William-160 Reviews

Archive (2020)

Satre said, newness is buried in the 'fantastic'

[10/10 · 23 June 2022]

...OK I paraprhased the title. He did say that more or less. Without giving anything away, I consider this plot to be more like Agatha Christie dancing with 'Transcendence'.

Fans of 'Brazil', 'Casabanca' and 'Havana' will hopefully enjoy this film as much as I did. May I say in all of these stories; it is not what you thing it is. Ignore the obvious and float in the narrative.

May be yo llike 'I Robot'? Consider then; could it be "... dreaming or remembering. Dreams do that, don't they?"

The Flowers of War (2011)

Great story -- Dreadful, Terrible, Don't turn away -- Experience this Story!

[10/10 · 19 September 2017]

History or inspired by events can be more than imagination or art. This is one such story, in the telling; ask .."Why War?!" Ever! Never! The English word for this film is two-edged: Tragedy / Redemption / Pathos

... and * brilliance * Are they three(?), of course -- Because it is just ONE thing. They "label" you apply, is such and such of your own experience.

A friend of mine, discovered around the time she was the same age as these school girls in this film, that her mother needed to escape China; and had been Forced to leave two half-sisters that my friend never, ever knew.

I believe my friend learned this from an aunt or cousin but never found the right time to broach the subject with her mother (now passed-on).

No one says things -- BUT -- This experience is Too Common by far(!); I've heard tell from Polish, Norweigens, and even Germans & Italians (yes! Even!), Chinese, Korean, Malays, Philipines ... A HUMAN Story.

Today we have Daesh!

"When will we ever learn" ~ Peter, Paul and Mary

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

Worthwhile -- Better than expected

[7/10 · 30 June 2017]

I wanted to encourage anyone who thinks something like, "another beat-up" or "Hollywood goes disaster" (again...) -- In other words hollow film skimming on what is a Major World Wide event -- Wrong.

To my surprise I found the film gripping. It wasn't as engaging as the producers may have indented. It definitely (still) pulled me in. What would make it "engaging" as well? That's up to you; for me I thought that while the jigsaw parts to engage me were present, the treatment was very superficial (even dismissive).

Another point for me is technology -- An oil rig like that is MORE complex and sophisticated than any Nuclear Reactor. Perhaps you can't cover it in a film; you must however explain the critical elements central to the story itself. Things were going well until the absent concrete test report issue was miraculously supplanted by a "Negative Pressure" test. WHAT?! WHY? Motivation? Engineering? Science? Who explained how the release valve mattered more (or was a management fop?) Gaps in story telling.

As I said I still found it grabbed me; may be I just need to read the court transcripts, etc. I definitely recommend watching "Deepwater Horizon" more than once.

Spotlight (I) (2015)

compelling

[10/10 · 19 October 2016]

I had heard about the Globe story -- I had no idea about the grind and drama that went into working these horrific actions. Anyway I hired the movie on a recommendation, if this was a book, I'd be writing "page turner" -- I have children and my hat is off to the cast, the writers and the actual reporters who have shown us some of the true horror in this world.

I don't know how factual the information was in the movie. We've been hearing news reports here about child abuse in all kinds of institutions, women and men, all social areas, etc. I just dread that the "6%" number used in the film, might just be 6% of everyone. That's more than 1 in 20 if "people are people".

Catch a Fire (2006)

Why I recommend it ...

[8/10 · 15 August 2016]

I've seen a few films from this era focused on the topic. Few of those had the impact of this film. As well, I feel it has relevance today.

The overall theme, is how do 'normal' people 'wake-up' and consider radical or revolutionary action? Where do (so called) home-grown radicals come from? If we assume babies are born more-or-less innocent(??) What happens? More to the point, in the context of this particular film; why does NOT happen? We play football, we have some drinks, dance at a wedding, etc. Life is good. And sometimes; something-happens.

There's a huge ethical question too... When is it OK to be bad, to do good? Is it 'ok(??)' to be 'evil' and feel you are a hero!? You my say, 'No...'; sometimes it will depend. Sometimes history is the decision maker.

Watch the movie ... Pray you don't need to make these choices.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Not impressed

[1/10 · 4 July 2014]

For me, it was like "Sylvania Waters", plus-nothing. A bit like chewing tea. No substance, and not much kick. I'm sure the actors enjoyed themselves. It you want my assessment, is is LAZY and LAX acting, LAZY and LAX direction and just a bit TOO much "we know something, we won't tell..." HUH!!?

Could be the script, the book or just a "get a movie" published mentality ... summing-up: vacuous.

To make a comparison, "American Psycho" (imho) was a good book and a poor movie. "Wolf of Wall Street" felt to me like a remake of "Bonfire of the Vanities" lacking the charm(?) of Bruce Willis... I expected a movie -- Did you like it babie?

The Boat That Rocked (2009)

wikipedia entry ...

[7/10 · 15 June 2012]

Great ol' good clean fun! I got interested enough to see what the real-world inspiration might be.

Funny how familiar the wikipedia photo looks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline

I was quite surprised to see that the first pirate station was like 1928. That's pretty cool. It would also be good to find out about some of the characters the DJ-s were modelled on.

I have to recommend the 'Deleted Scenes' on the DVD. There's probably a whole 2nd movie there. One of the clips shows how the station managed to stay 'afloat' when the boys get out and about on the town. Won't spoil it, just watch the out-takes!

There is also an explanation for why Dave did the dirty on young Carl. He's a bastard!

