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Reviews
Out of Africa (1985)
the tragedy of not being rewarded for your efforts
great classic film. if you haven't watched be sure to do so
the film surprised me w the frankness of some of the issues it dealt with given that the film was made in 1985 - it wasn't simply a costume drama in beautiful landscape photography
while watching I simply marveled at Meryl's range & career
rather sad the tragic life of Karen Blixen who tried so hard but was not rewarded for her efforts
Fortunately the film was rewarded for its efforts! so Blixen got her dues in the end and we shared in her struggle.
moral of the story is write it down
Pollack coats the harshness w romanticism
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
bold casting choices
very entertaining and bold in its casting choices!
going in I was skeptical about whether Michael Douglas could portray Liberace - but he nailed it! often its hard for these big stars to be able to loose their 'star' identity while acting (for eg Tom Cruise hasn't acted in years, he basically does 'Tom Cruise' in all his films) ... with this film, the casting was so left field that I truly forgot that I was watching Matt Damon & Michael Douglas and they became the characters, which is a amazingly refreshing for the actors themselves. There were also a swathe of famous male actors in minor roles : for eg the moment Rob Lowe appeared on screen and every time he appeared on screen with the plastic surgery face, this really cracked up the audience ... Its a very entertaining film and a historic film for Hollywood, in that the casting of big stars in the film has led to the mainstreaming of the world of gay sugar daddies
Blood Diamond (2006)
Dicaprio's bad accent
good script great concept great cinematography succinct directing/editing top production logistics etc
the filmmakers made a valiant attempt to translate the strife of Africa for an American audience and I think they did a good job : its difficult translating such complex developing world issues for the broad indulged masses of the '1st world'
but Dicaprio has let the team down with his BAD poor effort of an ACCENT - he didn't study enough! its a terrible accent that distracts from the integrity of the story and the centred performances delivered by Djimon and the African actors ... Dicaprio does a good subtle job in the emotional reveal scene with Jennifer, its the scene where he's most focused ... but the quavering accent is distracting in the other parts of the film : he delivers the typical performance thats expected of a Hollywood blockbuster actor ... but its not Daniel Day Lewis 100%
I don't know why Dicaprio can't seem to shake the California crispness from his voice, he really needs to work on the consistency of this if he wants to develop as an actor - its an OK acting effort but not brilliant (about 70% there but its not Daniel Day Lewis who sets the benchmark of 100% commitment and homework on accents) ... to Dicaprio's credit he is doing a better job than many other 'actors' like Tom Cruise or Russell Crowe (who have so long ago lost their 'acting' ability : instead they sign a contract for millions, turn up on set, stroll in front of the camera and blankly recite a few lines)
which is a pity, because this film deserves better
so I give the Filmmaking team an 9/10 but Dicaprio only a 7/10
Red Eye (2005)
the eyes have them
great lil exercise in tension, the film is held together by the performances of the 2 leads ... and Murphy's eyes: the eyes that have won him roles as many a famed supervillain
the ending though is a flaky cop out of what was a tight exercise in Directing and Performance ... an exercise bec most of the film is set in that one location, the airplane seats ... so, really the success of the film showcases the Directing/Acting. Great eg of how relatively low budget can reap Hollywood box office results
as mentioned in previous reviews, it does have an air of Hitchcock about it : I give it an 8 for an exercise in tension on a budget, well done.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
the title is the very crux
I was delighted at the craft of Hallstrom's directing : he's created a hybrid film that combines poetry and comedic entertainment ... and is accessible enough for a global commercial audience across age groups/gender while still serving enough British specific wit to entertain Anglophones : I marveled at his craft of keeping the film even keeled, this could so easily have fallen to one side as sentimental cultural exploitation or it could've become far too British-wit specific which would have lost an international market (as they wouldn't understand the frames of reference)
initially I wasn't going to watch this film as the concept seemed a bit too fanciful ... but I'm glad I did : because the preposterousness of the very title is rather poetically echoed as the very crux of the story ... which is beauty in and of itself ... Wonderful film to watch on the big screen with the sweeping landscapes : definitely a film to watch on the big screen
... so hats off to Hallstrom
The Queen of Sheba's Pearls (2004)
Director's challenge in the final finesse
... there are so many good things in this film and yet the film doesn't shine as it should! ... essentially due to issues with Script and Directing
this film rambles ... the script could have benefited from a good prune and reshaping, it feels like a film adapted from a book though its not ... there are parts of the film that work and other parts which feel awkward/too melodramatic
I'm frustrated with films like this : bec its evident in the production values that all the Departments brought their A Game : production design, the costumiers, the actors, the lighting, the greens, the Camera dept, the music, the sound etc etc ... ALL the departments are top notch EXCEPT the Director ... to make films of this complexity requires an incredible Producer ... and I fear that often perhaps the Director may get so lost micro managing that they slip from being the top notch visionary General in command ...
so in this case, what would have been best for this production is to bring in a Director that matches the calibre of the troops
however Wikipedia advises that this was impossible for this production as " The movie was produced, directed and written by Colin Nutley who also happens to be married to the film's star, Helena Bergström" : great pity ... in hindsight I'd advise somehow working in more objectivity and separation... its a very pretty film but too jumbled
really a film like this holds such promise with the elements glowing ... they just needed the Director to weave them with the objectivity of a knife! what a pity