p_j_taylor2003 Reviews

Crush on U (2007 Video)

Marketing Film.....Terrible.

[2/10 · 13 August 2008]

This is truly dire. It seems to be a marketing film for Ms. Lipton, very possibly by close members of her family. I say that because there doesn't seem a lot apparent talent on display, except that of ordinariness with just a hint of being cringe worthy. The one redeeming feature for me was that if I hadn't seen this film I probably wouldn't have read Davis1 's review.......Nice One! This film very well might find an audience amongst 7-12yr old girls who will probably enjoy it. But it comes across as manipulation of a very loud/opinionated 12yr old want to be STAR*****...this girl has her own web-site.

I being cynical of course! Don't WATCH!

The Love Guru (2008)

Daft, immature, toilet humour......I liked it!

[7/10 · 19 July 2008]

Really what were we expecting. I'm disappointed that so many people found this worthy of 1/10. I laughed out loud in places, at jokes that were obvious, I chuckled at the elephants humping, and exchanged frowned looks with my girlfriend at other parts, and then laughed out loud. Come on guys....OK it's toilet humour....what did you expect. I certainly found this a lot funnier than Drillbit Taylor and most of the Jack Black latest releases. I don't think that his character is as strong as others he has created, but I think Justin Timberlake played an excellent part, I liked Jessica Alba and the two commentators were brilliant. Please lets get off our high horses. I'd rent the next Mike Myers film tomorrow.

In Bruges (2008)

my film of the year so far.

[10/10 · 20 June 2008]

I'd heard a couple of reviews comparing this to Pulp fiction, and so was eager to see it. Whilst I can see the comparisons they are very different, the only similarities really is that there are 2 hit-man, the dialogue is razor sharp and slightly ambling and are both brilliant pieces of film in their own way. In Bruges is a lot more sedentary. There's no Hollywood gloss in this film, and younger viewers may find it a little slow paced. But the script is funny, the cinematography is wonderful, and ALL the characters are interesting. I loved it when Yuri who thought that "nooks and crannies" was a more suitable English word than "alcoves". The performances were all as what you can expect from such fine actors as Ralph Fiennes, but I felt that Colin Farrell made the film with the main character Ray. Surely this is an Oscar winning performance and it heightens my belief that anything that Film-4 put their name to is a stamp of excellence. With all that said I'll reserve my only slight criticism of the film till last. I, like some other reviewers found that the end was slightly disappointing. Was it that or was because I simply didn't want the film to end.

24 (2001–2010)

Completely Overrated Tosh!

[3/10 · 6 June 2008]

I was blown away by the reviews. I liked the sound of the concept. I bought the DVD. I turned it off half way through and binned it. This is awful.....Oooh so it's got a big name cast....So what! The 3 marks I have given are solely for the concept. It's new and original, and that deserves credit. But for me it was so painful to watch. To keep viewers to speed of what is happening in other parts of the story, Jack Bauer is constantly on his mobile phone. This started to annoy me. Then the storyline started to become unbelievable, re the lady contract killer who parachutes to her rendezvous for just one example. Then the incredibly bad acting/direction from the guy who appears to be a normal American business man, who when put under the slightest interrogation suddenly starts speaking in an eastern European accent....What happened to his perfect American accent.....Sorry, I'm not overly keen on Keither Sutherland anyway, maybe that didn't help... but I cannot for the life of me see how anybody thought this was good!

The Andromeda Strain (2008)

Come on guys!

[7/10 · 6 June 2008]

After reading previous reviews, I expected to hate this with a passion. But I actually quite enjoyed it. I do in general despise TV films, especially American ones. But this came as a pleasant surprise. I have to say that I haven't seen the original. I can empathise with the other reviewers who have seen one of their favourites Hollywoodfied, I refuse to watch the new Wickerman for the same reason. But for anybody who hasn't seen the original....This isn't that bad. Sure it feels like a TV show, and some of the acting isn't brilliant, but I've seen a lot worse. I thought the president was very good. This is worthwhile if you're bored, but don't run out and buy a copy!

The Number 23 (2007)

Poor mans memento/Secret window.

[8/10 · 24 October 2007]

Jim Carey stars as I like to see him....Straight! His countless performances as a clown, have meant that I'm automatically put off his films. I also read a few reviews before I watched the film, so I wasn't over enthusiastic. There probably lies the reason I thought this was actually quite good....Yes you can pick holes in the storyline all day long. But this kind of film appeals to me. Think of it as Secret Window with a big influence from Memento. Because of that, you can't level any marks for originality, and at 8/10 I reckon I've probably marked it a point higher than perhaps it deserves. But I wanted to bring an air of respectability to its meagre 6.3....Its better than that surely?!?

Ratatouille (2007)

Best since toy story - Its that good!

[10/10 · 22 September 2007]

I love cartoons, but I have never believed any have been as good as toy story. Not because I think that toy story has the best animation, but because I think that at the time, it brokethrough what had ever been done before and also because it had such a good story with great characters. Every film that has followed may have bettered the animation but whose story has never been as good....Others I have loved the story but never felt the animation has pushed its limits..... This does both.....The animation is ahead of all competition....check out the water scenes!!! But also the film is funny, and its characters are all fantastic.....from the chef to the Rat to the trainee to the critic! The storyline follows on nicely as well, and has nice twists to make it not as formatic as late films! 10/10....(I've only ever voted a handful of 10's!) - Well recommended!

Rear Window (1954)

Disappointed - AGAIN!

