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steve-thompson25
Reviews
La science des rêves (2006)
Oh God The Emperor's just bought another new outfit!
Well I just spent the evening watching this with a group of 7 friends, mostly high-school teachers, collectively our book & film club. It started off quite positively - a bit bonkers perhaps but sort of amusing but by the end the audience was variously commenting: "I'd have preferred having needles stuck in my eyes!" or extending toilet breaks so they had less of the film to watch, or lamenting the sheer tedium of this movie. I didn't think it was THAT bad (not "up" to Death in Venice standard for example) but by the end I was wondering what point the film-maker was actually trying to make. Given that it was impossible to have much sympathy for any of the characters and given that nothing actually happened, surely there must be a philosophical point to it all? Once I realised there was none, I realised we had been yet again tricked into admiring an Emperor's invisible suit. I cannot believe people have given this film such high ratings. I think you've had the wool well and truly pulled over your eyes.
Syriana (2005)
Almost as boring as Death in Venice
We gave up at the point where George Clooney's character has his finger-nails extracted. We were not squeamish - having sat through an hour of this drivel we just knew what it felt like. To say this film was incomprehensible, boring, pretentious twaddle would be to over-praise it! How did people manage to sit through this confusing, slow, depressing pseud's corner of a film, let alone nominate it for an Oscar? Clooney looked as ill as we felt watching him. What was he thinking? Oh .. and what was with those subtitles? - did we just have a dud DVD or was the original film done like that - sentences left hanging in mid-air? The film was hard enough to follow without that as well. I pity the cast, who obviously did their best with the material available.
Elektra (2005)
Much better than reviews led me to believe - a good "sai-fi " movie!
Yet again the snobbish attitudes of most professional reviewers to comic-book based movies (eg Daredevil, Punisher, Blade 2 & 3 etc etc) threatened to dissuade me from watching this movie. Yet again they missed the point that these are fantasy films that demand the viewers to suspend their disbelief! Sure, in real life the idea of tattoos coming to life would be ludicrous but here the effects worked well for me. (Maybe Director Rob Bowman borrowed the idea from his self-directed 1997 X-Files episode ("Never Again") where Scully is confronted by a talking tattoo!) Terrence Stamp as "Stick" was well cast and is rapidly becoming a staple ingredient of the Super-hero genre (eg Smallville). Jennifer Garner was born to play Elektra, although her costume was, sadly, not as revealing as it is in the comics! The plot also worked fine for me - to explain why Elektra became the paid assassin she is would have meant yet another Super-hero movie origin sequence which would have no doubt attracted further criticism from the movie intelligentsia!! Has any Bond movie ever bothered to explain his recruitment as a spy? It's taken as given, just as it's a "given" that Elektra is an assassin. The only slight criticism I do have is there should have been a sequence directly linking Elektra's death in "Daredevil" to her subsequent "resurrection" by Stick; otherwise the fact that there is no mention of DD is simply a device to enable "Elektra" to be viewed as a stand-alone movie.
Inside I'm Dancing (2004)
This wonderful film should be required viewing for all carers!
Unbelievably moving performances by both leading characters made this an utterly believable and emotional experience. IMDb's "Movie Connections" section notes only "Thelma & Louise" (fair enough) and "Braveheart" (why?) but surely "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" should be added to that list. The negative attitudes shown to the potential abilities of the inmates by the staff in the care home at the start of the film, as well as by the unsympathetic bureaucrats, whilst obviously far less severe than those of Nurse Ratchett & co. in "Cuckoo's Nest", still contrasted sharply with the joyous lust for an independent and meaningful life exhibited by Rory and Michael, despite their apparently overwhelming handicaps.
The film shows that one can find humour in even the bleakest of predicaments - the gag where Rory complains about the local Council not making a bridge accessible to wheelchair-bound suicides was priceless! I have not felt so uplifted by a movie for a long time, despite the sad ending, and I feel this film should be required viewing for anyone living and/or working with disabled people.
Fantastic Four (2005)
I cannot understand why this film did not receive more positive reviews
I cannot understand why this film did not receive more positive reviews but I can see why it has been a box-office smash! As a long-time FF aficionado, I felt the movie remained true to the spirit of the comics. Other than the miscasting of the uber-sexy and non-blonde Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, I thought the rest of the cast totally nailed their characters, especially the Thing and the Torch. The interplay between those two caught the essence and original appeal of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's creations perfectly. The special effects also did justice to the powers of the various characters: comparing favourably with the rather jerky CGI of "Hulk".
Interestingly, my wife, who knew next to nothing about the characters prior to viewing the movie, thoroughly enjoyed the film - much more so than Revenge of the Sith or War of the Worlds (I'm not sure I agree with her on these, but that's another story!)So you don't have to be a comics geek to enjoy this film.
I sometimes think critics don't know how to deal with superhero movies: above all these are meant to be fantasies and fun and cannot, in my opinion, be judged in the same way as more realistic action movies.
One good thing about poor reviews: one gets a pleasant surprise when you actually find a film that does not deserve them!
Izo (2004)
Worst movie in 40 years of movie going!
What a load of pretentious twaddle. I learned a new word in Japanese today:Izo = b**l**ks! It's taken a long time, but I've finally found a movie that's actually more tedious than "Death in Venice"! From the sadistic and vomit-inducing opening scene through the seemingly never-ending stream of blood and gore with dialogue direct from the darkest recesses of Pseud's Corner, this film is a stinker and should be avoided like the plague. Talk about "Emperor's New Clothes"! The mind that made this load of tosh must be truly sick. The violence just became boring after the first few maimings and killings. Whatever point this celebrated director was trying to make was lost on me. The movie reminded me of Monty Python's Peckinpah skit but, unfortunately, I'm not laughing.
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale (2000)
Much funnier than expected - a bit like "Scrubs"
I only started watching this because of the West Wing connection (i.e. Joshua Malina was given second billing) but it was much better than I'd expected from reading the blurb. I found it to be a funny, well-written (if somewhat cliched) piece with strong performances all round, and a cute poodle. It reminded me a lot of "Scrubs" and is certainly worth higher than a lousy 4.4 you guys! (The same score, incidentally as "Legally Blond 2" - Please!)