Change Your Image
a-hilton
Reviews
Sea of Love (1989)
A case study for a thriller
For me this is one of a handful of 'perfect movies', a case study in the art of cinema, where all the elements from the script to the acting come together to make it an intriguing, clever story.
It also perfectly captures the seedy nature of the neighbourhood and characters, making it believable, with Pacino, Barkin and Goodman at their very best without overplaying it.
However it is the twists and turns of the story that are stand-out for me, keeping one guessing all the time. Even on further viewings, when you know what happens, it is still rewarding to see how the plot unfolds and is brought to an appropriate ending.
Civil War (2024)
Failed to make me care
I don't understand the hgh scores given for this film - the only thing it had going for it was the quality of acting. I think the story would have been more interesting if written from the point of view of someone involved in the war itself whether a family, a soldier, even the president.
Using journalists as the central characters failed on a number of fronts. Firstly I was not invested in them - I couldn't care whether they lived or died and I wonder why. Perhaps because they were portrayed as inhumane scavengers - there should have been some balance; somewhere they could have showcased their work rather than it appear to be just for self-gratification. Secondly they appeared to get in the way of the action to an absurd extent - again here, at the very least, the soldiers should have been encouraging them to document the battle rather than appear just to be putting up with them like flies around a picnic. Third, the almost instantaneous rise of the young girl from being naive and hopeless to usurping Kirsten Dunce in being a world renowned photographer was ridiculous.
So was this film about civil war or about the perils of journalism or about something else? There were many subjects that could have been examined more interestingly.
The action scenes were great and probably very expensive but totally wasted. The build up took far too long. Even the music seemed to be shoehorned in desparately to try and lift moments where it wasn't needed. At least the budget wasn't wasted on any inconic songs.
.
La Belle Époque (2019)
A screenplay masterpiece
I give this top marks because of the superb dialogue, screenplay and acting. I'd characterise the film as a delighfully comic romance. The translation into english subtitles (my French isn't good enough) capture perfectly the sardonic wit which together with the wistful romance is woven so smartly into each scene, cut between the characters and interwoven plotlines with absolute genius.
One of the quoted goofs on IMDB is that the song "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" is played in a re-created 1974 party - actually I'm sure that would have been as deliberate as all the other historically innaccurate references that our fake director was trying to avoid (watch the film and you will understand).
I loved the characters, brilliantly played by the actors, all of which made it a fantastic story. Watch it with your significant other...
Napoleon (2023)
A disappointing mess
There must have been people coming out of the theatre thinking 'well that's the last time I waste money on going to see something on the big screen'. There must be a lot of French cinema fans who think 'that's the last time I watch a Hollywood blockbuster'. For goodness sake Mr Scott, you have a duty to keep the multi-plexes going ! Sorry, rant over. Let's talk about why I went in not expecting much and came out even more disappointed.
Yes the reviews I'd heard suggested it was poor but that the performances were good and the battle scenes were worth watching on the big screen. Yes, Vanessa Kirkby stood out and Joaquin Phoenix gave his usual well-crafted rendition of an eccentric. But was that what the great French leader NB was actually like? Surely there had to be something in the film to explain why he rose to such a powerful position? But there was no commanding prescence, no exceptional gallantry, indeed no backstory to make us feel like he belonged there. Maybe in that requirement to make the story plausible, Phoenix was wrongly cast? No amount of him in meditation or with his eyes furrowed made him seem like he knew what he was doing and clearly at times he made some damn awful decisions.
Did the battle scenes make up for it? Alas no - they were nowhere near the level of say Gladiator. I wanted to be drawn into the action, to understand the tactics, to experience the fear and horror. Again this was lacking.
Even early on in the film when we got the notable line that was delivered by Josephine when she was sitting opposite Napoleon I had already decided it would have made a better film as a comedy. Enough said.
Saltburn (2023)
Interesting story well told
An interesting film and apparently divisive according to one critic and not-as-good-as Promising Young Women according to another (which I must now watch again).
