tomgould749 Reviews

Natural Born Killers (1994)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 3 July 2016]

Supreme this film is as harrowing as it is visually stunning. Harrelson and Lewis portray serial killers with an almost perfect level of subtle menace that makes you almost want to route for them. The sheer magnitude of the piece is electric and Tarantino and Stone weave together a piece of artwork that should be watched and respected by any die hard movie fan.

Although it has been dismissed by some as somewhat repetitive I would be inclined to argue that any film that deals with this topic needs to be reminded of the fact that in the evil world that these people inhabit repetition comes with the territory. It is the way that it is delivered though that makes it stand out.

Banished (2015)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 26 April 2015]

How could anyone not like this. It is one of the most gut wrenching and unflinching period dramas I have ever seen. In almost all respects it reveals the hardships experienced by convicts and the sheer desperation of the soldiers and convicts alike. Following the excellent The Village and 37 Days the BBC has once again done itself proud.

The climax although I will not go into detail is one of the most nerve shredding that I have ever seen in possibly any television drama or film for that matter. It's this kind of raw take on life that gives Banished and The Village their edge and given the emphasis in the past few years has started to move towards accuracy with regards to entertainment, it is almost refreshing that one of the UK's most respected institutions.

I would recommend this to anyone.

King Arthur (2004)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 29 September 2013]

Controversially I think that this is absolutely brilliant. I think that it is arguably one of the best takes on the legend ever. The acting is second to none and the battle scenes are some of the best ever, how could anyone not enjoy watching a battle fought on ice. Despite the shaky accuracies places I still believe that it works on the grounds that Clive Owen gives his Arthur a very comely presence and maturity which is sometimes not initially shown in a lot of takes on the legend. It is also refreshing to see a feisty Guinevere in the form of Keira Knightley who gives the character her all and not to mention Ray Winstone's Bors who steals every scene that he is in.

The Mill (2013–2014)

I absolutely love it

[10/10 · 26 August 2013]

This is a brilliant and very gritty drama. From the moment that I started watching it I immediately wanted to see it again. It gives you a very unflinching image of life during the Industrial Revolution and how the wealth of Britain at the time was made on the back of grinding hardship and poverty. The acting in it is second to none and Kerrie Hayes, as well as being gorgeous, plays Esther Price with such conviction that you could almost be forgiven for thinking that you were watching an actual person as opposed to an actor portraying her. When watching it you really get a feeling for how times were beginning to change and how they were beginning to change for the better in some respects.

The main focus of the plot Esther Price's mission to find her true identity is one that makes you really route for her. In the part where she goes looking for her baptism certificate you are sitting there with baited breath for things to work out. The story could be exclusively about her and still be brilliant, it is such good drama.

The Village (2013–2014)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 10 August 2013]

This is undeniably excellent, even I cried at the end because it was so poignant although I won't give the plot away. What makes this so good is that unlike a lot of normal period dramas that depict the mainly upper classes classes of this period, this looks at almost every aspect of life in the village during this period despite primarily focusing on one particular family.

I had the pleasure of visiting Derbyshire during the summer and was moved at how well it was depicted in this. The entire drama itself actually moved me to the point that it was something that I immediately wanted to see again. It shows that unlike the gloss of Downton Abbey, despite the fact that I do like that, life was actually very brutal for a large majority of people at the time. What makes this equally so moving is the fact that it left me with a certain numbness at the end and moved me to tears as though it reminded me of how precious life is and the beauty of England in equal measure.

Atonement (2007)

Atonement

[6/10 · 12 February 2008]

Atonement initially fails to deliver on any major level. Most of the time the plot remains fairly slow moving and somewhat routine. Hoewever it works due to the fact that it is very powerfully acted by the lead roles namely Romola Garai, Keira Knightley, Saorise Roman and James McAvoy. You can tell that this story was initially a novel and in the opening sequence it is difficult to determine whether this is meant to be a musical or a period drama, which it turns out to be. On saying that, unlike many clichéd period dramas this one actually delivers something of subsidence in the form of the clever twist at the end. The great tragedy of this story is that it shows what can happen when a child comes into contact with a situation that they don't understand and due to the time in which they are, no one is prepared to give them any actual guidance as to how to behave or to respond to that type of situation. We can be thankful I suppose that we live in the age that we do where people are a bit more clued up about male and female relationships then they were 60 or 70 years ago .

Speed (1994)

Appalling film about a bomb on a bus

[1/10 · 9 February 2008]

Appalling this is possibly one of the worst movies ever made. It looks very aesthetically pleasing but is absolutely woeful in content and completely predictable. Not that I wish to criticise the talents of Dennis Hopper, who is a good actor and his casting was pretty good, but as a movie it is woodenly acted and not my bag. I think that Keanu Reeves more successful outings in Chain Reaction and The Devil's Advocate in a way that enables the viewer to engage with the plot, without seeing what may be coming next. Speed fails to do this, at least with any conviction in any context and although it looks cool, once you get about an hour or so into it, you suddenly realize that it is anything but. I was disappointed as for finally seeing this film just over a year ago after wanting to see it since it came out and sat there wanting to like it while I was watching it, but come the end I decided that it wasn't for me.