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thamuhacha
Reviews
Poirot: Mrs McGinty's Dead (2008)
Unexpectedly good ...
I always look forward to a new Poirot. It's Sunday evening entertainment that you can genuinely get absorbed by.
I think it's always worked because it's so comfortable. Agatha Christie's plots may be distinct to a certain extent and yet they all have some very common motifs. Poirot reliably totters around the same country houses with incompetent but solid police inspectors, gruff majors, femme fatale actresses, little old ladies and untrustworthy artist types.
What made this latest episode so cool was that the director had worked very, very hard to unsettle you. The usual stereotypes were all there, but at the same time there was an air of menace that I haven't seen in a Poirot before. The village of Broadhinny became like a kind of 1950's version of Royston Vasey, shot in sinister angles and film noir lighting.
It might not work if every episode was filmed like this, but this was a very welcome addition to Sunday night. Even if it freaked me out.
The Last Samurai (2003)
Hmmm ....
No doubt about it - this is a great movie.
However there is NO doubt that it could have been MUCH better.
*********MINOR SPOILER ALERT**********
The ending is pure "Make Tom look good". Anyone who watches the film can see how it should have ended. Fact.
And can everyone stop with the "Ken Watanabe for best supporting actor" rubbish?
He should get a nom for "Best Actor" all the way. Just because he isn't Tom Cruise doesn't mean that he as, or more, important to the film.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Wonderfully ridiculous
Massively over the top. Extremely silly. Hugely cliched. Utterly unbelievable.
I loved it.
The fight scenes and chases are all very well done (the motocross one in particular) and the gags are mostly on target (the "I need a shower" one especially.)
Highly recommended - leave common sense at the door.
Panic Room (2002)
Shallow but great ...
Warning: Anyone expecting a film with as much depth to it as Se7en or Fight Club might well be disappointed here.
What David Fincher has done here is take a (fairly tenuous) premise and extract as much tension and suspense as possible.
No social commentary, no moral inquiry, just thrills and twists.
Certainly one of the best thrillers of 2002 so far ...
The Others (2001)
Good but flawed ...
(No spoilers)
To be brief, this was an excellent film. The thoroughly weird things happening in the house are cleverly built up (you really are willing to suspect anything up until quite late on).
My only gripe is that the ending is not as sharp as it could have been.
But, all in all, this is a gripping and quite chilling film that provides the best haunted house for ages!
Heartbreakers (2001)
Shallow but funny
Good comic performances across the board and a script with some excellent lines.
There is more than a touch of cheesy Hollywood nonsense here, but Sigourney Weaver is fantastic, and JLH's cleavage has a recurring cameo.