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charlesmarks
Reviews
The Price of Kings: Yasser Arafat (2012)
Insightful, Innovative, Interesting and Impartial
Having seen the premier of this recently, I must say that I was impressed by the innovative way the film was put together, telling a complicated story about an interesting and charismatic leader in a way that helped you understand the man - not the politics.
The film is really well shot with access to some amazing people who were very close to Arafat (his wife for example). Mixing archive footage with recently shot interviews, you get a real flavour for the man not that the dust has settled (for him at least).
There are no judgments here, just stories and information. If you have any interest in the region, politics, the middle east, war or leadership then this is highly recommended as no doubt the follow-up on Shimon Peres will be too.
The Ring (2002)
Very Enjoyable, very spooky, nicely shot...
As a remake, this has come out of the US production factory pretty well.
After the first scene, you realize that trying to predict the "scares" is a waste of time as they keep being setup and let down so you never know where they are coming from.
I was impressed and reasonably disturbed by this and have subsequently ordered the original Japanese version to watch. It's a grown up teen movie and much more "Blair Witch" than "Scream". It does make you think (although if you do too hard you will realize there are plenty of holes in the plot).
Basically, a pretty fresh look at horror films and very well directed with some great cinematography too.
You've got seven days to see it... (ring ring, ring ring).
: )
Die Another Day (2002)
Disappointing, even for a BIG Bond fan.
I found it hard to find anything "good" about this film. I am prepared to give a lot of leeway when it comes to Bond films, but even this one did step over the mark. It ranks with Moonraker for me as one of the worst Bond films.
It is not an inherently bad film, but it could have been so much better. Lee Tamahori is a good director who should have put more of his own stamp on it. I do not think he has done anything as good as Once Were Warriors.
Some of the special effects are amateur and many of the sets look like a 60's film set. It lacks heart, feeling and you certainly do not empathise with either side.
The most amazing shots are at the start (big waves) and even that is all too brief and has no really ending to the sequence.
I am very down about this and would suggest that even big Bond fans pride themselves by saying they have not seen it! We deserve more, we have been brought up with these films since the mid 60's. We are not stupid, next time make a real Bond film.
Windtalkers (2002)
Oh no, you cannot be serious!!!
OK, I like John Woo films, love action/war films and read the reviews before seeing a preview of this. They warned of the weaknesses so I was not surprised by what I saw (well not that much).
This has some dreadful acting, terrible scripting, cringe making "bonding" scenes and some of the best battle sequences you will ever see.
Generally, I expect more from these actors and director. There are some terribly handled slow scenes trying to flesh the plot but they are awful. No real story about how the code worked or anything and it is factually very inaccurate.
They should have cut about 15 minutes of the crap stuff and it would have been better. As it is, you are moving between laughable stuff (not funny) and amazing battle scenes. At one point you think it has improved and then they throw in a duet between one of the Windtalkers and Christian Slater. WHY!
Out of 10 I would give it 2 for acting 9 for action. Overall, about 6.