goatcheese-25746 Reviews

The Social Network (2010)

Smart, Engaging Drama

[8/10 · 13 January 2020]

The Social Network is incredibly intelligent and engaging. It has a great cast and a very strong screenplay.

The movie is about college student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) who, with the help of his best friend Eduardo Saverin ( Andree Garfield), creates the global phenomenon Facebook. The story is framed around two lawsuits against Mark, one from the Winklevoss twins (Arnie Hammer) and Eduardo himself. Justin Timberlake plays the playboy character of Shaun Parker, he does such a good job I really hated him at the end.

The actors do a great job in this film. Jesse Eisenberg delivers his lines with speed and sarcasm, which is very entertaining to watch. Andrew Garfield is also fantastic, he brings a vulnerability to his character and makes the friendship between the two leads believable. Arnie Hammer is playing two versions of himself yet each of them feels distinct.

The music stands out as well. It perfectly matches each scene and is tonally accurate. The dialogue is written by Aaron Sorkin, who is known for his snappy screenplays. This film is no exception, it really elevates the movie and makes it more exciting. The pacing is quick, it moves along without feeling rushed or too long. The themes of fame and wealth are profound and subtle, adding a very important layer to the film.

Overall, this is a fantastic movie. It has an excellent cast, a great screenplay, engaging story, good music and a good pace. I have no real complaints, I loved it.

Raw Edge (1956)

Trashy

[3/10 · 7 January 2020]

From the deep, dark depths of Universal's back catalogue comes Raw Edge, a truly bizarre western. It's really awful.

The movie is set in the 'lawless' 1842 Oregon, where if a woman is widowed, they are up for grabs to whoever 'claims' her first. The land baron who set this rule has a beautiful wife (played by Yvonne DeCarlo) who all the men covet. When she gets assaulted, an innocent man is lynched and his wife is widowed. It's gonna take tough gunslinger Tex Kirby (Rory Calhoun) to avenge his brother and sort out the greatly misogynistic tyrant.

This movie's biggest failing is the story which is pretty ridiculous. The premise is unbelievable, even for the Oregon of the Wild West. The plot itself wasn't particularly engaging either, the revenge story had been done dozens of times before and much better than this. It's also not very exciting and there are barely any fights that were fun to watch.

Rory Calhoun is fine in the movie, he says his lines and does bring a sort of stoic personality to his character. Same goes for Yvonne DeCarlo, she's fine. Neville Brand plays an over the top villain who's out to get DeCarlo, he was entertaining enough.

Overall, this film is really bizarre and barely entertaining enough to warrant a watch. The acting is serviceable but the plot is all kinds of strange. But I think it could be fun for the sheer weirdness of it.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Love Letter to Classic Cinema

[8/10 · 19 December 2019]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a very entertaining movie. It's slow pace might put some people off but I was never bored at any point during the movie.

The acting was, as expected, great. Leo Di Caprio plays the washed up actor Rick Dalton very realistically as well as amusingly. Brad Pitt plays the no nonsense stunt double Clith Booth with ease, he really feels in control of situations. The chemistry of these two actors is just great. Margot Robbie doesn't say too much but what we do get of her portrayal of Sharon Tate is very tasteful and respectful, the film shows her as a kind, carefree young woman with a great career ahead of her.

Some thought the story was a little aimless but I disagree. I enjoyed the journey of Rick Dalton, it was entertaining to watch. The friendship between Clith and Rick feels incredibly authentic, one of my favourite scenes was when the two of them were sitting watching TV. The last 20 minutes or so were very Tarantino and very satisfying, I was having a blast. This film was a comedy and it easily succeeded at being one. Every joke had so much build up and the payoff was worth it, I was laughing out loud a lot which doesn't happen often for me.

The set design is so immersive I felt like this really was filmed in the 60s. The ads, the billboards, the cinemas, the film posters and so much more bring this film to life. Tarantino clearly loved classic cinema and this movie feels like it was crafted with passion and care, which is something you don't see often.

Overall, this was incredibly enjoyable. The acting was excellent, the story was entertaining and funny, it felt very immersive and the comedy was just fantastic. I recommend it.

Rebecca (1940)

Underrated Gem

[7/10 · 16 December 2019]

Rebecca is truly an underappreciated Hitchcock movie. It's very Gothicly atmospheric and has a dreamlike feeling.

The acting is particularly strong in this film. Joan Fontaine really sells the meek, naive wife character and her switch to a more powerful character is very noticeable, her character arc is enjoyable because of it. Laurence Olivier is charming but also brooding and mysterious at the same time, haunted by the memory of the looming Rebecca. Judith Anderson really does a great intimidating and unsettling performance, you really hate her by the end. An all round great cast.

The plot was pretty engaging and intriguing, the memory of the titular Rebecca is successfully shown to be powerful with the lead always being compared to the seemingly godlike Rebeccca. All the characters are entertaining and interesting to watch. The plot twist is surprising, I didn't see it coming and it really made the third act more exciting.

The set design was convincing in this movie, especially the imposing hallways and rooms of Manderley, Rebecca's room in particular. The flowing curtains seem just perfect to me.

However, this movie could have been just a bit shorter. Some scenes dragged a little and could have been cut or trimmed down. This wasn't often though.

Overall, this was a really good film that was very well acted and suspenseful throughout, with a suitably mysterious atmosphere. It could have been a little shorter but that doesn't detract too much from the experience. I recommend it.