douglasr Reviews

Straight Outta Benoni (2005)

Some good, but doesn't quite cut it...

[3/10 · 23 April 2006]

The movie is about two South African chaps, living in the suburban limbo that many young South Africans find them in a post-Apartheid era where Affirmative Action has cut their options down. The actors are mostly accomplished at their art, the cinematography is quite good, but the script and editing lets the whole thing down. Although supposed to be a comedy, the chuckles can be counted on one hand. Wry smiles are the best that I could generate. Extensive use of slow motion slows the movie down to a crawl at times, and it somehow never gets going. This may be deliberate, reflecting the lives of our protagonists who also never seem to get going, but it does not compel the viewer used to fast paced Hollywood action.

Low budget? Definitely. But low budget is a challenge to film makers, and should not be a death knell.

On the bright side, their are no cheap politically correct themes, and no pie-in-the-face scenes a la Schuster to get cheap ratings.

A huge pity that the actor who plays Brett was recently killed in a senseless killing. This will probably give the movie undeserved cult status. Judged on it's own merits, it does not deserve cult status.

Hit Me (2005)

Bad. Really bad. Really really bad.

[1/10 · 26 February 2006]

I sometimes pick brilliant movies when I stray away from the main stream. This time, I didn't.

The editing is sleep inducing, the plot leaves you wondering, the locations suck, everything about this movie screams "low budget". A low budget shouldn't be a reason to avoid a movie, but this stinker makes it so obvious. Example - the "mansion" where the load shark lives looks like anybody's back yard...

I honestly think the blonde actress who played the lead female character turned up thinking that she was auditioning for a blue movie - that surely is the only type of role that she would normally be cast in.

Avoid it, at all cost.

Insomnia (2002)

Very human character - Possible Spoilers

[7 April 2004]

I read a lot of the reviews, and I must say I see a slightly different Detective Dormer than most other reviewers.

To me, the first clue to Dormer's self image is the interview with the teenage kid, when he gives a typical cop speech along the lines of "You can fool your mom, but you can't fool me - I'm way ahead of you and never wrong". We the audience cheer, because we believe in the infallibility of the character created by Pacino. Then, as the movie progresses, more clues are dropped our way, but we continue to root for Dormer because he seems to be less worried about his own career and more worried about the fact that his credibility as a cop is what put a lot of bad guys in prison. Should the internal affairs investigation undermine his integrity, these bad guys will be released and all Dormer's life work will be null and void. In Dormer's view, the IA investigator who is on Dormer's track is merely doing it to further his own career, and is a burocrat getting in the way of real police work.

But then the final piece of the riddle falls in place. Dormer planted evidence to convict a man who he felt to be a killer. Think about it: How the hell could he have "known" that this guy was the killer? Who does he think he is? God? So, is the IA investigator maybe the unlikely good guy here in this sub plot?

True, Dormer did not do what he did for his own advancement - he clearly believed in what he did. While being concerned about being caught out, his only concern is that people who he feels to be killers will be released. However, we must ask ourselves the question: "Do I want this guy being a cop in my town?" Yes, he will be very effective in putting away bad guys, but what if he decides that I am the bad guy, because he thinks he can see into my soul?

All of the above is very subtle, maybe I am seeing something that is not there, but isn't this the genius of director and actor working in such close harmony that all of the above is available for our own discovery, and not rammed down our throats?

Brilliant movie.

Osmosis Jones (2001)

What was that?

[11 December 2003]

This movie is once again evidence that cocaine abuse is rife in Hollywood. Why make a movie like this anyway? Was it supposed to be educational, entertaining, comment on society or what?

Bill Murray does what Bill Murray does. Archtypical slob he does well, but what else can he do?

Worst movie I have seen in years.