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The Room (2003)
Delusional Bliss
When you get a person that is totally disconnected from reality, with an unimaginably distorted view of his abilities, and combine it with the worst writing and acting, and throw in 6 million dollars, you get a movie that is so shamelessly bad that you enjoy watching it. I couldn't look away the first time I saw it. One of the reasons we love comedy or horror is that we're not the ones being laughed at or chased by a killer. This film has both, comedy of absurd with the horror of the most extreme side of the scale of terribleness. This is a must watch best worst film of all time.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Another story told. LITERALLY.
Martin Scorsese formula. Pick a great story. Hire great actors. Get a great cinematographer. Licence every song your heart desires. And get the star actor to narrate the whole movie. Just tell us the film. No need to try and show, just tell. And we're in no rush, make it three hours.
Another Martin Scorsese film you can listen to like a talking book.
Fa yeung nin wah (2000)
A moving painting
If the story wasn't touching, which it is, if the soundtrack wasn't haunting, and it is, if the acting wasn't immaculate, and it is, you should watch this film just for its cinematography. This is without doubt, far from any subjectivity gradient, one of the all-time visual masterpieces of modern cinema.every single frame is composed like a painting masterpiece. The set designs and the costumes are breathtaking. This film is a work of art, from beginning to the very end. Nothing is out of place, no scene is longer than it needs to be, nor is it faster than it deserves. This is flawless filmmaking. One viewing wont be enough. Enjoy!
Casino (1995)
Overrated
The actors are amazing and these are great performances, but the narration is relentless and really boring. What happen to show, don't tell? This movie can be cut in half, was too long and very boring. It's totally overrated.
Magnolia (1999)
So pretentious
Best movies are immersive experiences. You forget you're watching a movie. You just identify with the characters, you want them to succeed, to overcome, to get there. Whatever it is, not die, get the girl, fall in love, get their ex back. You forget it's a film, you believe it actually happened. You don't analyse camera movement, or the colour grading or the cinematography or the music or soundtrack.
This film is exactly the opposite. You never forget that it is a movie. You never forget that these are actors. You constantly feel aware pf camera movements, or the lighting. The music is unrelenting and almost continuous, it totally kills the film instead of enhance it.
You are not lost and immersed in a story, you are aware of the concept, of what the director whats to achieve. This movie is so pretentious and it is 90 minutes too long. Any rookie editor can cut this down by half.
Slow, boring, portentous and just straight awful. I struggled to finish watching this film, the only thing that made it possible to labour through it were the stelar performances of the amazing stars line-up.
Diary of an Uber Driver (2019)
Disappointing
I drove Uber for four years and completed 14,132 trips and my star rating was 4.94 when I stopped driving in March 2020.
When this series was announce, I was so excited, thinking, if they stories are even half as funny and interesting as what has happened to me, this series will be amazing.
This is fertile ground for comedy and observation. You meet all sorts of people, and people are LAWAYS funny. They are funny when they don't mean to be. When they are trying to have a serious conversation with you about politics or what they do for a living. No one knows what they really do for a living.
This series had non of that though. It felt more like a writer's imagination of what Uber driving must be like. It is nothing like portrayed in this series.
There is no suspense, no comedy, no hard-hitting reality, nothing. This is a very unremarkable production. I laboured through a few episodes, only watched two or three.
They took a writer's potential gold mine and turned it into a barren filed of nothingness. Give it a miss, you wont be missing anything.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Glad they don't make movies like this anymore
This is one awful film. I am especially disappointed because I had put off watching it for years, and now the myth is busted, I wish I had kept the romantic idea of what this movie had promised to be.
This movie was released in 1961, many great classics were made in the 60s, but this is not one of those.
If you want to treat yourself to a 60s classic, do your self a favour and watch Psycho (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Great Escape (1963), A Space Odyssey (1968) or Rosemary's Baby (1968).
Breakfast at at Tiffany's feels like theatre recorded on film, with totally stiff dialogue that doesn't not sound like film screenplay.
These characters are so removed from reality, the plot is so boring and pointless, this film is only saved but Audrey Hepburn's heavenly face.
Portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi by Mickey Rooney (yellowface controversy) is nothing short of cringeworthy.
All I can say is that only watch this film if you want to get it out of your system to find our what the hell the fuss is all about. I'm just glad they don't make movies like this anymore.
Manhunter (1986)
The music will drive you crazy
I grew up in the 80s and absolutely love the music of that decade. This is the first time in my life, that I have HATED 80s music. The soundtrack is so out of place, totally unmatched to each scene, and it's unrelenting. It sounds like a student experimental film toying with musical ideas that don't work. One of those student projects that just scrape through with a pass grade. I laboured through this film and couldn't wait for it to be over. Compared to the modern remake with Edward Norton, this is a huge disappointment.
