corozin Reviews

Dune (2021)

Dune Nerds will go nuts

[8/10 · 6 November 2021]

They say you should never meet your idols... I'm now in a dilemma since I saw the Dune movie last night and whilst it *is* magnificent I am struggling to overlook what (to me) are massive flaws. I am also wobbling as this is a Denis Villeneuve movie and (to me) he is like the modern Stanley Kubrick/ I read Dune, Children of Dune and Chapter House Dune about 10 times over 15 years when I was younger.

This film is visual and cinematic feast, no doubt about it. Not the leap forward from David Lynch's 1983 adaptation that critics would have you believe but stunning, and with more running time to work with the camera often lingers and feasts on the environment of Arrakis. The photography is beautiful.

The cast is perfect, although some characters have more to do than others. Timothee Chalomet appears to struggle in the first frames but his encounter with Revered Mother Mohaim soon corrects that. Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Rebecca Ferguson are well cast and dependable, and Stellan Skarsgard brings a new level of Darkness to to Baron Harkkonen. All wonderful stuff.

And yet... and yet the film nagged me gently throughout. Despite the time luxury, characters and plotlines are almost completely omitted. There is no mention at all in this 2½ hour run time of the weirding modules (so central to the later plot) and the two Mentats, Thufir Hawat and Piter DeVries barely get any screen time at all despite their central nature to both houses in the book. Indeed Piter's omission skews an important scene where he is actually killed in the book.

And Jessica, I don't recall Jessica being quite the weak character she plays for most of the film. Most most of the film she is mostly a weak, cowering deferential creature and only really finds her strength (she is a Bene Gesserit witch FFS!) in the last 20 minutes.

Perhaps I am being over critical as a fan, I don't know. But to me these are important details which the running time and the writing team should have attended to. I still desperately want to see the second half but a modern "Lord of the Rings" it is not. Shame, it was close to being perfect...

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Actually pretty dreadful.

[5/10 · 27 April 2018]

I know this is going to go against the grain of a lot of the early reviews here, but frankly I thought this was a pretty dreadful movie.

This one stacks so many superheros into the same film that very few of them actually get more than a few minutes of screen time each. Superheros which are all dedicated to protecting the people of earth, who barely feature at all except for a few frames.

A number of well established characters are bumped off almost at random, and the now almost mandatory overlong, over noisy, confused Transformers-esque action sequences are weirdly punctuated by an approximately 30 minute segment in the middle where absolutely no plot advance occurs at all and which could have usefully have just been cut with no impact save to reduce the boredom.

Coming so soon after the Black Panther movie it seems Marvel are now intent on creating some kind of endless production line of "blockbuster" titles 2 or 3 times every year. I am completely weary of this, as the story quality is frankly going through the floor like a bad soap opera.

Just about the best thing I can say for this movie is that it is better that Justice League, but frankly that movie didn't set the bar high at all.

The Titan (2018)

It almost did it's job

[4/10 · 15 April 2018]

I was drawn to this partly as I noticed it was one of the new wave of movies funded by Amazon.

The premise of the movie was interesting enough, I liked it's gentle pace, it's cast and the way the story developed for well over an hour of it's running time.

And then it all went wrong in the third act. The story fizzled out, the scientific curiosity and nuanced performances just descended into predictable psychotic action & death, and the finale of the movie made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Perhaps worth a night in at home watching on your TV if you already have Amazon, but certainly not worth a tenner in the cinema. Bit of a shame as I wanted this to fulfil it's potential, it's just the writers ran out of ideas 2/3 of the way through.

Annihilation (I) (2018)

Not as good as promised, or should have been. Blame Portman.

[6/10 · 14 March 2018]

I have to admit the trailer had gotton me quite curious to see this one but now having seen it... well sad to say it didn't quite meet expectations. And despite it's beauty, and relatively original plot idea it's basic problem is Natalie Portman and her character.

I'm sure having a girl who's been in the military for 8 years and then studied to become a PHD professor in Biology looks good on the writers desk but it's a long stretch to believe when Portman (who still looks about 25) is cast to play the role. But more to the point, Portman, endowed with her Chanel cheekbones and 8 stone frame, looks and is hopelessly out of place in the role, struggling to carry the weight of her M16 and rucksack around the jungle.

