mahonyjohn-02199 Reviews

American Honey (2016)

American Honey Monster :Show me the Money Mummy

[10/10 · 31 July 2017]

In a post Thatcher/Reagan era which seemed to pin point a generational shift in the U.K.into an age when individual materialism became an accepted lifestyle , how refreshing it is to see a U K socialist realist perspective on that part of this generation born in America , however . A film out of the stable which has evolved via television and "shameless"/"breaking bad" character drama. "American Honey" is real cinematic quality, with characters and a mis en scene that offers no simple solutions; thus, a home and family loving truck driver is seen to be earning money driving animals ,packed in a wagon, to the abattoir; the lead character pees in the grass and pulls up her trousers while gazing over an American landscape of iconic beauty. There is no one who is genuinely villainous, and no one who is truly heroic perfection.There is just the fight to survive, materially, culturally, mentally in a free enterprise American society of inequality , Mexican walls, Bible Belts,meth addict mothers, Donald Trump, lost truths, love,natural wonders,oil fields,and maybe an American Dream.

Breakdown (I) (2016)

God help us

[1/10 · 4 July 2017]

I watch the new British films emerging from a generation of filmmakers trained in the language of Hollywood realism and soaps and TV detectives/villains and wonder if anyone who gets involves in making cinema like this realises what a waste it all is..same terrible copies of every other kind of cliché/stereotype/scene structure/shot style/music soundtrack that has been a massive bore time and again. Dreadful script, appalling characterisation,violence,lots of blood,gore,and for what ? For no one to see it in a cinema,or anywhere else with luck, all for the sake of making "a film".Those who made this should be ashamed .....when there are so many ordinary people's lives in Britain totally ignored by mainstream media, hidden behind crap like this so called film.

The Lesson (2015)

No,no,no,no......

[3/10 · 19 December 2016]

Have read a lot about this film and it's independent, creative,thoughtful persona. Has a docudrama / realist heart , getting down there to the "real"people on the council estates with all these problems (mostly via male emotional betrayal and bullying) that lead to classic alienation from education, culture, love, and playing a positive role in a society (in this film unmentioned in terms of poverty, economic exploitation and inequality). Thus, the effect on the cultured, educated English teacher of these ill cultured crude schoolboys who disrupt and abuse him in his classes is for him to become a vicious, psychotic kidnapper and murderer. And thus rescuing the working class laddo and lassie from their grimness, lifting them into a chocolate box cottage life of Oxbridge culture. Arty rubbish is how I felt watching this mish mash of styles and ideas. This film reminded me of the gymnasium scene from Andersons' "If" where the rebel Mick is beaten into submission and then has to shake the hand of his establishment bully.

Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (2013)

As near perfection in a film as it's possible to get

[10/10 · 20 November 2016]

This film manages to interlace culture,politics,and the complexities of being a human being in a story based on real events and people.Its a long time since I have seen a piece of cinema crafted at such a complete level . Fascism and Catholicism in Spain provide the backdrop for a character based drama which explores a clash of cultures in the Sixties and the compromises ordinary people make to survive. But this film is not 'Salo' or 'The Travelling Players'. It uses a realist style and characterisation to develop its themes of personal freedom of actions and ideas. Within a traditional realist,narrative structure it reminded me what such a style of film making can say as art ...and us..... if it can get distribution .And that says something about how we have used those freedoms in the twenty first century.....inundated with entertainment technology that is all ideologically similar ............maybe a modern kind of fascism ?

The Quiet Hour (2014)

Mad Straw Bogs

[1/10 · 28 October 2016]

As I watched this mixture of clichés,stereotypes and costume characters from assorted other films I was just thankful that I had not attended the various film festivals that had selected this film as an entry. If there is an independent film that gives the title "independent" a bad name it is this one. And the positive reviews ? One wonders if there is an attempt by friends or professional "others" to sell films like this via review systems . What film festival selection committee could select this film as sci fi ? Or as independent....the very nature of this kind of cinema is an attempt to produce cinema which is outside the mainstream, not just in production/distribution , but in cinematic styles and/or content/themes....but also offering an attempt at originality. The Quiet Hour offers none, and as such is horribly depressing in that so many festivals, and those who promote such a concoction of stereotypes, represent poor respect for the real wealth that cinema has to offer...

