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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Last Christmas (2019) in Movies
Nov 27, 2019
Lacking in romance & comedy
The trailer made this film look awful, and whilst it isnt quite as bad as it looked, it left me feeling rather underwhelmed.
For a rom-com set at Christmas, it's surprisingly lacking in romance, comedy and even festive spirit. The romance feels rather forced and there isn't any sort of spark between the two main characters at all, so it's quite unbelievable. I like Emilia Clarke, but even she can't save the lack of connection. There are a few funny lines in the film, but the rest of the script seems out of place, badly written and the intended humour falls flat. And trying to be relevant with some Brexit references doesn't work either.
Even the plot itself isn't great. It varies from typical rom-com to a predictable twist and even the George Michael/Wham theme didn't work. I was expected to be overwhelmed with music but instead you'd barely notice this was meant to be the theme at all. Admittedly the twist may go some way to explaining some of my above niggles, but not all of them. This is one of those strange films that isn't good but isn't terrible enough to hate every minute of it either. Definitely not a christmas classic though!
For a rom-com set at Christmas, it's surprisingly lacking in romance, comedy and even festive spirit. The romance feels rather forced and there isn't any sort of spark between the two main characters at all, so it's quite unbelievable. I like Emilia Clarke, but even she can't save the lack of connection. There are a few funny lines in the film, but the rest of the script seems out of place, badly written and the intended humour falls flat. And trying to be relevant with some Brexit references doesn't work either.
Even the plot itself isn't great. It varies from typical rom-com to a predictable twist and even the George Michael/Wham theme didn't work. I was expected to be overwhelmed with music but instead you'd barely notice this was meant to be the theme at all. Admittedly the twist may go some way to explaining some of my above niggles, but not all of them. This is one of those strange films that isn't good but isn't terrible enough to hate every minute of it either. Definitely not a christmas classic though!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Doom (2005) in Movies
Dec 19, 2019
Entertainingly bad
Doom is one of those films that perfectly fits the "so bad it's good" category. It might be pretty ridiculously, but it's entertainingly so.
I vaguely know the game, aka watched my brother play it when we were younger as I was too scared to play it myself, so I can't really compare this to the game. As plots go it isn't a bad one although it's let down by a rather poor script and some questionable special effects at times - which arent helped by the fact that this film is nearly 15 years old! Alhough the horror aspect is quite good and there's a decent amount of gore. It's strange seeing Dwayne Johnson and Karl Urban in this as they both look so young! And it's good to see Johnson's acting skills have improved since this too... the cast overall are very good and decent, and it's a shame they're a little let down by other things in this film.
By far my favourite bit of this film though is when they recreate the game with the first person shooter scene. It's an absolute riot, so much fun and I almost wanted to mark this a little higher just because of this scene.
I vaguely know the game, aka watched my brother play it when we were younger as I was too scared to play it myself, so I can't really compare this to the game. As plots go it isn't a bad one although it's let down by a rather poor script and some questionable special effects at times - which arent helped by the fact that this film is nearly 15 years old! Alhough the horror aspect is quite good and there's a decent amount of gore. It's strange seeing Dwayne Johnson and Karl Urban in this as they both look so young! And it's good to see Johnson's acting skills have improved since this too... the cast overall are very good and decent, and it's a shame they're a little let down by other things in this film.
By far my favourite bit of this film though is when they recreate the game with the first person shooter scene. It's an absolute riot, so much fun and I almost wanted to mark this a little higher just because of this scene.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Freaks (1932) in Movies
Feb 29, 2020 (Updated Feb 29, 2020)
Tod Browning's notorious horror movie remains problematic and uncomfortable to watch nearly a century on from its release. The plot is much more the stuff of a melodrama than a traditional horror movie: a vain and greedy trapeze artist and her lover plot to murder a gullible man enamoured of her for his fortune. What makes the film so queasily memorable is the fact that many of the characters are sideshow 'freaks' of different kinds.
Severely hampered by the fact that many of the cast aren't professional actors, and it shows; also by the fact that several of them don't have English as a first language (some of the dialogue is so heavily accented to be unintelligible). The existing version of the film is fairly thin on plot, too. There is strange tension between the script, which takes pains to make clear that the deformed characters are people, not monsters, and the way that the camera voyeuristically dwells on their physical abnormalities - it's there again in the climax, where the trapeze artist clearly deserves some kind of retribution, but the sequence of the 'freaks' closing in on her is deeply disturbing. A uniquely unsettling movie, and perhaps that's for the best.
Severely hampered by the fact that many of the cast aren't professional actors, and it shows; also by the fact that several of them don't have English as a first language (some of the dialogue is so heavily accented to be unintelligible). The existing version of the film is fairly thin on plot, too. There is strange tension between the script, which takes pains to make clear that the deformed characters are people, not monsters, and the way that the camera voyeuristically dwells on their physical abnormalities - it's there again in the climax, where the trapeze artist clearly deserves some kind of retribution, but the sequence of the 'freaks' closing in on her is deeply disturbing. A uniquely unsettling movie, and perhaps that's for the best.
JT (287 KP) rated Knowing (2009) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Nicholas Cage is one of those hit and miss actors. One minute he’s acting out of his skin and the other he’s bumbling his way through another disappointment with a quietly spoken drawl.
Knowing is a film of two halves. The first half is a well thought out disaster thriller, the second is quite simply a shambles and totally ruined it. Why you ask? SPOILER ALERT: Aliens, the ending was all linked back to beings from another planet. Why they felt the need to go down this route is beyond me? But I lost any respect for director Alex Proyas .
