Change Your Image
mimbaxter
Reviews
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Male day dream land, in L.A. by the Med.
I loved this, it revolved around the relationship of Juan and Maria, an art couple from hell. Fantatastic to watch, just dodge those flying bullets, just as well it wasn't 3d.
I know it's not supposed be about them, it's about a couple of girls spending their summer in Barcelona. Barca looks great, but why fly 3,000 miles, to a city by the sea with mountains behind, where they speak Spanish, when you could have gone to L.A.?
The films does give the impression that American go round the world in their own bubble and don't engage. This for me was a problem, at the end of the story Spain was a mess and America had completed their plans regardless of the personal cost. There was no arc of transition for the American characters, they arrived fully formed and left that way.
I didn't care that much about the lack of arc, just glad that I had met Juan and Maria.
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Good cast, better story
I enjoyed this greatly. Then I did not pay for it on my credit card.
It's a good cast, and it's a 'stock' Hollywood production, where the quality of the cast are dragging you along with joy. John Goodman's dancing in the end credits being an item worth waiting for.
But, it's not a 'stock' story, the context and the telling of the story are almost up there with 'Thank you for smoking', not quite but then Shopaholic is a romcom. This film does show that there is a price to be paid, and that it is never when you expect it. This was where the value was for me, as it expressed the complexity that comes with losing control of your money, on your job, family, friends. Then showing the difficulty in honesty.
The magazine bits does not really click as there is no sense of rush of deadlines, and they could have put any sort of finance job in there.
Twilight (2008)
Teen angst, co dependant, bad boy flick, what's not to like
This is a bit like 'Twin Peaks' and when the Dwarf starts to dance, it's time to leave the cinema. But we are not there yet.
It is well written, and gives itself the time to develop. This is not a new story, most of the twists are fairly obvious. I do not known the books, and there are times when the audience reacted and I had no idea what had just happened. This is a starter film, of a series I assume, to lay the ground work and establish characters, with signals of intent.
The locations and actors are good looking and well shot, and worth seeing for themselves. I felt that the pale look was over done, but then I am old enough to remember 'The Cure' the first time.
The wire work needs to be improved.
There is one thing, that deeply shocks me, even on the day following. The main 'hero' of the film, is supposed to be deeply cool and attractive. Yet he drives a VOLVO. That's wrong, deeply, culturally wrong, Volvo's are not teen fashion cars. End of rant, before I get started.
Ahem, so a good enough start to a series of films, which should have some interesting stories to tell.
Stone of Destiny (2008)
Nice looking comfortable film, but not much bite
Stone of Destiny is comfortable, it does not ask why the people of Scotland would want independence. It presents the theft as a student prank, which is supported by society. There is rarely harm in student pranks and the students do learn things, but as in this case they rarely change the world. So, it looks nice, but it would have been good to see more Scottish talent on display. I am very happy looking at Kate Mara on screen, having seen her in 'Shooter' she was one of the reasons that I went to see the film, she was a different character. They all handled their accents well enough for me not to notice, and the group worked well together. The production is well done, and looked right to my eyes for the time of the film. I think that the script could have been developed more. There is a repeated scene with characters running past each other. I did not walk out really understanding the basic desire that drove the theft of the stone.
Cloverfield (2008)
Not as good as the marketing. Not nice people.
The idea of the handy cam following a group of people through a disaster works really well. The quality of the sets and the CGI is very high and the action is believable.
The story flows well enough, but there are parts where it feels like a re start of the action as they can't think what to do next. The point where they leave the Army camp for the first time being an example.
The Army come out of this really well, organised, brave and with plans already in place. It's just that the numpties that have the camera don't have the self awareness to realise this.
This is where the film falls down badly. I really did not like the people that I was following, they where self absorbed and without context in the chaos that was around them.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Black and White and Red all over
It's the story of some one lost in their grief and not able to engage in the world around them. It looks like Batman, with a dark comical twist, but with very little goodness on show.
The story feels quite thin, not many characters and no real travelling, it feels like it has come from the theatre and has the constrains of the medium, without the buzz of a real person in front of you. The other problem is that I do no think that the Sweeny Todd character changes much through the film, there is a sudden realisation at the end, but the shock of what that means and what he has done are not shown.
It looks like a Tim Burton film it is well dressed and well shot, but I think that people with poor eye sight will actually struggle to view parts of the story because it is so darkly shot.
Helena Bonham Carter is very watchable and gives the film a human strength.
It's HDTV not 35mm, which it should have been.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
A dry arid film, like being licked by a cat
It shows the transition from the honour of the cowboy movies, where the Sheriffs did not have to carry a gun, to more violent self indulgent recent times, where some have progressed on from the gun.
It has a wonderful vista to it with the landscapes and the interior set decoration adding to the depth. It uses 35mm well.
The 'Anton' character really has the feel of the original 'Assault on Precinct 13', the John Carpenter 1976 one, relentless, deadly and morally unexplained.
The other characters tend to be optimistic Americans, but I did enjoy Woody Harrelson's, Carson Wells.
The film ends rather suddenly.
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Enjoyable funny and thought provoking
This has a comfortable flow with a spot on sense of humour. The whiskey bottle scene is a classic.
It's not going to change the world, it does help to understand Washington a little more, but that's not the point. It does show that one person caring about a problem can achieve a huge amount, but not everything.
The cast is amazing with so many faces that I have not seen in a while. The main one for me was Shiri Appleby.
Philip Seymour Hoffman's Gust is the funniest, but I do find it hard to believe that the CIA would put up with that behaviour, but as they story of true, maybe they did.
I would have liked this to be a 35mm film rather than a HDTV production.
Enchanted (2007)
Very Disney and watchable
I enjoyed this. It has plenty of jokes and references. It flows well, and there is a joy in New York which is nice to see.
One thing I did like was that the stereo type of getting what you want is to bully and be nasty. They have turned this into being nice and not leaving the other characters able to response to do what they want rather than what they are being asked to do. Very Disney, but played well and believable.
The one odd thing was that the animation was in HDTV format and the live in 35mm, which felt to me a little odd. I can't really think of a reason for it unless they where wanting to cut back on the rendering time?