spotatoes Reviews

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Innovative, Fun, Insightful Stuff

[9/10 · 20 July 2023]

Everything Everywhere All at Once, which stars Michelle Yeoh in a superb performance, lives up to its promise of being a magnificent sensory overload that is both profoundly disorienting and intellectually captivating. The film's distinctive fusion of genres, styles, and insights creates a wholly new immersive experience that is what makes it so original. In a style that is both visually magnificent and emotionally potent, the movie deftly combines aspects of drama, fantasy, and science fiction.

Although it is never explicitly mentioned, Everything Everywhere All At Once implies that what gives life purpose is the understanding that everything and every moment has equal value because there is no inherent meaning. It's a daring cinematic reflection on all the insignificant but essential things that give us and our life significance in an uncaring cosmos.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

Gender-Swap? Politics? Forget Them; It's The Writing

[2/10 · 9 March 2020]

Right, let's dispense with all this talk of political correctness are arbitrary gender-swaps - they just muddy the waters.

Apart from two genuinely funny jokes right at the start of the movie, all the other jokes are annoyingly unfunny. They're annoying because their setups require leaps of logic that don't make sense, and maybe it's my pedantry, but I started counting how many times logic was elbowed aside in the name of ultimately mediocre jokes; it happens a lot. It became irritatingly distracting. Add to that, that you've got jokes - obviously improvised jokes - that lasted way too long and which, on the whole, fell flat, and you start to see why I was quite so irked.

The writers, Paul Feig and Katie Dippold, also plainly think that, in order for these characters to be funny, they've all got to be stupid. For heaven's sake! These are supposed to be clever people, but they're not. With the exception of Kate McKinnon's Holtzman, everyone is unbelievably stupid.

Talking of Kate McKinnon - bless her heart - she tries so hard to keep this film watchable. I could practically see the strain on her face. It's McKinnon that made me smile most whilst watching this, for which, she deserves a medal. It's her and her alone that kept me watching this otherwise irredeemably terrible movie.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

The Start of the Burton Slide

[6/10 · 25 February 2020]

I used to be a huge fan of Tim Burton. His eccentricities and oddball imagination made him a true visionary artist and his sense of humour was sufficiently askew to make his work not only funny but pleasingly strange and refreshingly unlike that of any other Hollywood director. However, increasingly these days, his work is (I want to tear my tongue out for saying this) stale and samey, and the trademark Burton humour seems to have been replaced in large part by a need to show just how eccentric and weird he can be. This trend, I think, began here, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Rather than being warm, charming and funny with just the right amount of weird darkness, which used to be the way of things when it came to Burton projects, this movie, as far as I can see, has dispensed with a lot of its predecessors' warmth and charm, instead opting to put the onus on the strange. Depp's performance here, too extracts the intimidating aspects of the character of Willy Wonka together with any interesting traits of the character that have made him such an appealing and intriguing figure, and just kept the unsettling weirdness. The positives here are that, in the main, the acting is pretty good; the look of the thing, as always with Burton, is lovely; and this version of Roald Dahl's novel is a lot closer to the source material than the 1971 Gene Wilder version. In the end, as films in general go, this is probably about average, but, as Burton films go, it's below par, or rather, it was when it was released. Now I'd say it's there or thereabouts in terms of what to expect from Tim Burton, and that makes me sad.

Dark Shadows (2012)

This Movie Kinda Sucks

[3/10 · 5 November 2019]

I really like the original Dark Shadows TV series; it's got a nice eerie feeling and it was satisfyingly complicated. I didn't, however, catch the early '90s version or the 2005 TV movie, so when I heard that Tim Burton was going to be remaking it for the big screen, I was quite excited. The material seemed right up his street. There was no way, I thought, that this could be anything other than excellent. Oh, how wrong I was!

While a lot of the blame for how bad the movie turned out to be must be laid at the feet of Seth Grahame-Smith - and I'll go into why in a minute - there are some creative decisions that were surely other people's, or that people didn't question at the script level that just don't make sense.

In fact, this movie's main problem, I think, is that logic packed its bags and went on holiday during production.

You can make the world you create as a movie-making team with whatever logic you like, but, if your world doesn't operate according to the real world or by logic set out by similar worlds and characters in past works, you must explain that, or the audience must, and will, use their frames of reference. I might be looking into all of this too deeply, and the leaps in logic, inaccuracies and nonsensical stuff here might just be oversights, but there are too many of them for that to be the case.

