Change Your Image
thetrev
Reviews
Dredd (2012)
Pretty good, but sloooow!
Straight up, the film is good and has a lot of action. The acting is decent and the costumes and weaponry are generally pretty cool. The problem for me is that I was actually hoping for the action I grew up with in the 2000AD comics.
For those unfamiliar with the comic, this is probably not something which will trouble you, as the action and setting are dirty and gritty and realistic. However, I would have liked a little more comic book action. OK, I understand there will be changes and these are necessary in some cases and acceptable in many. The redesignation of Judge Anderson as a rookie and a mutant (In the comics she is already an established Judge in the Psychic Division) was OK and allowed a context for the story and for some character development (not Judge Dredd's personal strong point). What I found was that in trying to make the film a bit more realistic, it lost some of its character.
One of the main problems is the Judge uniform. In the comics it is rather large. Sensibly, the costumers have thinned it down. However, all that body armour is not going to make it easy to move the way Dredd does in the comics. In this film, he is reminsicent of a cross between Dirty Harry and Robocop and moves like them. In the comics, Dredd is very lithe and athletic. he thinks nothing of jumping around, something which only happened once in this film (other than when he was trying to outrun the heavy machine guns). Strangely enough, another piece of realism which affected his movement was the use of realistic police firearm techniques. In this film JD moves with his pistol in 2 hands... In the comics he almost always fires one-handed. The use of a two hand grip seems to slow both his movements down and the action. Real;istic though it looks, I'd been hoping more for a John Woo style of action.
The tone of the film starts well, although I found Mega City 1 surprisingly empty and unfuturistic. Had it been a modern cop action flick, it would have been nrilliantly set, but considering this is supposed to be at least the tail-end of the 21st century, the clothes, forearms and cars (they still have VW camper vans!) were just a bit 1990's. It was a bit like having a Die Hard car chase in Model T Fords. For me, this emptiness of the streets and the early 21st century gear robbed it of its futuristic appeal. Sorry, but the Stallone version at least got this right.
Once I'd got over the shock of Judge Dredd in 2012, I sat back and enjoyed the film for what it is, a stylish, well-made, tightly done action flick. No big surprises, but some nice touches, especially from Judge Anderson who came into her own in the mind-reading scene.
I'd have still liked a few "Drok It!"s though!.
General Nil (2009)
A strong film about a strong man.
As a non-Pole I knew nothing about General Nil (the code name of Emil Fieldorf, a general in the Polish "Home Army" resistance). This film shows a stark, bleak vision of the life and choices which was faced by the men and women who fought bravely for their country against both the Nazis and the Soviets, having been betrayed by their so-called Allies. Men who fought for a free Poland (it had only been re-established in 1918 after over 120 years being wiped off the map)then had to face the prospect of life under a Soviet banner or death (exile was also an option).
The film shows the bleak existence many ordinary Poles faced, as well as the danger anyone faced for saying they had been involved in AK (Home Army) activities, and the merciless power of the Soviet system, which the Allied powers had abandoned them to.
The performances are powerful and commanding. The images of ordinary civilians (Nil's wife and daughter) being abused by the communist system, the betrayal of old ideals and old comrades, the atmosphere of terror which the new Soviet powers sought to instill are vividly portrayed.
For those who think WW2 starts and ends with Sir John Mills or John Wayne will be shocked and disgusted at what went on afterwards.
This film is superb. NO glorified battles or last stands, just the portrayal of courage and dignity in the face of squalid betrayal and brutality.
Heroes and Villains: Spartacus (2008)
interesting drama-documentary on the real story.
Like the rest of the "Heroes and Villains" series (Attila, Napoleon, Cortes, Richard the Lionheart and Shogun) this is an enjoyable dramatised version of the real events surrounding the character of Spartacus. You might be sad to find there's no "I am Spartacus" scene but the story and fight canes are well presented, despite not having the big bucks of a major production.
My only reservation is that for a leader who created such problems for the Roman Empire, Spartacus is portrayed as being very indecisive and wishy-washy at times (not the fault of the actor, who does a wonderful job).
Juno (2007)
Hell, I enjoyed it!
There seem to be a lot of reviews of this film, prior to this one, that complain about the reality of a street-wise 16-year-old kid getting pregnant and not, apparently, using contraception. Well, for realities sake, it is possible for contraception not to work, for people to use it incorrectly, for condoms to burst etc. Believe me, I know a few intelligent girls/women who thought they were OK and then started growing! So, please don't let that spoil your view of the film.
