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bant428
Reviews
The FP (2011)
Odd is a good word
Bizarre. Hilarious. Audacious. Good? If you like terri- awesome incredi- bad type flicks, this will be right up your alley. Imagine a post- apocalyptic world that is Riverside, CA meth culture with a dash of DDR -- I mean, Beat Beat Revelation. The slang is just wrong enough to ping your internal ear, the outfits are random hodgepodges, and the nudity is arbitrary. The pacing drags in the middle of the film, but overall, it is just crazy enough to cut it. It was as if someone raided TV Tropes and then made a film that just rolled with its own campy ridiculousness. There is no irony in the film -- it's all played straight. I loved it.
The Ledge (2011)
disregard the hype and just watch the film
Because the marketing blitz focused on it being an "atheist" film, I went to see it but expected it to be ham-fisted. Instead, it was beautiful, moving, somewhat ambivalent, and ultimately touching: the opposite of ham-fisted. Sound and visual cues are used, and there is a lot of showing instead of telling.
The fact that there are some very talented actors giving some very good performances helps, as does how almost every character is sympathetic despite being at odds with the others. Patrick Wilson's character in particular was surprisingly sympathetic. He is essentially the antagonist in terms of the plot but it's hard to truly see him as the villain.
The stereotype of the religious woman who encounters an eye-opening atheist man clearly exists here, but in a way, it's almost an inversion of the "wild woman makes tame man's life interesting" film trope, which is refreshing to see. The chemistry between Liv Tyler and Charlie Hunnam is quite good and believable.
Overall, the characters felt real and The Ledge gave me a lot to think about. I enjoyed the film greatly.