But, then again, they must just be oversights and examples of shoddy writing, or else they would be explained. If I could have just turned my brain off, not thought and not listened to dialogue or not paid attention to the many, many illogical and nonsensical things in this movie, I might have enjoyed it more than I did. I doubt it, though; it's got Johnny Depp in it, who has definitely lost that certain something that made him a great actor.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

What Is So Difficult To Understand Here?

[8/10 · 8 September 2018]

I see what some reviewers have said about this film. The jokes are repetitive and Toula's family is populated by walking caricatures and stereotypes, but I think these things are wholly deliberate.

Families do have jokes that are repeated and repeated, so the 'everything is cured by Windex' and the 'every word has a Greek origin' jokes are made time after time for a good reason.

The caricatures, similarly, are there for a reason, and that reason is that this is a comedy. The characters are stereotypical, clichéd and charicaturish for comic effect.

Other than that, this is a very light and fluffy film, but, since when has that necessarily been a negative? I think that, sometimes we need light and fluffy, and with this particular dollop of light and fluffy Nia Vardalos has given us a real gem, one that it is nigh impossible not to smile at.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

A Thoughtful, Touching Drama

[9/10 · 5 July 2018]

When it was first released, the subject matter of Kramer Vs. Kramer was not as commonplace as it is today, and so there was some shock value in it. As a viewer today, since something like fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, that shock, small as it was, has now completely disappeared. Maybe that's lost the film a sliver of its power, but, there is still enough here to make it compelling.

The performances of Hoffman and Streep are utterly brilliant, conveying comprehensively the raw emotion involved in such a set of circumstances, and Justin Henry is outstanding as Billy.

This is a tearjerker, but the tears come organically as a result of the story being told, and it never feels mawkish or manipulative in any way.

So many films like this have resorted to sentimentality and to taking sides, but Kramer Vs. Kramer doesn't do that. It just uses a careful script, enhanced by deft direction, performed by truly great actors, to tell an honest and affecting story. If you haven't seen it, firstly, where have you been? And secondly, search it out and was it. It's pretty wonderful.

La La Land (2016)

La La Land Loveliness

[9/10 · 25 June 2018]

La La Land is the type of movie I hate starting to watch. It's not because I hate movie musicals; quite the opposite in fact. What I dislike intensely is those films that use the old Hollywood movie genres, like those old screwball comedies or the old musicals as a basis and then proceed to get them wrong (Down With Love, anyone?). That's exactly what I thought would happen with this movie. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The film, as well as being visually stunning, is full of characters that you want to spend time with, especially that of Emma Stone. Her character, Mia, is played fantastically. To my mind, this performance from Stone ranks with her best. That's not to say that Ryan Gosling isn't also good, because he is.

The songs, if not completely in the style of the old Hollywood musicals, given the film's contemporary setting, stay true to their essence, and the story is engaging too. Much like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Artist breathed life into long-dead genres, I think La La Land will give those people who don't really give movie musicals a second glance a new appreciation.

La La Land is a delightful modern movie musical, and I'm sorry I ever doubted it.

Mary Poppins (1964)

So much fun!

[8/10 · 24 June 2018]

Apparently Pamela Travers, the author of the books on which the film is based, hated it That fact is made abundantly clear in the movie Saving Mr. Banks, about the many times Travers and Walt Disney butted heads (figuratively speaking of course over the process of bringing the movie to the screen I can't, for the life of me, work out what Travers found so terrible about it Call me sentimental if you like, but, to my mind, Mary Poppins is just about as perfect a movie musical as you could hope for. The story is great, the acting is pretty much brilliant (even Dick Van Dyke's atrocious Cockney accent, in my opinion, just adds to the charm of the film) and the songs are nothing short of lyrically and musically genius. The only reason I haven't given this the full 10 (and I'm thinking now that I may have been a little stingy) is that, tonally the film could have been closer to the books. There is darkness - moments that are positively unsettling and even a little scary in the books, which are nowhere to be seen in the movie. Kids can handle darkness and even things that are downright creepy. Some kids really enjoy that type of stuff and for me, if Mary Poppins lacks anything, it's that. For the most part though Mary Poppins is an absolute treat, and it's no wonder that it has stood the test of time the way it has. It's a legendary movie for one very good reason: that it's really, really good.

