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West Side Story (2021)
Is this version as good, or better, than the 1961 West Side Story?
Over the years I have rated hundreds of movies, but I have only given twenty five a 10 out of 10. One of these was the original WSS movie version of 1961. So how does the old one stand up to the latest Spielberg outing? Ok, the original had it's faults but it took itself seriously enough to be a fairly successful transfer from stage to screen. This new version, while still setting it in the 1950s, tried to bring it into the 21st century with flashy camera work, ginormous sound stages and hundreds of extras. Gone is the feel of a theatrical stage production. In fact, the editing of some of the dance sequences (e.g. Dance at the Gym) was so spit-second fast that it was impossible to concentrate on any one performer.
Now to make Romeo & Juliet/West Side Story work we rely heavily on the chemistry of the leads. I'm afraid Ansel and Rachel have no chemistry. They can sing well but as lovers...well? The original Dance at the Gym meeting was laughable. At least the '61 version treated it as a sort of dance fantasy. Which worked. If you can't feel some sympathy for the leads then who cares what happens to them later.
Rather than focusing on the negative side of the movie then let's mention the things that worked. There were several stand-out performers. Ariana DeBore (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), and Mike Faist (Riff) stole the show with some great acting and amazing dancing. I did miss the Jerome Robbins' choreography but I am sure the Justin Peck version would have impressed me as much if the camera would stop darting all over the place. Two other actors deserve mention. Josh Andres Rivera (Chino) did so well in his slightly beefed up role, and, of course, Rita Moreno would have me even if she was promoting baby nappies!
The costume designs were great, especially the men. The women's were a bit loud and a little too perfect for Puerto Rican's who hang their washing on the fire escape to dry.
So this version does not replace the original '61. It may appeal to a younger generation who have never seen the other....although I wonder if they would really sit through a number like 'I feel pretty' without bursting out laughing.
1917 (2019)
One of the greatest visually breathtaking movies to hit our screens in years.
A side note: I turned up at the local cineplex and the ticket person checked my ticket and pointed out the correct cinema showing 1917. I didn't think I had arrived late but it seemed to have already started. The scene was the trip by the vehicles through the mud and fallen trees. I picked up the story no problem. My impressions at this point of the movie was the extremely inappropriate music that sounded more in keeping with a Star Wars film than something set in World War I. I had similar issues with the movie 'Dunkirk'. Anyhow after 40 minutes the movie finished and I knew something was wrong. I checked back with (another) ticket collector and found that my session wouldn't be starting for 20 minutes. So I managed to see 1917 twice. At least some of it twice.
Seeing the beginning made me rethink a few of the issues I had initially felt. Yes the music was still inappropriate and as the volume and tension slowly increased we all knew that something was going to happen. Worse was that the music was continuous through, I guess, 90% of the movie. Why don't directors just leave everything to the sound effects department?
I also found that the slight overuse of profanity and gestures a bit out of period. Am open to correction here.
To the movie. When I first viewed it I was not conscious of the 'one shot' camera work until the final conflict. Seeing it from the beginning impressed me so much. The camera work and art direction deserve awards and what is sometimes overlooked is the extras casting. Absolutely brilliant.
The two leads had to hold the whole film together and they did that and more.
Ok, I have issues, but over all, if someone asked me what I thought, I would have to tell them that this was probably one of the most visually exciting movies of the past ten years.
Una mujer fantástica (2017)
A classy one woman show with a great supporting cast
Knowing a little of the story before hand I was not holding great hopes for this evening's cinema excursion. However, I was most pleasantly surprised from the opening music which lead us the steamy interior of the sauna where slowly, in the background, naked bodies could be seen imerging from the low lit darkness. Indeed one of the beauties of the film is the wonderful camera work. The shot in the elevator was worth the price of the ticket alone. Daniela Varga is a great actress and has to hold the audience's attention as she appears in almost every scene. She certainly held me in the palm of her hand and I had difficulty not taking my eyes off her. Daniela further exploited her talents by doing her own singing. The acting was superb from all the supporting cast but it was Daniela's film, with the help of Sebastian Lelio, of course.
Meari to majo no hana (2017)
I was expecting more. The finished product was disappointing.
A disappointing attempt to imulate the work of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The film was hampered by a very bad story line and rather clumsy dialogue - it might have been a rathe indifferent English translation. I usually prefer Japanese animation in original language but this one seemed to work OK with British accents rather than the usual American which we always seem to end up with here.
The opening started out on a high with some beautiful visuals but as the film progresses the visuals tended to look like they had just stepped out of a comic book. Studio Ghibli it is not. Check out the use of shadows for example. Any frame of 'Spirited Away' looks like a painting. Most of the latter part of 'Mary' looks like a two dimensional comic book.
The music would have worked better if it had been toned down a notch. There was no need for a lush orchestral score when it would have worked better with just a chamber ensemble, or (gasp!) silence!
I was expecting more. I was disappointed.
