Soul Men (2008)
In one of his last films Bernie Mac stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson in this buddy road movie. After the death of the more famous third member of their singing group the two remaining members reunite for a memorial concert.
Like most similar films while there are funny moments the script lacks any real originality and has only token depth to the characters involved. There is just about enough funny to go around but pretty much everything about this film is the same as a number of other films from the same genre. Isaac Hayes also makes a final screen appearance in this film as he died shortly after filming was complete as well.
3/5 unoriginal comedy
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Burning desires
The English Patient (1996)
Adapted from the novel of the same name by director Anthony Minghella and staring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe and Kristen Scott Thomas this film picked up nine Oscars. A young nurse cares for a dying man with horrible burns in a monastery in Italy during the closing stages of World War 2.
So as this film won nine Oscars it goes without saying that it is really well made, especially the make up for the title character which could really make or break a film if it looks bad. There are some really great locations and performances from the cast, just in general the film looks excellent. The ideas of nationality and ownership that run through the film work well as well as the themes of healing. Given that there is a lot of switching between time periods there is the possibility for the editing to become disorientating or confusing but again it works well.
Inevitably there are some changes and omissions from the novel and I think these both add and detract from the film. While the film does a good job of capturing most of the ideas of the film it does lose some of the subtleties. Changing the back story for the Caravaggio character does make his character work better for the direction the film takes. The real shame for me is the diminishment of the part Kip plays as one of the major themes of the piece is to do with nationality, it is also disappointing that Hana gets less of the spot light as well.
5/5 a really well made and thoughtful piece.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by director Anthony Minghella and staring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe and Kristen Scott Thomas this film picked up nine Oscars. A young nurse cares for a dying man with horrible burns in a monastery in Italy during the closing stages of World War 2.
So as this film won nine Oscars it goes without saying that it is really well made, especially the make up for the title character which could really make or break a film if it looks bad. There are some really great locations and performances from the cast, just in general the film looks excellent. The ideas of nationality and ownership that run through the film work well as well as the themes of healing. Given that there is a lot of switching between time periods there is the possibility for the editing to become disorientating or confusing but again it works well.
Inevitably there are some changes and omissions from the novel and I think these both add and detract from the film. While the film does a good job of capturing most of the ideas of the film it does lose some of the subtleties. Changing the back story for the Caravaggio character does make his character work better for the direction the film takes. The real shame for me is the diminishment of the part Kip plays as one of the major themes of the piece is to do with nationality, it is also disappointing that Hana gets less of the spot light as well.
5/5 a really well made and thoughtful piece.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Cast escape to Greece
Escape to Athena (1979)
Produced by David Niven's son this film stars David Niven, Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, Claudia Cardinale, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree and Elliott Gould. During 1944 in Greece a POW camp commanders plans to loot ancient treasure are hindered by his prisoners, his superiors and the resistance.
This is a fairly light war film which relies on star power and comic relief to get by. There are some really nice sequences in the opening moments of the film which are shot using a helicopter but sadly the rest of the film does not live up to the early promise. In the end this is a watch-able if not especially funny film.
3/5 not the greatest ww2 action film out there.
Produced by David Niven's son this film stars David Niven, Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, Claudia Cardinale, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree and Elliott Gould. During 1944 in Greece a POW camp commanders plans to loot ancient treasure are hindered by his prisoners, his superiors and the resistance.
This is a fairly light war film which relies on star power and comic relief to get by. There are some really nice sequences in the opening moments of the film which are shot using a helicopter but sadly the rest of the film does not live up to the early promise. In the end this is a watch-able if not especially funny film.
3/5 not the greatest ww2 action film out there.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Fakes
Irma Vep (1996)
Chinese actress Maggie Cheung stars as herself in this predominantly French language film that is a satire of the French film industry. Everything falls apart during the remake of a silent film as the director has a nervous break down.
While this film may be a satire it is not especially funny and does become a little confusing. I am not sure if something gets lost in translation but ultimately the film does feel a little bland. Yes, some directors are much more interested in satisfying their own egos by creating impenetrable films that they claim are intellectual but this film does not really go far enough into lampooning the process in my opinion.
2/5
Chinese actress Maggie Cheung stars as herself in this predominantly French language film that is a satire of the French film industry. Everything falls apart during the remake of a silent film as the director has a nervous break down.
