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Dean (6926 KP) rated Little Birds in TV
Oct 10, 2020
Oddball drama
A rather odd, colourful drama series based on a collection of short erotic stories.
It's very flamboyant, with a mixture of weird and wonderful characters set in Tangier in the 50's. An American heiress travels to meet up with her English husband and encounters a hedonistic culture. Almost film noir like at times as well with plots covering some dark deeds as well.
Then main problem with a short 6 episode series as it feels directionless, probably not helped if it's based on several short stories. It doesn't seem to have a main plot running through it. What seems to be a major plot in one episode might be sidelined in the next. Just a bit strange overall.
It's very flamboyant, with a mixture of weird and wonderful characters set in Tangier in the 50's. An American heiress travels to meet up with her English husband and encounters a hedonistic culture. Almost film noir like at times as well with plots covering some dark deeds as well.
Then main problem with a short 6 episode series as it feels directionless, probably not helped if it's based on several short stories. It doesn't seem to have a main plot running through it. What seems to be a major plot in one episode might be sidelined in the next. Just a bit strange overall.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Wonder Wheel (2017) in Movies
Mar 12, 2018 (Updated Mar 12, 2018)
Not-bad-by-his-recent-standards-at-least Woody Allen melodrama (NB: theme park attractions are not central to plot). Frustrated former actress trapped in unhappy marriage with Fred Flintstone lookalike starts an affair with intellectual lifeguard, becomes insanely jealous when her stepdaughter also catches her lover's eye.
One of Allen's more theatrical movies - it certainly seems to have been made on a relatively low budget. Feels very much like a pastiche of Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neill, only considerably less subtle. At least as a character piece focused on a (somewhat) older woman there are fewer of the more problematic Allen tropes on display, and no sign of a laboured message or theme. Film is carried by a tremendous performance from Kate Winslet; Juno Temple is also good in a supporting role. Watchable stuff, certainly for Allen's remaining followers, although you do still wish he'd just make one more all-out comedy in the old-school style.
One of Allen's more theatrical movies - it certainly seems to have been made on a relatively low budget. Feels very much like a pastiche of Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neill, only considerably less subtle. At least as a character piece focused on a (somewhat) older woman there are fewer of the more problematic Allen tropes on display, and no sign of a laboured message or theme. Film is carried by a tremendous performance from Kate Winslet; Juno Temple is also good in a supporting role. Watchable stuff, certainly for Allen's remaining followers, although you do still wish he'd just make one more all-out comedy in the old-school style.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Unsane (2018) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018 (Updated Mar 26, 2018)
I use my phone for making phone calls and as an alarm clock, but Steven Soderbergh has started using his to make feature films, which if you ask me is just showing off. Unsane is just such a movie, a typically polished piece of genre entertainment. Slightly damaged young woman seeks psychiatric support, finds herself incarcerated in a mental institution against her will. Is she hallucinating the presence of her former stalker, or are things even worse than they seem...?
Apart from Soderbergh's usual breezy skill as a film-maker, the best reason to see Unsane is Claire Foy's excellent performance, which really carries the whole movie (though she is well-supported by Amy Irving, Juno Temple and others, and there's a great cameo from Matt Damon too). The opening sequence of the film is also impressive in its finely-judged ambiguity. However, the film tips its hand much too soon and quickly becomes monumentally implausible (to the point of absolute absurdity). Worth watching, but you really, really have to cut the film some slack in the plotting department.
Apart from Soderbergh's usual breezy skill as a film-maker, the best reason to see Unsane is Claire Foy's excellent performance, which really carries the whole movie (though she is well-supported by Amy Irving, Juno Temple and others, and there's a great cameo from Matt Damon too). The opening sequence of the film is also impressive in its finely-judged ambiguity. However, the film tips its hand much too soon and quickly becomes monumentally implausible (to the point of absolute absurdity). Worth watching, but you really, really have to cut the film some slack in the plotting department.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) in Movies
Jan 17, 2021
I think that I actually prefer A Dame to Kill For over the first Sin City...
Once again, it's a visual feast, and once again, has a damn fine cast.
Two of the stories here are (unless I'm mistaken) written for this film, rather than being adapted. One of them concentrates on Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his incredible luck at gambling. This story serves as nothing more than to further highlight just how much of an asshole Senator Rourke (Powers Boothe) is, once again, acting as the films main big bad. It's effective enough and does what it sets out to do. The other story concentrates on Nancy (Jessica Alba) torn up and struggling with alcohol after what Rourke did to Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the first movie, before enlisting the help of Marv (Mickey Rourke) to exact revenge. This one is a little more high stakes. By this point, you really want Rourke to face some really unfriendly justice, and it's fitting that Nancy be the one to dish it out.
However, the titular story is what holds everything together.
A Dame to Kill For, which is indeed adapted from the comics is fantastic. It takes up the majority of runtime, and follows pre Clive Owen looking Dwight (Josh Brolin) going toe to toe with the seductively powerful and dangerous Ava (Eva Green). Here is where we're in full blown prequel territory, learning how Dwight comes to look how he does in the original, his connections the the girls of Old Town, and how Manute (Dennis Haysbert) ends up with his fetching golden eyeball. The best character interactions happen here. Green and Brolin are both great, and easily steal the show. It also boasts some great action when Gail (Rosario Dawson) and Miho (Jamie Chung) return to fuck shit up, and is just an all round enjoyable segment that easily dwarfs the other two stories.
The cast also includes Ray Liota, Christopher Meloni, Jaime King, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Lady Gaga, so yeah, pretty solid ensemble all in all!
Its a damn shame that ADTKF took as long as it did to materialise. The Sin City hype train had gone a bit quiet by the time it released, and it didn't get the credit it deserves, and is frequently discarded as an inferior film to it's predecessor when personally, I think there's a lot to love.
Once again, it's a visual feast, and once again, has a damn fine cast.
Two of the stories here are (unless I'm mistaken) written for this film, rather than being adapted. One of them concentrates on Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his incredible luck at gambling. This story serves as nothing more than to further highlight just how much of an asshole Senator Rourke (Powers Boothe) is, once again, acting as the films main big bad. It's effective enough and does what it sets out to do. The other story concentrates on Nancy (Jessica Alba) torn up and struggling with alcohol after what Rourke did to Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the first movie, before enlisting the help of Marv (Mickey Rourke) to exact revenge. This one is a little more high stakes. By this point, you really want Rourke to face some really unfriendly justice, and it's fitting that Nancy be the one to dish it out.
However, the titular story is what holds everything together.
A Dame to Kill For, which is indeed adapted from the comics is fantastic. It takes up the majority of runtime, and follows pre Clive Owen looking Dwight (Josh Brolin) going toe to toe with the seductively powerful and dangerous Ava (Eva Green). Here is where we're in full blown prequel territory, learning how Dwight comes to look how he does in the original, his connections the the girls of Old Town, and how Manute (Dennis Haysbert) ends up with his fetching golden eyeball. The best character interactions happen here. Green and Brolin are both great, and easily steal the show. It also boasts some great action when Gail (Rosario Dawson) and Miho (Jamie Chung) return to fuck shit up, and is just an all round enjoyable segment that easily dwarfs the other two stories.
The cast also includes Ray Liota, Christopher Meloni, Jaime King, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Lady Gaga, so yeah, pretty solid ensemble all in all!
Its a damn shame that ADTKF took as long as it did to materialise. The Sin City hype train had gone a bit quiet by the time it released, and it didn't get the credit it deserves, and is frequently discarded as an inferior film to it's predecessor when personally, I think there's a lot to love.