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Reviews
Van der Valk (2020)
Misscast
Marc Warren is a fine actor, he was great in hustle for example. But he's awful in this. I don't know if he's just not ready for the lead role, I suspect that may be the case. Whatever the reason he fails to pull it off, which is a shame.
All Rise (2019)
Garbage
Formulaic. Predictable. Too slick for it's own good.
Attack the Block (2011)
Not funny, scary, or gripping.
There are a few things wrong with this film. Not the least of which is that it doesn't do any of the things you want from it. A lot of the publicity mentions Shaun of the Dead. It certainly doesn't compare to that. I don't know what the film was trying to do. -It's not funny, at all, I don't think it was trying to be. -It's not scary. It just isn't, it's not a horror film. -It's not gripping. The story is fairly weak and extremely simple.
Another huge problem for the film is that the protagonists are not likable. At the very beginning of the film they are shown mugging a nurse then beating an alien to death for no reason. Nothing they or the film does subsequently ever wins you over, heroics notwithstanding, you kind of want them to die. I never figured out if the film was trying to satirise south London gang culture or advocate for it. It seems to lampoon it's main cast as well as apologise for it. Regardless you spend the whole film thinking that a gang of half a dozen kids who mug a nurse with a flick knife need to be locked up and wishing it would happen.
It's not all bad. Nick Frost is good but only has a small part. For any physicists the aliens are made of a super black material such that you can't see any texture and can only discern their shape from their outline. But that really really is not enough to save the film. Feels more like a short film project than an actual movie. Extremely disappointing.
Let Me In (2010)
It's Better Than the Original - There I Said It
Someone has to dare to say it. This is better than the original. There is a conspiracy amongst the film elite to criticise this film as being an unnecessary remake. That the Swedish version was so good this remake is pointless. They not only claim it's not very good but almost refuse to consider it. Saying the American remake is better is akin to saying you're an idiot. Well the Emperor has no clothes. This is better.
The fact that the original is in Swedish is not something you can immediately dismiss. If The Shawshank Redemption, had been in Swedish I would have enjoyed it less. If Friends, Fraiser or The News were in Swedish I'd enjoy them less too. I read one reviewer saying that if you are smart enough to get this film or LTROI then the fact that LTROI is in Swedish wont bother you, and if it does then you wont get either film. This is just snobbishness. For me Film, like Television is about enjoyment. The actual artistic merit is just a distraction for people who are paid to be supercilious and tell us what we should like.
Aside from the language issue this film is just better. If Tomas Alfredson had been given more money and a second go at making LTROI it would have been better second time around. To pretend otherwise is nonsense. And that is what has happened here, LTROI has been used as the final draft for LMI. They are very close, this is not a re-imagining, it has has just been slightly improved, as you would expect from one draft to the next. Everything that was good remains and a little has been touched up.
In it's own right this is a charming film about the relationship between to outcast children set against the back drop of one of them being a vampire. There's plenty for fans of vampire movies, there are some interesting ideas on the vampire rules, in particular with the way vampires age and the whole idea of having to invite them in. But this is not really a vampire film. It's about childhood and struggling to fit in as much as anything else. Chloe Moretz is as good as ever, you empathise with her situation, though never really know her motives.
It's not highbrow, there is a great deal of subtly in the personal relationships because the film is so well written. But no more so than the relationships of every day life. The film is not difficult to 'get' it's really a fairly simple story. The film critics idea that you have to be a genius to get either film is not true. It's a good story.
A great film.
Valentine's Day (2010)
Like What Would Happen If I Tried To Write Love Actually.
The comparison with Love Actually is an obvious one. Not only for the broad, multi threaded love story outline, but many of the sub plots are quite similar.
However, the film lacks all the charm and subtlety of Curtis's classic. As per the title of this review, it's like what would happen if someone gave me the plot outline and i had a stab at it.
With Love Actually, by the time you reach the heart-warming climax scenes the viewer has been taken on a journey that makes them buy in to the characters. With Valentine's Day the viewer feels no empathy so the scenes that would be heart warming are simply cheesy and a little embarrassing.
The film is not entirely with out some merits but it mostly leaves you disappointed.
FM (2009)
More than met my expectations... ...laugh out loud funny
I'm always a bit wary of low rated British sitcoms, particularly when I've never heard of them. I had the opportunity to watch this and gave it a go. It's laugh out loud funny in several places and never really drops the ball.
Chris O'Dowd is better than i've ever seen him, the writing, unlike in the IT Crowd allows him to display his truly expert comic acting, and Nina Sosanya plays the (slightly minxy,) straight man well.
I have high hopes for this in the future. Ones always a bit cautious of comparing things to The Office, but with a bit of luck i think this may grow into something of a household name.