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matthew.hayes
Reviews
Flashforward (2009)
Interesting idea
I saw the UK trailer for this in a cinema before the excellent District 9. Looked interesting in a Lost sort of way so I decided to catch the first episode.
Not bad. Although the characters so far seemed a bit stereotypical and two-dimensional compared with (say) Lost they may well develop over the series. What I found most interesting was the plot playing with the idea of predestination (with a small P). At one stage the hero's daughter presents him with a friendship bracelet she's made for him. The very same bracelet featured in the hero's flash forward in what is possibly an unpleasant context. You can see the hero momentarily toying with the idea of refusing the bracelet but, in the end, he doesn't feel able to do so.
Parallels with Lost are clear (how on earth is a kangaroo going to escape and make its way to downtown LA in just over two minutes??) but I'm hoping that the fact that it is adapted from a novel will keep it more tightly focused.
Pusher (1996)
A Danish Mean Streets?
The life of a mid-level, Danish drug pusher falls apart over the course of a week.
It's nowhere near as good as its main influence, Mean Streets. For example, it lacks Scorsese's touch with a good sound-track - generally there's nothing in the Pusher other than normal background sounds and what music there is is what's playing on the radio. That's not to say that this isn't a good film in its own right, however.
The characters are generally convincing and well-rounded and, like Scorsese's movie, Pusher gives you the illusion that you understand what it would be like to live the life of these low-level criminals. Lots of hanging around in cars and sleazy bars. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic but as things go from bad two worse fro Frank, the main character, you begin to share his stress.
Some fairly graphic violence, but surprisingly little drug taking and no sex.
Say Anything... (1989)
Three characters in search of a plot.
I'm a great fan of high school movies and of the Cusacks but this movie left me underwhelmed.
The problem is, that although it makes an admirable attempt to round out the three main characters (Lloyd, Diane and her Dad) it does so at the expense of the plot.
Let's face it, there's nothing to the plot other than the traditional boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again and, within this framework, everything that happens is almost completely predictable.
There are all sorts of potentially interesting supporting characters (especially Lloyd's sister played by the uncredited Joan Cusack)but nothing is made of them.
So, not bad exactly, just a little ho-hum. If you haven't seen it already watch "The Sure Thing" instead.
Match Point (2005)
Double Fault (very minor spoiler)
Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful.
I just cannot understand the positive reaction to this one.
The very sub Ripley plot degenerated completely in the last fifteen minutes, with the pretension of the Dostovesky/opera references matched only by the awfulness of the actors playing the police and the total implausibility of their investigation (why didn't they just look at the victim's mobile phone call list?)
Unlike many, I thought Jonathan Rhys-Meyer's performance as the social climbing Ripley (woops, Chris Wilton) was OK in a part made for a young Malcolm McDowell.
Added a star for good photography and good use of London locations. Otherwise nothing really positive to say.
If this is a return to form by Woody Allen, I'm glad I haven't seen any of his recent movies.
It Happened Here (1964)
Spoiled by the ending
It Happened Here starts off stunningly, perfectly recreating a newsreel/fly on the wall documentary style with convincing recreations of German occupation and naturalistic acting.
Warning, possible spoiler
As the plot develops, however, it introduces a "need to use fascist methods to overcome fascism" theme that is clumsily handled until, in the unconvincing ending, the anti-Nazi partisans are made out to be every bit as loathsome as their enemies. An oh so typically 60s cynical twist that arguably insults the real wartime resistance groups in Europe.
Gladiator (2000)
Nice effects, shame about the bits in-between
The gladiator scenes were, of course, stunning, it's just a shame that the movie tries too hard to be "I Claudius" in-between. By the second or third scene with the Emperor we know that he's thoroughly evil so we don't need it to be re-emphasised again and again. I'd replace some of those scenes with a really good chariot race!
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Slow? Yes; Boring? No
One of the most visually beautiful movies I have ever seen, the Sheltering Sky really captures the awe and the occasional fear of travelling light in a completely alien land.
Add to that a closing voice over that really said something new about life and you have a minor classic. Be warned, however, that there are no explosions, no car chases and very little violence... also the Sudanese(?) people and society are painted with a great deal of affection and empathy so anybody looking for a racist portrayal of villainous Arabs will be disappointed.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Shame about the ending
For the first hour or so this is an atmospheric horror film with a nice mixture of Hammer chills and policework. The climax, however, degenerates into depressing, Hollywood F/X heavy, excess. Exploding windmills? Why???
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Why so stylised?
I saw this film again recently after a gap of more than 25 years. First time around I thought it was brilliant; this time around I'm not so sure...
Of course the camerawork, music and choice of locations are as brilliant and the story as chilling as I remembered it. What struck me second time around, however, was how weird most of the acting is. The crippled writer and the probation officer, to take the two most obvious examples, act in a way that seems so unnaturalistic as to appear extremely bad by normal acting standards. Given Kubrik's legendary control-freak tendencies as a director I assumed that this was deliberate stylisation, perhaps designed deliberately to alienate the audience.
After I saw "Eyes Wide Shut", however - another film not exactly blessed with great dramatic performances - I wonder if the answer is somewhat simpler. Perhaps Kubrik was so tied up with the camerawork etc. that he simply overlooked the quality of the acting?
Candyman (1992)
Superior Horror
Clive Barker's short story is successfully transported from a run-down British housing estate to a run-down Chicago housing estate... The Candyman himeslf could so easily have been made into another Freddy Kruger but instead has been given a certain dignity... you can almost feel sorry for him. Like many of Barker's "monsters" he can be bargained with but you may not quite get what you expected.
More slickly made than Hellraiser but lacking that films sense of decadence. Well worth seeing nevertheless... 8/10
Falling Down (1993)
A wasted opportunity
This is a film with a seriously split personality. Deep down in its core there's an interesting movie about how the stresses of everyday life drive a man over the edge and how little incidents of violence can escalate into major ones. Unfortunately these interesting themes are swamped by the violence and misogyny designed to appeal to the worst prejudices of the audience.
The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972)
Interesting but flawed
The Possession of Joel Delaney is an interesting member of the genre of "realistic" supernatural horror films that includes "The Exorcist" and "Rosemary's Baby". Unfortunately it is marred in my opinion by some poor acting particularly (and surprisingly) from Shirley MacLaine.
It's worth hanging on until the ending, however, because (without wishing to give the plot away) it could be seen as an early prototype for "Funny Games".
Romance (1999)
Dull and pretentious
Somewhere I saw this film described as an updated Emanuelle and I think the comparison is a valid one. Like Emanuelle this film is pretentious with the heroine spouting daft philosophical claptrap about sex and love continuously. Like Emanuelle, it features characters acting in a way that I find inconsistent with any social of psychological reality I am familiar with.
The only interesting thing about this movie is that it is one of only three (of which I am aware) movies containing hard-core sex that have been shown legally here in the UK. As far as I can see, the only thing the three movies (Ai No Corrida, The Idiots, and Romance) have in common is that they depict sex as joyless and exploitative. Is there something wrong with graphic sex being shown as an enjoyable pastime between two sane equal partners?
Near Dark (1987)
Trailer Park Vampires
In the traditional vampire movie the vampire is usually a member of the aristocracy (Count Dracula living (if that's the word) in splendid isolation in his castle. Here, the vampires are trailer park trash living in RVs and motels.
The movie puts forward this premise stylishly and entertainingly but, other than that doesn't really have much to say for itself.