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nelson_lee43
Reviews
Vantage Point (2008)
Was it a comedy after all?
Before going any further I have to say that I generally enjoyed this film. It was easy to watch, pretty exciting and at least to begin with quite clever.
The frustrating point is that it could have been a great film. For two thirds of the film it was heading in that direction then it became downright silly. The first two thirds was slick and clever and had a pretty robust story line. Oh why was this not developed properly? The final third was all Hollywood flashing and banging. The dead body count started to increase beyond Terminator levels. Car chasing and crashing became the norm and and worst of all it became downright hilarious. It didn't have to be like that surely? What is amazing is the idea that as long as the President is OK then the world is OK. Who cares about the local populace in such circumstances? God bless America. That's all that matters isn't it? Am I missing something here? Was it a comedy after all?
Right at Your Door (2006)
Excellent Film - Don't be put off with the rating on IMDb
My wife and I almost didn't go to this excellent movie due to the rating level on IMDb.
It's superb and tells a very real story in a graphic and emotional fashion.
I suppose we all have an idea as to what we might do in the situation the main characters find themselves in and to that extent the actions of Brad didn't sit right with me, but that is the story and everyone must come to their own conclusions.
I in particular found the very cool relationship between Brad and the handyman Alvaro very powerful. Alvaro's distress and concerns for his family providing a good balance with Brad's almost selfish actions, following the radio advice.
A well acted and thought provoking film and more evidence that you don't need a huge budget and amazing special effects to achieve the desired effect.
I'm sure the cynical will find fault as they always do but "Right at your Door" is well up there in terms of the best film seen by us for a few years.
Hidalgo (2004)
Abject, poorly made nonsense
My biggest surprise with this film is the relatively high score it is given on this web site. This is a movie I missed at the cinema and one that my wife was not particularly bothered about seeing. How right she was!
I got nothing from the film and consider it a complete waste of two hours of my life.
Lets face it, right from the very beginning we all knew who was going to win this race. So for two hours it was padded out with a dreadfully convoluted story line, poor acting, terrible dialogue and very ordinary special effects. ( I do not consider this to be a spoiler).
I must admit to only having seen Viggo Mortensen before in the Rings trilogy in which he was reasonably acceptable. I hope he doesn't see the future full of big budget action hero parts if this is anything to go by. He was hopeless. His acting was one dimensional, his accent laboured and to be honest virtually unintelligible for much of the film.
Why did Omar Sharif even think about this one?
I really found the riding sequences hysterical in that it was so obvious that the actors were sitting astride some form of vault as opposed to a real and galloping horse. I thought special effect nowadays took us well beyond this quality of stunt.
However it is clear many did enjoy this film and I'm happy for them, one and all. I always make exception for the big adventure, 'tongue in cheek' type film for which there is a real demand and place. This didn't even pass this test.
Yes, I didn't like it and I'm not sure if you will either.
The Clearing (2004)
Good enjoyable movie but glad I left it until it came out on DVD
This was an enjoyable film, but one that was best enjoyed at home on DVD rather than on the big screen.
The acting was first class with the three main characters all performing exceptionally well with a script that was a touch slow on occasion. However, the film never really gave the appearance of being slow and dragged out and all in all worked very well.
At the end of the day it is a kidnap movie end of story and while the individual characters are developed a great deal more than normal, it remains a kidnap movie.
I think the different time perspectives of the two principal story lines worked very well and probably went a long way to removing the slow feel I have already alluded to.
I've always liked Helen Mirren in everything she has done both in movies and on TV and everything about her in this movie was just right. She played her character with a mixture of grief and dignity and was perfect for the part. A class act from a very classy - and can I say sexy - lady.
Robert Redford, quite honestly I can take or leave and while I thought he played his role very well I do feel able to name several alternatives in his role that would have played it just as well. Helen Mirren however was 'the part'.
Willem Dafoe is always good and this was no exception. His complex character development was done with apparently seemingless effort and all of his characters problems and issues just appeared to the viewer without him appearing to work at it too hard.
