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Reviews
The Watermen (2012)
Hopeless slasher
If you're going to make a low budget slasher (as this is supposed to be) then it has to have an adequate amount of nudity and gore and this had neither. The nudity was nothing more than a few brief topless scenes and the gore was very mild. There is no point complaining about the acting as you don't expect much from a low budget 'horror' but this also was very wooden from beginning to end.
I can't think of a single redeeming feature that would make the movie worthwhile watching. All they really had to do was to make the violence more extreme, shorten the filler scenes by half and possibly throw in some good titillation and it could have been watched on fast forward.
Avoid the movie unless you're very easily shocked or have been watching grass grow for the past ten years.
Sherlock (2010)
So close and yet so far
A modern adaptation, on what has to be one of the greatest characters ever created in literary history, is always going to be a minefield of critics and praises. I watched the series with an open mind and found myself left frustrated at how close they came to brilliance yet spoiled it with critical mistakes.
The cast is excellent with the primary figures of Sherlock and Watson played nothing short of brilliantly by Cumberbatch and Freeman. The filming, the pace, the settings.. all of it is spot on.
The difficulty comes in the exaggerations. Sherlock himself is transformed into a walking database that is almost cartoonish. Moriarty's character is akin to 'the joker' from batman with the exception that the joker is probably more believable. Essentially, they had all the ingredients to create brilliance and spoiled that by trying too hard.
I believe the extremes they go to in an effort to make it entertaining were largely unnecessary. It seriously needed someone on the reins who could keep a modicum of realism and a touch of sanity so it didn't enter the world of marvel comics.
My 18 yr old enjoyed the show immensely and if it introduces a new generation to Conan Doyle then something good will come out of the series. Personally I found it frustratingly painful to watch.
Black Swan (2010)
Predictable
There isn't a lot to be said about the story itself. Natalie Portman suffers a mental breakdown due to the pressure of her role in the ballet. That is about all there is to it really.
There is a one dimensional mother that has come straight from a cartoon (think Cruella de Ville watered down), a pretty best friend who portrays the 'dark side' and of course the boss who starts out as an interesting bad guy but quickly becomes as mundane as the rest of the characters.
Picture a 10 minute short cartoon made by an art student and then prolonged for 90 minutes and you just about have it. Everything about it was simplistic and predictable in the extreme.
Ms Portman did well to learn ballet for the role but would have better deserved an Oscar for 'closer'. The music score was pleasant and it was reasonably well filmed but otherwise I'd strongly recommend avoiding this movie.
Collapse (2009)
Tremendously Boring
If you have had your head stuck in the sand for the last 30 years and know nothing about how the world works then this may be a good 'starter' documentary for you.
If on the other hand you know the essentials of how the world's economy works and what is going to happen as oil runs out then you are going to have a hard job keeping your eyes open.
This documentary is primarily one man being interviewed in a depressing room about a morbid subject. Yes, we know how dependent the world is on oil and the crisis the world is going to face as it runs out but Michael Rupert manages to drag the obvious into a pit of misery.
What Michael offers in this film is despair and an almost religious 'the end is nigh' view on life. Perhaps someone who has had his heart broken by witnessing as much corruption as this man is not the right person to send out messages to the world as I would worry for those watching it who are more easily influenced by dark rooms, scary messages and haunting music.
I don't disagree with the content, just the manner in which it is put across and the affect it may have on the gullible. The subject matter has been conveyed in a far more subjective manner by many others but if you enjoy a creepy side to your documentaries and are not trying to quit smoking right now then this might be the film for you.
The Last Airbender (2010)
The hate is disproportionate
My son introduced me to the cartoon of avatar a couple of years back and I watched every episode with him more than once. As a result of our both being fans of the series we read the reviews once the film was released in the US and waited for it's release here.
The level of vehemence toward the film from the reviews didn't fill us with any confidence but we weren't going to be put off watching it; as we did last night. I am not at a loss as to why it was hated so much but I do think it is out of proportion unless you are expecting an experience akin to seeing Lord of the Rings for the first time or Matrix and just walk out disappointed.
It is easy to see what went wrong; too much information packed far too tightly into the time, scenes cutting abruptly from one to another, acting that is stiff and not enough time spent developing individuals. I'm sure the haters could add to the list.
However it is also easy to see what the director was trying to do in his efforts to stay true to the storyline. Creating an epic is like baking a cake.. sometimes you can have all the ingredients right but it can fall apart on the simplest of things like the timing and this is what happened here.. to a point.
The positives: I walked in with low expectation and enjoyed it. It was true to the story. The fight scenes were not what you'd call disappointing. The musical score was excellent as was much of the scenery. There is promise in the sequels, I just hope that someone is brave enough to sacrifice some of the storyline for the sake of simplicity as it would stand a better chance.
The Duchess (2008)
Period Drama at it's best
If you want an engine then go to Germany, if you want a fine wine then go to France but if you want a period drama of sublime beauty that will stay with you forever then go to England.
Not since Bride's Head Revisited have I seen a film deliver so flawlessly on every level. Every scene, every movement, every nuance of emotion is painted with the brush stroke of a master. A beautiful, bittersweet tale told magnificently.
I never tire of Ralph Fiennes and here he is at his best. I always rated Keira Knightley as many others may; namely an averagely good actress that is very pleasing on the eye, but on this occasion she excelled herself.
Dim the lights, turn off the phone and if you are not impressed by the end of the movie then ask the Devil for your soul back.
Twilight (2008)
Could have been so much more
I was left frustrated by this movie as it had all the ingredients to be something special but failed to deliver it's potential.
To be brutally honest, I think the missing ingredient was someone the likes of Joss Whedon who knows how to script teenage dialogue. As it was, some of the scenes, especially between the two lead actors were quite painful to watch.
It has many redeeming qualities that bring the film into the category of something worth watching on a rainy Sunday afternoon but I can't help but feel that it could have been so much more with the right person to bring everything together.