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Reviews
Nope (2022)
Started with overwhelming potential.
I can honestly say I have never had any movie grip me with so much curiosity and excitement in the first 30 minutes only to end with so great a weight of disappointment at it's close.
As others have pointed out, it's difficult to understand why - given the plethora of avenues that were available and sure to be imagined by so talented a mind as Jordan Peele - this is where the film was taken.
There was boundless opportunity for storylines that could have classed in the same category of special and original as Get Out and Us - Peele's previous works, but the film became bizarre. No other word for it.
Peele's characters are usually so believable, and it is one of the cornerstones of his work that has best enabled audiences to feel so enraptured and immersed prior to Nope. That convincing forming of character is missing in more than a few here. Not - it should be noted - in the two main characters played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, but when surrounding and still important characters fall so flat and insincere in the majority of the film, it takes a lot away from the strong work Daniel and Keke produce.
I don't know whether I'm more disappointed at the execution of the film, or that so valuable an opportunity for alternative and haunting plot lines was wasted.
It was generally not good - and it really pains me to say that.
The Leftovers (2014)
Prepare to have your questions left unanswered.
I have never encountered such a divisive series - I have conflicted feelings.
Don't get me wrong, I do not wish to be mistaken for a person who has no appreciation for the art that this most certainly is, as there is deep religious exploration within this series - it is asking of many big questions extending beyond those which even the most avid amateur philosopher finds himself asking in his day-to-day, however, this is a series for viewers who aren't wanting of specific answers to the questions posed by this genre of television. If you are somebody who's appetite is sufficiently satisfied by the mere asking of philosophical questions, aswell as by the associated visuals of such metaphysical concepts, then, I do urge you to watch this series - you will love it.
The problem I and the few who seem to share with me in this dissatisfaction at the stopping-short of explanation have, is that sometimes it isn't acceptable for 28 hours of television to be presented to you in so enticing a fashion that you do sit through it with absorption and intrigue, only for it to end with no conclusion more than 'because I said so'.
There are characters whom are beautifully and hauntingly illustrated throughout the entire 3 seasons, and whom are readied for - and deserving of - profound and extraordinary reasons for going through what they have, and yet, they are not awarded it, and nor are you, the viewer, awarded a comprehension either. The viewer does not receive a neat typing-up of the frayed strings painted so curiously for all but the final scenes of the story.
I will not give way to any spoiling of the conclusion, but suffice it to say - is that it?
Holy Wayne - why did he feature so heavily as a plot point only to disappear from mention, and without further exploration of his origin? Meg - why was she depicted as a villainess for so long only to fade into non-importance, and having commited that sexual act against Tommy? Tommy - what was the point of his wayne-like transition only to then not feature in the third season? Jill - equally fades into non-importance. Dogs - well that certainly isn't explained. The deer - don't expect an explanation. Smoking - no explanation there either. Why the departure? Why does Kevin Sr. Hold powers alike those of his son? Why was the man thrown from the boat? Why such elaborate hotel sequences? Why an assassin? Why, why, why, why, why... I am sure I have not listed even half as many untethered plot points as had arisen. Anyone who has watched the series will be shouting within their head their own frustrations at the plot in this very moment.
The Leftovers is interesting, fantastical, brimming with religious imagery and tips of the cap, but what it is not, is answering. It looks only to ask, and will be too obscure for some. What elements it does explore, it explores too inexplicably to be plausible. I prefer for my science-fiction to hold some real-world metaphysical potentiality, or if it refuses me that, to atleast tie-up all character arcs. Here lie characters who's stories never were intended to be concluded.
The Woman in the Wall (2023)
A Glistening Dramatisation of Historical Agony.
Such an enthralling story. I don't normally go for TV dramas but there is something very special about this one - I think, the mass of real history behind the premise.
The acting cannot be faulted for a moment and the balance of historically retelling, met with such strong script-writing is obvious to see and sense.
I sincerely hope that this drama will be recipient of many accolades and awards as it is entirely deserving of them. My attention was held for every moment of the six episodes and those six are precisely the right amount. The pace of the last episode is somewhat different to the first five but not in any manner that isn't appropriate. You feel very much in safe hands here.
I can only imagine that the writing team was comprised of either mostly Irish writers - well familiar with the country's religious history, or that a great deal of research went into the formulation of the story. That is the success of the series: that you are left so well aware of the tragedy of the Magdalene laundries and their centuries-long and state-approved wrong-doings. A haunting and valuable production.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Negative reviews are misleading. A separate series with entirely its own host of merits.
It is really quite absurd to me seeing even one negative review left for this wonderful movie, let alone the generous handful there are. To be led by them is to be misinformed. I can't help but get the impression that the individuals disappointed by this movie are individuals who came to it expecting a continuation of the Harry Potter series - and that, it never promised to be. This film features a new, exciting range of faces which, in itself, is refreshing, tipping just the right amount of the cap to the Harry Potter franchise.
What Fantastic Beasts does is continue that wonderful style of story telling. Every bit of the thoroughly entertaining whimsicality remains and if anything, I'd consider this to be a slightly more uplifting and child-friendly contribution to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
From the outset you are convincingly thrown into the hustle and bustle of 1920's New York and within that setting there is such creative exploration of 'fantastic beasts' throughout the film. It feels truly educational in it's style yet suffers not one moment of slowing in its pace or extravagance. As an adult I thoroughly enjoyed this film but I feel for children it must achieve the delighted heights of the early Harry Potter films plus some. J. K. Rowling's mind is the one of the most creative of any author, and now, screenwriter too.
The criticisms of the CGI are surprising to me, as are criticisms of the acting - I think we all know by now that the performances of Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell are no less than stellar on every occasion. Alongside this I was pleasantly surprised by one perfectly apt addition to the voice cast in Ron Perlman.
All fits incredibly snug within this movie and it is rated so highly by me because although the most pernickety among us will find one or two of the minutest details to fault, any film put before me is judged by the feel of its whole. Here I came away with every bit of satisfaction and enjoyment that I ever envisioned I could.
The Divide (2011)
Do not. Believe. The poor reviews.
First and foremost, do not believe a word anyone who reviews this film as anything less than a 6/10 has to say. There is undeniably a lack of persuasive material at the start of this film; more could definitely have been made of the initial attack, the acting is by no means as compelling as that in the second half. However, this is a film very, very much for those who like to completely immerse themselves in the storyline and appreciate the effort put into a twisted one. What The Divide does so impressively, in my mind, is take your initial, average nuclear-detonation bunker survivalist meet and greet and turn it into something so much darker.
The character development (more the character decay) throughout this film is some of the best I have seen in any horror. Multiple characters are seen to unsurprisingly lose their minds, but the fashion in which it occurs is truly harrowing. There are scenes I did not expect to come across in a movie with such despicable reviews. There is thought applied here on the filmmaker's part. Without wanting to give too much away, the deterioration of one female character's mind and body is almost troubling to watch. Sexual aggression is a theme rife throughout and it is not a film for those unaccustomed to such psychological torment.
Most impressive in my mind is the total absorption of the characters in these actors. It is the closest, and for that reason, most troubling enactment of societal breakdown I can envision in such a scenario. So confined, so reliant upon one another... that can and does turn nasty. The make-up is very impressive bar a few, unfortunate details (likely to not even occur to those not looking) and the actions of the character in the final scenes are some I considered exciting, spontaneous, opportunistic and required where others did not. I would suggest those of that opinion do not possess the intellectual spread to appreciate her reasons for doing as she does.
A fine, fine film. One I will not forget.