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stevenbeech
Reviews
Derek (2012)
Seven out of seven
Ricky Gervais is a bit of an enigma. He causes the utmost consternation in people. He spends his days trying to get a reaction out of people on Twitter and Facebook peddling his brand of atheism and core beliefs about the world at large which he is utterly unapologetic about and inbetween throws out the occasional film, book, stand up tour, TV series featuring Karl and Stephen Merchant and sometimes presents something. People have claimed that Karl is a created character but if anything Ricky is so contrary he is more of a character than Karl ever is.
That brings me to this. Derek might well be Gervais' finest hour. This is a work of tremendous power, sensitivity, grace, humour, importance and gentle, sweet meandering nothing that is also about everything. For a man that appears to be such a brusque, insensitive, impatient, soulless, uncaring man its astounding that this is a work of such delicacy and light that brings such a simple subject into the open with such clarity in a way that doesn't patronise the elderly like comedy programs usually do. The writing is just superb from a man who spends his days provoking response and doesn't seem to care how he gets it.
Lets be fair though not everything single thing works. The Kev character is clumsy and a bit of a parody and doesn't really work and is just wedged in there to highlight Dereks essential goodness. While Karl pretty much steals the show he is basically just being Karl so its not exactly a stretch for him, that said I enjoyed every single second of his screen time. Really though thats all I can criticise.
Kerry Godliman is amazing, she inhabits her character and makes me believe it, I believe there are people like her up and down the country. I want to help her. The rest of the cast are just as good, none of them are there for comic relief they are all proper people rounded out with a story all slowly dozing their days away and we find out about them as their stories unfold and its just a joy to watch. Its so well written and you aren't left feeling sorry for them or patronised or as though they are the butt of a joke. Its really rather glorious.
I don't understand the criticism the central character gets. I never felt that there was any mockery of the disabled or any attempt to jump on bandwagons or anything like that. Derek is just a simple man who views the world in a simple way. Is he autistic? Maybe, maybe not. He'd probably be diagnosed that way if he were young now but as it stands he's made a life for himself the best he can and he's found acceptance somewhere and he's as happy as he can be despite the fact that the people who make him happy die alarmingly regularly. But he's even found a way to deal with that. We should all be so lucky to be so together about things.
I can't give this less than a 10 quite simply because every single episode brought me to tears. Thats what seven out of seven means. Whether it was laughter or sadness or both in the same episode I cried. That is amazing television. Gervais may not make anything better than this but we should thank our lucky stars he's made this because its important and brilliant. Watch it.
The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
A movie with Transformers that has real emotion
I recently watched the first of the new Transformers movies and I can honestly say that the best thing in that film was Bernie Mac. 2 and a quarter hours of blowing stuff up isn't a movie.
This is a movie. This is a movie that has real heart, real emotion, real themes at its core and one of the best film soundtracks ever. Sure there a bits where it drags a little and you want it to get back to the main action but it all makes sense in the end. This film probably won't make a massive amount of sense to the average 12 year old I must say, but to the 30 somethings amongst us it carries a great deal of our childhoods with it and along with that I feel a massive emotional attachment to it.
The film deals with themes such as loyalty, friendship, the transition from youth to adulthood, the acceptance of responsibility, respect for elders, working toward a common goal and much else all backed by a superb 80's soft metal soundtrack composed by the much underrated Stan Bush.
The soundtrack is the driving force behind much of the emotion of the movie, watch the scene where Hot Rod becomes Rodimus Prime without The Touch and its nowhere near as effective. Watch Optimus take out the decepticons without The Touch and you won't pull for him. Watch Hot Rod and Kup escape the Sharkticons without Dare playing and it doesn't work as well.
This is a movie worth seeing. If only to compare it to the newer rebooted films which are technically superior and have had more spent on the catering for the cast than this movie probably cost to make but don't have the plot lines, heart, story or sheer entertainment value that this 80's throwback does.
