Part One: Liberty

Three Colours: Blue (1993)

Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski this film stars Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent and Emmanuelle Riva. The wife of a famous French composer recovers from the death of her husband and daughter in a car crash.

This is the first part of a trilogy of films on France and French revolutionary ideals with a plot that advances the fairly common theme that no person can be an island. Clearly this is a story of a person coming to terms with grief and while it is well handled I am not sure that it offers much new to a well covered subject. Where the film is excellent is in it's execution, the film makes great use of colour and especially music to highlight themes as well as tie the story together.

4/5

The Okinawa not adventure

The Karate Kid, Part 2 (1986)

Directed by John G. Avildsen this sequel again stars Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Mr Miyagi and Daniel travel to Okinawa to visit Mr Miyagi's dying father while settling a matter of honour.

What the plot of this film has in it's favour is that it is not retread of the plot of the original which is too often the case but is rather aimless at times. There are a couple of elements of the story that rub me up the wrong way like the girlfriend from the original being written out fairly harshly and having a final big fight in a film promoting pacifism. Mostly the film is well made but despite good intentions this is a fairly week effort.

2/5

Rebel with cause

East of Eden (1955)

Directed by Elia Kazan this film based on the novel of the same name stars Julie Harris, James Dean, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos and Jo Van Fleet. On the eve of WW1 a young man tries to find his father's love and his estranged mother.

When it comes to the plot of the film this is not a very strict adaptation of the novel it is based on but does retain the major themes. There are some nice biblical parallels with in the story and the character arc of the protagonist works really well. Mostly the film is well made and James Dean gives a good debut performance.

4/5

To become immortal then die

Breathless (1960)

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard this French film stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. After killing a policeman a criminal spends time in Paris trying to convince his American girl friend to leave for Italy with him.

Coming with a big reputation this film is an interesting experiment in going against the norms of the studio films that had come before it. While the film no doubt has it's interesting elements it is one of those films that has a bigger impact in it's era than on modern audiences but is still well worth watching for those interested in film development. The plot is not bad but like the execution of the film is a bit of an anti-film at times focusing on the down time between the big events which works surprisingly well.

4/5

over connect disconnect

Disconnect (2012)

Directed by Henry Alex Rubin this film has an ensemble cast that includes Jason Bateman, Andrea Riseborough, Paula Patton and Alexander Skarsgard. The darker side of the internet is explored through three different stories.

In general this is a really good showcase of the negative effects of the information age on our lives that actually understands the technology involved in the stories shown, which can be rare for Hollywood. While the final message maybe a little unsubtle the rest of the film deals with the stories really well showing a fair amount of nuance and understanding. There decent performances and the final transformation sequence is really well shot.

4/5

Cliche squad

Gangster Squad (2013)

Directed by Ruben Fleischer this film inspired by real events which stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Emma Stone. A special team of cops are put together to go outside the law and after an organised crime boss.

Despite having a lot of acting talent involved with this film the script includes nearly every genre cliché in the book and does little of interest with them. While the film claims to be based on real events it seems to have taken a pretty fictional route and leaves a number of characters, such as Emma Stone's, rather undeveloped. The direction is not bad but does not do much to make up for all the other deficiencies in this film.

2/5

Snikt

X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Directed by Gavin Hood this prequel stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston. After killing his father in 1845 a young mutant and his half brother go on the run fighting in various wars before becoming transformed into Weapon X.

The real basic problem with this film is not the departures from comic book canon, which are not overly egregious, but that the film never really connects on an emotional level rather seeming to be a check list of events the writers felt the had to cover. While the plot is not too bad it really lacks any depth and could have been a lot better given the iconic nature of the central character. Where the big problems come are in the really weak CGI used in the film that lets the action sequences down big time.

2/5