Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Director Peter Weir and star Russell Crowe adapt Patrick O'Brian's naval series of books for the big screen. A British ship is off hunting a French privater in the south Atlantic and Pacific oceans during the Napoleonic wars.
Right from the get go you get a really great sense of the world the characters deal with and what the film does best is give a realistic portrayal of life on a Royal Navy ship during the period. While the plot is maybe a little slow in places there is enough action and character to more than make up for that. Over all this is an excellently made film and it is a real shame that after leaving us on a cliff hanger that the film did not make enough money to warrant a sequel.
4/5 quality adventure at sea
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Predictable results
The Experiment (2010)
Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker star in this film based on a German film, based on a novel inspired by the 1971 Stanford prison experiment. A bunch of men are selected for a behaviour study and set up as prisoners and guards in a remote location.
This film went straight to DVD so there should be no surprises there are a number of problems with it. The major problem with the plot is that the observes are supposed to stop the experiment as soon as there is any violence but only do so on the second occasion with no reason as to why. They follow the usual cliché of making the conservative a guard who becomes a fascist and the liberal a prisoner who stands up to him, how imaginative.
It is a real shame this film is so poorly written as it has the potential to be a really good film There is supposed to be a red light that will signal the end of the experiment if the guards do not punish prisoners with in 30 minutes of them breaking a rule but the writing never plays of the potential tension of arguments between the guards and waiting for the time to run down on the light. The progression from normal people to sadist guards is also so quick as to be unbelievable, it would have been much better to see a slower escalation of events rather than just have the guards flip out at the first minor action.
2/5 a really poor attempt at an interesting set up
Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker star in this film based on a German film, based on a novel inspired by the 1971 Stanford prison experiment. A bunch of men are selected for a behaviour study and set up as prisoners and guards in a remote location.
This film went straight to DVD so there should be no surprises there are a number of problems with it. The major problem with the plot is that the observes are supposed to stop the experiment as soon as there is any violence but only do so on the second occasion with no reason as to why. They follow the usual cliché of making the conservative a guard who becomes a fascist and the liberal a prisoner who stands up to him, how imaginative.
It is a real shame this film is so poorly written as it has the potential to be a really good film There is supposed to be a red light that will signal the end of the experiment if the guards do not punish prisoners with in 30 minutes of them breaking a rule but the writing never plays of the potential tension of arguments between the guards and waiting for the time to run down on the light. The progression from normal people to sadist guards is also so quick as to be unbelievable, it would have been much better to see a slower escalation of events rather than just have the guards flip out at the first minor action.
2/5 a really poor attempt at an interesting set up
Monday, 29 August 2011
Mrs Braun
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
This German film comes from director Rainer Fassbinder and stars Hanna Schygulla, it is the first part of a trilogy based on the experiences of women in post war Germany. A young woman deals with the problems of having to survive during the reconstruction of Germany and missing her husband.
The experiences of the central character serve as a metaphor for the experience of West Germany in terms of becoming a successful economy and having to deal with it's past crimes. What works particularly well is using the main character's husband and his time in jail to represent how West Germany dealt with it's Nazi past. Overall this is a really good film with some good performances from the cast.
4/5
This German film comes from director Rainer Fassbinder and stars Hanna Schygulla, it is the first part of a trilogy based on the experiences of women in post war Germany. A young woman deals with the problems of having to survive during the reconstruction of Germany and missing her husband.
The experiences of the central character serve as a metaphor for the experience of West Germany in terms of becoming a successful economy and having to deal with it's past crimes. What works particularly well is using the main character's husband and his time in jail to represent how West Germany dealt with it's Nazi past. Overall this is a really good film with some good performances from the cast.
4/5
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Hanging
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Based on the novel of the same name this western stars Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews, it also includes an early role for Anthony Quinn. After a spate of rustling when one of the local rancher is shot in the head an eager lynch mob sets off to find the culprits.
You can probably work out the tact the films takes, mod justice is bad and things do not end well. Despite the fairly obvious (to modern eyes) nature of the film it handles the subject well and covers a variety of view points. Even though you have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen it is hard to look away as the impending lynching draws closer. The production qualities are not exactly amazing as it is pretty clear the film was largely shot on a back lot rather than on location but are good enough to get by.
4/5
Based on the novel of the same name this western stars Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews, it also includes an early role for Anthony Quinn. After a spate of rustling when one of the local rancher is shot in the head an eager lynch mob sets off to find the culprits.
