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wilkinsonalan
Reviews
The Looking Glass War (1970)
Consider watching as illustrative of its time...
Hunted down this movie, as it appears a rare beast. The cast is stellar for a British movie. The main protagonist appears to have been likened to James Dean. He spends much of the film striking louche poses - less angry young man, and more 'hip cat'. He appears miscast in this movie, as he inhabits a different plain to the rest of the cast. The storyline, in retrospect, is quite straight forward. However, it has managed to become inextricably entangled in elongated scenes of travel across the agricultural swathe of the then East Germany. There are also some unnecessary fight scenes that appear neither relevant nor truly aggressive. Conceivably, aspects of this movie are conceived out of homo-erotica? I truly wanted to love this movie. I adore 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' and the BBC Smiley series, but this was to flaccid and languid for my tastes. Something of a shame when one notes the immense cast that was at the director's disposal. If you love Cold War dramas - and Le Carre adaptations, you will, no doubt, want to watch this movie - with much sadness, I have to say - be prepared to be underwhelmed.
The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Good with the potential to have been great.
There was a great movie in here that could have been unleashed. Nevertheless, still a good movie.
It steers out of the Disney zone, but doesn't make it into the indie... It could have been brilliant if it had taken the latter turn and been more idiosyncratic. Nifty actors with great comedic timing who dealt with a script that should have contained greater energy. Similarly, the cinematography and the use of locations could have been that bit more edgy which, potentially, could have taken this movie into that serendipitous, must-see category.
Watch it. It is a solid and very pleasant movie. Just could have been a fabulous movie.
Kvinden i buret (2013)
Watched several times
I am a mug for Scandinoir. Truly enjoyed the plot of this movie - as a previous reviewer has commented - you can see the literary devices in the manner in which the plot unfolds.
It is amazingly photographed - and relentlessly damp and broody. Those long shots I linger on as I can see them as amazing stills in their own right.
It is a fabulous thriller that is on a scale that just surpasses the potential observation that it could have been achieved as a television drama.
I would be concerned that Hollywood would attempt to remake it, as it would be a waste of resource when the original is nigh-on perfectly formed.
Going to be extremely difficult to live up to when the subsequent chapters arrive 'on celluloid'. Bottom line - so Scandinoir; so great if you enjoy taut, smart thrillers; so watch it.
King Jack (2015)
Well made and authentic
I understand that this is the Director's first outing. I feel the movie is impeccable. It is empathetic and authentic. In the majority of movies, there is a protagonist that you fundamentally like. It takes the entire movie to get to this point and is comparatively brave in this regard.
Whilst it pulls few punches, it is sensitively undertaken and I feel it could be watched by a comparatively young audience.
If you have never been bullied, you are extremely fortunate. If you are being bullied - you need to discover a strategy that works for you that counters that desolate feeling of victimisation.
A small. well-crafted, well-acted, well-photographed movie. A fabulous first outing for the Director.
La loi du marché (2015)
Touching
A Ken Loach-a-like - showing real lives at a genuine pace, but without the hard edge. If the movie set out to show the crushing mundanity of the the lives of working class people, it succeeds. However, do not be put of by this, as the main protagonist manages to demonstrate a dignity throughout. Nevertheless, do not expect a hubris- cum-nemesis tale. It looks at the workaday politics that the majority of life's cannon fodder are forced to negotiate. A scene in which his performance at interview is analysed by peers is upsetting, demonstrating the schadenfreude characteristic of the socially-challenged, enjoying the notion that somebody is worse off than themselves... If you like Loach derivatives, you will certainly enjoy this.
Grimsby (2016)
Ephemeral
Sacha B-C - super clever, innovator, huge potential. The budget for this film looks large. The character actors, some of the cream of the crop. However, the movie should have been so much more as a consequence of these factors.
The film is rather cruel in its treatment of the British underclass - and its humour is schoolboy. This movie will pass into obscurit quickly...
Sacha B-C is outlandishly talented and should use his immense abilities undertaking a project which has a bit more gravitas. Patently, he is able to command huge production costs and attract superlative actors - I would love to see him use the resources at his disposal to greater effect. We grew up with Ali G - it was fantastic. The thing is, we grew up...
Ice Station Zebra (1968)
Like Howard, I keep coming back to this movie...
Wish I could tell you why I am hooked - but I am. Possibly you have to be of a certain age to hold it in such affection. However, regardless of reviews, it was a blockbuster when it originally arrived at cinemas. It is expansive, but also feels a bit like a theatre play. Some of the scenery certainly screams "Set." But it is just... right.
The colouration of the film is quite beautiful - shades of 'Northwest Passage'. The actors are reassuring - Patrick McGoohan really should have been Bond - did we really get enough of him on screen? Borgnine always plays the crazy-eyed guy who must spit when he speaks - and it is great herein. Great to see Jim Brown as the stuffed-shirt Marines officer during times that were racially-charged. Rock Hudson - phlegmatic submarine captain to a tee.
This is a cozy sweater move - you will pop it on as a reassurance and comforter. LOVE IT!
The Trust (2016)
Can do better
Nicolas Cage - it always feels a bit like Russian Roulette... Elijah Wood, I kind of expect he must have given the project consideration - but he can still be in some stinkers, such as Green Street Hooligans. Sadly, The Trust errs toward the latter.
I think that somewhere in here is a simple plot idea. However, maybe they made some alterations on the hoof to give it a bit more enigma or detail. It feels haphazard combined with some kind of attempt to make cleverer than it really is.
Characters are not well defined. For some reason Jerry Lewis appears to have been convinced to make a substantial caricature performance that goes nowhere. Whilst Nic Cage's character encompasses idiosyncrasies without base.
It is, at best. an adulterated B movie (another reviewer makes reference to this and apologies as I am borrowing that ref.)
I certainly will not add a spoiler as there is nothing, sadly, to spoil.
Hinterland (2013)
Flawed - but still great in my eyes...
I cannot help but love this series.
It is taciturn and bleak - and must have been derived from Scandi-noir. There are some duff episodes, but it continues to redeem itself. Patently, they never film in summer - I cannot imagine that Aberystwyth labours under a perpetual gloom - but like 'The Killing' it always seems brooding and gloomy.
I would like it to be a little more shocking in effect, but suspect it has to be aimed at a mainstream audience so can't tread that path.
It could be more expansive in the intricacies of the plot, and build the relationships of the protagonists - the latter appear to be much the same as episode one regardless of the passage of time.
Whatever, I really, really like it.