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Reviews
Choi-jong-byeong-gi hwal (2011)
Good to see realistic combat scenes in a film of this genre
I loved this film from start to finish. The story line was plausible, the plot was well developed and the characters were believable. The biggest bonus for me in this film is that the combat scenes/martial arts sequences were believable and realistic. So many of the recent films of this genre have had fight scenes which basically bordered on the ridiculous. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for example was basically a choreographed high wire act for much of the movie and in honest, just a tad silly! Hopefully we will see more of this type of film from this part of the world. The only thing which was a bit weak was the tiger scenes. Possibly a little more resource could have been thrown at this? The soundtrack was also interesting. It did occasionally drift into very familiar Territory, i.e. you felt you'd heard that music in a similar type of movie?
Kill List (2011)
Worst movie of 201, rudderless from start to finish
This has to be the worst movie I watched in 2011. I am completely baffled by the high score it has received on IMDb. As you watched this film you very quickly got the feeling that they were making it up as they went along. I gather the actors were encouraged to ad-lib and improvise with the dialogue but should this have ran to the plot as well? I don't think so. It resulted in a disastrous mish-mash plot which went nowhere and was enter-meshed with pointless gratuitous violence. It was derivative of a number of films of this genre but basically it never actually came together.
And then to add insult to injury, they cast Emma Fryer as some sort of menacing High Priestess figure. This is the same "Emma Fryer" who plays "Janine" in "Phoneshop", one of the best comedic actresses currently on British TV. Avtually her presence in this piece of drivel in its own way highlighted how ludicrous the whole thing actually was! This is 90 minutes of my life I will never get back. It has left me infuriated, exasperated and bewildered as to why anyone would even embark on such an endeavour. If this is what the film maker was trying to achieve, well done!
Terri (2011)
Fitting into what's regarded as the "Norm"
With your initial introduction to Terri the individual, you find yourself making a judgment. This is a "lazy slob", how can they possibly make a movie about this worthless character. And how can it not be laden with mawkish sentimentality.
Your view is quickly changed as the "Terri" character is expanded upon, You see this highly intelligent, articulate individual blossom forth. You see the daily abuse he gets from the bullies in the school, the typical school yard hurtful joshing, that everyone willingly takes part in. And we see his home life and quickly realise that this, who heretofore you had written off as a sloth, is actually the only carer for his uncle with dementia.
Enter the headmaster character played, brilliantly by John C. Riley. He makes a point of championing the cause of his school's marginalized population. The empathy coming from the fact that, surprisingly, he was one himself.
All in all a very good, funny film that deals sensitively with, acceptance, intolerance, bullying, etc. It's main feature is that it avoids saccharine sentimentality that so many films of this genre fall for.
Snowtown (2011)
Stark portrayal of marginalized Australia
Some amazing acting performances throughout this film.I assume that many of the cast were not well know on screen previously. This comes across but actually added to the film's gritty authenticity. It's quite harrowing in it's content. Sometimes the characters are not very well explained or introduced and this can lead to some confusion.I found it difficult at times trying to figure out where various characters fitted in to the plot But on the whole a movie which packs a punch. Some scenes will linger in the mind long after you've watched this movie. The summation at the end giving an update as to where the main protagonists are now is a sobering jolt to the realization. this actually happened! Not for the faint hearted!