portia-1 Reviews

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

If they Academy does not give Depp the Oscar it will be a crying shame

[9/10 · 25 January 2008]

I was enthralled from the opening credits and the marvellous music. I did not know the story well and just sat back and enjoyed it. Burton has produced a masterpiece and yet the film is not nominated for any awards except best actor (and yet again Depp will be ignored?) what does this amazing actor have to do to win an Oscar. People say they don't matter, well they do when you are as talented as Johnny Depp; without doubt this is the best piece of work that he and Burton have ever done.

The bright colour scenes of Mrs Lubbock's dream are reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in the way that Burton used bled colour to make it too bright in stark contrast to the Gothic, dimly lit London. The scene of the pie shop where she sings that her pies are so awful is art directed to perfection, showing the filth and vileness of her disgusting shop. You feel your stomach churning at the sight of the cockroaches as she sings and beats the pastry. The cast is superb nobody wrong for the role. How audience will receive this film is hard to say but if you like Burton's work you will adore this. I cannot wait to get it on DVD later this year to watch it again and again.

The Libertine (2004)

Not even a nomination form the Academy

[10/10 · 10 March 2006]

At last available on DVD from May 5th (Region 2) this extraordinary film at last can be watched again and again. What a travesty that Johnny Depp was not afforded even an Oscar nomination for his dazzling performance as John Wilmot. It makes me realise that the Academy is a nonsense, and as good as Philip Seymour Hoffman was in Capote, Depp outshines him in every sense. Perhaps the genre is not popular with the members although many actors can win Oscars even if their film itself does not get a nomination. Others have written so eloquently about The Libertine that I am not going to say anymore other than this: watch it and be amazed at Johnny Depp's quite incredible performance. Parts of it will tear your heart out and you will come to understand just what an amazing actor he is and how it is high time he received the recognition that he so richly deserves. Nobody else could have fulfilled this role, it seems that his versatility knows no bounds.He probably does not care one jot but as an ardent fan I am tired of his talent being ignored.

The Others (2001)

A film that entices our interest in ghost stories.

[9/10 · 13 January 2005]

I watched this movie for the second time on British TV last night and enjoyed it immensely - isn't hindsight a great thing? When I saw it originally, Nicole Kidman was in Moulon Rouge around on DVD at the same time so it was interesting to see just how very different the two roles were. As Grace in THE OTHERS she plays the proverbial, religious up tight woman who is clearly suffering from mental illness due to the absence of her husband who has not returned from the war. It's '1945 so where is he?Jersey was occupied by the Nazis for some five years , well of course he died . AS the film moves along very slowly and Grace becomes more and more highly strung by the 'supernatural happenings'she rejects, it is clear to the viewer that all is not what we are meant to believe and it is true that if you are familiar with Amenabar's work, you will start to figure out where the film is heading but not how, however I don't believe all those who said they guessed the ending in the first half hour because the action and the plot is handled too well. To keep comparing it to the Sixth Sense is a spoiler in itself and unfair to audiences who have not seen the movie. For those who could not understand why the husband returned only to go away again think I have grasped it. He returned in the fog looking suitably haunted, he is already dead but as a ghost has come back to the house to confront Grace as to why she killed his children. I think we have to assume that she has not been a ghost that long when he returned or indeed when the film starts and that the main reason for her despair was the loss of her husband, she probably killed the children towards the end of the WW11 and killed herself when she realised he would not return. He had to leave her because he did not die there with her but in the War somewhere else, and therefore returned probably only in her imagination. Her existence as a ghost who cannot rest is guilt driven by the violence of her own death and that is why we are seeing her(not realising at the time that she is a ghost),as a mirror image and she is a dysfunctional, not very kind woman driven so strongly by religion and by a sort of paranoid protectiveness towards her two children who are both excellent in their roles. Other viewers may interpret this aspect of the film differently but I think it does answer the plothole regarding Christopher Eccleston's character.

THE OTHERS is a highly enjoyable, extremely watchable old fashioned ghost story that is reminiscent of what is best from the genre - no swearing, no violence and no blood. It is a well told and well directed movie which will keep those who have not seen it guessing until the end, and it is explained at the end which often fails with other films of its type. Kidman surpasses herself and Amenabar should be proud of such a absorbing piece of work.

