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New Life (2023)
A solid 7 1/2, bumped up to 8 for a deliciously unexpected twist at the end!
New Life is an impressive directorial debut for John Rosman, although the film sometimes strains our credibility and patience - not too unforgivable for a first-time big-time production. The performances are terrific, as is the pacing: everything comes together in under 90 minutes - a cinematic miracle these days! - to deliver a thrilling, often heartbreaking, emotionally rewarding body-horror thriller. The film takes a lot of risks but it soehow manages to stick the landing quite elegantly in its intimate look at mortality from two very distinct yet similar viewpoints. Unusual and thought-provoking, despite what some reductive reviewers have said. Very much worth your 90 minutes, but DO watch all the way to the end!
The Gentlemen (2024)
A mad, juicy, delightful romp peopled with real and "accidental" criminals
There are dukes and princesses and commoners and criminals (who's to say which are which?) There's an understandably frustrated brother whose every attempt at fixing things goes desperately wrong, much to our collective delight. There are crazy aged aristocrats with machine guns shooting at busloads of tourists. There are fistfights, gunfights, knife-fights, explosions, intentional and accidental and near- murders, a just-enough-but-not-too-much amount of gore, and a palate-cleansing sprinkling of love interest. Everything you could possibly want from Guy Ritchie at the peak of his craft, and more, thanks to a superb cast and a sparklingly witty script. Pure pleasure!
The Ex-Wife (2022)
Absurd two-dimensional people behaving odiously
Half of the first episode is intriguing, although the excessively juvenile Ms Buckens is a bridge too far as far as casting goes.
Then the not-so-fun begins, as everyone, from the husband and his ex to the husband's despicable family and various bit players intervene and throw shade, nay hatred, on Ms Buckens, for no discernable reason, other than the fact that she dresses like a ditsy teenager and is always either pathologically perky or pitching snark far beyond her ability to reach her targets.
How naive does one have to be to marry an obviously massively wealthy man but not demand one's own bank account or pre-nup or legally-guaranteed share of the goodies? Who is brainless enough to not know or question where one's passport is? Oh, it's all too inane for words, and yet...
It ends with his brain-dead body doing that "Oh yeah? Look at my twitching finger, ladies!" So is he coming back to wreak more havoc?
Heaven forfend, once was more than enough.
Around the World in 80 Days (2021)
Delightfully updated vision. If you want the book, read the book!
Only two episodes in and I'm enjoying the whole cast, especially watching a timid Fogg man up.
Those calling the new series "too woke" don't seem to understand what the terms "diversity" and "inclusion" mean, or prefer to ignore their existence.
Let's see what the next episodes bring. Perhaps I'll lower my rating, perhaps even bump it up.