The actual filming was excellent and the locations worked very well, although I would have liked to have been able to place the location earlier than I did. (I may have missed an earlier chance to locate the film, I can't rightly say one way or the other).
Good film, good acting, good photography. But leave it to DVD.
Gothika (2003)
Good fun movie with plenty of scares
Went to see this movie with the notion that all the scary parts were in the trailer.
I was very pleasantly suprised to find that this wasn't the case and be assured that there were plenty of scares all through the film. In many respects a good old fashioned horror movie throwing together ghosts, frights, intimidating locations, murder and a good horror movie type sound track.
My wife watched much of the film behind her hands but that doesn't tell you much. Many scenes were built up very well and while the fright occurred in some cases, there wasn't always one. This added to the overall effect.
Go and see it, keep your mind open and enjoy.
A Gothika 2 on the cards perhaps?
Lighthouse (1999)
Well what can I say
Could probably be summed up as reasonably entertaining, predictable nonsense.
Every scene moving one to the other was so predictable. In fact you could say everything that happened could have been foretold within the first half hour.
It would be wrong to judge the acting as there was none, but in fairness the film did not need to be acted out. Rather than acting, basic motions were more than adequate given the plot, the location and the fact that it was pitch dark all of the time.
However, it did entertain in a fashion. Whether this was down to the predictability of the storyline or whether it did really entertain I'm not sure.
I'm glad I neither specifically paid to see at the movies nor paid for it at the local DVD hire shop (watched it on a TV movie channel). But why do I still have this weird notion that I quite enjoyed it??
Open Range (2003)
Good smouldering and atmospheric western
Never been a great fan of Kevin Costner and lets face it he has made a couple of very average movies of late.
However, I really enjoyed this one which seemed to pay homage in some respects to the old western of the 1950's but maybe told it more like it was in reality. The gun fight at the end is as good as the hype and while it seems to take a while to get there with little seeming to happen the film never flags and interest is always maintained. Most of this is due in no small part to the relationship between Boss and Charley, which I thought was superb. Simple men with simple values, men who told a simple story without complication.
The scenery and camera work were wonderful and it was only during the credits that I realised it was shot in the Canadian Plains and not in the States.
Despite all of my enthusiasm for the film Costner does seem a bit wooden from time to time, much of which could be attributed to his applied style of speech. Duval is simply brilliant.
"Spoiler alert"
I was a bit disappointed at the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' scene at the beginning of the climatic gun fight. Thought that was a bit predictable when they were squaring up to one another.
All in all a good two hours entertainment and certainly one of the better ones seen of late.
The Missing (2003)
Typical Western? Thankfully not
While this film had all the ingredients for a typical old fashioned western - abducted child, evil 'baddies', estranged grandfather returns and searches for child - it thankfully never fall's into this category.
It didn't follow in this manner due mainly to Tommy Lee's character which develops really well during the film. His initially apparent all action superhero persona develops in a totally different way when self doubt, self obsession, lack of confidence and fear all come into play. Superbly played by Tommy Lee who really did look every inch the part.
All in all a well acted and scripted film with superb camera work making the most of the wonderful scenery that only the American west can provide.
Really enjoyed Val Kilmer's cameo role of a Cavalry officer. His unit of troopers were certainly no cavalry charging, bugle playing superhero's.
Special mention also goes to Cate Blanchett who played her part perfectly.
Identity (2003)
Good Atmospheric Thriller
Really enjoyed this film. Well structured and pretty unique telling of a good thought provoking story.
We tried to work out what was happening and must admit to failing miserably up until the last ten minutes. In its own way the film was actually pretty pacey and I think it worked better being only some 90 minutes long. It might have dragged a little being any longer. Thought all of the characters were good and added to the overall mood of the film.
The story may well be not as original as we thought it was but it kept our interest with all the various twists. It relied upon the plot, script and acting to keep it going and all in all it worked very well.
We saw it on a recommendation and would likewise recommend it to anyone.