Clue (1985)
3 endings and you don't have to choose from them if you don't want to
Lets be honest this isn't really a film is it? This is a farce. I don't mean its badly done or a disaster. I mean in the great tradition of British theatre its a farce. Its a Donald McGill postcard. Its pantomime. Its got everything but a priest with his trousers round his ankles and Mr Punch and a Harlequin. Its pure theatre.
Once you understand that you'll enjoy this film. If you never understand that you'll never enjoy this film. That might be why they chose Tim Curry to anchor this whole thing. I couldn't imagine anyone else to do it. There are few actors as versatile, as great or as underused as Curry. I mean think about it. What do you most remember him for? As a crazed transvestite in Rocky Horror. As Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island and this and he's pure gold in this. Camp, hammy, energetic, mercurial and fun. He is what holds everything together and the rest of the talented cast work around him. Even Christopher Lloyd turns in a subdued performance and allows Curry to run around and sweat and break the fourth wall and do that fabulous cocked eyebrow thing he does.
Thats not to say the rest of the ensemble do nothing. Everyone gets some good one liners and everyone contributes. Michael Mckean is especially good as the clumsy Mr Green and Madeline Kahn has never turned in a bad performance.
The real trick with this film is you just have to go with it. Its based on a board game, the plot is tissue paper thin. Its barely there,the continuity is all over as well but the energy is faultless and you'll have a few chuckles which sometimes is good enough.
Of course you can pick fault with this all day long if you want to. But whats the point of that? You can pick fault with any film on IMDb all day long if you want to. Thats not the point of watching films. Sometimes you just need to accept that its not going to make you smarter and accept it is what it is.
White Christmas (1954)
Maybe its because i'm a limey
I really really tried. I really really wanted to love this film. I'd been wanting to see it for ages. I got myself all cosy and ready and put it on ready to immerse myself in Hollywoods golden age and then...
I was subjected to nearly 2 hours of schtick, disjointed ideas and a few set pieces wedged together for some reason. I didn't get it at all. Its not that the films aged particularly badly or anything. It's a product of its time, I understand that and the film does have its charms there's some fizzing dialogue. Bing Crosby is never going to be dreadful and neither is Danny Kaye the set pieces are great its just the way they get to them doesn't really make any sort of sense. It all feels a bit contrived and a bit clunky.
I'm happy to admit that its me thats at fault and actually i'm not watching the film correctly. I don't really like Superman because he's just a bit too nice. This film is the same. Its just a bit too nice I know its supposed to be but they do everything but ladle on the schmaltz with shovels and build the stage with candy canes. Its all just a bit too much. There's just too much everything. That said maybe with repeated viewings you build up a tolerance to it and it starts to make sense. I can't give this a 1 because its not an awful film. Its got heart and charm and its hearts in the right place but its by no means the film I hoped it would be and it certainly doesn't flow or make any sort of sense. Sorry. Guess i'll need to force a few more viewings and see if I can make myself love it
Edit:- Since I wrote the initial review I rewatched the film and on repeated viewing I liked it much better. It really is a musical in the truest sense of the word, the bits between the songs are there to get you to the songs kind of like the biscuit bits of Oreos are there to get you to the cream. Once I understood that I was a lot more forgiving toward it. Also really its Bing Crosby and Christmas, you can't be criticizing it too hard, you'd be a coal hearted creature if you didn't warm to it at all.
It is a feelgood film, it does leave you warm and fuzzy and it is likable, good natured and the sort of film they will never make again purely because there are no actors like these and the sort of schmaltz we have now is just not as sincere as this. I was wrong to give it a 2, i'm sorry IMDb. I change my mind and give it a 6. Its far better than I initially thought but still not what I want it to be or hoped it would be but the fault is entirely mine
El Mascarado Massacre (2006)
Body slamming good fun
Lets be fair this is not 12 Angry Men or Citizen Kane or Apocalypse Now. You aren't going to learn anything watching this film or gain very much but you are going to have a good time. This falls firmly into B movie category and there's nothing wrong with B movies. Its virtually a grindhouse movie.