Sections of genuinely interesting script and moviemaking are interrupted by inane girly shouting matches and screaming which seem only placed to satisfy studio bosses' idea of "horror" but the quieter, more thoughtful sections as they unravel the bio-monstrosity of the shimmer were actually really great.

Similarly Jennifer Jason Leigh, a tremendous actress who usually lifts any movie, just grunts and whispers all the way through with a fairly hollow character with not much to really with or do. She's supposed to be the leader of the team, but the director sadly devotes all available screentime to the expensive Portman.

On balance, not a bad film (at least no capes for a change) but an opportunity not fully grabbed. Portman needs to stick to playing pretty girls, as ex-military tough lasses just ain't her, either physically or emotionally. The film, whilst pretty, feels like a cross between the Hunger Games and Apocalypse Now, but without the drama or tension of either of those movies. But keep it up Alex Garland, your next one will hopefully be better.

Beyond Skyline (2017)

Oh dear

[3/10 · 18 January 2018]

Fabulous effects, absolutey dreadful everything else.

Vacuous characters, dreadful script, little discernable story. There is little to recommend this. The original "Skyline" is a lot better than this one, and that's not saying as much as it might seem.

A "Battleship" for 2017.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

A masterpiece of film making

[9/10 · 11 January 2018]

What a fabulous movie. The cast performances are all outstanding but the undeniable star of this film is Martin McDonagh's script and direction.

There isn't a second wasted; every moment is used to full effect and at some points you can be almost overwhelmed as two or even three plot twists avalanche on top of each other. But it's skill is also in the skill of integrating contrasting quiet segments which let the film breathe but at the same time are packed full of clever plot moves and powerful emotions.

I havn't enjoyed a 'middle America' film so much since No Country for Old Men and I hope this film is both suitably recognised at the Oscars but also endures in history as a spectacularly accomplished piece of film making.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Perhaps time to stop now Disney...

[4/10 · 14 December 2017]

I was fed the hype, including a number of critic reviews in the mainstream media, and am left wondering if they saw the same film that I've just watched.

Very, very average at best. Little discernable actual plot; just a sequence of set piece action sequences interlinked with pointless chummy, huggy dialogue between characters that I find it hard to care about.

It's cinema for the twitter generation. No actual depth to it at all, just a derivative movie which repeats (and repeats) the genius signals of it's early predecessors without doing anything at all new. What a horrible shame that possibly the most successful movie franchise of all time is reduced to this.

ACTING It really is coming to something when Mark Hamill is not only the star of a movie but is also depended on to hold the whole thing up. I am coming to the conclusion that Daisy Ridley really doesn't have the talent to do her (key) role justice. Adam Driver actually steps it up a whole gear from the previous movie and was very watchable, but all the other characters basically shout thier lines at each other, clearly conscious of someone holding a stopwatch off screen.

SCRIPT Star Wars scripts have always been legendarily wooden, but under Disney the bar has been lowered to a level that 6 year olds would find condescending. Let me provide an example :

Back in the old days (say) a Tie fighter would be attacking the falcon. Old dialogue was something along the lines of : (Skywalker and Solo struggle to shoot fighter, Skywalker eventually bags it) LUKE : "See I got one" SOLO : "OK kid, don't get cocky"

In the new world that same scene is scripted : (Finn and Rey struggle to shoot fighter) REY : "Shoot that fighter!" FINN : "I'm going to shoot it" REY : "If you don't shoot it now we'll all be destroyed" FINN : "OK I'm going to shoot it" (FINN Actually shoots fighter, massive explosion on screen) FINN : "WOOT! WHOA! Did you see that? I shot it" REY : "Yes I did that was amayyzeeen" FINN : "That was fantastic!" REY : "Yes you are absolutely amazing" I think you get my point...

Shockingly dreadful, CeeBeebies level scripting that almost had me yearning back to the good old wooden days of Hayden Cristensen wooing Natalie Portman.

