DanielLowery96 Reviews

They Shall Not Grow Old (II) (2018)

They Shall Not Grow Old

[10/10 · 7 August 2021]

Peter Jackson's documentary features English soldiers who fought in WWI sharing their experiences of the conflict. It is very well made, with actual war footage, and throughout the film we are immersed in the horrors of this particularly brutal war, but also some of the lighthearted moments.

The documentary portrays war as it is, gritty, depressing and phisically and mentally devastating.

Peter Jackson managed to put together a no-bs war documentary that everyone should watch to understand and appreciate the sacrifices these young lads did for all of us.

10/10.

John Wick (2014)

John Wick

[8/10 · 5 February 2020]

The plot is very straightforward, guy gets angry after having his car nicked and his dog killed, and then goes on a mission to get his revenge.

It is over the top, ignorant and completely lunatic, and the best part is that Keanu is probably the nicest guy in Hollywood playing this absolute madman. I love it.

Raging Bull (1980)

Raging Bull

[9/10 · 10 October 2019]

This film tells the true story of boxing icon Jake La Motta, a sometimes paranoid, hard-headed fighter from the 40s. De Niro's work in this is just sublime, he gives us 2 hours of rock-solid method acting, and the way that he and Pesci feed off each other on the screen is a landmark of not only cinema, but enterteinment in general. They are perfect together. And we should be grateful to have gotten to see these two incredible actors work together for so long.

The supporting cast is also spot-on, and combined with Scorsese's meticulous directing, they all shine in their own way.

9/10

Behind the Curve (2018)

The Dangers of Ignorance

[7/10 · 25 September 2019]

This documentary even though it's not very well made, serves a great purpose: to implicitily prove how ignorance and dogma are very real in our age. Some people believe what they want to believe, and there's not much that can be done about it. When people abandon science, method and common sense, this is what happens. The earth is a globe, that's not an opinion, it's a fact, yet these people go to extreme lenghts to try and prove otherwise.

For the comedy factor alone, this is a 7/10.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Keanus Reeves show

[4/10 · 23 September 2019]

Coppola's version of Dracula is his least exciting effort. One of numerous adaptations of Bram Stoker's tale, this movie is all over the place. Sometimes a horror movie, sometimes soft porn, and some other times action, this movie has it all, and not in a good way. At the root of it, it is just a silly love story that's way too long.

However, what really stands out is the acting. On one side you've got the always wonderful Oldman and Hopkins, really impressing with their acting range and screen presence. On the other end, you have got Keanu Reeves. Oh, poor Keanu Reeves. Even though he is a great guy in real life, his acting is so very questionable sometimes, and I am not even a hater. I enjoy some of his movies. But in this one he was awful, especially his attempt to reproduce an english accent.

Not a fan of this one.

Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2019 TV Special)

Way too far

[1/10 · 5 September 2019]

Now, I really like humour and I don't think that it should be always politically correct at all., and I am a fan of some offensive humour when done creatively. However, Chappelle went way too far in here. Making fun of sexual abuse is not ok at all. Silly jokes about homossexuality like he is stuck in the 40s. Tries too hard to be anti-PC, but forgets that this in itself is a trend.

Did not laugh at a single joke, and in my opinion its a disgrace Netflix is backing this. 1/10 because you cannot give it a 0.

Kes (1969)

Beautiful

[7/10 · 29 August 2019]

Kes is a movie directed by Ken Loach, one of the few directors that has an eye for telling moving stories about working class people in the North of England (I,daniel blake, Raining Stones, and others). The plot is really simple, and maybe that is why this picture is so moving. A young boy who lives in Barnsley with his mother and older brother, without many prospects of getting out of the life he was born in, befriends a falcon, spends time with her while his school mates are smoking and getting into trouble, and together they form a pretty nice bond. It is really simple, and the animal is a symbol of the freedom that hardworking english people crave so much and deserve.

If you are not english or have an interest in the country, it may be a difficult watch, and the very heavy Barnsley accent will surely put some people off, but it is a must watch and worth sitting through it, even in the moments where it does get slow. David Bradley's performance is stellar, and he and Kes steal all the show.

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Marlboro Man

[7/10 · 28 August 2019]

This film-noir shot in the 70's is about heavy-smoking private detective that, one night after being woken up by his hungry cat, gets himself into a web of trouble that has nothing to do with him. He is taken into custody for what the police sees as aiding a felon, while being sucked in into trouble with local hoods that claim he knows where the money his friend owed them, and at the same time being trusted to find a woman's alcoholic husband that went missing. And all this is somehow tied in.

