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tomdallan
Reviews
Life (2017)
More proof that CGI horror just isn't scary.
If you know anything about space science you need to leave it at the door before watching this sort of film. The kinds of people who make it onto the ISS could never be this stupid or reckless (Gravity). As for the movie, it's fine. It won't win any awards. The alien is fine, looks good and believable (the earthly creature it's based on is about as alien as it'spossible to be). There are a few jump scares if you like that sort of thing. As for the gory parts, well, they just do not work. Nothing beats real FX for blood and guts, CGI just looks like a video game and is just lame. The script is pretty by the numbers, characters are by the numbers, plot is by the numbers. Not terrible, not particularly good. It's fine. Don't make it your main movie night choice but if you've got a couple of hours to kill on a Sunday afternoon you could do worse.
W/ Bob and David (2015)
When people you really like do something terrible.
I love Saul Goodman and I love Tobias Funke. I'm not really that familiar with the rest of the work of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross but they pop up from time to time in good stuff like Curb Your Enthusiasm and the occasional excellent but generally ignored Indy film, and one of them is in a band, apparently, and I generally like them. But, for me it's mainly about the best character in Arrested Development and my favourite character in Breaking Bad who was so good was made the subject of the equally brilliant spin off show Better Call Saul.
So I was intrigued to see this new offering from these two fine actors who are currently at the top of their game. Oh how deeply disappointing. David Cross seems to be a genuinely funny guy but the rest of the cast is woeful and, try as he might, not even he can carry that much dead wood and the script is like a badly worked high school improv workshop.
Odenkirk is not a naturally funny man it seems, his timing and delivery is way off and he just looks pitifully out of his depth. He's clearly an accomplished comedy writer (if you like that sort of thing) and not a natural sketch comedy performer. The rest of the supporting cast have good pedigree but they look like they are just there to support their newly famous friends egos in this ill advised vanity project.
Maybe it's an American thing, after all Saturday Night Live has been doing this shtick for decades and is still huge despite it being about as funny as a family bereavement.
IMDb's user rating is currently 8.4 but I'll wager my favourite trousers that this ridiculously high score will plummet to under 7 by Christmas, which would still be overly generous. It is a waste and a shame because it could, nay, should have been much MUCH better considering the talent on show.