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matchett79
Reviews
My Life So Far (1999)
Just another British rich people movie
Another lottery-funded, over-produced yet well-acted film about rich British people doing nothing apart from slightly eccentric episodes set to an over bearing score. Imagine Kenneth Brannagh doing 1920s Scotland. Does contain some slightly amusing plot devices but nothing of any significance happens. The fact that this was based on a true story about a boy who grew up to be sort of important didn't help me at least. It's not a bad film but it says nothing and does nothing new. Could have been made for much-much less money for TV but apparently some charities didn't want their lottery money. A bit more content, heart and soul would have made the difference.
Operetta tanuki goten (2005)
It's not bad because it's different. It's just bad.
Weird with unnecessary singing and backdrops. Randomly much of the action will occur on stage giving the feeling of an opera performance. None of that explains why this is such a bad film.
It's the impression that either not enough rehearsal took place or that no experienced choreographer was available. The acting is flat. Even the sparkling Ziyi Zhang looks like she's just waiting for her next movement or line. You may notice the trivia on this site stating that she spent half a month in Japan learning to sign and dance. Read that again as 2 weeks and things begin to make sense. Even worse are the little kids who seem to be looking at their parents at the back of the studio rather than at the camera.
The cheap and cheerful sfx are just cheap and cheap. The editing is staccato chops peppered with slices of just nothing that adds to anything except annoyance. Just imagine all the silly dance scenes from the recent Zatoichi - particularly the closing routine - performed by your local high school drama club with one famous actress who speaks in another language (but you get her in simply because she's so good normally despite being unsuitable), recorded on a cheap camera and then edited into three times its length in no artful order.
Waking Life (2001)
Arthouse at it's most art. Not a film.
7 quid. 99 minutes. Hated it.
Now if it had been free at 2am on TV coupled with imsomnia and the chance to get up and move about (not generally appreciated in cinemas) I could have loved it.
But no. Sit me down for 99 minutes and take my 7 quid. Make me listen to some acid hazed rambling lectures. Promise me groundbreaking animation and give me lazy computer subsidised 'deep' (read shallow) effects such as camera zooming when a speaker mentions telescoping.
Real. Deep. Man.
Having said that about 70 minutes in the film does pretend that there might be a plot as the main character begins to investigate the true nature of the dream. But by then it's too late. I owe the girlfriend a massage for dragging her away from Y Tu Mama Tambien.
So rent it on DVD for a few coins and get drunk or just plain sleepy and you'll like it. But avoid watching in a cinema environment at all costs.
Conclusion: Likely to scare the casual filmgoer dipping into independent cinema back to Spiderman and Star Wars II.