My Little Eye (2002)

Perhaps I am growing old

[19 July 2004]

This film is unmitigated tripe from start to finish and I am truly amazed that people actually liked it. There is no cohesion, it's implausible, badly acted,poorly shot and not in the least bit scary. The front cover of the film said it was as scary as the Exorcist - get real, for its time that was a very disturbing film, but hey this is 2004 and we have all been there before. The garbage coming out of Hollywood is so prolific now that I wonder if everyone is running out of ideas. I guess that the majority of film goers who post comments to this interesting forum probably do watch loads of films and therefore can empathize with my frustration at this type of movie. The story line was so weak, the five characters needed a kick up the back-side for their obvious idiocy. The basic premise of the plot seems interesting until you realise that you the viewer have been conned once again. Perhaps people are so hooked on these ghastly reality programmes that it is no wonder that films like My little Eye are ever made in the first place. As for calling it a horror film, perhaps I am immune to this genre because I nearly fell asleep I was so bored. Rarely have I seen worse.

Secret Window (2004)

Too obvious for words unless you are daft

[11 July 2004]

I make no excuse for the fact that whatever Johnny Depp does I rate highly. He has amazing depth of character acting and each role he has ever played is different and never type cast it's therefore all the more disastrous that he should lend himself to such a predictable and very obvious narrative, that said perhaps he is the film's saving grace. Within the first quarter of an hour or so it is quite clear exactly what is happening because there are so many clues right in front of your very eyes, also if you are familiar with both the work of Stephen King and this genre of film you will guess the ending in its entirety. The opening paragraph of the book 'Secret Window'that John Shooter accuses Mort of plagiarising is a giveaway, the location of the cabin is another clue and although the films tries to build up to a climax any shock is totally eroded away by literally stacks of 'in your face' scenes and one liners. When Mort tells his minder friend that he has a witness who waved to him from his truck if you listen to what that witness actually said you will know immediately how this will all end and thus for any moderately bright person the film ends right there. All this is a great pity because the film could have been so much better given the basic premise and the acting skills of Depp. As a avid film fan of all genre I am getting mighty sick of the same stuff being churned out again and again and AGAIN. It is about time that we had some originality coming out of Hollywood. The problem is that when something as good as say Fight Club or The Sixth Sense provide us with such original and excellent endings other movie makers think that it is always a money spinner just to regurgitate the same ideas but with different actors.

To those of you who have no yet seen this film by all means give it a go if only to just admire the work of Depp but I guess you will feel somewhat cheated by feeling you have been here before.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

it's hard to do justice to this film.

[20 March 2004]

As a middle aged movie goer with extremely catholic taste I sat for over three hours in an overheated cinema and did not move a muscle during Return of the King. At the end I was in tears because it dawned on me what a phenomenal achievement I had witnessed. This is the best film that I have ever watched and there have been hundreds of all genres. The ensemble cast was perfect. All so well matched and brought together coherently for this final part of the trilogy. Sean Astin was superb as Sam Wise and I am quite annoyed that he did not get an Oscar nomination for best actor in a supporting role; perhaps others too were well deserving. Not one individual overacted nor usurped the role of another. Visually the film is stunning and without getting into the techniques of CGI I doubt if we will see its like for many, many years. Peter Jackson is a master craftsman - he is also a perfectionist and throughly deserves all the accolades and praise bestowed upon him.

I am not going to be picky and criticize the minor omissions that could not be brought to the big screen from the book because in no way does it detract from the final production. I would urge people who have not seen the first 2 films to watch then in order to appreciate the enormity of the enterprise, seen in isolation ROTK would lose a little of its impact because the characters' motivations and values have been built up throughout the other two films. Films like this do a great deal of good for the industry because they create so many jobs, encourage the fee paying public to actually go to the movies and the trilogy will become part of the great history of a wonderful art form.

The awarding of 11 Oscars for every category nominated might seem to some a little over the top and I read that many people felt that it was not worthy of so much praise, to them I say this: J.R.Tolkien himself would have been proud of the dedication and care that Jackson et al put into this amazing film. I give it 10 out of 10 unreservedly.

Seabiscuit (2003)

Sorry that this is a criticism - could have been brilliant.

