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Duncan_C
Reviews
Winter's Bone (2010)
Very Good film, Oscars to come probably
I reckon the Oscars might be all over this one. There's been a heavy buzz about this film at the Edinburgh International Festival this year and so I managed to get into a public screening of it after missing the press one. It was pretty good. I'd argue not as insanely good as most people say, but a fairly solid film.
I won't go on about plot but the acting was good from basically everyone in the film. John Hawkes especially shone out for me.
The film is shot really well on the RED camera. It looks pretty amazing.
The soundtrack is pretty haunting stuff and fits the film perfectly.
The storyline is meant to be pretty much the same as the book. So it's a straight conversion. Done well.
Listening to the Q&A with director after the film showed me just how much research had gone into the film. Soo much preparation really paid of for them as the film feels really authentic.
There was a lot going on in the film, not plot wise but themes and hidden messages. The film is very anti-drugs, and thats one of the main messages throughout. Its showing how drugs can tear apart families and communities. There are other things going on I'll let viewers figure out for themselves. It can take a while contemplating the film afterwards before realising.
highly recommend the film to all, and I predict there could be best director, actress nominations to come.
Duncancowles.com duncansreviews.wordpress.com
Cigarette Girl (2009)
Good concept, bad film.
Saw this film with reasonably high hopes but it failed to impress. I feel bad as I've heard the makers of the film are nice people but it just did'nt do it for me, or that fact for a lot of the cinema who walked out at various points. It was badly synced, badly acted, badly shot. Some shots were out of focus etc... If thats the style they were going fair enough but it did'nt work for me or a lot of others. I stayed to the end of course and it was a more interesting film that some I've seen but not interesting enough.
The opening credits were great though. Whoever designed and put them together did a good job.
The concept behind the film was a good one just not carried through well unfortunately. I was expecting a sort of 'Equilibrium', 'District 9' type of 'segregation in the future' type of film but it did'nt come. The future for me looked like the past.
A shame. I don't like saying a film is bad but unfortunately I did'nt enjoy this one.
Duncancowles.com Duncansreviews.wordpress.com
Hotel Atlântico (2009)
Not my sort of thing, maybe yours.
Walked into this film knowing nothing about it. I left still knowing nothing about it. That is because there is nothing too know about it. I don't like criticising films, and I've been thinking recently I may stop, but it has to be said. I found it difficult to stay awake during 'Hotel Atlantico'. It's said to be an unconventional road movie. It sort of is, but so little happens in the film I got bored quick. It was long and tiresome. I appreciate the film was made well on a technical level and some may enjoy it's plot. I didn't however. I didn't like the main character, or any sub characters. I just didn't get it. I'm not even interested in finding out what it was all really about on sub levels or whatever. For me it was just boring. I feel bad saying it as I can see work has gone in, it just didn't work for me. It may work for you.
R (2010)
A Danish version of Un Prophete that isn't as good.
aw this film at it's press screening this morning at Edinburgh International Film Festival. I'd heard it was meant to be the next 'Un Prophete'. Certainly if you haven't seen 'Un Prophete' you may well think this film is brilliant. Those that have seen 'Un Prophete' however may go away a little bit disappointed. There is just too much that is the same in both films. Both the films explore the tough inner workings of a prison from the point of view of a new comer. We are not told why this main character is in prison, only that he maybe stabbed somebody. He seems to be a good guy who is trapped working for a gang in prison. He's made to do tasks he doesn't want to do so he isn't treated like dirt, or killed. there is also another gang in the prison made up of Albanians etc
etc
.etc
.
It's the same old prison story that's getting told over and over. It is however a solid story so it's what they do with it that matters.
They succeed in creating a likable main character that we sympathise with and support. They show how gritty and corrupt a Danish prison is. They do the whole thing with sexy camera angle's and expert editing.
I was enjoying the movie, until I began to feel it wasn't going anywhere, then near the end we switch character perspective and follow a different character for the last fifteen minutes. For me, the story ends with our main character, I'm not interested in seeing his friend story for another 15minutes, that just didn't work for me. I saw others shifting uncomfortably in the audience as well. When the second end does come though it does hit with impact. I found myself wanting to look away as it was fairly intense.
The film is on some levels very good, the soundtrack is perfect, well there's no songs just an intense score. The acting is amazing, the set is great, editing brilliant, script, pretty flawless. It's the story that just didn't grab me like it should've. There was nothing I hadn't seen before. It was a classic prison movie, done better than most, but not as good as 'Un Prophete' and 'Shawshank'. I was blown away by some shots in the film which were just incredible.
'Un Prophete' for me is the best prison movie, it has everything, it is long, but justifiably. R is shorter at 90 minutes, but it was the end that spoiled it for me. If R had come out before 'Un Prophete' I'd probably like it better, but R doesn't explore much that 'Un Prophete' doesn't. I just wasn't interested in the last 15/20minutes. It's a shame, a lot of work has obviously gone into the film. It is still worth seeing. However I'd recommend most people just stick with 'Un Prophete'.