Dunkirk (2017)
A perfect movie ruined by an irritating soundtrack score
I was eager to see this movie before word of mouth circulated. I managed to catch it at a preview showing a day before general release. I saw in on the large screen with Dolby Atmos.
The film was breathtaking and the aerial photography were some of the best I have ever seen in movies. OK we are in the digital era but the blending of the real and unreal (topped with lots of shaky camera work) was very impressive.
Other reviewers have highlighted the great acting, great period costumes and makeup, and great (authentic) locations. So I ask Christopher why, oh why, he ruined a masterpiece with a ridiculous contemporary pulsating beat soundtrack that relentlessly played virtually throughout the whole movie. There were plenty of sound effects and those would have held the movie without something not remotely in period. This was made even worse near the end when the music built up ready to burst into some great British anthem (Land of hope and glory / Enigma variations / etc) and fizzled out with something inappropriate. I wondered if he was trying to capture a younger crowd. At my session the audiences age would have been 35 plus.
Anyhow this Dunkirk should be a must-see for all ages.
West of Eden (2017)
Secrets and lies from rural 1960 New Zealand
OK I was going to give this movie four stars but as it was beautifully photographed, with some exceptional art direction and amazing visual detail created by the set decorator and costume designer, I upped my rating to five.
This is a bit of a glimpse into my own early childhood. Not quite the same way as described in the movie but the same scenario took similar forms in New Zealand in the fifties and early sixties.
Although the film is hinted as being a gay love story, it is more a secret and lies drama with the action played out, not in some North England town, but on a farm out in the sticks of rural New Zealand.
OK, this all sounds like everything is great and we are in for two emotional hours of pretty good film making. Things started to fall down during the (unnecessary) prologue with some bad post sync dialogue. This slightly stilled dialogue continued throughout a lot of the movie. The script was great but listening to the dialogue made me feel quite uncomfortable. This wasn't helped by the music score which was recorded so loud as to drown out a lot of what I was trying to hear.
The wonderful period costumes and props were marred by some of the worst movie makeup on a non-vampire movie I have ever seen. Almost every cast member looked like they had escaped from 'Spookers'.
The director decided to film every scene involving the actors from every angle possible. The editing room didn't help by trying to edit in every angle too. This was not an action movie and looking at a person's head from every angle starts to make you physically sick.
Some of the scenes could have been trimmed a tad - especially where the camera seemed to focus a bit too long on minor characters who were really not that important in keeping the story going.
This all sounds rather hash but I think this movie would have benefited from some public screenings, for feedback purposes, before hitting the circuit.
Hip Hop-eration (2014)
A delight from start to finish
Sitting through a documentary about a large group of seniors for ninety minutes might not sound like riveting entertainment. However add the words "Hip-Hop" and "Las Vegas" to this and your interest may start to perk up. Watching youngster Billie Jordan teach thirty odd over 65s Hip-hop dance moves with the prospect of performing in Las Vegas makes this film pure entertainment. Obviously this documentary started after the group knew they would/might be going to America so some of the early sections were a bit stagey but its not long before we are underway with rehearsals inter-cut with reminiscences from five or six members of the group. This was one of the best edited films of recent times, never allowing us to focus too long on any one thing before bouncing us off into another direction. I should make special mention of the music. The original musical numbers and scoring were outstanding. I am sure all members of the group would be proud of the final result. At the screening I was at the entire audience burst into applause at the end. That doesn't happen very often. For me the only disappointment was that the film focuses on the women of the group. I would have liked to have heard from the male members. Maybe they were a little camera shy. Congratulations to all involved.
Take Shelter (2011)
Great acting in a movie spoiled by some ho-hum special effects
Sometimes when watching a movie you get so caught up with the characters and situations that all else becomes secondary. This is the case with 'Take Shelter' where one is so drawn into the emotional world of Curtis, Samantha and Hannah that what takes place outside their home and yard becomes almost unimportant. The three leads give some incredible performances. Good performances are when you don't believe the actors are actually acting, the same also goes for the costumes and art direction. Everything is played 'low-key'. It is emotionally quite draining and we certainly sympathize with Michael Shannon and his family. However the effects are shoddy. The rising furniture is well done but the strange flocks of birds look as if someone has taken a black pen to the print. The looming clouds look unnatural. The effects work better when they are off-screen or like when the storm is reflected in the window.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)
Beautifully shot, marred by loud soundtrack
Not knowing anything about this movie beforehand I was very pleasantly surprised. It starts with what could have just been another Japanese "horror out of the TV" movie but it quickly turns into a beautifully shot road movie with brilliant actress Rinko Kikuchi in virtually every scene. The photography reproduced on the giant digital screen is breathtaking. With minimal cutting and extended static shots this is visually very impressive. Unfortunately the film was marred by an extremely loud music soundtrack. Sometimes less is better. I would have preferred silence. As there was very little dialogue the movie would then get to speak for itself.