http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3297792/
Interesting story very badly executed. Lame dialogue and acting, and even worse special effects make this Starlost meets Planet of the Apes (with a hint of The Matrix) very bad indeed.
July 19, 2014
Plunder Road (1957)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050847/
Film noir about a clever but ultimately doomed (of course) train robbery. Classic characters but not the best acting or dialogue.
Film noir about a clever but ultimately doomed (of course) train robbery. Classic characters but not the best acting or dialogue.
July 7, 2014
Quatemass II (1957)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050873/
A very early sci fi classic, a precursor of Alien, the Borg, and the Body Snatchers.
July 6, 2014
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065531
A classic French crime thriller. Very well done, if a bit slow in spots.
A classic French crime thriller. Very well done, if a bit slow in spots.
July 5, 2014
The Treatment (2014)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089778/
Belgian film about a serial pedophile and killer, there are some difficult to watch/hear scenes but they are handled well as part of the story and so neither gratuitous nor excessive. The story has several threads of tragedy woven somewhat together, but ultimately really are separate arcs other than one providing the emotional motivation for the other. The lead character, Nik Cafmeyer (played well by Geert van Rampelberg), is highly emotional and conflicted - to me, a bit too much to realistically be the crack detective that he portrays - and you ache to watch his tragic decisions and experiences. The ending is very sad and highly unexpected.
Belgian film about a serial pedophile and killer, there are some difficult to watch/hear scenes but they are handled well as part of the story and so neither gratuitous nor excessive. The story has several threads of tragedy woven somewhat together, but ultimately really are separate arcs other than one providing the emotional motivation for the other. The lead character, Nik Cafmeyer (played well by Geert van Rampelberg), is highly emotional and conflicted - to me, a bit too much to realistically be the crack detective that he portrays - and you ache to watch his tragic decisions and experiences. The ending is very sad and highly unexpected.
Transcendence (2014)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471030/
Very disappointing. The story has potential (although parts of it are stolen from The Machine) but founders all over the place, with unrealistic time lines and events. Johnny Depp is good, and plays well the warm but cold machine version of his character, layering love and malevolence such that you share his wife's struggles to understand and live with this upgraded version of her life. The other characters are mostly wasted, and the final resolution of the story is nonsensical. And mostly, it was just boring.
Very disappointing. The story has potential (although parts of it are stolen from The Machine) but founders all over the place, with unrealistic time lines and events. Johnny Depp is good, and plays well the warm but cold machine version of his character, layering love and malevolence such that you share his wife's struggles to understand and live with this upgraded version of her life. The other characters are mostly wasted, and the final resolution of the story is nonsensical. And mostly, it was just boring.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/
For me, not the greatest entry in this series, however I'm challenged to remember all of the entries in this series or the order in which they came out, and this time travelling story does not help me. The story is a bit of The Terminator - go back in time and change just one thing so that the future is changed. But it misses the other time travel rule - most things must remain exactly the same or other things might change as well; this story just kinds of skips that. Jennifer Lawrence is mostly unrecognizable in her blue latex, which is good because I'd much rather see her doing better stuff. Basically, this is a standard summer blockbuster, with lots of familiar faces, effects attempting to be impressive, and a story that in the long term will appeal only to hard-core X-Men fans who know and understand the characters better than someone like me who only sees them once a year.
For me, not the greatest entry in this series, however I'm challenged to remember all of the entries in this series or the order in which they came out, and this time travelling story does not help me. The story is a bit of The Terminator - go back in time and change just one thing so that the future is changed. But it misses the other time travel rule - most things must remain exactly the same or other things might change as well; this story just kinds of skips that. Jennifer Lawrence is mostly unrecognizable in her blue latex, which is good because I'd much rather see her doing better stuff. Basically, this is a standard summer blockbuster, with lots of familiar faces, effects attempting to be impressive, and a story that in the long term will appeal only to hard-core X-Men fans who know and understand the characters better than someone like me who only sees them once a year.
Rob the Mob (2014)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2481480/
Very well done. The film captures the period well, and the leads are surprisingly good, especially Nina Arianda. Wish I could say the same for Andy Garcia, who mumbles his way through as an extremely quiet Mafia don with a heart of dented tin. The story focuses on the young couple brashly pushing the mob around, and you really want them to get away with it, as they recognize (too late, sadly) the limited life span in such a career.
Very well done. The film captures the period well, and the leads are surprisingly good, especially Nina Arianda. Wish I could say the same for Andy Garcia, who mumbles his way through as an extremely quiet Mafia don with a heart of dented tin. The story focuses on the young couple brashly pushing the mob around, and you really want them to get away with it, as they recognize (too late, sadly) the limited life span in such a career.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714915/
Beautiful to watch in a gruesome kind of way, this vampire love story looks at the modern day challenges of being a vampire - getting food that is "clean", international travel (avoiding day time), boredom due to longevity, maintaining anonymity in a wired world - in a beautiful and occasionally funny way. Their problems are not that different from the rest of us "zombies". There is real chemistry between Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton (who make the most fabulous looking vampires) and the other characters are surprising and entertaining (although Christopher Marlowe was a bit much).
Beautiful to watch in a gruesome kind of way, this vampire love story looks at the modern day challenges of being a vampire - getting food that is "clean", international travel (avoiding day time), boredom due to longevity, maintaining anonymity in a wired world - in a beautiful and occasionally funny way. Their problems are not that different from the rest of us "zombies". There is real chemistry between Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton (who make the most fabulous looking vampires) and the other characters are surprising and entertaining (although Christopher Marlowe was a bit much).
Red Road (2006)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471030/
An interesting tale of truth and reconciliation, but with a few plot and technical holes. Good performances from all, developing empathy for characters you normally wouldn't like.
An interesting tale of truth and reconciliation, but with a few plot and technical holes. Good performances from all, developing empathy for characters you normally wouldn't like.
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