Find it hard to understand the almost universal acclaim this film is attracting. It's almost as if I watched a different film. The Guardian have it as their #1 film for 2022. I have to ask, why?, how? Unless I missed all the subtleties, which is possible, nothing happened. I endured this rather than enjoyed it. I don't get the claims that is a wonderful protrayal of father daughter relationships. The reviews smack of elitisim, if you don't rate this film then you just don't get art. The emperors new clothing springs to mind. The Guardian has Cailín Cúin / The Quiet Girl as their #2 film for 2022, it is, in my opinion, a much better film.
Reviews
11 Reviews
Nairobi Half Life
(2012)
Terrible
21 November 2022
How has this scored 7.4 on here? I would question the varacity of the scoring of this. Are other movies so blatantly over rated?
The acting was terrible, the storyline contrived and muddled and the characters where cheap stereotypes. While I enjoy experiencing cinema from different cultures this had very little of merit.
Other reviews mention the morality and standards laid down for a younger audience, I'm amazed. The main character turns to crime while he pursues his dream of being an actor and falls in love with the whole with a heart. This storyline has been told a thousand times and mostly in a much better manner than this. I struggled to stay awake watching this and couldn't in all honesty reccomend this to anyone.
The acting was terrible, the storyline contrived and muddled and the characters where cheap stereotypes. While I enjoy experiencing cinema from different cultures this had very little of merit.
Other reviews mention the morality and standards laid down for a younger audience, I'm amazed. The main character turns to crime while he pursues his dream of being an actor and falls in love with the whole with a heart. This storyline has been told a thousand times and mostly in a much better manner than this. I struggled to stay awake watching this and couldn't in all honesty reccomend this to anyone.
Excellent
1 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The futility and savagery of war as seen throught the eyes of young Paul Bäumer. The ego driven inhumanity of the generals hellbent on victory. The enthuiasm for lust and blood of those not going off to fight, the naivety of those whovare. The mythical glory of battles gone by. The waste of life in WW1 has been well chronicled but this must be one of the best depictions. The acting and cinematography are top class. As much as we connect with the main character and sympathise with his terror there is no happy ending, no romantic return home. To provide one may have derailed the entire point of the film.
Motherless Brooklyn
(2019)
Beautiful Scenery
27 July 2022
A beautiful depiction of 1950s NYC from the clothes, to the cars to the lightening it can't be faulted. The quality of the cast and script are top notch. But this came across as a stylish rehash of a Mickey Spillane novel, no marks for originality.
Redemption of a Rogue
(2020)
Jet Black Comedy
27 July 2022
Absurdity and farce rule the day in this black comedy. From the blues band in the rural pub to biblical rains to bodies in freezers with puzza. Not one to be analysed, just suspend reality, go with the flow and enjoy the ride.
Boiling Point
(I) (2021)
Tension!
5 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Very well made, very well shot, very well acted, but jaysus the tension and stress.
Opening scene, very tense. Stephen Graham had so much going on, so much being juggled his stress levels came through the screen.
The tension between the team members was palable. From the pain in the arse manager to the kitchen team the stress levels were high. The bar & wait staff who gave away the profits to the kitchen porter who didn't give a damn SG didn't have a hope.
The bald guy with the £200 bottle of wine and his ex boss added to the tension by being difficult and rude.
Graham's debt problems, drug taking and death at the end summed up his dysfunctional and lonely life.
I enjoyed it for it's quality and acting, I didn't enjoy the constant conflict and now I need to chill out and do my breathing exercises.
Opening scene, very tense. Stephen Graham had so much going on, so much being juggled his stress levels came through the screen.
The tension between the team members was palable. From the pain in the arse manager to the kitchen team the stress levels were high. The bar & wait staff who gave away the profits to the kitchen porter who didn't give a damn SG didn't have a hope.
The bald guy with the £200 bottle of wine and his ex boss added to the tension by being difficult and rude.
Graham's debt problems, drug taking and death at the end summed up his dysfunctional and lonely life.
I enjoyed it for it's quality and acting, I didn't enjoy the constant conflict and now I need to chill out and do my breathing exercises.
Hustle
(2022)
Over rated
25 June 2022
I don't get the hight ratings for this. The story is pretty lightweight and the acting, except from Sandler, is pretty weak. Apart from some amazing displays of basketball skills this delivered nothing. If it wasn't for the names in this it wouldn't have been made. This story has been told numerous times, often far better.
The Unknown Saint
(2019)
Absurdity & Farce
26 May 2022
What can I say. Absurdity piled on top of farce. Shades of The Life of Brian, and The Field, slap stick from D'Unbeliveables, bizarre. Loved it.
One character was as eccentric as the next. The old women wasting the doctors time, the doctor, the doctors assistant micro dosing to stop himself going mad through boredom, the men who only attended the doctors clinic after he inserted false teeth for the dog, all great. The bald men who were regulars in the barbers, reminds me of an uncle's barber shop here in town in my childhood.
For all the absurdity and farce it was beautifully shot with some really good scenes particularly indoors.
Having watched some Iranian cinema a while back and now Moroccan "The West" could learn a thing or two from these directors. This is a little gem that had me reflecting on and smiling about it for a day or so after watching.
One character was as eccentric as the next. The old women wasting the doctors time, the doctor, the doctors assistant micro dosing to stop himself going mad through boredom, the men who only attended the doctors clinic after he inserted false teeth for the dog, all great. The bald men who were regulars in the barbers, reminds me of an uncle's barber shop here in town in my childhood.
For all the absurdity and farce it was beautifully shot with some really good scenes particularly indoors.
Having watched some Iranian cinema a while back and now Moroccan "The West" could learn a thing or two from these directors. This is a little gem that had me reflecting on and smiling about it for a day or so after watching.
Colin in Black & White: The Path is Power
(2021 Video)
Excellent Documentary
28 March 2022
Raised by white parents in a white world but denied their white privilege CK becomes acutely aware of his ethnicity and the daily prejudice faced by POC. This is reflected in his journey to become a QB, rejections flow often based on skin colour. This is a well informed film about those rejections and prejudices until his journey arrives at his chosen destination.
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