[6/10 · 23 April 2006]

Alfred Hitchcock......Oh dear, I'm going to upset a lot of people here. But he doesn't quite do it for me. So far I've sat through the 39 steps, North by northwest, Rear window and Psycho and so far only the latter has really entertained me. The premise of the film is great one....A guy laid up in bed, believes he witnesses a murder from his bedroom window, and goes about proving it. I like the idea, but Stewart's inkling and further surmises are so fat outweighed by the evidence brought to his bedside, that he'd be registered mentally ill if he'd continued with his allegations in real life...He is of course proved right! It reminds me a lot of 12 angry men, of which I have the exact same criticism. WHERE'S YOUR GODDAM EVIDENCE!!!!

So what is my problem with Hithcock? Well I guess I'm of an age where thrillers have been made as being a lot more gritty...see Se7en, French connection and I suppose I'm basing my reaction to any other thriller upon what I've been brought up with. To me, there is a whole heap of plot-holes and lack of realism, that I just feel the audience of the day must have been very naive. But that isn't the case as films such as 'M' and Casablanca to name but two have proved.

OK, so I understand that a film doesn't have to be realistic to be entertaining....Was the Wizard of Oz realistic...I don't think so, and to be fair I did find this film relatively entertaining, but I kept thinking it was supposed to be a thriller and those annoyances kept annoying me!!!!

Maybe, one day I will get it...Maybe one day I'll be watching this again and saying to my grandkids how great a film it is.....But I think it'll more likely be se7en or 'M'! May your thunder begin!

Afghan Alphabet (2002)

I never knew!

[3/10 · 15 April 2006]

Thanks to the German reviewer...I wasn't aware that this wasn't a documentary and was wondering the same thing....What really annoyed me about it was the constant barracking of the young girl, who didn't want to give her name, and was obviously very uncomfortable about removing her bhurka. I felt that the interviewer was being almost as oppressive as the people she had been trying to escape from, by pushing his own beliefs on her.....But now I know that it was fiction, I don't know what to think. It actually worries me more, the fact that they tried so hard to make it look like a documentary, made me angry before I had even known it was staged and put a political bias on it! This could construed as propaganda at its worst.....I'm giving it 3/10, simply because it did interest me whilst I was watching it!

Kandahar (2001)

Interesting and thought provoking!

[6/10 · 15 April 2006]

The film does have an almost documentary-like feel to it, that I think is because the main character is a journalist and she is presenting the world of Afghanistan to us. I found the film interesting, as another reviewer has put it, not in its politics but in its anthropology, it had the same fascination as watching a program on the Sky travel channel. The journalists mission, is very understated....the director held back from giving us a full on City of God oppression type of approach, but didn't, and I feel that was deliberately because he wanted us to experience the differences in culture between the Iranians and the Taliban governed Afghan side. He didn't quite pull it off for me, for two reasons....The first is I'm extremely cynical about watching any movie with a political bias, and this definitely has one. The second is, I don't think the central figure had enough charisma......Although thinking about it now, the two may have counterbalanced themselves quite well.... Anyway, it was interesting...so to was the documentary on the DVD, called Afghan alphabet. My concern about politics is illustrated nicely on that, when a young Afghan refugee, is used to show the oppression of the Taliban, because she is scared to remove her Bhurka for fear of sinning.....She is asked repeatedly what her name was, which she repeatedly said she didn't want to divulge and was clearly uncomfortable, and was in my opinion mentally bullied into removing her bhurka, which makes you wonder who is doing the oppressing now!!!

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Hugely entertaining!

[8/10 · 26 March 2006]

Hugely entertaining film. Depp as always is fantastic and his take on his character makes the film in my opinion.

Great special effects, good twist on the pirate story, although its still typically Disney, the same formula is there,but hey its for the kids! The only grievance I have is Orlando Bloom,who is becoming very annoying (why do I always think of Percy from Black Adder!). He just comes across too goody-goody and doesn't seem to be able to give anything different to his characters. He should take a leaf from Mr Depp in that department!

I am looking forward to seeing the sequel because I reckon there's a lot of miles left in Capt Jack Sparrow.

8/10 (9/10 if Orlando wasn't in it, sorry girls!)

Mulholland Drive (2001)

This is quite a good fi....woah! Wait a minute...what the hell...ga ga

[9/10 · 26 March 2006]

Oh where do you start with this....Because it is so complicated to explain to anybody, means I guess that its a must see film. A quick glance through these reviews will tell you'll either think it the biggest load of garbage you'll ever see, or be completely hooked....But it is an important piece of film making without any doubt. Myself I liked it. I was enjoying the film as a highly entertaining dark yet normal thriller, that was until the film reaches the last 1/3 and it suddenly turns itself inside-out, upside down and twists itself into something unrecognisable. At this point, your brain is whirling and I very nearly lost all interest. But I stuck with it, and yes thoroughly enjoyed.....Now hang up, because there is a gathering of two huge armies here....the Lynchists, and the would be-Lynch-Lynchers, how can there be such a divide. Well for a start I do actually understand what the Anti-Lynch movement is about.....You could write off this film as being far too surreal, and that Lynch is just trying to be clever by throwing things upside down, and using things that have no relevance except being visually aesthetic/bizarre. But to me, thank god we have people like David Lynch who are challenging the norms of Planet Hollywood. How many anti Lynch people are there, that at the same time scream from their perches about the marvel of foreign film being different and how come America can't make a decent unformulaic movie. Well here it is......I've been converted.....I'm a Lynchist!!!