You can probably work out the tact the films takes, mod justice is bad and things do not end well. Despite the fairly obvious (to modern eyes) nature of the film it handles the subject well and covers a variety of view points. Even though you have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen it is hard to look away as the impending lynching draws closer. The production qualities are not exactly amazing as it is pretty clear the film was largely shot on a back lot rather than on location but are good enough to get by.
4/5
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Hexed
Jonah Hex (2010)
Former Pixar employee Jimmy Hayward directs his first live action film based on a DC comics character which stars Josh Brolin, John Malkovich and Megan Fox. A bounty hunter with a dark past in the American Civil War faces off against his nemesis.
This film seems to a plot that is fairly similar to that of Wild Wild West (1999) and unfortunately seems to be of a similar quality. Some of the dialogue is pretty terrible and some of the locations seem out of place for the area of the US being depicted. While the production values are pretty good (you would expect that with a nearly $50mil budget) the direction and action sequences are unremarkable at best.
2/5 poor comic adaptation.
Former Pixar employee Jimmy Hayward directs his first live action film based on a DC comics character which stars Josh Brolin, John Malkovich and Megan Fox. A bounty hunter with a dark past in the American Civil War faces off against his nemesis.
This film seems to a plot that is fairly similar to that of Wild Wild West (1999) and unfortunately seems to be of a similar quality. Some of the dialogue is pretty terrible and some of the locations seem out of place for the area of the US being depicted. While the production values are pretty good (you would expect that with a nearly $50mil budget) the direction and action sequences are unremarkable at best.
2/5 poor comic adaptation.
Friday, 26 August 2011
The quest for profit
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
After the failure of the third instalment in the series the Salkind's sold off the rights to the franchise, Christopher Reeve stayed as the star and Gene Hackman returned to reprise the role of Lex Luthor. As the nuclear arms race between the west and the USSR heats up Superman tries to find his place in world affairs.
What this film has going for it compared to the third film in the series is throwing out the focus on comedy and actually having a decent idea to base the film on. Unfortunately the film fails to capitalise on the idea of where Superman fits into politics by not really exploring the idea or the consequences of his decision to dictate policy. The film may have been beset by budget problems but the fact that it is the shortest film in the series probably works in it's favour. There are a lot of problems with the film but it was still an improvement on it's predecessor and not as bad as the reputation it seems to have.
3/5 a barely average effort.
After the failure of the third instalment in the series the Salkind's sold off the rights to the franchise, Christopher Reeve stayed as the star and Gene Hackman returned to reprise the role of Lex Luthor. As the nuclear arms race between the west and the USSR heats up Superman tries to find his place in world affairs.
What this film has going for it compared to the third film in the series is throwing out the focus on comedy and actually having a decent idea to base the film on. Unfortunately the film fails to capitalise on the idea of where Superman fits into politics by not really exploring the idea or the consequences of his decision to dictate policy. The film may have been beset by budget problems but the fact that it is the shortest film in the series probably works in it's favour. There are a lot of problems with the film but it was still an improvement on it's predecessor and not as bad as the reputation it seems to have.
3/5 a barely average effort.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Not so super
Superman 3 (1983)
Director Richard Lester and star Christopher Reeve return for this sequel which features comedian Richard Pryor. After mind wiping Lois Lane in the last film Superman returns to Smallville to chase his high school crush Lana Lang.
The opening sequence should be a big give away that there is a change in tone for this film compared to the previous two. Making a Superman comedy does not really come off that well and really it is hard to find good parts to this film. Having a bad Superman is an interesting idea that is not capitalised on or explored that deeply and despite managing to run to two hours there is not a lot of a plot here. This really is a let down right from the completely out of place slapstick sequence that runs during the opening credits.
2/5
Director Richard Lester and star Christopher Reeve return for this sequel which features comedian Richard Pryor. After mind wiping Lois Lane in the last film Superman returns to Smallville to chase his high school crush Lana Lang.
The opening sequence should be a big give away that there is a change in tone for this film compared to the previous two. Making a Superman comedy does not really come off that well and really it is hard to find good parts to this film. Having a bad Superman is an interesting idea that is not capitalised on or explored that deeply and despite managing to run to two hours there is not a lot of a plot here. This really is a let down right from the completely out of place slapstick sequence that runs during the opening credits.
2/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)