geoff-59604 Reviews

Somnus (II) (2017)

A hit and a miss...

[3/10 · 23 October 2016]

I wanted to enjoy this as the premise seemed so much like intelligent Sci-Fi.

Performances where OK but the wandering story and pace just seemed to make it difficult to follow and really work out what was happening here.

Some of the work with miniatures here looked pretty good but it doesn't make up for the confused story. Some of the flashbacks actually upset the pace for me and the clichéd bad computer didn't help. All a little obvious!

Summary - some good filmmaking mixed up in some bad writing.

Capsule (2015)

Watched with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised

[7/10 · 23 October 2016]

I read the other reviews... a lot of hate here so I started with a low expectations.

Its odd, as I would never have watched this if I'd known that the film was mostly one person on screen or the duration of the film but actually, it held me. Kingsley's performance is strong and captivating. Unlike other reviewers, I get that his Hypoxia is what has rendered him vulnerable. The high emotion, the paranoia and the fumbling motor skills are classic outcomes of oxygen starvation.

The set design looks really great, and it creates an environment that has a feel of claustrophobia and isolation. Almost submarine like. I don't know how accurate the design is to what would have been around at the time but the little digs about the cutting edge tech are on point. Look at the sedans of the 50's and you'll have a great benchmark for what would have been regarded as cutting edge at the time!

At times I would have liked it if we could have seen the people we could hear but I suspect this would have challenged the low budget. But this was more than made up for with the end scene which is amazing. A single shot to unravel the plot twist. Its great and it feels so different to the rest to the film it kind of jolts you back to earth (no pun intended).

So, the film has its limitations but I enjoyed it. The story was good, the performance from Kingsley strong and the technical aspects of the film gave it a polished look. I really enjoyed the music and will probably end up watching it again to see if I can find the clues that the trivia suggest I have probably missed!

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)

Varied Pace but enjoyable action film.

[6/10 · 23 October 2016]

Enjoyed this as an action film but felt that some of the story was a little unevenly paced. Technical accuracy seemed pretty good based on my time in service but my feeling is that this isn't enough to really make this a stand out film.

I would like to have seen more of a nod to the Libyans who helped the US in this situation - it was all a little too biased towards the 'American Heroes' and having studied much of the background to the event, there were some loyal and resilient local forces who were more than helpful to the GRS contractors.

Despite this, its put together well, if a little long and tells an already much forgotten story of a US failure in the Arab Spring.

Moon (2009)

As much an exploration of ethics as a it is a Sci-Fi film.

[7/10 · 23 October 2016]

I enjoyed Moon.

At times it felt slow and dragging but this was probably the intention of the filmmakers. The loneliness and isolation of being a contractor in Space certainly hits home with he slow pace.

What I liked... The attention to detail and character development. What I liked less... I appreciate this was probably a low budget film but some of the scenes clearly contained miniatures which just knocked the shine of this film for me.

Dialogue with Gerty is very interesting and Spacey delivers a typically sinister and cold performance which is needed to play off against Rockwell's great vulnerable human character.