I went into Saltburn having only seen the trailer (which I normally try and avoid) and not having any preconceptions. It was thoroughly entertaining!
The cast and performances are all tremendous and add to what is an enthralling and in some ways an unusual story. It runs with a consistently good pace, revealing many surprises (some of them almost making me want to look away), with lots of humour. It also oozes style and substance, which for me was central to the poor-meets-rich story that unfolds. Finally, the entire story arc, the structure, and the direction were all just about perfect, makng it seem a lot shorter than it actually was.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Terrific fun
Very entertaining, funny and thought provocating film. An interesting ending as well which is very well explained by some and which I won't spoil here. There are scenes of utter hilarity, all the more so because they don't feel like they are being acted. I would watch Woody Harrelson in any comedy and here he fits the role perfectly as indeed do all the actors.
Some of the characters and plots seem to build very slowly and yet I think this works well in creating the canvas and characters for the story.
It basically shows us the juxtapositions of beauty, wealth, power and servitude via a cinematic tale that is unique amd absorbing.
The Creator (2023)
I fell asleep
On the face of it (excuse the irony here) this was an interesting premise and a prescient what-if take on the debate about the future of AI. The story also suited the full range of film-making technology that was used to craft the final product. The human face on a robot idea was one of the few original ideas in how robots might be depicted.
However as the scenes unfolded I found myself constantly ticking off the Sci Fi films that had been copied. But the biggest problem I had was with the structure of the film which switched too frequently from back-story to poignant-moment to all-out-battle-scene to etc etc and I just got bored with it (hence why I fell asleep). Oh, and did I say it was also too predictable?
So in summary, an hour too long, over-written and over-produced. I can think of better ways to spend $80million.
Gran Turismo (2023)
A documentary would have been so much better
It's a great story that deserves to be told - but not in this way, please! I have to admit that both people I watched this with at the cinema enjoyed the film. I unfortuntely didn't for seveal reasons. Yes the cars were great and the acting was okay but the script and direction were a big disappointment. There was overuse of cliches and exposition (oh let's just make sure the viewers understand what we mean by a 24 hour race - it takes place during the day and night...)
It missed so much of what makes racing really interesting for me as a petrolhead - the build up to a race, the comparison of the cars, the qualifying, the mechanical mishaps etc. Not even the crashes properly explored pain and suffering. It tried to cover too many elements of the story and failed to properly engage me in any of them.
Barbie (2023)
Had me smiling all the way through
Okay maybe it was a 9.5 because of two flaws: First was the Will Ferrell character and his board that made their point but then became superfluos. Second was that it is definitely not a kids' movie (although maybe they would see things that I didn't - I mean to be fair, the few kids in the theatre were well behaved so perhaps the movie got their full attention as well).
But why did I enjoy it? Simply amazing visuals, Margot Robbie looked flawlessly gorgeous and played it perfectly. Ryan Gosling was also brilliant in this. Great music, great pacing and then there was the script. There were a lot of messages in this film that trod a tightrope between pithy, ironic, sarcastic and cliched. But I reckon they just about managed it which, considering the subject matter, was quite an accomplishment. I will need to see it a second time to check whether the messages were balanced and as meaningful as they were meant to be but I hope that women were as upbeat about it as i was. Overall, on an enjoyment level alone, it deserves its high score from me.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Wish I'd left half way through
What a dreadful dogs dinner of a movie this was - an hour too long, too much mawkish sentimentality, too many scenes where a character had to explain what was going to happen next, too much miraculous recovery from serious injury, etc. Then towards the end, when we'd been bombarded with an overdose of explosions and killing, pretty much all the characters started shouting at each other.
And why so many scenes that seemed to be written for five years olds followed by so many freakish almost nightmarish animal mutations? The film just became ever more ridiculous and stupid to the point where it was just plain irritating.
If this is the last one in the Guardian series then it's definitely one too many.
