Change Your Image
nifnn
Reviews
An Education (2009)
An education..sure..
I just don't get the message this film is sending out, if you don't go to Oxford & read classic English literature you'll never make anything of yourself? Many people have become successful without an education & for three quarters of this film I thought the young lady in question had it figured out the kind of life she wanted but then no she decided that she wanted to go down the ''boring'' route & do something she hated.The con man that seduced her is an idiot but at least he showed her that there is a life beyond stuck behind books & listening to you're stuck up headmistress..entertaining film until she does the U turn at the end..
No Country for Old Men (2007)
..Dont really get it..
I just don't get this movie. For the first hour I was leaning closer to the edge of my seat as the two lead characters played cat & mouse with each other. It all seemed to building up nicely to a spectacular showdown, but instead Brolins character is shot suddenly & we don't even get to see it? I mean whats that about? Instead we get Tommy lee Jones's character moralising & making some sort of speech that no one understands & has no relevance you just want to get back to the main story. I couldn't really see the point of TLJ's character, much as I like that actor, nor could i see the logic of the Woody harrellson character.I found the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired also. This should have been a good action/crime thriller but the directors & writers seemed to be hellbent on messing it up, to which they succeeded with flying colours. There are some good scenes & acting in this film but its so disjointed & inconsistent in so many places, I was left feeling confused & disappointed once the credits rolled(abruptly).
Happiness (1998)
A bit strange, a bit stupid
This film baffled me like no other film. Whilst a certain times i found it painful to watch and felt like switching off, something else might happen and i was was transfixed. I'm not sure whether to give this one star or ten, I don't know if its good are bad. In hindsight i'm probably leaning towards the latter.
Its one of those multi-plot films that switches between different stories think Pulp Fiction(although quite different). I'm not really sure what the film is exactly trying to say if anything all, as there is so many issues at hand. Its almost like a series of short stories bundeled together with the fact that its 3 sisters and their lives its centred around just seems like a convenience. Doomed relationships, broken dreams, Paedophilia, adolescence, family/sibling relationships, frustration, desperation, sexual frustration, murder, Rape, emptiness & loneliness are just some of the themes dealt with here but little in the way of happiness.
Its hard to descibe the film, you just need to watch it really to make up your own mind. Some of the acting is fabulous. Philip seymour Hoffman & Dylan Baker are standout in awkward roles. There is a lot of explicit & objectionable materiel to make one squirm some of which i found pretty needless. Not that I'm easily offended,but when you see someone masturbating you kinda get the picture you don't need to see the semen dripping down the wall just as an example. The Paedophilc father having a somewhat ridiculously ''honest'' conversation with his 11 year old son after he's been arreseted and released on bail?? Its just a tad surreal like much of this film. This is a film that assumes to understand society & its problems but just gives it an exaggerated portrayal.
True Confessions (1981)
Good but not great
I thought this movie was OK. I'm a huge Robert De Niro fan and whilst this is probably one of his weaker movies and I thought his performance is top notch here again. He's brilliantly convincing as a young catholic priest and plays the role very gently & with great empathy, its almost like he's whispering through the whole film, I don't know if any other actor could do a better job. Robert Duvall is excellent too as a tempesterous cop, brother of the priest, & there is wonderful chemistry between the two actors. For this alone this film is worth seeing.
As for the movie itself, well, at times I found it difficult to know what is exactly going on and I felt the movie could have gone a bit faster pace and there could have been more dialogue in places to explain certain things. Its a type of film that sort of leaves the viewer to make their own mind about certain issues such as corruption in the catholic church, prostitution, & sibling relationships.
Unbreakable (2000)
disappointing
Watching this movie is a bit like waiting for a train thats already been cancelled. As your watching the plot it seems is being slowly built up and then you realise the film is almost over and nothing has really happened, the film just never gets going.
The concept initially seems interesting about a man who realises he has supernatural powers. Bruce Willis is pretty much sleepwalking through this film but then again he hasn't got an awful lot of real acting to do. As a big fan of SLJ as I am, his character here is somewhat absurd. There is one major twist at the end but it is so ridiculous you almost feel cheated. I mean, a six year old could write a better ending.
This film is way too slow moving, I mean there are good slow moving films and painfully slow moving films, this is definitely one of the latter. Best skip this one..
I Am Sam (2001)
Standing ovation
This is one those really rare movies that pulls you in from the very start and sends you on an emotional roller-coaster. Even the blackest of hearts would be moved by this film. Sean Penn's performance as a mentally disabled dad fighting for custody of his daughter is simply awesome & hypnotic which must go down as one of the great performances in cinema history, in what is a very difficult role to play, you forget its Sean Penn and you just become part of Sam's world. Michelle Pfieffer is outstanding as well as an overbearing lawyer who then finds herself as a result of Sam, becoming part of her life. This film is beautifully shot with a great soundtrack and is pretty much flawless which has so much depth, on so many levels. Its a thinking person's film. Watch it.
