COB-3's Reviews

The Killing (2011–2014)

6/10

3 July 2011

Warning: Spoilers

The Killing is a re-imagining of the excellent Danish original Forbrydelsen. For the first couple of episodes they are almost word for word. Unfortunately it is when the story steps out from the core plot, the death of Rosie Larsen, that it comes unstuck. In the main it does hold that same slow gripping pace and the story taking unexpected turns but its choice of back-story is weak. The excessive focus on Sarah Linden and her son, her home life and the peculiar disconnected relationship with her mostly unseen fiancé are immensely distracting. Many of the other characters,especially the marginally psychotic Belko Royce, are utterly dysfunctional. While it is a grim tale there is little about the characters that makes you warm to them.

It is not helped by the producers choosing to rerun the torrential downpour of Se7en,which just adds to the misery.

The original in tone is not much different but it does have far greater character development as well as a larger, more diverse cast as potential suspects.

Where The Killing falls down most is its choice of story lines. As a 13 parter rather than the original 20 it was going to make changes. The pity is these choices left it with some fairly ludicrous plot lines, especially towards the end of the season. It also removed scope to give some more development to the main characters, especially Linden and Mitch.

All in all not a bad effort. It starts well, has enough twists to keep most viewers interested but its choice of characters and their stories will leave you disappointed. Do check out the far superior original.

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500 Days of Summer (2009)

5/10

One big mess

1 July 2010

As someone else has commented I now realise how little credibility IMDb scores really have.

Having endured the excruciatingly tedious mess of this film I also wonder what kind of critical faculties people bring to watching films. While I know that we the general public are dubious in our ability to separate good from bad , one would expect the critics to put us straight. When the lead "adult" shows less emotional maturity than his 11 year old sister you know you are in trouble. The film irritatingly flips through the scenes of a relationship with an attending cast one would happily avoid any contact with.

The bewildering array of sub-themes, introduced and just as quickly dropped, the 1960s, art house films, architecture etc. just add to the confusion of the hotchpotch plot.

As a film I would struggle to give it 5, as an experience it is really one I wish I had avoided. Extremely disappointing.

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Eastwick (2009–2010)

4/10

Not that good if you know the book or film

27 September 2009

Warning: Spoilers

I've read the very good book and seen the pretty decent film and now have tried the not so good TV show Eastwick. It looks to be more targeted at a female audience and has echoes of Desperate Housewives in the initial female voice-over. It also seems to be missing a decent script and suffered from so-so acting. None of the main characters are particularly good. There are also far too many characters although this being TV means that some characters will probably get exposure and story time they don't merit. That said if people don't know either the book or the film then it's light probably passable but really not that good.

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Dollhouse (2009–2010)

6/10

Just OK

21 February 2009

Like others here I only know Firefly and enjoyed it. Having just watched the first episode it doesn't look too bad and was watchable. It also handled the scene setting reasonably well although the internal boxing/MMA vision of the FBI agent was utterly puerile and downright irritating. Contrast that with the decent attempt to build on the complexity of the characters and settings and one can already see where it runs the risk of falling down.

A couple of things stand out for me. Firstly I thought some of the dialog was hackneyed and really badly written. There is also a suggestion of stereotypes at work and the assumption that all bad guys are automatically connected. Finally much as I find Ms Dushku visually alluring, she's just another one of those pretty faces who would struggle to act their way out of a paper bag.

But that is made up for to an extent, by the supporting cast of Reed Diamond, Olivia Williams and Harry Lennix. Whedon's track record should carry it along for a while anyway but it will need better writing and some finger-crossing that Fox don't can it. One would also hope it will not turn into just a personality of the week show.

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Van Helsing (2004)

4/10

Where's the story ?

16 May 2004

I went in search of a good movie and came away with something a good deal less. Be assured, the sequel will not show up as every famed monster that Hollywood has ever exploited is already dead by the end of this one. It boasts a cast of fine actors but Stephen Sommers seems to overlook the fact that special effects must support and add to a good story, otherwise it's a video game. In The Mummy the ineptitude of most of the main characters along with a tongue in cheek script carried the day. Here Gabe Van Helsing is a serious man in search of serious things and vampires appear out of the woodwork at the throw of a switch. It's as if they were hired out at great cost and had to be used to justify the great expense. In the end we grow weary of the scrapes that our hero and heroine get in and out of. The only thing to offset the gung ho heroes is the comic touch of David Wenham ( formerly seen as Faramir) as an inept sidekick. It could all have been so much better.

