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Awix (3310 KP) rated Local Hero (1983) in Movies

Jul 5, 2020

Local Hero (1983)

1983 | Comedy, Drama

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Charming fish-out-of-water comedy drama, source of many inferior rip-offs. Sounds like a familiar story: materialistic high flier finds himself in an authentic community and begins to remember what the Important Things in Life are. However, what makes Local Hero pretty much the only film in this sub-genre worth your time is the fact it is so understated, and even subverts the form to some extent: the locals are in no illusions about how much easier their lives would be with a little more material wealth.

There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but in general this is more one of those consistently very amusing and slightly whimsical films, not at all meant to be taken seriously - there's a running joke about one character having a very abusive therapist, while the implication is that another character is part-mermaid. Well-played by a great ensemble cast (many well-known faces, although Peter Riegert doesn't seem to have had many other high profile parts), an exceptionally likeable film.

Kudos

Ross (3284 KP) rated Dark Waters (2019) in Movies

Jul 14, 2020

Good, but lengthy

This real-life story of corporation pollution, corruption, arrogance and loophole exploiting is a fairly gripping one, as an embattled corporate lawyer (Ruffalo), used to defending chemical companies, takes on a case to sue DuPont, one of the main employers in West Virginia, for polluting the land and water next to his client's land.
What starts off as a very unpopular case within his own firm, soon develops into outrage and lawyers actually doing the right thing. Tim Robbins' senior partner in the firm is brought round by the evidence unearthed after tireless hours of wading through hundreds of boxes of "discovery" and gets behind the case in the pursuit of justice. In one passionate scene, he shouts down all other partners in the firm in order to make them see what is at stake and what the underlying issue is.
The film does drag a little and could have been sped up to an extent but there were few times where I found myself actually bored or reaching for my phone.