Category Archives: Cinema

Apr 08 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, United Kingdom

Lady Macbeth (2016).

I do hope to never view this film again. This is not because it is in any way rubbish; the images are striking, the story clenching you from the off. It’s brilliant but oh so brutal, an exercise in putting the viewer through the Victorian wringer. And the protagonist manages to be both monstrous and worthy of your sympathy at the same time, a bona fide Lady Macbeth, I suppose. She reminded me of a far less avuncular, much more sinister approximation of Clint Eastwood’s quote in Gran Torino (2008) when he declares, “Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn’t have fucked with? That’s me.”

Just don’t bother with the popcorn for this one.

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Apr 06 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies

Glass (2019).

A surface-level bog-standard thriller with a bit more to it, recalling the gnarly Unbreakable (2000), sans that peculiar score fished from a ghetto’s gutter. It was the James Newton Howard one; he sounded like DJ Shadow with an orchestra back then.

An apparently ‘normal’ superhero (Big Brucie Bonus) doing the legwork and the nitty-gritty, with barely any quips and facepalm-inducing one liners. 

And this was pure rubbish but not … that bad. And it’s thoughtful in a way, institutions and their ingrained sordid ways given a bit of the Cuckoo’s Nest treatment.

Bruce is the best as always, and Bruce has been missed. Mace Windu is also here with us, a lad incapable of bad acting. Sarah Paulson runs the ward/show, though, an outwardly reasonable yet diabolically cruel gaslighting specialist. She excels at the Nurse Ratched role.

We also have a preposterous chat between a security guard and a low-level charge nurse (or whatever). It’s so accurate in depicting that moment when a gremlin is spraffing a life lesson to you, stuff you already know, but you are compelled to nod and pretend to be absorbing new information as they are in a position of authority. It’s every job I’ve ever had and you must endure the torture. 

I’d recommend this film. The reviews out there are a bit scathing. Don’t believe them. 

It’s not crap and I’m always correct. 

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Apr 01 2024
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Outfit (2022).

So unusual for a crime thriller, we have a protagonist as nonthreatening as it comes operating on the sidelines of the mob. Nonthreatening until you really see how clever and kind of sinister he is, he reminded me of Tom Hardy in The Drop (2014).

Exquisitely crafted, intense, this is a good old-fashioned crime drama which goes beyond the situation piece it could have been as it never leaves the one location for its duration. A movie with no faffing around. And there are some brutal scenes.

A rare gem.

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Mar 25 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

L’Emploi du temps (2001).

It was difficult to compare this movie to another, such was the singularity of it. But the works of Éric Rohmer come to mind with their mood, pacing, and thematic concerns.

It’s a joy to watch and never dull despite the monotony of the subject matter, all held together by a quite exceptional leading performance and the unpredictability of events. You do wonder, knowing it’s based loosely on a true story, if this bloke is going to end up going crackers.

Exquisite cinema.

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Mar 22 2024
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Art, Cinema, Movie, Uncategorized

 “No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.” – Roger Ebert.

Indeed.

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Mar 18 2024
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Art, Cinema, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Edge of Darkness (2010).

It’s okay.

Mel is good in everything, a top actor and a sublime filmmaker. Our British Bulldog extraordinaire Ray Winstone also rocks up as an enigmatic spy/assassin with existential predilections, and he gives the type of performance that makes you wish the movie would segue into it all being about him.

However, Danny Huston features, and he is terrible as always. He saunters like C-3PO and has the diction of a constipated android. He almost ruins the movie, as he does most movies he features in.

Bloke needs to be banned from cinema.

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Mar 13 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Dune 2 (2024) isn’t any good.

I found this such a painful experience and I’ll be brief about why.

It was overstuffed with inconsequential ritual, gormless staring from every character in it, needless detail, and shots and pacing so ponderous I kept kicking the chair in front of me (it was empty).

The Fremen were so boring it felt like a really honking Ryanair flight when you’re stuck on the tarmac for 45 mins. It went on and on with these goons and I was sick to death of them. What else? It’s wholly unmemorable in its dialogue. Not a single line staying with you, the chat consists of characters telling the audience what is happening.

The pros:

The spectacle is great, the effects sublime. The Harkonnen are at least interesting, their strange society and brutal ways. But they barely feature. Apparently, folk chatting in a desert is more deserved of our attention.

That’s about it. 

I won’t be watching again.

Shite.

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Mar 11 2024
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Art, Cinema, Fantasy, Film, Movie, Movies, Technology, Uncategorized

Last Action Hero (1993).

It’s okay if all over the place with a jarringly inconsistent tone – too violent but not violent enough, it’s half a kids’ movie, half Lethal Weapon, which doesn’t work. Maybe they should have just stuck with the one genre or infused it with more magic, the escapism of the movie theatre and all that.

Spot the cameo helps pass the two-hour running time, and it has its moments when you think it could be relaxing into a movie that goes somewhere. But it doesn’t.

It’s stupid. But it’s not stupid-stupid. At least you get two Arnies for the price of one in this hit-and-miss deconstruction of action cinema. 

Good poster.

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Mar 10 2024
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

Spaceman (2024).

It’s well shot and that’s something. I like a movie that has thought behind where the camera is. 

And I liked it. It’s an effective mood piece that has a bit of Terrence Malick about it. 

And Adam Sandler shares a platonic hug with a talking three-foot spider voiced by Paul Dano. 

Which is what you need in a film. 

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Mar 04 2024
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Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

Pretty Woman (1990).

What a load of shite this was, but it’s another ‘must see’ movie off my bucket list.

The premise is ludicrous, as is almost everything that takes place. And it’s pure cringe, from him taking a streetwalker into a fantasy hotel, the wincing reactions of the staff and the guests, the squirming montage of her on Rodeo Drive trying on the outfits to ‘Pretty Woman’ (how clever), to the tedious board meetings.

And the bloke who played George Costanza from Seinfeld is in it and he is rubbish. 

It’s embarrassing.

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