State of Grace (1990)
One of the great mob movies
Well what can I say about this film, its an utterly gripping mob movie without having to indulge in the grandeur of a scorsese/de niro mob movie. This Flannery gang are white knuckeld hoodlums who would shoot before they even spare a thought, even their own flesh & blood.
The true revelation in this film is Gary Oldman-what an actor! I don't know if I've ever seen such a realistically sociopathic performance from another actor in any other film- its chilling you just don't know what he'll do next but one thing you do know is that someone is going to get seriously hurt. Sean penn is excellent as undercover cop noonan and Ed Harris is another revelation as the colder than ice boss.
If you like mob movies, crime thrillers, heck just watch this movie. Your in for one hell of a ride.
The Van (1996)
Stereotypical Irish humbug film
As an Irish person I couldn't help but cringe a little whilst watching this film, much as I enjoyed it. Its seems to be the same ''poor us,we've nothing, down on our luck'' story that seems to be the running theme through a zillion other Irish films & in particular, Roddy Doyle stories. We've seen it all before.
The film has some quite funny moments, and the stereotypical Irishman, Colm Meaney does his usual business but the storyline is quite weak and simplistic really. I don't think I came away from the film any wiser than before.
I think its time Irish film making upgraded with other countries and maybe feature something like casino's, beaches, hot girls, edge of the seat mob thriller instead of war, famine,unemployment, tradgedies, gypseys, priests, and in this case two idiots opening a chip van.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Beautifully filmed yet flawed in places
This film is quite top notch as regards cinematography, and it is beautifully & quite eerily filmed. I was particularly awestrucked by the opening scene of Donny lying down in the middle of a road at dawnbreak, after sleepwalking.
The film starts at quite a steady pace, we find out more about Donny & the battles going on in the kid's mind & life. However, I found as the film went on, the storyline is actually quite weak and wears itself out, and some of the characters are quite underdeveloped & inconvincing e.g his parents, the English teacher and the rabbit who I couldn't quite work out such as is he supposed to be real, where does he come from, whats his beef? Jake Gylenhaal gives a haunting performance as Donny who's basically a spoilt snotty nosed rich kid who its hard to have sympathy for(his Dad buys him a moped as a punishment?)but despite this, Gylenhaal plays the character more sensitively than written so its easier for the audience to connect.
Again you could say this film is open to interpetation, in lots of areas and you may need a second or third viewing etc, but just the one will do me. Overrated film that begins promisingly for 30-40 mins then loses its way and ends up lost up its own behind. Thats my interpetation.
Perfect Stranger (2007)
Average but watchable
I've seen a lot worse movies than this so I'm surprised with all the ultra negative reviews. The film keeps you interested but rarely on the edge of your seat. I see a lot of criticism for Halle Berry which I cant understand because she's a fine actress and man she's hot in this movie I really love her with long hair. She gave it her all here but I didn't particularly like her character who's shallow and as it proves quite 2 faced.
Bruce Willis does a good job as meglomaniacal, adulterous, high powered businessman who Berry's character tries to pin her friends murder on. The ending is a little disappointing, I watched the movie back a second time and some things which happened earlier in the film don't quite measure up with the ending. This kind of who dunnit? film is never easy to pull off but all in all I think the film is OK and is worth watching on a quiet night in.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Truly remarkable!!
To be honest, I put off watching this film until recently, not because I'm homophobic or anything of the sort, but as a straight guy I assumed it wouldn't be my cup of tea and I wouldn't be able to relate to it, I assumed it would be homo-indulgent & hard to watch, like a chick flick or watching Science fiction if you're not a science fiction head. I was aware of the jokes and stigma attached to this film and I never found myself in a hurry to see it, despite the glowing reviews, I just assumed it would be boring & not my thing.
Well I can tell you I have almost never been so wrong about anything in my life.. The sheer depth of this film blew me away on so many levels. Its the kind of film that after seeing it, you start questioning aspects of your own life, not necessarily your sexuality, but things like relationships with those close to you or in the past, the powerful emotions ''what if?'' that are characterised throughout this stunning film.
One of the most impacting things about this film is its depiction of love, and how powerful it can be in its rawest form. Lets face it these 2 dudes are madly in love, and it is heartbreaking to see them not being able to get what they really want out of life. Heath Ledger is obviously fantastic and puts his heart and soul into this film, but I think the performance of Jake gyllenhaal is underrated and is equally as good, this is a fine actor with a good career ahead of him.
Anyway to wrap it up if you want to be emotionally challenged and taken out your comfort zone I recommend you take some time out to watch this wonderful film.