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whiteknight_copley
Reviews
Keeping Faith (2017)
Hinterland it is not...
I agree with all the other negative reviews about Eve Myles overacting, pouting, lying down, kicking off her shoes at every opportunity - the Director seemed to want to fill the screen with Eve Myles flesh at every opportunity and, while she is a beautiful woman, it got a bit creepy. The music was intrusive and annoying, as if it was just another excuse to showcase the artist under the pretence of creating mood. But surely that is the actors' and directors job?
The plot got more and more ludicrous with a disappointing irresolution cynically setting up series two. Other reviewers have pointed out some of the unresolved plot lines but I would like to highlight two ridiculous sub plots that go nowhere: the Vicar caught embezzling and the old tenant killed outside his greenhouse. What the heck was that all about? These sub plots went nowhere and wasted time. If they were inserted to show Eve had a normal life as a Solicitor or was all heart then they were way over the top.
There was one scene which conveyed brilliantly how you can suggest plot development without kicking the audience in the face: when the unhappy estate agent sister (married to the hopeless copper) meets a client to show him a house. They drink the owners vodka and subtly admit to each other that both their lives are going belly up. It's obvious they end up in bed together but this is not shown or even referenced in the script. Brilliant - if only the rest of the series had been like that. But again, a plot line and character situation that wasn't really resolved.
The Pacific: Okinawa (2010)
So Moving
The scene where Sledge finds the badly wounded woman in the hut on Okinawa and she begs him to finish her off, it moved me to tears - humanity, redemption, love, tenderness - beautiful acting from Mazzello and Kaoru Sato. Bravo! There was no dialogue but both actors conveyed so much despair, pity and connection. It was the jewel of a scene in a well crafted episode in a beautifully constructed series. I also think Rami Malik as Snafu Shelton was an amazing character who lived in the skin of the part. So many great cameos made the whole series a delight. High production values. My only gripe is that I think the writers back-projected 21st century values into the period too much and this was, at times, unwarranted.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Brilliant touches
As well as the epic sweep of this movie, there are the enduring moments, images and transitions that remain in the memory and raise this film to the level of greatness. I mention just four that sear this film onto my consciousness: the extinguishing of the smouldering match followed by the rising desert sun (a brilliant metaphor for Lawrence, a smouldering wick caught up in his own hell fire will he be snuffed out?), the ringing of the alarm bell at Aquaba, a superimposed sound transition to the attack scene, as the camera closes in on Lawrence's agonised features following the execution that he had to carry out before the attack and to make sure it happened (again an amazing metaphor as the bell rings out like it is announcing coming doom for Lawrence as he has much more blood to spill in the coming days) And then the ship that suddenly appears on the Suez canal but as if it is sailing across the desert (a nod to the idea of camels perhaps, I don't understand if it is meant to be a metaphor but it is simply a magnificent image). Then, at the very end there is the juxtaposition of the Arab camel riders and the truck-borne Tommies singing their contrasting songs: different songs, different technologies, contrasting, conflicting cultures with Lawrence exiting history still not knowing to which culture his allegiance lies - as the driver comforts him with the thought that he is going "home" But is he really going home?
The pivotal moment of the film follows shortly after the Ship image, when a motorcyclist appears on the far bank of the canal and cries out "Who are you?" and the camera closes up on Lawrence's exhausted, wondering face. This is the question that encapsulates the whole film, who exactly is Lawrence? and it is reprised at various points: The scene outside St Paul's, Faisal's question "is he a desert loving Englishman?", the MOs failure to see Lawrence is not a "filthy" Arab, The journalists treatment of him, Lawrence dressing like an Arab prince, Preston calling him a brilliant soldier etc etc etc, All the way through, it is a brilliant, intelligent screenplay. The motorcyclist was actually David Lean, putting his own signature on a magnificent canvas....
There is one segment that encapsulates the touch of David Lean's direction of actors, the scene with Jose Ferrer as the Turkish Bey. Ferrer described his small part as the best acting he'd ever done while O'Toole said he learned more from Ferrer in that scene than all his years at drama school. But watch the acting of the uncredited extras, soldiers and flotsam from Deraa. With no dialogue they capture the degradation, hopelessness, (in the case of the townsmen) and the callousness and resignation (in the case of the soldiers) of the "cattle" who surround the Bey magnificently. Who are these unsung heroes? Two are jobbing Spanish actors but the rest are also excellent, especially the man third in line with the fez and the young soldier. They are brilliant and add so much to the intensity of this scene...
School of Rock (2003)
Strength in Depth!!
Lots of folks have commented on Jack Black's and Joan Cusack's performances so I will say no more on them except that I agree totally! They are brilliant!!! A great strength of the film is the casting with some wonderful cameos adding to the overall enjoyment. I would like to give shout-outs to Lucas Papeilias as the dudey-sensitive bassist from No Vacancy (who did NOT suck!)and Lucas Babin (Spider) who stole the show whenever he appeared! Sarah Silverman and Tim Hopper were great as the bad guys (Patti and Zach's dad respectively). Tim Hopper carried the pushy parental theme at the core of the film to perfection and deserves especial praise. Even tiny parts like the Battle of the Bands security guard (Carlos da Silva) and the cop (Barry Shurchin) were played well.
There were also great performances among the "backstage" kids. Watch out for Cole Hawkins ("Ya mean we're not in the buuh-yand?"), Zachary Infante as geeky, but oh-so-temperamentally-artistic Gordon and Brian Falduto's hilarious portrayal as the Band stylist - constantly on the verge of flouncing off in disgust at Dewey's style-shortcomings.
Another strength is the camera work - with some great continuing shots: the long moving-in shot for the encore segueing into the credit sequence was superb as was the opening credits sequence. The tracking of Dewey's van was done very well especially the overtaking shot (when the Immigrant Song was used). This gave the film a great sense of dynamism.
The DVD extras make it very clear that there was a lot of fun, humour, respect (dare I say love?) between cast and crew, across the ages, and I'm sure this helped the fun factor in the movie come through. The kids commentary showed the strength of the ensemble with generous acknowledgements by the musicians of the talents of the other children who had smaller roles. This was a nice aspect.
All in all one of my top ten films!! It is so funny and so well done.