Harold and Maud (1971)
Directed by Hal Ashby this dark comedy stars Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. A rich young man who is obsessed with death meets a 79 year old woman and they strike up a friendship.
Despite being considered a “commercial flop” this is actually a pretty good film with some really funny moments if you have a dark sense of humour. What the film does well is contrast the attitude of disaffected youth that has everything against the older generation that had nothing. Although it is not mentioned explicitly it is worth remembering that this is a film of the era of the Vietnam war and that no doubt is one of the major movers behind the themes of the film.
4/5
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Monday, 13 February 2012
Barbaric?
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Based on the pulp character of the same name this film from writer/directer John Milius stars Arnie as the title character. Conan is orphaned by the bad guy, grows up as a slave and a gladiator before going on to seek revenge.
While this film has a fairly simple plot it is not as dumb as it may seem at first, there are a number of interesting themes and allusions that run through the film. Despite location filming only taking place in Spain the scenery in the film provides real variation and looks especially good in the first parts of the film. Of course there are some problems with the film, we all know that Arnie is not the world's greatest actor and some will not like the over reliance on violence but in the end this is a pretty good film.
4/5
Based on the pulp character of the same name this film from writer/directer John Milius stars Arnie as the title character. Conan is orphaned by the bad guy, grows up as a slave and a gladiator before going on to seek revenge.
While this film has a fairly simple plot it is not as dumb as it may seem at first, there are a number of interesting themes and allusions that run through the film. Despite location filming only taking place in Spain the scenery in the film provides real variation and looks especially good in the first parts of the film. Of course there are some problems with the film, we all know that Arnie is not the world's greatest actor and some will not like the over reliance on violence but in the end this is a pretty good film.
4/5
Sunday, 12 February 2012
NTGUILTY
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Based on the novel of the same name this film is directed by Brad Furman with a cast including Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe. A defence lawyer that works all the angles and knows all the tricks ends up defending a client who is more than he bargained for.
This is a pretty standard court room film with not many surprises or much new to offer. There are good performances from the cast and the film is well executed but again there is nothing much to write home about here. The only disappointment with the film is that the main character does not seem to learn anything or change because of the experience he has had.
3/5
Based on the novel of the same name this film is directed by Brad Furman with a cast including Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe. A defence lawyer that works all the angles and knows all the tricks ends up defending a client who is more than he bargained for.
This is a pretty standard court room film with not many surprises or much new to offer. There are good performances from the cast and the film is well executed but again there is nothing much to write home about here. The only disappointment with the film is that the main character does not seem to learn anything or change because of the experience he has had.
3/5
Saturday, 11 February 2012
CGI invasion
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Directed by Joanthan Liebesman this sci-fi action extravaganza stars Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez. It's an alien invasion motherfuckers!
Make no bones about it this is not a serious look at warfare in an urban environment but is pretty much mindless action fun. The script is not the best, cliched at times and lacking much depth but does retain some personality which helps. What is a real downside for the film is that the camera work follows in the modern trend of super shaky chaos in a supposed attempt at realism which is never going to be there in a film like this.
3/5
Directed by Joanthan Liebesman this sci-fi action extravaganza stars Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez. It's an alien invasion motherfuckers!
Make no bones about it this is not a serious look at warfare in an urban environment but is pretty much mindless action fun. The script is not the best, cliched at times and lacking much depth but does retain some personality which helps. What is a real downside for the film is that the camera work follows in the modern trend of super shaky chaos in a supposed attempt at realism which is never going to be there in a film like this.
3/5
Friday, 10 February 2012
Wildly bad idea for a film
Wild Cherry (2009)
Directed by Dana Lustig this high school film stars Tania Raymonde, Rumer Willis and features Rob Schneider. The school football team keep a book of all the girls in their year that have not been deflowered and when the girls find out about it they are understandably not happy.
So another film on high school sexual politics, unfortunately this one one often drifts into the juvenile behaviour it allegedly decries with some of the disgusting humour employed. About the most interesting thing in this film is that Rob Schneider plays a real character for once, the less said about Tia Carrere's character the better. A much better film on the same topic is Easy A (2010) which is not nearly as stupid as this film.
2/5
Directed by Dana Lustig this high school film stars Tania Raymonde, Rumer Willis and features Rob Schneider. The school football team keep a book of all the girls in their year that have not been deflowered and when the girls find out about it they are understandably not happy.
So another film on high school sexual politics, unfortunately this one one often drifts into the juvenile behaviour it allegedly decries with some of the disgusting humour employed. About the most interesting thing in this film is that Rob Schneider plays a real character for once, the less said about Tia Carrere's character the better. A much better film on the same topic is Easy A (2010) which is not nearly as stupid as this film.
2/5
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Surgery required
The Double Man (1967)
Based on the novel “Legacy of a Spy” this film is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and stars Yul Brynner and Britt Ekland. A CIA agent investigates the death of his son in a skiing accident in Austria.
This film is pretty well made, although having a Russia cast as an American in a spy film does seem to be pushing it a little. Where the problems with the film come is that the basic idea of having a double is a little silly in the first place but the title and execution of the film really do not get any mileage out of what potential the idea has. Keeping the bad guys plan secret for longer would have helped as well as spending longer playing on the audiences uncertainty of who was the good guy and who was the bad guy.
2/5
Based on the novel “Legacy of a Spy” this film is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and stars Yul Brynner and Britt Ekland. A CIA agent investigates the death of his son in a skiing accident in Austria.
This film is pretty well made, although having a Russia cast as an American in a spy film does seem to be pushing it a little. Where the problems with the film come is that the basic idea of having a double is a little silly in the first place but the title and execution of the film really do not get any mileage out of what potential the idea has. Keeping the bad guys plan secret for longer would have helped as well as spending longer playing on the audiences uncertainty of who was the good guy and who was the bad guy.
2/5
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Knockout?
Champion (1949)
Based on a short story by the same name this boxing film is directed by Mark Robson and stars Kirk Douglas. After spending his youth in poverty a man finally tastes success as a prize fighter, going so far as to become world champion.
Although the plot of this film may have a lot in common with a number of other boxing films it does a really good job of showing how success can have a bad affect on someone. There are certainly some interesting characters in the film even if they are in familiar settings. The fight scenes may not hold up to what is achieved in modern films but this is mainly due to the limitations placed on film makers by the cameras of the time.
4/5
Based on a short story by the same name this boxing film is directed by Mark Robson and stars Kirk Douglas. After spending his youth in poverty a man finally tastes success as a prize fighter, going so far as to become world champion.
Although the plot of this film may have a lot in common with a number of other boxing films it does a really good job of showing how success can have a bad affect on someone. There are certainly some interesting characters in the film even if they are in familiar settings. The fight scenes may not hold up to what is achieved in modern films but this is mainly due to the limitations placed on film makers by the cameras of the time.
4/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)