IMDb on the Scene - Interviews: Bones and All (2022)
No enjoyment to be found in this
I gave it two marks thanks to the excellent acting and the intersting opening premise. But where did it go after that? I wanted to see a horror film because I like to be entertained with suspense, fear, shocks, hopelessness, etc. But all the film delivered instead was just revulsion while at the same time trying to play out a love story against a slow, atmospheric background. At least I think that was the idea? Either way, it didn't work for me - it just wasn't engaging or interesting enough. This is particularly disappointing, considering I am trying to support our local cinema which is dying on knees. Sorry but must do better.
SAS Rogue Heroes (2022)
i wanted more
The production of this series was as good as many of the best epic cinema experiences - great scenery, brilliant night club sequences and fantastic acting. I would have to single out Jack O'Connell for his portrayal of such an extreme uncompromising character - so believable and inspiring.
I don't know to what extent females will enjoy the series but it certainly painted the picture of what a hero is.
Some of the bigger special effects and use of green screens were just noticeable (not surprising considering this was a TV series) but this didn't detract at all from the story. It was perfectly paced, the music was well chosen and I definitely wanted more than just six episodes.
Yesterday (2019)
A great reminder of the quality and depth of the Beatles catalogue
I really liked this film. It's maybe not an original idea to imagine life as if something had never existed but this film reminded me of what incredible music the Beatles created and hopefully introduced their back catalogue to a new audience.
The casting of Himesh Patel in the lead role was inspired and Ed Sheeran's role was a huge plus for me as well. A great story, well told and superbly scripted.
Tenet (2020)
Very disappointed
It was great to be back in a packed cinema where i paid extra for the IMAX experience of this film. What a letdown! Right from the start the sound was terrible, making it very difficult to understand the dialogue which didn't help in trying to understand a very convoluted story. The basic premise is interesting enough but I believe there is far too much focus on the big action sequences for it's own good. Yes some of the scenery and cinematography are fantastic but they seem to be there just for the sake of it and actually detract from the story line. There are clumsy attempts at both the beginning and the end to explain how the plot works but the middle 90% is just loud noise and confusion. I can't even see myself watching it again in order to work out what is going on in each of the scenes. Over-hyped and very dissatisfying..
Long Shot (2019)
Good fun
I was aware of the initial premise of this film which turned into an excellent comedy with some original laugh out loud moments - great writing and well acted. Indeed I am not usually a fan of the films with Seth Rogen but in this he was absolutely spot-on. There was stuff they could have made more of and plot plot points where I wondered if it was going in the right direction but happily it all pulled together. If only politics was like this in real-life .
A Simple Favor (2018)
It was trying to be a good movie and then totally failed
This film is a good reminder to me of why I can't rely on average ratings. I uttered my view of the film as it was ending - perhaps a little harshly - but I felt I had been cheated. Why ? Because it starts off as a good premise, is well acted and has some really good dialogue. But then as it approached the halfway point it couldn't decide if it was a comedy or a whodunnit. It then gave up on both aims and become totally stupid and preposterous - leaving me wondering why I wasted two hours of my life watching it. Don't they have read-throughs / test screenings etc ? They should have called me - I would have been happy to help steer this mess into something worthwhile. What a waste of everyone's time and money. yes i am still annoyed.
1917 (2019)
My thanks to Sam Mendes for a fantastic piece of work
It is easy to give this a perfect score - a hugely enjoyable piece of theatre that I couldn't fault and which was made for watching on a big screen. It was an extraordinary piece of work and all credit to those involved in putting it together.
I thought the film got the balance between the narrative, action, drama and emotion just right.
I will add a footnote on my frustration with trailers however which fortunately I didn't see for 1917. The trailer for this film apparently gives away some of the vital plot points which will spoil it - in fact I try hard to avoid any trailers of films I am interested in seeing. I know they tend to be put together by the marketeers rather than the directors which is a real shame when they reveal too much.
