Tag: netflix

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Film Review

Traitor (dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff) 2008

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This is a gripping spy thriller about recruiting and dispatching suicide bombers and about the enforcement agencies attempting to prevent this.

Don Cheadle is excellent as a devout Muslim, bomb expert, training suicide bombers. His internal strife keeps you guessing which side he identifies with, right through the film. Guy Pearce turns in another very nuanced performance as an American agent trying to catch him. The script is well written in that none of the major characters see the conflict in purely black and white terms even though their individual part in it is uncompromising.

The story was written by Steve Martin, better known for his comedy. It is clever and has enough twists to hold your interest until close to the end. The direction is dark and gritty, which suits the subject matter.

The ending is at odds with the rest of the film in that it ties up all the loose ends a little too nicely but, I guess, with a more realistic ending, it probably would not have been made at all.

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Film Review

The Russia House (dir. Fred Schepisi) 1990

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This is a John Le Carre novel given the Hollywood treatment. The story is as complex as you would expect from a Le Carre story, you will need your full faculties about you to decipher who is lying to whom, and the twists will keep you interested right until the end. Even the ending was unexpected given the author’s earlier stories but it is often nice to be surprised.

It was released in 1990 and is packed with big names of the time. It has Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider, James Fox – it even has Ken Russell, as eccentric an actor as he was a director. Sean Connery plays a jazz loving, book publisher and is as good as I have ever seen him. Michelle Pfeiffer and Roy Scheider are excellent too, in quite complex roles.  I really enjoyed the soundtrack too, an interesting mixture of jazz and Russian influenced themes.

For me though, the real star of the movie was Russia. It was one of the earliest movies to be allowed to shoot on location in the Soviet Union. Moscow and Leningrad (St Petersburg now) look austere, monumental and beautiful.

The settings here capture a time and place perfectly; adding an extra dimension to an already vey good film.

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Film Review

Requiem for a Dream (dir. Darren Aronofsky) 2000

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I really liked this film. I really disliked this film. They say about good art; it invokes strong feelings.

I found the story preachy and two dimensional. There was no suspense and you will foresee the end, before you are five minutes into the film. It made me think of the 1930’s movie “Reefer Madness” or the 1970’s “Go Ask Alice” – remade for the 21st Century.

However….it is very well made. The acting, writing, direction and soundtrack are all very good.

Ellen Burstyn was nominated for an Academy Award for her part in this and she is wonderful. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans are very good too. All four characters are beautifully written and we genuinely care about what happens to them. The direction is clever, Darren Aaronofsky illustrates the circuits of addiction elegantly, so it is compelling to watch – even as you tell yourself that you shouldn’t be watching.

Finally, the soundtrack is fantastic. Clint Mansell and The Brodsky Quartet, have created a hypnotic and immersive soundscape that fits perfectly with the mood of this film.

This is a great movie. I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t think it was made for enjoyment, but it is still good art.

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Film Review

Margin Call (dir. J.C. Chandler) 2011

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Margin Call was filmed in 2010 and released at the Sundance film festival early 2011. It is very well made, has a great script and the cast is packed with famous actors, all of whom do a good job. Paul Bettany’s and Jeremy Irons’ performances, in particular, are excellent. Kevin Spacey is always good.

The farther away we get from its release date, the less impact this film has. It is a film about a very specific incident; the financial crisis of 2008/9 and the part that sub-prime mortgages had in this. This film sets out to be an insight into the companies involved and into the people running and working in those companies.

It feels like an independent festival movie because its prime motivation is to inform rather than entertain. It achieves this well, and it suited the market when it was released, shortly after the crash.

Now though, most people who would choose to watch this, already have the information that it imparts, and the story itself is good but not brilliant.

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Film Review

The Mothman Prophecies (dir.Mark Pellington) 2002

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This film is supposedly based on true events that happened in Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967. Although it is said that truth can be stranger than fiction, I have seen Disney talking animal movies that required less suspension of disbelief. I guess that this film was aimed at the part of the market that thought the X Files was a documentary.

As a horror film, it misses the mark because, although the storyline is quite dark, there aren’t really any scary moments in the film.