Other reviews ask how a 16 year old, born in the 1990's can be so knowledgeable about 1970's punk. Duh! I have 15, 16 and 17 year old students who listen to the Beatles and the Doors, for crying out loud.
Hey, i liked the dialogue, often quite clever and witty, liked the performances and generally enjoyed the film.
I must point out that at no point did I see any headings or signs which said this was either a documentary or a world-changing epic. So maybe that's why I took it as a piece of entertainment.
Eragon (2006)
like they used to make 'em
If someone ever says they don't make films the way they used to... show 'em this one. It's exactly like every other film of this genre which has ever been made is like.Think of every film of the fantasy genre you've ever seen and that will give you the idea of what this film is.Battle of the Clichés, which will win, the scenario, the training routines, the script or the plot? If I said the plot was Star Wars with Dragons instead of the Force I'd have given a 100% spoiler.
Oh my god... I have to think up more lines to say about this film to submit it...
It fills a couple of hours, Irons is pretty decent, effects great...
but Robert Carlyle sums it up. "I was expecting...well... more"
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
30 minutes of good ideas padded out by rubber faces.
Sorry, I've just seen this film and I can't believe all the thumbs up reviews. This, to me, was a lost chance. The good ideas and chuckle scenes (and there are some good ones) are padded out by rubber faced expressions every 5 seconds.
Sorry, but does Rowan Atkinson or anyone else REALLY think that gurning into the camera every five seconds and going "aooorrrrhhh!" is actually funny? Even the "look at me' dance scenes get a bit worn. It wouldn't be so bad if weren't actually presented them in a way that looks like we are supposed to think they are funny.
That said, there are some nice scenes and good performances.
The Merchant of Venice (1980)
beats Larry hands down
Warren Mitchell's portrayal is amazing. Rather than the over-playing of Olivier Mitchell shows a man who is loathed by all and yet is also obviously a product of this loathing. His shifts between pleasure and pain, glory and defeat, hatred and hurting are superb.
A previous poster comments on Mitchell's accent. fair enough, but why just pick on his. All the others should be speaking Italian. Mitchell's Yiddish accent is fine and, for the most part, resists the urge to go 100% comic.
Another poster wrote of the production failing to 'resolve the antisemitic overtones of the play'. So what? Antisemitism has never been resolved and it certainly wasn't in the play... nor, do I feel, was it meant to be. We feel little sympathy for the 'winners' in this piece. Their own virulent antisemitism has been shown and the creation of it, Shylock's twisted avenger, is also obvious.
What surprised me was how, even though I knew the play, Portia came across as the biggest, self-righteous cow in the piece. I had never thought of how the caskets could refer to her when the matter of outer beauty housing less than beautiful things. This beautiful woman has a heart of stone towards the Jew and the foreigners.
Down from the Mountain (2000)
nice but could have had more!
For what it is this is pretty good. It has musicians playing and audience enjoying with no film-trickery or SFX. I was a bit disappointed that the song "I'll Fly Away" wasn't shown complete but as a track over the credits.
The documentary section could have been way better, perhaps with more history of the songs and musicians for them folks of us who don't know nobetter! The bits about how they learned to sing and play were very interesting and more would have been appreciated.
However, as a record of some fine, ole time music it hits the spot nicely.
Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale (2003)
hilarious gaffe!
I didn't see all of the episodes but those I saw were fun.
One of the funniest scenes was probably not intentional. In the Miller's Tale, where Nick is getting shaved by Danny the shaving foam changed position a couple of times... reappearing after he's been shaved.
I never noticed it until my students were rolling around in fits.
Nice acting and a jolly romp. Billie Piper actually does well surrounded by guys like James Nesbitt and Dennis Waterman. I believe it gave her a new break in her career.
A fun updating but I felt the fart could have been more impressive!
Popiól i diament (1958)
lost youth in Poland
This film shows an alternative lost youth to that of 1950's America. In the late 1940's and early 1950's some of Poland's teenagers were involved in a life and death struggle against the Soviet and Communist Polish authorities. these young people had been raised in the bloodshed of WWII and had learned to fight and die.
The film shows the lost youth of Poland struggling to find a way to leave this vicious upbringing and return to a normality which they often didn't ever have.
The film's hero wants to return to being a student and having romances and friends after years of fighting for the Polish underground (this is why he wears sunglasses, because his eyesight was damaged fighting in tunnels during the Warsaw Uprising), however he has a mission to kill a communist officer...
The film is amazing, the imagery reflects the detruction and sorrow of this lost generation. The direction and acting are superb. Like a previous poster, however, I was a little dis-satisfied with the ending, which differed from the book. That is a trivial point, though.