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
Even better
I thought the first movie was very good, an original take on the zombie genre, so I wasn't expecting too much from this sequel. However I thought Double-Tap surpassed it, delivering a fresh script, new laughs and additional characters, while still retaining the warmth of the love-hate friendship from the main four leads. The gore treads a fine line between being gratuitous and comic but never takes itself too seriously so that you are never confused about the essence of the film. There is some great comedy, delivered by some fine likeable performers, just keeping the right side of absurd. Definitely a film I could watch again.
The Day Shall Come (2019)
Good basis for the story
I was interested in seeing this film after watching the trailer. The supposition that the FBI would apparently entrap hapless criminals into acts of terrorism, that actually turn out out to be harmless, is a great idea for the story.
However I would question whether the characters are perhaps too stupid and silly to be taken seriously and not silly enough to get more laughs. It also took a while to get going with the most enjoyable scenes in the second half.
It fell short of my expectations although was worth watching overall.
Joker (2019)
The Anti-Superhero
An incredible performance by Joaquin Pheonix who expertly brings to life a character that was very difficult to like yet is compelling to watch.
The story nicely flows through the key events in the Joker's life that drive his insanity and make him question his place in a dystopian world. We feel pity for him, we feel the injustice and we squirm knowing there will be a consequence to his anger.
While the film neatly introduces the threads to the Batman story it can also stand alone as a story of human suffering. It's a tough story but the characters and narrative make it very enjoyable film to watch. It is the anti-superhero film without gadgets and without gimmicks.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
Okay it's only John Wick but Wow !
I enjoyed the first two JWs and as is usual with such franchises the first is usually the best. However this film did not disappoint and even though it was mainly a collection of fight sequences, it took them to a new level of choreography and originality. All of the actors but especially Reeves and Berry deserve enormous praise for the time and effort that they must have put into these action scenes. Fantastic fun ! Bring on number 4...
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Could have been much better
I confess I am not an Avengers fan having missed much of the franchise since Iron Man. However as preparation for my trip to the cinema to see Endgame I thought I would catch up on the story by watching Infinity War and Ragnarok. I actually enjoyed both of these a lot more than Endgame. It promised to be quite a spectacle and the scale of the action sequences didn't disappoint. Some of the personal stories of the characters were also introduced quite well into the film. However unlike the simpler story lines of the previous two films as mentioned I think they tried just too hard with Endgame. Too many pieces of the plot thrown into the story just made it overwhelming and took the shine off what would otherwise have been a good conclusion.
The Perfection (2018)
It had promise but went downhill
I was intrigued enough by the trailer to invest time in this film and the first half an hour showed great promise. The locations, music and interactions between the characters were nicely drawn although we always knew there was going to be an undercurrent of horror which would emerge at some point. Once the story got into its nastier side it quickly got to the point where one wondered how it would resolve itself. Unfortunately that is where it fell down with the introduction of themes that I felt were misplaced and unnecessary. I think the film would have worked better if it had been written around the relationship between the two girls without any of the horror elements.
Welcome to Marwen (2018)
A gem of a movie
I rarely rate films this high but in this case myself and my partner both thought it was a fantastic film. It was intriguing and hard to see where it was going at the start but then the story carefully and thoughtfully unfolded. I guess it was a difficult story to tell yet was accomplished in a very imaginative and sensitive way with superb acting, especially from Steve Carell. If you have a little patience and a romantic streak then you must watch this and ignore the critics.
Wind River (2017)
Enjoyable but Flawed
Four of us watched this together after which we had a fairly balanced dissection of the film including the role of women in the film. Although it (just) passed the Bechdel test there was a needless shot of bare flesh as titillation yet the background story is supposedly focused on the injustice towards native american women. Indeed it states this misleadingly in the ending credits whereas the film is actually told from the point of view of the hunter played by Jeremy Renner.
Also it seemed that the FBI agent, played by Elizabeth Olsen, was inserted as the female interest in much the same way that the director used Emily Blunt in Sicario.
So even though we felt the film misrepresented itself, the central story was still very interesting and compelling to watch.