AND THE DISNEYFICATION Oh boy, here's where Disney should have left it alone. The film unfortunately trots out a small zoo of cute "Disney" creatures. From the pointless Llama-like creatures which have been stolen stright out of "Never Ending Story" to the little Pingus with big eyes the film starts to resemble one of those dreadful Pixar animal animations which only 5 year olds can bear.

I could almost write pages and pages about where this film goes wrong. The film raids the it's own archives for material heavily, refilms it and it's just not as good second time round despite having what appears to be a few $bn of effects thrown at it.

Thank you Disney Corp for actually managing to accelerate the ruination of the greatest movie franchise in cinema history. All that remains now is to bring back Jar-Jar Binks in a leading role.

Mother! (2017)

An emotionally exploitative, roller coaster ride

[7/10 · 11 December 2017]

Alas this movie comes already saddled with the baggage of it's controversial and divided reviews, but I found Mother! to be a curious, enjoyable, emotionally draining but ultimately highly satisfying film.

In many ways the approach of this movie reminded me of Joel Schumacher's "Falling Down" in that it takes the viewer on a close emotional journey with the lead character (Jennifer Lawrence) where you initially empathise strongly... and then there comes a point when you realise what is happening has turned completely bonkers and you've been going along with it for the past 20 minutes.

Many reviews have centred on the religious connotations of this film but I didn't see that myself when I watched it. The film continually and cleverly plays on your emotions and sympathies for it's entire length, pulling the strings one time after another. It gently stacks up more and more characters and situations of increasingly bizarre, offensive and ultimately dangerous nature until it's final scenes of confusion and desperation for Lawrence.

What a fabulous cast; the camera is never off the excellent Lawrence. Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer seem deliberately cast as part of Aranofsky's psychological game with the viewer, and Bardem produces another of his enigmatic, kooky performances to tie things up.

I hope that history will judge this film better than many of the reviews have done this year. It's hat tips to Rosemary's Baby are obvious and respectful I think. A film that deserves it's place in the Horror Hall of Fame.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Ridley Scott goes through the motions, nothing more...

[5/10 · 12 May 2017]

The film was a disappointment. I was hoping that after the rather hollow Prometheus that extra effort would have been made with this one but alas all we are treated to is a visual homage to the genre of Alien films, but one with with a less than invigorating plot and nothing new to say.

Pieces of the film are so disjointed in terms of pace that I started to wonder if the three producers actually talked to each other during it's filming. From the ridiculously sweary and over-acted descent sequence, to the flacid, pointless and alas lengthy Walter/David flute playing sequence, this film follows the rather rambling narrative style of Prometheus rather than the tight and gripping style of the first two Alien movies. In fact I would suggest that even Alien3 is more consistent and has better interaction between the characters than this piece.

On the positive side the film is once again beautifully designed and shot, the Aliens well rendered (if a little predictable) and the film features many visual nods and easter eggs to both it's predecessors as well as films such as Avatar. I was particularly charmed by the inclusion of a reference to the 'nodding duck' from Alien reproduced here.

The actors are once again challenged with portraying a variety of poorly written roles. Fassbender is of course great as David, but the others have little to work with. Billy Crudup struggles to convince with a character with a ridiculously unbelievable religious streak and Waterston despite her heavy pre-publicity does nothing except grimace at what she witnesses. Everyone else in the script is just Alien-fodder in the style of a particularly bad teen-slasher movie. I found myself wondering if Irwin Allen was still alive and script writing.

In summary a film with visual splendour but little else to recommend it. Please Ridley Scott - stop making these things now. They're beginning to become painful.

Death Race 2 (2010 Video)

Lazy and just dreadful

[2/10 · 25 December 2010]

I had the misfortune to see this film last night. Even by the mediocre standards set by Paul W S Anderson this one is shockingly poor.

It appears as though Anderson decided to just recast and re film "Death Race" all over again. Matt Goss tries to keep his embryonic Hollywood career going here but he defeated by almost everyone else involved. Sean Bean turns up for a quick cheque, but there's no effort anywhere. Danny Trejo must be wondering why he accepted this job - surely he can't be this desperate.