It’s a real shame as there were some spectacular disaster sequences that ramped up the tension. Cage was accomplished in his role and was edgy enough to win the audience over. However, that all fell away in the later stages as his acting became desperate, as he tried to clutch at emotional straws.
The film’s ending has a very ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ feel about it. I felt like snapping the DVD in half and mailing in personally to screen writers Ryne Douglas Pearson and Juliet Snowden. I would only recommend this for the special effects and not at all for the weak script or storyline.
Knowing is a film of two halves. The first half is a well thought out disaster thriller, the second is quite simply a shambles and totally ruined it. Why you ask? SPOILER ALERT: Aliens, the ending was all linked back to beings from another planet. Why they felt the need to go down this route is beyond me? But I lost any respect for director Alex Proyas .
It’s a real shame as there were some spectacular disaster sequences that ramped up the tension. Cage was accomplished in his role and was edgy enough to win the audience over. However, that all fell away in the later stages as his acting became desperate, as he tried to clutch at emotional straws.
The film’s ending has a very ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ feel about it. I felt like snapping the DVD in half and mailing in personally to screen writers Ryne Douglas Pearson and Juliet Snowden. I would only recommend this for the special effects and not at all for the weak script or storyline.
JT (287 KP) rated I Love You Phillip Morris (2010) in Movies
Mar 23, 2020
Good performances (1 more)
Genuine emotion
Carrey and McGregor on top form
Jim Carrey is an up and down sort of an actor, one minute he’s displaying comedic or dramatic genius and the next he’s falling flat on this face out of his depth. Thankfully this turn is one of his best and was arguably one of the funniest films of 2009.
Carrey is in his element playing con artist Steven Russell who after coming to terms with his sexuality following a freak car crash ends up in prison and in the arms of the loveable Phillip Morris.
Writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa who also penned another dark yet hilariously funny comedy Bad Santa keep the script tight. The jokes are well thought out and areas such as company fraud and anal sex are highlighted in detail, but tastefully done.
The more serious areas of the film are attacked with compassionate subtly and I don’t think anyone would be offended, no lines have been crossed at all.
Through all the humour there are definitive dramatic performances from both Carrey and McGregor which create lots of genuine emotion, let’s not forget this is a love story. It’s a great return to form from Carrey and well worth a watch.
Carrey is in his element playing con artist Steven Russell who after coming to terms with his sexuality following a freak car crash ends up in prison and in the arms of the loveable Phillip Morris.
Writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa who also penned another dark yet hilariously funny comedy Bad Santa keep the script tight. The jokes are well thought out and areas such as company fraud and anal sex are highlighted in detail, but tastefully done.
The more serious areas of the film are attacked with compassionate subtly and I don’t think anyone would be offended, no lines have been crossed at all.
Through all the humour there are definitive dramatic performances from both Carrey and McGregor which create lots of genuine emotion, let’s not forget this is a love story. It’s a great return to form from Carrey and well worth a watch.
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated The Letter for the King in TV
Apr 2, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love fantasy tv shows, so I was excited to give this one a try. The concept was very intriguing and it was a fun watch. However, the show had a lot of good ideas but the follow-through left it feeling a bit flat. While I thought that the cast did a great job, the script (while not bad) didn't take the time to build up the relationships between characters which meant that emotional moments felt weak. The show also raises a lot of questions but the final episode spent too much time trying to build up a second season, and not enough time giving a satisfying ending. The pacing of the show was also strange. It is only six episodes but the plot seems to move really slowly while the character dynamics move too quickly. I would have like to dig deeper into the characters as they did have interesting setups but the show just didn't give time to that. All in all, the show was fun to watch with my family but left me without strong emotions about it one way or the other.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Thoroughbreds (2017) in Movies
Apr 28, 2020
A little pretentious
This film had a limited run when it was released at the cinema, and I’ve been interested to see it ever since. I’d heard good things about it, however I’m afraid to say it didn’t live up to expectations.
This is what I’d class as a pretentious arty type film, and I’m really not a big fan of films like this. There’s lots of overly dramatic music that sometimes works, but sometimes just seems ridiculously out of place. There’s also a lot of lingering shots of the characters doing barely anything that would be fine for a minute, but instead drag out for far too long. Despite this, this film does have some good points. The acting is fantastic, and the script is very smart and clever and surprisingly funny at times - the scene with the girls and Tim in the car was especially funny. The plot is a basic one, although I do feel like the story wasn’t entirely unpredictable although it was enjoyable. And fortunately it has a very short run time, which I was grateful for with all the irritating pretentious music and shots,
Overall this film was watchable, but I think it could’ve tried to be a little less pretentious.
This is what I’d class as a pretentious arty type film, and I’m really not a big fan of films like this. There’s lots of overly dramatic music that sometimes works, but sometimes just seems ridiculously out of place. There’s also a lot of lingering shots of the characters doing barely anything that would be fine for a minute, but instead drag out for far too long. Despite this, this film does have some good points. The acting is fantastic, and the script is very smart and clever and surprisingly funny at times - the scene with the girls and Tim in the car was especially funny. The plot is a basic one, although I do feel like the story wasn’t entirely unpredictable although it was enjoyable. And fortunately it has a very short run time, which I was grateful for with all the irritating pretentious music and shots,
Overall this film was watchable, but I think it could’ve tried to be a little less pretentious.
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Dean (6927 KP) Dec 28, 2019