nat_mann Reviews

Giri/Haji (2019)

One of the best things I've ever seen on TV.

[10/10 · 28 May 2020]

I really enjoyed this. It's the story of a Japanese policeman whose missing brother was a yakuza gangster. He gets information that his brother may be alive and hiding in London and he goes there to find out. Most of the dialog is in English, there are some scenes in Japanese with subtitles. Very well acted, extremely well written with well developed characters with both virtues and flaws. This is not a stamped out police flick; a lot of thought went into writing it. The eight episode format allows the characters and their backstories to be well developed. The use of music and graphics is extremely well done. Very entertaining. There's a scene in the last episode that demonstrates the main character's deep and deeply conflicted feelings towards the other characters in a way that was both beautiful and a complete surprise. I didn't see it coming, but I was sure glad I saw it.

*Highly* recommended. Don't miss it.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Ho hum

[6/10 · 29 June 2015]

The pluses: Beautifully filmed, great cast, Charlotte Le Bon is especially adorable.

The big minus: Thoroughly, utterly, relentlessly predictable from the beginning to the I-can't-wait-until-it-ends.

There are a few odd language moments, but that's to be expected in a film set in France but filmed in English. The food looks terrific, the countryside is gorgeous, but everything that happens is either predictable in advance or is telegraphed in headline letters. It would have been improved by some comedy, some wit, some action, some surprise, some anything.

Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)

Could have been good, but......

[3/10 · 27 June 2011]

This movie promises to be great but fails to deliver. Julia Ormond is gorgeous and her character is intriguing. It starts out as a tight suspenseful thriller, but comes completely unraveled at the end. A lot is made of Smilla's knowledge of snow but it's only used once. She has a deep interest in mathematics that is not used at all except to make a neat little speech about numbers.

The film becomes implausible towards the end and the finale must have been grafted on from a tawdry B science fiction movie. I can't remember a more ludicrous explanation in any movie ever. Very disappointing after the good start.

The Black Windmill (1974)

Just awful.

[2/10 · 25 May 2011]

Implausible plot. Cheesy special effects. One of the worst acted films I have ever seen. Stand wooden faced, then scowl and shout. Over and over. Given the caliber of the actors and since they were all doing it, I have to blame the director. Unwatchable. I gave it a two because it was not actively offensive, just really, really bad.

-------------

"And wasn't that Richard Attenborough playing the jeweler visited by the two men from New Scotland Yard"

I thought the exact same thing. It was the highlight of the movie. Too bad he wasn't in the rest of the movie. He must have read the script.

Knowing (2009)

If I had only known......

[2/10 · 6 July 2010]

that this movie was a complete waste of time. I was tempted to turn it off after 45 minutes and by the end wished I had. I can't believe how awful it was. It's as if the movie was shot directly from the concept pitch without an actual script. Nothing makes sense, nothing ties together, it's all just "scary" shots then a big ending that must have come from a different movie. It's a feeble attempt at a spooky movie with a quasi sci-fi ending tacked on. The only amusement value was recognizing which other movie the current shot was ripped off from. There's a bit from Close Encounters. There's something right out of Armageddon. Snore.

I gave it two stars because it's not actively offensive. Otherwise it would have gotten less.

Scoop (2006)

Well, it didn't stink

[4/10 · 24 August 2006]

This may well be Woody Allen's best comedy in years, but that only shows just how far his comedies have sunk recently. It had a few good chuckles, but it's hard to believe that this is the same guy who came up with comedic gems like "Purple Rose of Cairo", "Annie Hall", "Play it Again, Sam", "Manhattan", etc, etc. Those films were not only far funnier, but they had clever premises and/or real insights into people. I am a big Woody Allen fan, but this bit of lightweight fluff just doesn't measure up. At least it was better than "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" which was the all time low point of Woody's career. At least I certainly hope it was.

SPOILER: When Jackman tossed Johansson in the lake, where did she hide where he couldn't see her while he was rowing ashore? Can she hold her breath underwater for five minutes?