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handleyneil
Reviews
Ferrari (2023)
Life (and death) in the slow lane
Ironically, for a film about high speed racing, this film drags interminably and is really quite boring, with extended scenes of dialogue and surprisingly little action. It is so uninspiring that I genuinely think it could damage the brand reputation of the modern Ferrari car company....as it implies that their cars are not exciting and the people who drive them are very dull. Whilst considerable effort has gone into sourcing authentic-looking 1950s vehicles the overall 'look' of the film is too modern. The characters, in particular, look like people from the 2020s so suspension of belief is difficult. The dramatic road-side accident which occurs towards the end of this overly-long film, uses CGI in a manner that is quite out of keeping with it supposedly being a period piece. This was the director's return to film making after an extended break; he has clearly lost his touch.
Meet Me in New York (2022)
Feel good tale with its heart in the right place
There's actually a line in the script that requires the lead man to state the immortal words "That was the worst acting ever". It suggests that the film's makers didn't take themselves too seriously and that is the best way to approach watching this movie. There is a sense in which the idea of a lavish party for a ten-year old child, complete with hired alpacas, is extravagant and beyond what most viewers will have experienced in their own lives. But this is escapist fantasy and, in any case, wait to see how the party turns out! There's a (lightly peddled) moral message here and I enjoyed watching it. There are several 'should they or shouldn't they' dilemmas running in parallel (a promotion, a move abroad, letting down a friend, should they even turn up to the party?) and I think it all knitted together quite nicely. This is not great cinematic art and neither is it a waste of time. Agreed, the New York depicted is a very clean and safe version and I'm not sure the Canadian lead actress convinces as a daughter of the South, but these are distractions. My advice is to follow the plot as it unravels and recognise it for being a simple, well-intentioned piece of family film-making. If you have a ten year-old child to watch it with you, it will be the perfect recipe and give you lots to discuss afterwards.
The Mad Axeman (2019)
Do moviegoers watch plays? They should.
Do moviegoers watch plays? To all those harsh critics I say they should. This is very clearly a film adaptation of a stage play - an award-winning one no less - and the switch of genre means you get to see some misty scenes of Dartmoor as a bonus, but largely in flashback. Ironically those scenes work the least well. The film is at its strongest in the the confines of one period living room, with occasional forays to the bathroom or bedroom and the outside world is literally blocked out by newspapers covering the window. Yes it's a slow mover with not much plot, but that's the point, and that is how the characters are allowed to develop. This film works because of the atmosphere that builds and the interactions of the three main characters, all of whom are intimidated by the gangsters on the end of the phone line. Far from being poor acting performances, these are, without exception, splendid performances by all involved. In particular, the filmmakers have captured the look and feel of the 1960s and you never sense that these are 21st century actors in period dress. Hey, it's even a Christmas movie and you get to recall how relatively plain British Christmas dinners were in those days before microwaves and freezers. Anyone who spent time at home during lockdown will appreciate the boredom and how this impacts on the behaviour of human beings forced together in a tiny place. In that sense, has Frank actually escaped prison at all? It seems his brief few minutes running across the moor were the only freedom he'll get. This is a rewarding watch for anyone with an attention span longer than a juvenile and who is interested in how intimate theatre can translate to the big screen.
Valley of the Lanterns (2018)
A moral tale
At first the animation reminded me of computer games a decade ago and I was worried that this would be a difficult watch, but having got used to it I enjoyed the film much more than the opening 15 minutes might have suggested. I spent much of the time wondering from what country it originated and would not have guessed Canada. Everybody appears to have an offset mouth as if the entire population has suffered a stroke, and at first I assumed that the little boy Porter was a little girl. It's a highly moral tale about the importance of not looking back and making the most of time while you have it (and not gambling on pig races), but although charming in part, others aspects are really quite dark (including a dramatic fall from height) and I would caution parents not to watch it with very young children. The action takes place in an indeterminate land in a quasi-Medieval age but with certain modern conveniences (such as surgical neck braces). The musical score is actually somewhat repetitive, even annoying, and the whole film could benefit from being ten minutes shorter, with the main edits merited at the beginning. Thereafter, however, this film picks up momentum. I warmed to the characters and upped my score from an initial 3 or 4 to a solid 7.
Razors: The Return of Jack the Ripper (2016)
I felt left in the dark
This is the darkest film (literally) since 'The Beguiled'. I could hardly see what was going on, which was perhaps just as well. My forensic examination of this film? A terrible crime has been committed and it will be an injustice if the makers escape punishment.
It was a film that tried to be clever and did not succeed; a bit like 'Beast of Burden' or 'Anon', but without the star names. The plot is too complicated to follow and too boring to make one bother to try. The action played out ponderously, making this relatively short film feel so much longer, such that the rolling of the end credits was a huge relief .
Set in East London, the film nevertheless has a very American feel to it, including some transatlantic bit-part characters such as the studio boss. Every cliche in the American film book is presented, with pale echoes of Dracula's castle (with strange door keeper), 'Psycho' (daggers minus the shower), 'If' and a Chucky doll for good measure.
An unbelievable initial scenario is presented, to which the characters respond in an unbelievable way. Whilst all fictional film art must require a measure of suspension of belief, this film demanded too much. I still don't understand why the characters didn't leave the building at the very beginning, long before they are given an unlikely-sounding financial incentive to stay. An hour or so later I still didn't understand the ending or why many of the preceding scenes were required in order to lead up to it.
I could offer a spoiler and tell you if any of the characters make it out alive, but I genuinely don't know as the mix of flashback (both historical and more recent), dream and reality is so awkwardly concocted. Just as a witness to a real crime will often struggle to articulate what they have just seen, viewers of this utterly dreadful film will have to decide for themselves what happened and whether it was worth trying to follow.