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Post by Captain Ahab on Jun 23, 2013 9:57:27 GMT
Man of Steel
There seemed to be a pretty good atmosphere just before this started. Mostly people around my own age group I'd say (30+). I was expecting it to be full of school kids, but it's exam season.
So, after many months of clever marketing, so does how it turn out? Not being familiar with Zack Snyder's previous work, I was unsure what to expect, other than knowing he's somewhat derided in certain quarters. Right from the get go, though, you get a sense of what the film's going to be like...even if that might include some of Snyder's potential annoyances/visual tics/whatever. In fact, sometimes I wasn't sure if there was a problem with the projection as things seemed a bit shaky, or if it was deliberate, example, the first council scene.
I liked the cast, and preferred the quieter parts of the film, generally. Action is alright, fortunately the gung-ho military stuff seemed rather dialled back, imo. For me, the primary weakness lay with the relationships between the core characters (other blockbusters manage this better, I reckon) - the Lois/Clark relationship, and the Zod/Kal-El one didn't seem to have much depth as they could have. The strongest relationship seemed to be the Clark and his parents, actually.
Nice note at the end. Not much in the way of memorable dialogue that I can recall.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Jun 23, 2013 9:58:15 GMT
Star Trek Into Darkness
Generally solid in the entertainment department, but without question the weakest element is the plot. You might at some points start asking yourself if you even care. Standard, transparent Hollywood nonsense. Hero does his thing, is pulled up on it by the brass. Stuff hits the fan, who jumps up to save the day? You know the rest.
Harrison was pretty Bane-like in his physical strength. I'm not sure if the Enterprise itself is supposed to be a character, I guess so, right? It should be more than just a mechanical tool, though to be fair, she can take quite a kicking, and the presence of the crew actually give the ship a bit of life, of course. Yes, that shot of Alice Eve in her underwear is gratuitous - Kirk's a bit of a man whore, though.
Pine's 'boldly go' didn't seem to have the impact in contrast to others who've said those famous words. Bones remains a favourite, but better writing, please.
2 people left the screening I attended.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Jul 8, 2013 21:28:28 GMT
Behind the Canelabra
I thought this very good. The performances and generally how the film was made, and executed. Quite why there'd be any fuss (is there?) about the sexuality of the characters, I've no idea. The films pretty clear on show the strengths and weaknesses of the leads who happen to be gay. Quite funny, also in parts, also. Watch out for Rob Lowe.
To Catch a Thief
Grace Kelly swimming? Ahem. Anyway, blending the right amount of charm, caper, wit and some pointed dialogue, this seemed effortless.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Jul 27, 2013 10:32:44 GMT
The Conversation
Featuring Gene Hackman as a lonely, guarded and detailed orientated surveillance specialist, this was a suitably taut and intriguing thriller. Great to step back in time and see the mechanics and intricacies of analogue surveillance. The soundtrack wasn't half bad, either. Oh, and the surveillance side reminded me of The X Files, actually.
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Post by Wiggy on Jul 31, 2013 13:19:52 GMT
The Conversation Featuring Gene Hackman as a lonely, guarded and detailed orientated surveillance specialist, this was a suitably taut and intriguing thriller. Great to step back in time and see the mechanics and intricacies of analogue surveillance. The soundtrack wasn't half bad, either. Oh, and the surveillance side reminded me of The X Files, actually. I watched that last week actually and wasn't too impressed - although I think I may have been expecting too much. I appreciated the film for what it was trying to do and the old surveillance techniques were interesting. But I didn't like Hackman's character and felt the story lost its way halfway through and I stopped caring about the situation with the couple, thus wasn't too bothered about his redemption, so to speak. I loved the opening sequence though, some fantastic camera work and editing, so I don't feel the film lived up to the opening. Which I guess is kinda unfair of me. I just went back and watched Robocop 1 and 2. Awful but enjoyable, I don't care
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Post by Captain Ahab on Jul 31, 2013 18:07:42 GMT
Haven't seen any Robocops...only little bits here and there.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Aug 3, 2013 17:04:33 GMT
Serpico
With corruption pretty much from the get go, and an unshowy performance from Pacino, even when the character went off the rails sometimes, and was also self-righteous, this was good. Post-Wire...it seems David Simon took a few notes.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Aug 30, 2013 20:22:21 GMT
Elysium Firstly, this gets a point or two for once more having Copley effin and blindin' in his South African accent, and secondly, I think there was some Lisa Gerrard/Dead Can Dance in there, also, though overuse of such choons can grate. I generally liked it. It is well made and enjoyable (strong visuals), but it is a bit unremarkable. Damon can do the blue collar thing and I think the film managed to balance the contrasts between the dirty, overcrowded Earth and the clinical, integrated, well-resourced Elysium (with some black ops thrown in, as you'd expect) pretty well. I thought it laboured a little once the main Elysium business kicked off, and a core weakness was the characters and not feeling much connection with them. They aren't drawn well enough to make you feel part of their experiences. It is hard to blend an interesting and entertaining alternate world with a core group of people. Not many films pull it off. As to the Jodie Foster question...um, what? She seemed a bit over-animated, or something.
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Post by Captain Ahab on Oct 6, 2013 11:36:00 GMT
The Hunt for the Red October. Lots of familiar faces in this one. Generally solid thriller. Kinda runs out of steam towards the end. Blue Jasmine There was a trailer for a James Gandolfini film shown before this. A reminder we'll never see him again. This was my first encounter with Woody Allen - I have Zelig on my DVD to do list. I would have liked to see a bit more of Alec Baldwin's character other than him cooking the books and cheating, and it did lag a little the odd time for me. However, it's a strong film and very much worth the price of admission for Blanchett's performance and how we see her character unravel. Robocop - first viewing as I've only seen chunks here and there. Two Twin Peaks cast members. Non-cardboard villain thanks to Ronny Cox. Technology as a monster. Corrupt private defence company. Manic violence. Ballsy female character. At least it tried to do something rather than bastardise what's gone before. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. I had put off watching this for a while as I figured it would just make me angry. Some many lies and just the sheet recklessness of what was going on. Worth a watch.
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