[9 November 2003]

I was itching to see this film because I love racing and also this period of US history but it should have been better. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to racing fans but Gary Ross could have done a far better job, he had so much to work with. The horse was far tougher than the film shows. Seabiscuit set 13 course records on eight separate tracks over six different distances, those achievements are a gift for a movie maker and Ross did not exploit them enough. The horse was an icon of his era. There is always a danger when making films about animals that they become too sentimental or really 'cheesy', happily Ross just about avoided this although some of the humour was a bit banal. Seabiscuit was a horse that the public adored, he was like a horsey equivalent of David Beckham and again the movie did not show this. Toby Maguire is not strong enough in the role of Red Plummer, he appeared to be holding back something. This talented young actor was wasted. I thought Chris Cooper would have had a more dominant role as the trainer and yet again he too was not given enough to do with the part. Jeff Bridges was solid as always and was the least disappointing and most plausible of the human protagonists. The best part of the film without doubt are the excellent racing scenes, very well handled by Chris McCarron and Rusty Hendrickson the horse wrangler. These are as realistic as they can get and that pleased me because I felt racing people would have appreciated the care that was taken in producing such well orchestrated scenes. Go see the film, you will enjoy it but like me you will probably feel that it falls short of being a great movie, such a pity because Ross had it all there for him to put together, particularly as it is a true story. In fairness people who rarely go to the cinema but love racing will thoroughly enjoy it, but if your are like me and a bit of a purist at heart where movies are concerned there is much to criticise. Perhaps I see too many films and am being unkind or ultra fussy. I feel that all concerned wasted a wonderful opportunity to score a massive hit. This is not worthy of Oscars which is sad because for once it would be great for a real family film to scoop the awards.That said, it will do better in USA than UK because the horse was American and means so much more to the American people.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

A eulogy to a really top director

[24 October 2003]

I suppose I have seen every Eastwood film ever made. Some are a great deal better than others but surely this has to be his very best both in the role of actor and director. The character of Robert Kinkaide is so fitting for the mature Eastwood. Gone is the macho, tough icon of earlier movies and in this we see a developed whole actor at total ease with himself both in front and behind the camera. I can watch this film again and again because it is so lovely. It's a gentle film that takes the audience along with it so convincingly. There is not one moment of over acting. The narrative is believable and the ending is exactly correct. Eastwood has created a wonderful atmosphere of high summer in Iowa, you can feel that intense heat that surrounds them. The film is flawless, a rare thing. Meryl Streep, an actress whom I don't always enjoy, surpasses herself as the perfect partner for Eastwood in this movie. This is possibly the best love story that I have ever seen. There is no gushing,Hollywood sentimentality and of course no violence,course language or gratuitous sex perhaps thats why it works so well. I urge all lovers of the art of film making who have not seen this movie to watch it objectively and admire the craft of a truly great director /actor. I cannot believe anyone could criticize this film, When one thinks of some of the garbage that wins Oscars, it shows just how silly the Academy Awards can be. A film for men and women alike because I feel we can all, to some extent, identify with the two characters. Simply a masterpiece.

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Modern horror as it should be.

[14 August 2003]

Having read many of previous users comments I have noticed how polarised the views are. It is either love it or hate it. I am surprised, because FDII is what modern horror is supposed to be about. Lots of gore( this film is so gory that Ireland made it an 18 cert), plenty of shocks to make you jump and although none of the acting was Oscar winning, it was more than adequate for the genre. The film was pacier than the first and more graphic in the death scenes. My husband who I suspect is much older than your average reviewer was jumping out of his chair and said at the end "where do they get these ideas from"? He prefered FDI merely because it was less gory.

FDII is for it's genre a very good movie. It does not set out to do anything other that what it intends to do and that is deliver the gore, make you sit up and be surprised and does it all with a big tongue in cheek. These type of films are not meant to be analysed and dissected because they are not intellectual nor intelligent films but rather they are 'sit on the sofa, leave your brains behind and have a good laugh' I think the film's critics need to lighten up a little and see the film for what it is. That said, I hope they don't make FDIII that would be 'taking the mickey'.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

It was worthwhile to write about a truly good horror movie.