The acting is pretty good, Richard Gere, David Eigenberg and Will Patton all cope well in contending with a meandering storyline and their character’s unusual decision making. Will Patton goes from holding Richard Gere at gunpoint in the bath to trusting him, overnight, without much convincing.

I’m not going to say avoid this film at all costs, it was well paced and it held my attention throughout but, for me, there are better things to watch on Netflix.

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Film Review

The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson) 2014

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The Grand Budapest Hotel is light, frothy escapism. The story is an unlikely but likeable tale involving the concierge, played by Ralph Fiennes, aided by the lobby boy, played by Tony Revolori.

It is crammed with famous actors in cameo roles. Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton are particularly memorable, but there are so many others that you could spend the whole movie saying “Oh look! Isn’t that…..”

The jokes are off-beat and sometimes off-colour. The script contains some nice aphorisms and some good one line jokes. The characters are a lovely mixture of smarmy and sharp.

The sets and set pieces are extraordinary and absorbing. It was nominated for 9 Academy awards and best set design was one of those it won.  The costumes and the acting are wonderfully camp, it also won Oscars for best make-up and best costume design.

I didn’t find any great universal truths in “The Grand Budapest Hotel” but I smiled for the full hour and a half and that is definitely a recommendation.

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Film Review

A Single Man (dir. Tom Ford) 2009

 

A Single Man is a day in the life of George Falconer, who is grieving over the sudden death of his partner, 8 months prior. It is set in California in 1962. Public expression of his grief would have been socially unacceptable at that time and repression is a major theme of this film.

Colin Firth was nominated for an Academy Award for his part, he is in every scene and his performance is remarkable. He portrays a man barely able to keep his emotions in check despite years of practice of self-restraint. However, he is also aware that this discipline makes the liberation all the more sweet when it comes.

I can imagine that the idea, based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, would have been difficult to pitch to a film studio, so it not a surprise that it was self-funded by the director, Tom Ford. It is his first film and he does an amazingly good job.

Everything about this movie is beautiful; the clothes, the sets, the music. I loved “A single Man” and I recommend it, but do expect to leave the cinema in a contemplative frame of mind.

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Film Review

Funny Girl (dir. W. Wyler) 1968

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“Hello Gorgeous”

Barbra Streisand won the Oscar for best actress for this film in 1968. This film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards in total. It is almost always included in lists of all time best musicals.

It is too bright. It is melodramatic. It is both camp and kitsch. Omar Sharif does not sing well…….but the film is about succeeding by overcoming faults and making the most of what you do have.

This movie has Barbra Streisand, who is amazing in this film, the role could have been written for her and she grabs it with both hands and wrings every piece of emotion out of it. It has some fantastic, powerful songs that still sound great almost fifty years on. It also has a line that is often included in lists of most memorable movie quotes:”Hello Gorgeous”

If you like musicals or are interested in cinema history you have to see this film.

 

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Film Review

The French Connection (dir. W. Friedkin) 1971

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The French Connection won best picture, best director and best actor at the 1972 Academy Awards. It consistently features in all-time best film lists. It has one of the most famous car chase scenes ever.

It is a gritty police drama set in New York. It was one of the first films to sacrifice sound and picture quality in order to give it added realism. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider are both give great performances. The violence and swearing were supposedly quite shocking at the time but don’t seem so now. The story is good, if a little far fetched, even though it is apparently (very loosely) based on fact.

Seeing The French Connection, 45 years after it was made is also thought provoking. Society seems to have been institutionally racist and sexist. The movie set out to be provocative, but most shocking thing about the script now is the racial slurs. The only women in the film are mothers or sex objects.

If you are interested in either modern social history or the history of cinema, this is a must-see film.

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Film Review

Moneyball (dir. Bennett Miller) 2011

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This film is about baseball. I like baseball. I enjoyed this film.

It is based on a true story, about Billy Beane, the man who supposedly took the romance out of baseball by putting his faith in computer generated statistics. However, this is a romantic film and he is a true romantic (just don’t expect any love scenes!).

It was nominated for 6 Academy Awards; this implies to me that it has wider appeal than just baseball fans.

It is an intelligent movie with a great script. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were both nominated for Oscars and it also has Philip Seymour Hoffman in the cast, so could be worth a watch for the acting alone.