The Finest Hours (2016)

How special effects and Hollywood undermine human kind

[3/10 · 24 October 2016]

A wide screen overwhelming ,popcorn crunching entertainment extravaganza that blasts the visual and aural senses.Watching the cgi effects reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean and the special effects presentations at Disneyworld. All the money spent on sfx etc ,the Hollywood stars,the subtle lighting(even in the middle of a dark,raging storm) and the symphonic,emotive music score demonstrate the failure of such high production value "cinema" to deal with the true bravery and spirit of characters taken from real life. There is another way. A history of cinema which has included Visconti,Loach,Anderson,and so many more.....The Finest Hours is not what it says on the film can. Just another special effects Hollywood blockbuster as far away from the real world as ever.

Stations of the Cross (2014)

Not About Reality of Our Times

[8/10 · 22 October 2016]

The construction of this film perfectly demonstrated the integration of form and content with its division into chapters reflecting the stations of the cross.The use of single shot sequences attempted to complete this structure with a fly on the wall technique reflecting the realist script/acting style. A recording of the effects on a young girl of religious extremism. Where I found a shortfall in the film was in the use of such extreme belief in modern Europe.No doubt there are many such believers,whether Christian,Muslim,Jewish or any other religion. But it is in the ordinary, everyday influence of the church that ,it seems to me, most influence is seen and bypassed in drama because it is not so viable for dramatic usage in film/television. For example, the values taught in schools and reinforced in mainstream media as norms for being a "good" or "successful" member of society can have severe effects on young people,and throughout life. For mainstream writers/media the ordinary is a no go area.And yet it is here that millions and millions of people live in a world inhabited by, and constructed out of , religious belief. My criticism of this film,then, is that it suffered the fate of the story teller..be it soap opera on the Telly or film for the pictures....."make it dramatic...go for the extreme...the real world is too mundane".

Lost in Karastan (2014)

Lost in integrity

[1/10 · 17 October 2016]

An international co production, large crew,another 'film'to add to the personal credits . This film has a couple of interesting,what might have been,sequences, but it has no moral cinematic , creative or political heart.Instead it is the sum of itself. A movie about the exploitation of film by a dictator schooled in the age of public relations and self power.And that is what the film is for the makers themselves.A shrine to self indulgence, no thought,no heritage; a laugh with a budget that could have gone somewhere worthwhile.But no doubt the script was pitched professionally,the p.r. on the ball, the funding opportunities researched and proprieties followed to the letter. This film is an icon to an age of cinema resume writing, another DVD or cable TV notch on the "film maker" www./Facebook /IMDb bed post of empty consumerism.

Don't Blink (2014)

Blink blank

[4/10 · 20 September 2016]

Human existence and the inevitability of non existence...the ultimate ax killer in the cupboard slashing around with no mind or reason....Good concept as a movie, but poorly conceived by the makers. I watched this and imagined what Bunuel or Pasolini could do with this production team had there been a mind to create rather than follow the norms of Hollywood. Drama relied too much on music, and the characters Stereotypes. Major flaw , to me anyway, was lack of cultural,social,political context. This left the movie empty of a generic soul. And more cans gathering dusk on film archive shelves ready to fill the commercial screens of cable horror channels many years hence.

Honeytrap (2014)

only half a job done

[5/10 · 30 August 2016]

Read the good reviews but found the film stylistically confusing.sometimes a true life TV discovery channel reconstruction ,sometimes a TV melodrama with way too much use of music ,and on occasions a drama documentary with the camera and sound just hanging around. Lead actress held it all together with a spectacularly varied and deep

range of facial expressive work. Hated to be disappointed . Needed a more cultural base to give it heart in a community. And more cinematic approach ..too much use of music to emphasise emotionally what we should see within the shots and structure...and too many Dream sequences from the lead character which are an easy way out to character development...needed to come from within the character and/or mis en scene.