Nicole1062 Reviews

Wind River (2017)

A special film

[10/10 · 3 February 2018]

Watch it! I find it difficult to describe this film except,as my husband said (with a catch in his throat) "it's as though you're watching real what is actually happening". It is a thriller but so much more than that. It presents you with the reality of life on a Native American reservation - there is a comic/tragic moment near the end where the victim's father (a Native American) is painted in a 'death face' which is like a bad football fan's face painting and he says there is no one left to show him how to do it. But is also about loss, hardship, strength, survival and more. I can't possibly do it justice but it's association with Harvey Weinstein must be the only reason it was snubbed by the oscars in 2018 because otherwise it would have cleaned up!

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

A very worthy, thought provoking sequel - still talking about it

[9/10 · 14 October 2017]

To get the negatives out of the way: the film was a little slow in places - everyone knew what was coming but some denouements were dragged out a little; and there was a lot of gratuitous female objectification, which did not sit comfortably with me. However, overall this was a brilliant sequel and I think better than the original, although it complemented it perfectly. This is a gripping, very moving 'human' condition film about aspiration and hope and the desire to fit in/belong to the 'normal' group. It could be seen as an allegory for any situation where a group feels marginalised through the controlling power which wants to consolidate its position by sidelining/enslaving the 'others'. Ryan Gosling is superb and brilliantly portrays his character's journey which cannot be further described without introducing spoilers. My husband and I have spent the last three hours talking about this amazing film!

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

Absolutely engrossing and horrific view of what human beings are capable of

[12 August 2017]

A fictional account of a true psychology experiment - this provides a very tense and disturbing account of the way in which human beings can adapt to their circumstances and become a different (or perhaps real) version of themselves. After only one day all participants have adjusted to their new roles and those running the experiment have become part of it. The film demonstrates how rapidly we can become the worst of ourselves with little provocation but when told we have total power or complete lack of it.

Get Out (I) (2017)

Did not live up to the hype

[4/10 · 27 March 2017]

Potential spoiler alert

I will start by saying that the lead was excellent. However my daughter and I left the film feeling decidedly 'meh'!

After the hype we were expecting a cracking and different horror or at least a good psychological thriller, but, other than a few shock moments at the start, the film just did not follow through.

It felt very derivative, particularly the Stepford Wives/sinister community motif used for the majority of the film. And the 'explanation ' was somewhat rushed.

Sad to be less than enthused but it did not tick any boxes for me.

This was neither a good horror, nor a clever psychological thriller and I'm not sure where the hype originated from. A waste of a good cast!

Anthropoid (2016)

Why was this straight to Early Release on Sky?

[10/10 · 14 January 2017]

Nothing to say except that this is yet another WWII film which deserved a full cinema release but seems to have gone 'straight to video' on Sky. A story, set in Czechoslovakia, I had never heard before about the attempted assassination of the architect of The Final Solution. Brilliantly produced, directed, and acted. A tragic and 'must see' movie. Please see it as it is important that these stories are passed on. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dorian are excellent, as are the supporting cast members. The pacing is tense and the movie flies by. I don't understand why I had not heard of this movie before as it only came out in 2016. It deserves to reach a wider audience.

Cold Feet (1997–2020)

New series 2016

[10/10 · 10 October 2016]

I had serious doubts about the resurrection of the series but the 2016 season just reminds you what was so good, and different, about this show.

There is a warmth at the heart of Cold Feet so that we continue to care about the characters, even without Rachel!!!! Such a pleasure to have them all back.

They cover all human drama with humour and tragedy which means, although they don't spare the clichés, that they manage the balance of tragedy and comedy with finesse.

Long may the reunion continue

The Nice Guys (2016)

Boring and unoriginal

[2/10 · 8 October 2016]

I only gave this a 2 as we switched off after about half an hour. I had reasonable expectations as the reviews were good but we were really disappointed. I think any film which very early on has a naked porn star sets its stall out. I was still prepared to give it a chance as the main performers are good but the promised laughs did not come, although the T and A came thick and fast! Having a 13 year old girl being subjected to free screenings of porn and discussions about anal felt very wrong and ultimately we were not entertained. Shabby! Both stars are capable of so much more. I could not recommend this film in any way and will certainly not bother watching the rest of the film.

Eye in the Sky (2015)

Missed opportunity

[4/10 · 12 August 2016]

Good acting and a good story but just not credible. Possibly one of the first movies to tackle the risks of collateral damage in tough military decisions but missed the target by implying that everyone at a senior level would halt their decisions because a little girl might get injured. The decision on how to proceed was apparent, and morally justified from the start. Perhaps it would have been better to focus the audience on how they set parameters for collateral damage rather than making it a prolonged debate about rescuing a young girl! It would have been good to see a study of the real moral and ethical impact of having to make the decision to 'push the button' on a non military target.

The Revenant (I) (2015)

We left an hour before the end

[3/10 · 31 January 2016]

I expected much but to be honest was bored. I am more than capable of appreciating a long, largely gloomy film about existence and survival (the road came to mind during this film and I thought that was brilliant and very moving) but I found this film ultimately tedious. There was no character development so I simply didn't care what happened to Leonardo Di Caprios's character. Scene after scene started with him face down in the snow, moaning. An internal monologue and more of a back story might have helped. There were also many plot holes such as the scene where he found himself above the river (at least 200 fatal feet high) and suddenly he was down in the water. He then found himself propelled for some time through ice-filled water which should have killed someone with the injuries he sustained from the bear attack. Scenes began with potential menace but then nothing happened. I checked my phone thinking it must be nearly over and, with an hour to go, bailed. Still don't care what the outcome was. Definitely not an Oscar deserving performance, or film but no doubt I will be proved wrong!

Unbroken (I) (2014)

Perfectly adequate film but without heart

[4/10 · 27 June 2015]

Sometimes actors turned director makes sense - Clint Eastwood as a classic case in point. He is clearly an intelligent humanist who gets to the heart of his stories. Unbroken does not mark Angelina Jolie in the same way. This is a truly terrible tale of human suffering but it leaves you unmoved (and I am a movie crier). I think the lack is in the characterisation - we learn nothing about the subject except that he was an Olympian. When you look at much older films such as Angels with dirty faces which is a very short film but gets you involved in the e protagonist's life straight away and even though he is a bad lot you stay hooked throughout!

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Second series is sadly disappointing...

[28 November 2014]

I normally find serial killer dramas fascinating and really thought the first series of The Fall showed great promise. However, the second series has proved that more is not better! Gillian Anderson has become a 2 dimensional character whose USP is a silk blouse and frequent glimpses of classy bra; she can't meet a female friend for a drink without an unconvincing lesbian near-encounter; we know at some point that she will have a regrettable sexual experience with the killer; and we all want the young girl (who is displaying the normal confused experimentation with her burgeoning sexuality by trying to attract an older man) to meet a nasty end. There is no realistic portrayal of 'strong females' - instead they just play 'mean girls' who show no respect for any men they meet (the guy in the bar who comes on to GA's friend is not a creep but they take his drinks and dismiss him, although they are professional, successful women). There is no team in the police squad - only GA wafting about arrogantly with all other characters poorly drawn. The one other potentially interesting female police officer has suddenly decided to go back on the beat (and will no doubt be killed off by our serial killer at some point) following a locker room one sided conversation with GA changing, mistily, into another silk blouse while doing 'smell the fart' acting. Scott and Bailey does this so much better and more convincingly and we will now be switching off!