Anderson beats all the clichéd character types until they bleed. All the black actors are employed simply for an ability to look angry and shout "nigger" everywhere. All the women are topless sluts.

It's just same old, same old. They even reused the same sets and cars they had in the first one. The whole thing must have cost them $200 to make, and $150 of that must have been Sean Bean's fee.

I never thought I would see another film in my life to rival Battlefield Earth and Lost Souls as the worst ever, but Anderson makes a very good attempt here. If I had paid for the ticket last night I would have been very disappointed. As it is I'm wondering if it possible to sue the studio for two wasted hours of my life.

Utterly, utterly shocking. 2/10

Jumper (2008)

A good idea wasted

[4/10 · 4 March 2008]

I went to see this film without having much idea beforehand of what it was about and came out afterward with a very mixed opinion.

The premise of individuals being able to teleport to anywhere they could visualise was at least halfway original and the movie does make an attempt to develop the idea in terms of how it would affect the life (and lifestyle) of anyone with such a power. It wasn't until I thought about it afterwards that I realised that (of course) the concept had been executed with more skill with Alan Cumming's similarly translocational mutant in X-Men 2, but it's still an interesting idea.

Despite the (seemingly usual) stunning effects, fast moving action and a few notable performances the movie overall fails to deliver in almost every other respect. Special mentions in particular to Jamie Bell and Michael Rooker for excellent performances in the circumstances without layering the cheese on.

You would have thought that ruining two Star Wars movies would have been enough to seal the fate of almost any actor's career and yet Hayden Christiansen manages to keep getting roles despite seemingly having only two expressions and no ability to express any kind of emotion in his repertoire. But my particular Razzle award for this film goes to Samuel L Jackson, who in my view wastes the enormous talent so clearly visible in films like Black Snake Moan with autopiloting, cheque-paying appearances like the one he almost turns up to deliver in this movie. Despite the mandatory doe-eyes Rachel Bilson is as utterly cardboard and forgettable as Kate whass-er-name was in Superman Returns.

The film seems constrained by the requirement to keep it's running time under the teen-attention span limit of 90 minutes and as a result fails to take the time to properly develop what could have been a really interesting concept in terms of it's affects on those it affects. Small glimpses of this are offered in the early parts of the movie but then cheaply discarded in favour of endless action sequences. The movie also in my view falls for the obvious formulaic plot-device (seemingly copied straight from films like Underworld and Highlander) of introducing mysterious feuding master-races so late into the film that it actually drowns what little compassion you have left for the movie.

The plot-holes almost defy counting, and as is often the case these days what starts out as an interesting story is quickly sacrificed to simply create a vehicle for the special effects. In this case that is a shame, because with a better script, longer running time and without Christiansen & Bilson in the lead roles this could have possibly been something memeorable. As delivered, this movie will be on the £3.99 DVD shelf within six months if it's lucky.

Grindhouse (2007)

Disappointing

[5/10 · 27 May 2007]

The whole movie would have been one of the highlights of the year, but in all honestly Tarantino's segment "Death Proof" rather ruined it.

This is a long movie, and after the magnificent "Machete" and Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" I was getting fairly worn out with all the action! However up to this point is was absolutely terrific stuff.

However Tarantino's "Death Proof" was far less resolved, overly long and self important in my opinion. Kurt Russell's excels in this piece and the action (when it happens) was excellent. But the dialogue... what a load of old rubbish... QT could have easily cut 30 minutes out of this part, but seems to have felt obliged to at least equal the running time of Rodriguez's section no matter what.

When you are 2-2½ hours into a movie the last thing you need is pointless, dull dialogue which does nothing to advance the plot or the characters - I felt my attention seriously wandering and could have fallen asleep.

Both directors deserved a huge amount of credit for paying homage to and reinventing the Grindhouse genre with such enthusiasm. So many cameos and nods to great movies (like the white Challenger). It's just a shame Death Proof was not edited down more or this would have been something to rival Pulp Fiction as a piece. I've marked it 5/10 but it would have been 9/10 without the dull sections of Death Proof.