The movie is well acted, and surprisingly funny, feauting Marlowe's dry and witty humour, and also the very relatable and funny relationship with his cat. There is also some very interesting camera work here. Only thing that keeps this movie from not getting an 8 is its pace, which at times is very, very slow, and some cringy dialogues and monologues. But it's a must watch.

Silence (I) (2016)

Too much Andrew Garfield

[6/10 · 22 August 2019]

I am a fan of Scorsese, but from all of these movies, this is the one that least caught my attention. I always procrastinated watching it. Today I finally watched it, and I kinda like it.

The movie, like you would expect, is superbly directed. Not only that, but it is a very beautiful movie to watch. The costumes and sets look very authentic, I'm glad this movie was postponed for years and years to be shot, I don't think it would be visually as pretty if it was shot years ago.

The story is a very curious one, about a very distant and extremely controversial subject, the presence of Portuguese Jesuits in 1660's Japan. The story itself is very interesting, but I don't fell like the cast was strong enough for this kind of movie, and that is why this movie falls short for me. 2 hours and a half of Andrrew Garfield is just way too much, and even though he has some good moments, I feel like overall his acting is simply not good enough. Same goes for Adam Driver, which I am not the biggest fan of as well. Nothing against them, they seem like great lads, just not great actors. Liam Neeson appears later in the movie and steals the show.

The Italian Job (1969)

Painfully stupid

[3/10 · 11 May 2019]

This movie was horrible. Very weak storyline, boring scenes, idiotic characters and bad scripting. But the worst part was the humour, it tried to be funny, but it was so forced and corny I couldn't believe it. The scene where Michael Caine is watching the tape and answering it, what the hell was that? It annoyed me so much because some people must actually find it funny. To each its own I guess. On top of that, I don't know what my problem is, but I generally tend to dislike Michael Caine movies. Maybe I am the problem.

The Samurai (1967)

All style

[8/10 · 7 May 2019]

Le Samourai is one of the most stylish movies I have ever watched, and I can imagine how groundbreaking it must have been in 1967. Also, the influence of this movie is very noticeable in more current movies. Scorsese is the first that comes to mind.

The movie is a very rare combination of a no-nonsense crime story, impeccably shot and stylish as hell. Alain Delon is flawless here.

Very good one!

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Very interesting

[8/10 · 22 April 2019]

This was one movie that I always wanted to watch but never got around to it. I have just finished it, and the main thing that caught my attention was how neutral and unjudgmental this movie was, because it would have been very easy, and I would say easier, for the director to give us a more biased view of the happenings on the screen. However, I strongly am sided with one of the parents, but the inner dialogues I had with myself during the movie were very interesting to observe.

Overall, nice story, beautifully scripted and superbly acted. A must watch.

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Great war movie

[8/10 · 22 April 2019]

The movie tells the story of an "undisciplinate" major that, after various controversial transfers and actions, gets tasked with the challenging task of transforming 12 prisoners, all of them facing hard sentences and even death penalties, into a vicious assault team. Their mission? Invade a Nazi stronghold and kill as many high-ranking german officers as possible, in hope of having their sentences revoked.

This movie is superbly casted, featuring stars like Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Donald Sutherland and George Kennedy. Some members of The Dirty Dozen are portrayed by some lesser-known actors, but nonetheless their performances are spot-on.

Even though the squad is assembled by soldiers that have done some horrible crimes, you cannot root against them on their mission. And also it is good to see so many different and peculiar personalities progressively morph into a tight-knit crew. All this presented to us through funny scenes, great acting and direction, and style. Not to mention the last 30 minutes, one of the most gripping movie sequence of events that I have ever watched - pure catharsis.

However, I will admit that I found the movie to be a little too long. I reckon that some scenes could have been shorter, and some completely removed from the movie. But nonetheless, with a little bit of patience, it is possible to get through the tepid scenes and enjoy the movie thoroughly. A must watch.

8/10

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

Bored me stiff

[3/10 · 22 April 2019]

As much as I like Paul Newman's work, and despite an interesting plot, this movie bored me senseless. Ok acting, ok story development, but way too slow. Nothing much going on at all.

A pass for me, although I completely understand why people love it. Just not my thing, at all.