Se7en (1995)
Another Fincher
David Fincher knows his craft, but he doesn't have range. All his movies have the same look and feel. Having a style is not the same as having a template. The two detectives have absolutely no chemistry, although the acting is immaculate. Very entertaining, but not a remarkable classic.
Rosemary's Baby (2014)
Stay away!
Really disappointing. It does nothing. No suspense, no intrigue, no well-crafted dialogue. It's really a nothing burger. Give it a miss. Film school projects are often better.
The Dry (2020)
A missed opportunity
Unfortunately, we make very few films here in Australia, and we rarely make great films, that's why when a fairly ok movie comes out, we all get excited. Our local movie critics are also incapable of judging local films without bias. They too, get overexcited and rave on about a film like "The Dry". This is not a boring film, or am awful experience, however, it's really not that great. Of course, we all get sentimental when we see the Australian landscape photographed in a movie, it's close to our hearts and we get touched by it. This film has all the ingredients to potentially have been a great film, but that opportunity was missed. The story has many holes, the constant flashbacks get confusing, the performances are not that great, Eric Bana has no chemistry with anyone on the screen, the soundtrack is nonstop and aimless, and annoying. The dialogue is also poorly done. Very basic screenwriting, nothing sophisticated, very much on-the-nose. I understand the desire to portray the simplicity of the characters being a country/rural setting, however, films like Coen Brothers' "Fargo" achieve this without compromising the integrity of the dialogue. This definitely didn't live up to the hype. Watch it of course to support our home-grown. film industry, but we really need to up our game.
News of the World (2020)
A star is born
This movie is a beautiful human story set in the violent West. While a nation is tearing itself apart with civil war and genocidal wiping out of the natives, two unlike people share a journey and become friends. The cinematography is stunning with all the wild wester vistas. For years to come, we will talk about this film as the one that launched the career of the 12-year old Helena Zengel, perhaps in the same way a 14-year old star named Jodie Foster supernova'd in Taxi Driver. This wont be a timeless classic, or a world-changing film, but it is worth a watch.
The Tourist (2010)
No suspense
The only thing going for this film is Angelina Jolie's face, you never get tired of that face. The story is hard to believe, it can never create suspense, even when it really does try. One of the worse screenplays of all time. This is what you'd show your film student to learn what not to do with screenplay. There is absolutely no chemistry between Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. The A-list actors and the gorgeous locations fail to make up this film's shortcomings. Stay away!
Irrational Man (2015)
Why girls should settle for good guys over cool guys
Knowing Woody Allen's life ups and downs and all his controversies, you can't help but to think he fantasises over being that charming, mysterious philosophy professor that get a lot young girls. If you want to convince that girl you really want, to settle for a kind, loving, reliable man than the bad boys who she romanticises over, make her watch this film. I personally love Woody Allen films, however, his style with the constant narration and jazz music, is more like theatre than film, and it flies in the face of "Show, don't tell". If you can overlook this, and like me, you love dialogue that examines life and death and everything in-between, in every single line, you will love this film.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Time travel in opposite directions
From the opening scenes of this film, it felt similar in many ways to Forrest Gump: Southerner accents, oversimplified characters and storyline to the point they start to feel comical. I only found out after I watched the film that the screenwriters for both films was Eric Roth. The actors are the best of the best, the production design and cinematography are on point, however the story is far-fetched even as a fantasy. There are moments it made me cringe because the intimacy felt wrong and out of place. Is she still his lover or now effectively a carer or a mother? It just felt wrong, and it took away from what could have been a great story. Also, my preferred run-time for movies is about 90 minutes, you seldom need more time. Of course when Tarantino, Milos Forman or Stanley Kubrick make 2.5-hour long features, we still want more, but directors like these are rare. Most filmmakers should stick with 90 minutes. This is a movie that can be enjoyed and worth a watch, but it definitely goes in the "once is enough" basket.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Before a master, mastered his craft
It's one of those films that is on a lot of top 5, 10, 20, 50 or the very least 100 films of all time. You can easily imagine having watched it when it came out, thinking to yourself, this director is going to be huge. However, the mood, the cinematography, the night captures wins here, and the story and dialogue take a back seat. Could it be shorter? Yes! Would Scorsese make a much better film today with the same story? Absolutely. Will you regret watching it? Hell no! will I ever have the urge to watch it again? No. There are many "but why?" moments, and the story has holes, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it will always be one of the most influential films of all time. Do I recommended it? Only if you want to finally discover what the fuss is all about. I have to say, with all the hype and legend surrounding it, it did feel a little anticlimactic.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Dialogue at its best
This is arguably one of the most influential films of all time. Story-telling with totally entertaining dialogue with teasing subtext. If you're a film student, this is a must-watch. Some movies, as great as they are, once you're done watching, you know, you would never want to watch them again. Pulp fiction gets better with each screening as you discover more layers in the story.