and watch the other two. I cant recall many prequels which manage to achieve that!