[8/10 · 3 January 2003]

I rarely enjoy modern horror films because they always seem to fall flat at the end. Dog Soldiers is simply the best that I have seen in a long time! The fact it was an English film made it all the more plausible. The atmosphere was perfect and the soldiers seemed so believable, almost as if they were filming a documentary at times. Sean Pertwee as the Sergeant was the archetypal leader of men and was such a contrast to the evil Captain Ryan. The werewolves were excellent, so much better than others from previous films of the same genre. I must mention that it is a very gory film, does not leave anything to the imagination - but so what, once in a while a bit of blood and guts is okay providing people know what to expect. Anyway it was not gratuitous the plot needed the gore. Go see this movie and enjoy. It is a thriller which in my view has an excellent, unforeseable ending that will not leave the audience wondering why they bothered to sit through it.

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

A scandal that the Academy did not give this best film

[22 April 2002]

I saw Romeo and Juliet at the Odeon Leicester Square, the day after the Royal Premier and from that day I was hooked on this film. I went back three times with different sets of friends just to watch it again and each time I enjoyed it more. Now owning it on DVD when I want to just feel good about films I watch it!

So much has already been written about the youth of the two young unknown stars and the chemistry that they had on screen that I don't need to repeat it now. However the key to this film's great success was that it was visually stunning, Zefferelli is the master of using colour, setting and costume to great effect. He was so clever in his casting, not just with the very handsome young Leonard Whiting who at the time when I was only 18 myself I thought was gorgeous but also the innocence of an immature Hussey was perfect. A master stroke was Milo O'Shea as Friar Lawrence, never ever has there been a better role for this talented by rarely seen Irish actor.

It's pointless complaining that the text is cut, by leaving out Romeo killing Paris and also the apothecary selling Romeo the poison in no way detracts from the overall imagery and beauty of Shakespeare's text. To have made the film using the whole text would have been too difficult and perhaps Zefferelli did want to portray Romeo as a little nicer than he actually was. In truth he was a fickle young man as all teenage boys can be and also prone to an amount of passionate violence so prevalent in adolescence. But this was Italy in Tudor times when life was cheap and the willingness to reach for the sword was as it should be.Shakespeare understood human nature better than anyone and that's why all his plays show so much insight into the human spirit.

Zefferelli balanced the film perfectly, nothing was overdone. He combined the tragedy with the humour as well as the love story by casting the right actor for each role and even if some of them faded into oblivium later, for this film they were all perfect. I never want to see another version. Baz Luhrmann's pales in comparison and thats not a bad film.

Come the Oscars I waited with baited breath having convinced myself that it would get best film - I was so disappointed!. It did collect Best Costume and I think Best Cinematography, but what a travesty, especially when the film that did win that year was not even in the same league and is hardly ever remembered. It's always very difficult to succeed with Shakespeare on the big screen but this version of Romeo and Juliet had it all. Only Kenneth Brannagh's mammoth production of the uncut version of Hamlet comes anywhere near this wonderful film.

How Nino Roto's soundtrack also missed out on an Oscar I will never understand. Footnote: Luciano Pavarotti has recorded the main love theme and it's called Ai giochi addio - it is so beautiful it will make you cry as you remember the film.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Disappointed at not seeing the movie at the cinema

[16 April 2002]

Regrettably due to restricted release in my home town, I did not get to see this movie until I purchased the DVD. Judging by many of the comments made by American movie goers I think that I have missed out.

For starters I believe that the DVD was censored which annoys me. I am an educated and intelligent adult and I abhor scenes being omitted.

This is a very complicated film and the narrative does become confusing. Visually the film is superb and I believe holds the audience well. The acting is great and I was most impressed with the girl who plays Betty, surely a star in the making. I now must watch the film alone and pick out all the things that quite obviously I missed first time.

This is a picture for those who enjoy being confused and who want to think about what they have witnessed. It's possible to interpret this film in different ways and I think that is exactly what David Lynch was driving at. He has made it deliberately this way. I did not mind the fact that there were no chapters on the DVD as I believe that the key to understanding the film is to watch it again and again in its entirety. To unlock its secrets needs a little bit of the grey matter and that's why it was not given a full release in the UK. So many movie goers here want everything on a plate and give up too easily on a difficult plot.

Similar to Memento, I would recommend Mullholland Drive to anyone who enjoys a challenge.It deserves a re-release on the big screen here. Clearly American audiences loved it as I did, perhaps they have more patience than the UK viewing public. I now want to watch Blue Velvet to make a comparison, as this is also a David Lynch movie which is highly acclaimed it would be an interesting experience.