While this film may be a satire it is not especially funny and does become a little confusing. I am not sure if something gets lost in translation but ultimately the film does feel a little bland. Yes, some directors are much more interested in satisfying their own egos by creating impenetrable films that they claim are intellectual but this film does not really go far enough into lampooning the process in my opinion.
2/5
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Greed is back
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
Director Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas return alongside new comers Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan in this sequel to Wall Street (1987). Everyone's favourite asset stripper and criminal businessman makes a come back in front of the back drop of the recent financial crisis.
The problem with this film is that it is fairly bland, yes it covers the important issues fairly well but not in a way really engages the viewer. It should be fairly easy to get us spitting at the mouth at the idiots that cause the credit crunch but I think the film gets a little lost in the details. It is a real shame because Gordon Gekko was the perfect choice of a character to bring back for a story like this, sadly the execution ends up being a bit average. Some of the use of split screen and inserting images of characters on the other end of phone calls seems a little out of place too.
3/5 not the worst sequel ever but not the best either.
Director Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas return alongside new comers Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan in this sequel to Wall Street (1987). Everyone's favourite asset stripper and criminal businessman makes a come back in front of the back drop of the recent financial crisis.
The problem with this film is that it is fairly bland, yes it covers the important issues fairly well but not in a way really engages the viewer. It should be fairly easy to get us spitting at the mouth at the idiots that cause the credit crunch but I think the film gets a little lost in the details. It is a real shame because Gordon Gekko was the perfect choice of a character to bring back for a story like this, sadly the execution ends up being a bit average. Some of the use of split screen and inserting images of characters on the other end of phone calls seems a little out of place too.
3/5 not the worst sequel ever but not the best either.
Friday, 2 September 2011
If it wasn't for that pesky old woman...
Murder, She Said (1961)
Based on the Agatha Christie novel “4.50 from Paddington” this is the first of several outings for Margaret Rutherford in the role of Miss Marple. An interfering old woman witnesses a murder and resolves to solve the case when the police do not believe her as they are unable to find a body.
It is hard to find a lot to say about this film one way or the other really. The film does not appear to take itself especially seriously which is probably a good thing as there is not much suspense and the actual mystery is not particularly original. This film just about suffices as a distraction for an hour and a half but is not much more than that.
3/5 light murder mystery
Based on the Agatha Christie novel “4.50 from Paddington” this is the first of several outings for Margaret Rutherford in the role of Miss Marple. An interfering old woman witnesses a murder and resolves to solve the case when the police do not believe her as they are unable to find a body.
It is hard to find a lot to say about this film one way or the other really. The film does not appear to take itself especially seriously which is probably a good thing as there is not much suspense and the actual mystery is not particularly original. This film just about suffices as a distraction for an hour and a half but is not much more than that.
3/5 light murder mystery
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Another man hunt
US Marshals (1998)
After the success of The Fugitive (1993) it was decided to build a sequel around the team that hunted the original protagonist, Tommy Lee Jones reprises his role to become the star. When a prison transport plan crashes one of the prisoners gets away and the hunt is on for him.
So the plot of the film is not that great, it's fairly similar to a lot of thrillers out there and the fact that the fugitive is against innocent makes you wonder if there are any guilty people on the run at all but otherwise it is about serviceable. There are probably two key problems with the film, the first is that there is too much focus on the head agent and not enough on his team as having more of an ensemble piece would probably have carried the weak plot a bit better. The second problem is that the major set piece of the film, the plane crash, is so early on and after that it feels like the film makers blew the budget as the rest of the film is a bit tame by comparison.
3/5 an average action thriller.
After the success of The Fugitive (1993) it was decided to build a sequel around the team that hunted the original protagonist, Tommy Lee Jones reprises his role to become the star. When a prison transport plan crashes one of the prisoners gets away and the hunt is on for him.
So the plot of the film is not that great, it's fairly similar to a lot of thrillers out there and the fact that the fugitive is against innocent makes you wonder if there are any guilty people on the run at all but otherwise it is about serviceable. There are probably two key problems with the film, the first is that there is too much focus on the head agent and not enough on his team as having more of an ensemble piece would probably have carried the weak plot a bit better. The second problem is that the major set piece of the film, the plane crash, is so early on and after that it feels like the film makers blew the budget as the rest of the film is a bit tame by comparison.
3/5 an average action thriller.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)