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Reviews
Goliath (2016)
Terrible
It's a new legal drama but the case is as old as the hills - washed-up lawyer is given a shot at redemption by taking on evil corp. The narrative leaves no cliché unused and times you are left wondering whether the show is an elaborate parody of TV before the internet. Take away the swearing and screwing and you're back in the 80s when the description 'made for TV' filled one with dread. But the producers haven't entirely scraped the barrel as the cast is pretty decent: Billy Bob Thompson looking less smug than usual, makes a decent fist playing David to William Hurt's title character. The female roles are well played, too, making you wonder what have been had they not been burdened with a story that makes John Grisham read like Don Delillo.
Top of the Lake (2013)
Not mini enough
Jane Campion's entry into the world of the mini-series proves to be a big disappointment. The beautiful photography doesn't compensate for the wooden acting, weak script and the lack of a strong, central character. Chief culprit is Elisabeth Moss, here reprising her role as Peggy in Mad Men; problem is, she's supposed to be a tough antipodean cop. Her wavering Australian/Kiwi/English accent doesn't help, either. Her nemesis, a wild patriarch played by Peter Mullen, has her for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One of the strengths of US drama is the acting quality in the minor parts, but here the Kiwis looks like they threw the casting net no further than the nearest beach. To deflect from the minuscule narrative, there's a women's camp at the edge of the lake, populated by whimsical characters that look like refugees from a Percy Adlon film (Bagdad Café, Shopping With Rosalie, etc). I'm all for mini-series', but this isn't mini enough.
Üç Maymun (2008)
Filming Ugly
I found this ponderous in the extreme, though my main source of irritation is that it is extremely ugly despite being carefully composed. The harsh digital tint that signals digital is becoming monotonous, and used only because of its cheapness rather than suitability. For a claustrophobic drama like Three Monkeys it's a disaster. Ceylan has a fondness for facial close-ups but here it looks the cast have a severe case of jaundice.
The only film I can recall that has used this well and taken advantage what it can offer is Valhalla Rising, where it complimented the barren landscape perfectly.
Maniac (1963)
Cast off
A good script from Hammer stalwart Jimmy Sangster who also wrote the excellent Paranoiac, and matched by sharp direction and photography. A shame, then, that the cast are such a let-down. The well-known ham Donald Houston lives down to his reputation - his voice was dubbed, a pity that his performance couldn't be erased. The French actress Lillian Brousse is excellent as the innocent daughter, but the American Kerwin Matthews makes for a very anodyne lead. The rest of the cast are British, utilizing French accents straight out of 'Allo 'Allo. Hammer have made some excellent non-horror movies such as Taste of Fear, and but for the dreadful acting this could have been one of them.