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

8/10

Just as good as the first time

20 April 2004

I have just seen this film again, actually I've acquired it and it is still immensely powerful. I was also incredibly surprised at how short the film is but is engrossing from the very first minute. The film makes me realise how bad many of the atrocious movies the film spawned really are. Its power is in the mind of the watcher. It is certainly not gory but there is an element of menace throughout that is accentuated by your own mind's ability to imagine how thing felt or what was actually being done while the chainsaw buzzed. On top of this is the finest screaming I have heard in many a year and some very effective camera work. Watch it with lights off and alone !!

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The Commitments (1991)

9/10

One of the best, Suzuki and all !!

28 February 2004

I've lost track of the number of times I've seen and enjoyed this film and its raw energy. It just gets better and better. Aside from the superb soundtrack and the excellent band; the script is a gem (its reputation aided and abetted by the infamy of the "glossary of terms" for non-Irish )and adds to the the feel good factor of the movie. It is probably the best of contemporary Irish films. One of the great attractions is that there are so few recognised actors in it. Almost all of the main characters were chosen for their musical ability. It's also one of those films that makes you smile. For me its message is: "It's not just that you can achieve something even for a very short time but that you wanted to better yourself." Watch and enjoy! Put on the subtitles if you get stuck!

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The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

3/10

Oh dear, let me out of here

1 January 2004

I never got The Matrix, nonetheless I was enthralled by the first installment, bemused by the pap and nonsense that passed for dialogue, but George Lucas, master storyteller, is no great dialogue writer either. The Matrix was great fun! As for this mess, no more than the last 20 minutes deserves any mention at all. Even at that, it is pretentious, seriously daft, but stylish in the way the first film was. This could easily have been part of the first film, thus avoiding the tiresome drivel that this film is. I found an urgent need to take a toilet break after 20 minutes and a great fascination with my watch face thereafter. Thankfully I never saw this in the cinema. Where do I begin. With the given, Keanu Reeves can't act and never could !! There is more to life than wearing long coats and shades. This film demands someone with a touch of acting ability. The only ones that can, are parodies of themselves. Hugo Weaving sadly can't seem to get beyond "Mr Anderson" and surrendering to the tyranny of of multiple personality disorder. Laurence Fishbourne indulges in that fire-gazing caveman piffle that claims to be philosophy and is seen so infrequently that you suspect he must've had a disagreement over his paycheque. In short the film is shorn of an iota of plotline, bereft of any acting skills and it's only success is the massive sigh of relief it inspires when the final credits roll.

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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

4/10

Road to Nowhere

1 January 2004

I suppose I should grateful that we have been graced with a final installment just to tidy things up given the enthusiasm for trilogies of late but, is this one wise? I think not. Pointless and very, very disappointing is more apt. I have been generous in my rating. What Terminator 3 shows is that the absence of a good story cannot be patched up with the now all too familiar CG scenes. Arnie looks and is old and the intensity that Linda Hamilton brought to the earlier two films is gone. The plot was almost certainly written in the 1950's and Ed Wood did it better. It's as if it's a plot searching for a reason to be and hoping no-one will notice the colour by numbers patchwork that passes for a storyline. This could have been wrapped up in 20 minutes in the vastly superior T2, had it been written. In the end we are being treated to an exercise in pure capitalism. In summary if you're a fan you may enjoy it , if not avoid.

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The Hunt (1966)

10/10

A tragedy of human emotions pushed over the edge

30 December 2003

My first encounter with this bleak, stunning film was in its homeland, some 50 miles or so from the area. I felt the heat, the anger and how nature really does control us. What it shows keenly , particularly in the exquisite use of black and white is how close we can all be at any time to savagery. The thin veneer of humanity can so easily be removed. It left me sadly aware that we are all capable of such tragedy. Watch it for a feral insight into our dark souls. Superb.

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24 (2001–2010)

24 hours is a long time

27 July 2002

Well, it was good not brilliant particularly as the premise was highly novel.

What disappointed me most was the pedestrian nature of Palmer's love life and half hearted attempts to turn his wife into a nasty piece of work. It became tedious splitting off from a key point to see what David and Sherry were up to. His wife seemed to have two expressions;wince(smile) and give the cold eye( most of the time). To be honest I don't think the actress was up to it and was immensely annoying.

I found the plot convolutions acceptable apart from the female leads' predilection to get lost, physically and mentally, run into every miscreant in LA and subject themselves to constant kidnapping. Elastic colour by numbers plotting at work, notably during the rescue.

I'm not sure what we will say about it in time to come but like a lot of the entertainment we have "enjoyed at the time" from the 60s to now, it will have a degree of fondness. No better and no worse.

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