Veronica (I) (2017)

I Think Some Reviews Are A Little Harsh

[8/10 · 3 March 2018]

I really don't know why some people have said that this movie is boring. It's not. Sure, it's not the most original horror I've ever seen - it owes a lot to many, many others horrors and thrillers - but, thanks to strong performances and good, if not altogether original, little directorial and editing techniques, and an effective score, I didn't feel bored with it at all. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but, I have to say, I don't see a lot for the film's detractors to focus on. I think 'Verònica' is a fairly good movie.

Fight Club (1999)

Classic? Are You Sure?

[9/10 · 28 November 2017]

David Fincher is a great director, Alex McDowell is a truly innovative production designer and Chuck Palahniuk is a good writer, so, when the two came together, we knew that there was no way that the product of their collaboration would be bad. In fact, it seems most people are of the opinion that it is very nearly a work of genius, and, while it's true that, in places, Fight Club does occupy that territory, it's not genius in its entirety. Let me explain.

Fight Club starts off well as a well- observed satire on masculinity and machismo, but, then, in its last third, for some strange reason, any sense of humour is abandoned and the film starts to advocate what it was taking a swipe at. This change of tone and unevenness is unfortunately too distracting for me and, consequently, I'm afraid I can't see Fight Club as an absolute classic.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice made me a Burton fan

[10/10 · 28 January 2012]

Tim Burton is my favourite director, no question. His movies have a distinctive look and sensibility, which is peculiarly his; you only have to look at a film to see if he had a hand in it.

His work is original, quirky, imaginative and very highly stylised. His eye for detail is extremely finely tuned and he is still one of the most visionary cinematic geniuses working today.

I find it hard to believe now that there was once a time when I hadn't heard the name Tim Burton, but there was. It was before the release of a little movie called Beetlejuice.

I was about eight when I first saw the film, and it was a revelation. I'd never seen anything like it. It was gaudy, Gothic, grotesque and great!

The score and feel of the film - that of weird askew Gothic-horror carnival - are set, in accordance with Burton's vision, by fellow genii, composer, Danny Elfman and production designer, Bo Welch, who are both so on the money here, it's impossible to imagine a more perfect team. Yes, it looks a bit dated now, thanks to it's stop-motion animation, but that adds to the film's charm and is better for it, in my opinion

The script, written, first by Michael McDowell (from his original idea) then re-written by script doctor, Warren Skaaren, is magnificent and hilarious. All the characters are well-observed, fun caricatures; that's not a negative criticism - you get the impression that this is wholly deliberate.

The acting from all cast members is very fine, and strike just the right note. The movie belongs, however, to Michael Keaton, whose ill-mannered, foul-mouthed, lecherous, disgusting, but somehow charming and charismatic 'Ghost with the Most' is nothing short of brilliant.

Beetlejuice is one of the most fun movies you will ever see, and is a delight with its great premise, hilarious dialogue, inspired visuals and wonderful score. It's a must-see movie.

Macbeth (1971)

An absolute triumph!!!

[26 April 2002]

I absolutely adore this movie. I can say with total honesty that it is the best Shakespearian cinematic offering I have ever seen.

The movie genuinely have a sense of real evil due to the fantastically horrifying opening sequence. From the moment you see this squirm inducing opener, the movie just gets more and more bleak until the audience is breathless with utter desperation. This bleakness is helped along considerable by the desolate landscape, it really is a breath-taking under statement.

The witches in this movie are honestly sick making, the fact that they appear naked greatly increases this affect.

Jon Finch actually achieves the impossible in this piece of genius by out-performing the fantastic Francesca Annis. His performance truly remarkable, making Macbeth's moral and mental decay not only audible but visual as well. Not only does he grow a beard, which does wonders for baddies, but his facial features seem to snarl and twist until he's unrecognisible as the man at the beginning. Wow!

And the blood in this movie!! It's enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool! This is the only movie version of the Bard's darkest, most brooding work to ever do it justice, nothing before or since even comes close. Polanski's da man!!

An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

Fangs a lot wolfie!!

[8 February 2002]

The first thing to say about the movie is that, except for what happens to some characters, i.e. they turn into werewolves, American Werewolf in Paris isn't really comparable to the utter masterpiece that is the London version.

With my movie critic head on, I feel compelled to mention the gaps in the script, which left me, at least, with a feeling of unfinished business when the credits rolled. Secondly, the acting, which was slightly second rate, seemed to be over-looked in favour of gore. So in my Capacity as movie buff, I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have, but to people who watch for enjoyment and not for analysis, I think this could be quite a good offering.