The Hustler (1961)

I like it, but I don't love it

[7/10 · 29 March 2019]

First of all, I really like Paul Newman, and for that alone i really wanted to be in love with this movie. I have just finished watching this movie for the second time. The first time I watched it I liked it, but I didn't quite get it. Then I watched it again, and once more, something seemed off.

The movie is very, very slow, which is not necessarily a bad thing in a movie, but in this case it is. I get it that this was intentional, to build the characters correctly, and it succeeds in doing that, but after a while of long, drawn-out scenes in which nothing really happens, I started to lose a little bit of patience. However, this is balanced out by the great acting of Paul Newman as the main character Fast Eddie, and everyone surrounding him is great too, especially Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats (I wish we could have seen more of him), but I quickly forgot about the acting and caught myself desperate for some of the scenes to end.

All in all, neither the great acting nor the extremely stylish scenes are enough to make this a great movie. If it was more straight to the point, it would have been an almost perfect movie.

Still, a must watch, and I understand why so many people love it. I wish I did.

Billy Elliot (2000)

A beautiful story

[8/10 · 20 March 2019]

Billy Eliot is a beautifully told story, set in Northeastern England during a very difficult time. During the dark years of Thatcherism and miners strike, we can watch a story about a boy that initially defies the expectations of his father and brother and the classical concept of masculinity of the region. We get to watch him rebel and pave his own way.

With great performances from all the actors, this movie is a must watch coming of age movie, with a very strong background story.

8/10

Roma (2018)

Overrated

[3/10 · 15 March 2019]

Within the first 10 minutes my expectations for this movie were destroyed. 5 minutes of water on concrete? It's high time these arty movies in which nothing happens stopped being glorified.

Mid90s (2018)

Superb

[8/10 · 4 March 2019]

The movie is Jonah Hill's directing debut. As many other skaters, when this movie was announced, I was skeptical. I was very wrong.

The story is based around Sunburn's entry into the skateboarding community, while at the same time dealing with a bad home situation. The movie explores the importance of relating to a group when you are a young teenager, especially when you have a tough home life and being unable to find a decent role model inside your home. Also, it greatly explores the subculture of skateboarding, which is very inclusive in general, and people in it have a sense of belonging to a family, while at the same time discreetly denouncing the various problems of the skateboarding culture that are way too often glamourized by various medias.

A must watch.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

My brain hurts

[2/10 · 3 March 2019]

I went into this with low expectations because this is exactly the type of movie that I loathe. Somehow it managed to be worse that I thought. It was probably the most annoying movie that I have ever watched in my life. Bad acting, annoying dialogues, too long, drawn out shots of meaningless things, uninteresting story.... I could go on for days. I really like Kubrick's movies, but this was abysmal, a total waste of time.

Enemy (2013)

Boring

[4/10 · 2 March 2019]

I really like Gyllenhaal's acting in general, and although he is very good in this movie also, it is still very, very boring. I had to skip several moments where he is just staring into nothing. I really do not see what people saw in this movie, I did not think it was deep at all, just a good premise told in a very slow and dragging way. I've read some other reviews of people comparing this to Kafka's work. There are some similarities of course, but it does not honour the great work of the author. Too arty-farty for my taste.

4/10

Lords of Dogtown (2005)

A Skateboard Movie for Everyone

[8/10 · 26 October 2017]

Being a skateboarder myself, this movie resonates with me very deeply. This was the movie that got me into skateboarding in the first place, so it holds a very special place in my life.

The movie is based on the real-life Zephyr Skateboard Team, consisted of skateboarders and surfers based in Venice, California during the 70's. Although the whole team is portrayed, the movie focuses on the lives of Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams - their troubled rise to fame, their relationships to each other, and the secondary aspects of their lives.

The movie is very well made, they managed to create a skateboarding movie that can appeal to both skateboarders and non-skaters, as there are enough skate scenes to catch the attention of the hardcore crowd, but the story in itself is good enough to hold the general public's attention. That it is a very good feat because it could have been a very goofy movie otherwise. Furthermore, the acting is generally good, the best performances in my opinion belonging to Emile Hirsch as Jay Adams and of course, Heath Ledger as Skip Engblom. Victor Rasuk as Tony Alva came across to me as a little bit forced.

The Soundtrack in this movie is great also.

Overall, this is a very good movie that appeals to everyone, and at the same time pays tribute to skateboarding's most iconic team.

Plot: 5/5 Acting: 4/5 Soundtrack: 5/5

Overall: 8/10