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The People vs. George Lucas (2010)
Fan of Star Wars or not you should like this.
My first documentary at Edinburgh's International Film Festival this year directed by Alexandre Philippe, The People vs George Lucas.
I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, in fact I watched the star was franchise in the wrong order. I started with Episode 1 and worked my way to 6. I've received a lot of grief for this over the years from friends and film lovers but I'm not that bothered. I did it that way so as to achieve a unique perspective on the films, it may have been the "wrong" perspective but I was given the chance to watch them from Ep 1 to Ep 6 and it made sense to me at the time. I've watched all the films once, they were OK, the last three (or first three depending on what way you look at it) Ep 4 – 6 were definitely superior but still for me, nothing special. I can appreciate that had I been around in the 70s or watched the films at a younger stage in my life I may feel differently. I know also of the huge fan base Star Wars has. Anyway the point of saying all this is, I went into the film not knowing much about the subject, unlike the majority of the rest of the folk in my screen.
I found the film entertaining, funny and informative. I laughed, not at all the jokes but enough to say its a comedy documentary that will make you laugh despite your knowledge of the subject. If you have seen the films many times over you will no doubt get more of the jokes though.
There was great use of archive photos and footage from the likes of 'The Daily Show' and You tube etc
I found this impressive as I know it can be considerably difficult to gain copyright permission for these type of things. There was maybe a lack of actual footage from the films. There was some but probably not enough in my opinion.
The structure of the film was great and seemed to be appropriate length for the most part. I'd argue the last 3rd of the film dragged on a little, and began to repeat itself a lot. There's only so many times you can make the one point. The film is 97mins and I thing should be at most 80.
The music also at points became a little distracting for me. It was played quite loudly throughout the film which was OK most of the time but sometimes the audio was not lowered enough during interviews and I was distracted. On the subject of the interviews however I was impressed at the sheer amount. There were new opinions all the way to the end of the film. Some reasonably well respected faces appearing for only a few seconds. There was clearly a lot of work put into the film which I respect deeply.
I think Star Wars fans will be happy with the film.
People who aren't bothered about Star Wars should also see the film if possible. I found it interesting finding out some of the big debates in the star wars universe. I will now be able to appreciate and join in discussions with my mates about it. I think girlfriends subjected to Star Wars chat may find it a useful tool.
I'd say the film was a very good one indeed.
L'illusionniste (2010)
A beautiful film
This is the opening film at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival and I was lucky enough to see it today with my delegate pass. It's an animated film by Slyvain Chomet. The film did well at Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and I predict it will do very well at Edinburgh this year as well.
Briefly the film is about a French magician struggling with his trade, who meets a young Scottish girl. They travel to Edinburgh together and explore the city. I don't want to say too much more than that for anyone reading who wasn't seen the film.
Things I loved about the film were that there was barely any dialogue, most things said were in either french or Gaelic and I understand neither, yet I understood the whole film. This is because visually the story is told through actions not words. It's masterfully told this way and beautifully drawn,
The visuals were just stunning. I live in Edinburgh where most of the film is set and it made me want to get out and enjoy the city. The drawings aren't always geographically accurate but this doesn't matter. That doesn't affect the film, I just happened to notice because I live here.
I loved the subtle humour in some of the backgrounds. Your eye was skilfully drawn to the right places by use of colour placement. A warm glow behind the main character may link to a flyer stuck to the wall. The main character will then walk to pick up this flyer. This was brilliant.
On the downside I thought that towards the end the story began to lag a little, maybe just being a tad too long. Other than this there was little I did not like. The ending though when it came brought me to the verge of tears, it was that beautiful. I urge everyone to go see this film when it comes out, or in EIFF if you can get tickets.
A Single Man (2009)
Enjoyable if you like that sort of thing
Saw "A Single Man" last night. I've been waiting to see it for a while, I saw the trailer a few weeks back and was blown away by the look of the film. Every shot in the film is like a work of art worthy of being framed and hung on a wall. Directed by Tom Ford the man who's known for 'redefining Gucci'. He's an incredible photographer and has taken the leap from advertising to film very well. The film is just visually stunning. The use of colour to display emotions was well done. The pace of the film was steady and didn't feel too long or too short. There are numerous flashbacks in the film to his gay relationship which are great, and enjoyable. The setting of the film in both time and location is authentic and absorbing. I could go on about how enjoyable this film was but there were some downsides. The script is basic although I don't think it needed to be anything more than that to work. The character played by Nicholas Hoult is perhaps a little bit annoying but I'm probably prejudice as I'm not a huge fan of the actor. There are I think some continuity errors but they're done in a way that's confident and so they don't take away from the film too much, although I did personally find them distracting. The film got a bit weird towards the end but I think it was a reasonably solid ending. I like the character played by Colin Firth. I'm not normally a huge Colin Firth film but he did a good job in this. His character was very watchable. Julianne Moore also did a very good job. The soundtrack was great and authentic. It added to the smokey erotic style of the film. The film is very erotic. Lots of lips and slow motion flesh. Anyway to some up a very enjoyable film, made the way good films should be made.
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