A Majority of One (1961)

the closer you are, the less you can see

[8/10 · 19 January 2007]

This is an excellent play!! You ought not confuse yourself, this is strictly a play and I believe it might need to be appreciated as such. That means there is probably a very good film in the script some place waiting to emerge as Michael Angello might say it.

The meaning of the story is very topical more today, than when it was written if you are to ask me. I remember both "times" and the message in each context is becoming worse not better. Listen and listen again, one day you will hear that there is beauty and strength in diversity. There is a place for love in the universe.

Having made some important comments, there are also so quite a few criticisms on the film itself. Why a British actor for a Japanese? They really didn't cover the concept that may be the 'children' are a little too self important as am I and many of us.

The cultural faux pas probably come down to ignorance rather than insensitivity. This is ironic because there were several deliberate references this in the film. I saw another comment that said it was "racist", I can see that too. It makes me wonder. I wonder if this problems are part of the bigger problems being highlighted -- a movie that speaks about double standards, that itself participates in double standard practice, while showing characters acting out of hypocrisy ... I wonder if there are ever in the whole universe, "no accidents"

I enjoyed the whole. I wondered if in knowing someone one is preaching to me, that I'd enjoy it less. It is true I did because there was a little too much study in the acting where as a play, the actors have time to get into the character. As a whole, film is a gestalt the gestalt it lovely.

(Drama teview of the play: http://www.curtainup.com/major1.html)

The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005)

Real

[10/10 · 2 January 2007]

This may not be the most polished documentary you'll see. It may be only one person's side of his story. It covers all the emotions. The telling is not sentimentalized (that I can tell), it is clear, concise, and the ending is a fascinating example of what can be accomplished.

The film speaks for itself, and the down-to-earth style of the telling may not be everyone's cup of tea -- It seems to reflect both the tale and the people in the story. Some aspects would have to be re-enacted. There are some examples of 'historic' material such as a tape recorder that seemingly was used to record a conversation during an auction. I would have liked to see more input from the family and friends and less just shots of the farm or scenery. BUT, that is probably not the world "John" lives in.

Eternal (2004)

Love the guile, needs more style ...

[7/10 · 25 April 2006]

I liked it, and agree it could be done much better. It is like all the elements are 'there' and it needs a good polish and smoothing of the rough spots.

For the trivia buffs there is apparently an opera based on the same source material (see: http://bathory.org/erzstale.html) There may be other material out there.

Returning to the film, the DVD 'Extras' lead me to believe there were modifications to the plot and some interesting edits post production. Some scenes contain a complete "jump" which caught me out initially.

I think it deserves a 7 for originality, and not boring us with the lore -- It could have been a lot better.

Æon Flux (2005)

Is this "Story Telling: the next generation"?

[8/10 · 14 April 2006]

Hello (reader) ...

I'd like to skip the deconstruction and background; moreover I'd like to skip the (academic) 'what a film _should_ be' ideologue. Of course it is difficult to do that because, normally one needs to say this is 'such' by suggesting it doesn't need to be 'else'.

I'm going to make a run at this anyway. Consider this, in 1968 John Brunner produced a novel called, "Stand on Zanzibar". It too is no "Ulysses" (James Joyce), it was to me a very succinct way to {download} a lot of information across a narrow bandwidth. At the time, a lot of my friends didn't like the "jumping about". In art this kind of style was heralded as now -- impressionistic.

Simiarly the "Aeon Flux" film shoves information at you at quite a rate. One of our local reviewers called it a "video game" without characters. Gee, I think that person missed a lot of emotion, subtlety and depth. It is that reviewer's loss too (imho).

I admit that a lot of gaps must be filled by the audience. This is because the audience is no longer a passive on-looker. In a film with this form of narrative we, the audience, are participating in the story. And that is why being "like a video game" is critical.

It is critical because WE are part of a video-game. Normally we are not part of a movie, or book. One example of a book we are part of is "American Psycho" (a dimension completely omitted by the film adaptation). In "American Psycho" (book) chapters and narrative stop to request that me, the reader, to fill-in the missing pieces. Am I no co-creator of the story with the author in that context?

Thus I feel the "Æon Flux" film is working on a similar outcome. To give me more control over my experience. This contrasts with an actual video game adaptation, for "Doom", where the video game elements only jump in for one case. Other video game adaptations where a story only joins game-action sequences.

Who can say where the world of entertainment is headed? Popular media seems to indicate a trend to more and more user-participation, such as games, reality shows, voting or comment in a "Big Brother" or "American Idol", etc, etc. Story telling wasn't always a matter of sitting still and _receive_ 'entertaining' please. Used to be a story was a shared experience around the camp fire.

Perhaps modern technology and forms are returning some autonomy to us? Or perhaps reality media will reduce drama to humdrum(??). While there are gaps in the plot, it maybe intrinsic to the "user-fill-the-gaps" approach, or a craft-development in a new way of presentation?

I can say here, is that for those open to belong to the story, and make-up your own version, "Æon Flux" could be a pointer for a more involving way to present stories.

/w.

Wolf Creek (2005)

Not what I expected . . .

[8/10 · 6 December 2005]

In wishing to avoid spoilers, it is as well to say that I had some limited notions about the film that were close-to and almost completely wrong at the same time. Not for the squeamish though. Very good 'fright' value, that I thought was gone with youth.

Much more could be done with the high-tension points. However I believe that is deliberate. The notion might have been to portray the raw reality of the tale while working to avoid "yet another ..." (insert genre) ... I expect 'genre' buffs to score it lower because it can fall short of preconceived expectations.

Worth the ticket -- Seeing it twice could be self-punishment. I found it very intense.