It feels like a Tarantino movie, i'm fairly surprised his sticky fingers aren't involved with it in some way. Its rattles along at a cracking pace vomiting (in a good way) out horror movie clichés as it goes and some of them are so well done but so stupid they are laugh out loud charming. Its a sweet little movie. Adorable in what its trying to do. Because its not trying to do anything. Its not post modern with annoying teens dissecting horror movies working out how to cheat the system. Although one of the characters knows an awful lot about Mexican wrestling and the killer would be improbably old.
It is what it is, a cheap, cobbled together horror film full of plot holes that, so long as you turn your brain off and your expectations down, you'll have a good time watching.
Witness (1985)
Sadly couldn't be made in todays cynical world
I'll go on record right now and say this is one of my all time favourite films. Easily in my top 5 all time movies.
The strength in this movie lies in 3 things:-
Ford, McGillis, Haas and Jan Rubes performance
Peter Weirs direction
The time it was made
This film couldn't be made now. Kingpin has been made since for a start. That has ruined our perception of the Amish. We live in a far more cynical and suspicious world now we view other cultures differently than when this was made. Technology has moved on. You can't just disappear like you could back in the 80's. If you tried it now you'd be found in minutes.
But this is just me being grumpy and digressing. The star of the show here is Peter Weirs soft and beautiful direction. The light and scenery and sound all make this film as much as the plot. The quick, tight camera's in the city to the soft focus in Amish country all help make this more of an experience and help contrast the difference in Book's worlds. The barn raising scene is respectfully and carefully shot and the way the men and women are kept separate is always emphasised. But then Rachel allows Book to see her wash and he's ashamed to see her nudity because he's becoming part of their community is just glorious to see. Ford is such a great actor. He might be wooden as an Ikea wardrobe in real life but the lad can act his pants off.
Special mention must go to the chemistry between the boy and the old man as well, they really worked well together, a joy to watch. The boy in particular was always believable and never stilted or precocious. Credit to Weir for making him that way and the adult actors around him for making him comfortable.
This is probably a film you should see. You might not like it. You'll probably think it hasn't aged well if you've not seen it before. But watch it anyway. Its worth seeing if only to see Danny Glover do bad guy
The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004)
Christmas soup. Nothing wrong with leftovers.
Like most peoples Christmas our Christmas revolves around traditions. One of our traditions is Boxing Day soup. We take all the leftovers from the previous day and with good stock make a thick, nourishing soup to eat. The result is a cheap satisfying meal that leaves you feeling full and happy for virtually no effort.
I mention this because this film is like a soup of other films. Groundhog day, Switch, Family Man, Scrooge, Scrooged, Christmas Do-Over and a few others thrown into the straight to TV blender and zhushed together to make a hearty broth of Holiday movie with a little cream on top to make it sweet. Its not original, overly sickly, clever or particularly brilliantly executed but the whole is better because of the sum of its parts.
Steven Weber is slickly cynical as Carter, getting frustrated as he can't figure out how to buy his way out of his predicament. Jesse Carter pitches just the right side of perfect without being smug as his brother looking after the Dad. Molly Shannon is totally likable as Angie. The kid is not utterly annoying. The whole cast pull together to make this chug along in an enjoyable way to reach the climax. There genuinely is a point where you think he isn't going to get there. But hey, its a Christmas movie it has to have a happy ending, thats the point. There's some nice little comic touches, and a couple of genuine laugh out loud moments. Not huge belly laughs, its not Christmas Vacation. Some of it is quite dark, but you need the dark to make it light and sure enough it all works out.
Sure it drags a tiny bit in the middle, a lot of films do, and not every single thing works but in the main its a perfectly nice, perfectly good, perfectly watchable film to get you in the mood for Christmas that you can watch round about the beginning of December and it'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy and full of that familiarity of Christmas. Just like Boxing Day Soup.