An OK film but not painful

Posted : 1 month ago on 10 September 2008 07:30 (A review of Ghost Rider)

This review was originally started as a comment on Elfflame's recent review but I decided to post it as a review in it's own right as I got carried away! ;-)

Elfflame gave the film a 1/10 & while I can understand the low rating in my book a 1 ranks as a painful viewing experience, something reserved for the worst films ever. Whilst Ghost Rider will never win any film-making accolades I reckon that 1/10 is very harsh, for me a 5/10, ranking it as just an OK film. It's good storyline, which to be honest you'd expect for a film adaptation of a comic book story & I think you have to give some credit for Cage's under-stated almost hang-dog depiction of the main character. A reluctant super-hero, he pulls this off very well, yes it's very cheesey & not a little corny but that's something we've come to expect from Hollywood adaptations of comic book superhero stories. It would be interesting to see how the top Korean or Russian directors would approach a Marvel film, hmmmm!

The one thing that let's the film down is the over-abundance of special effects, they detract from the film, not because they are bad, they are in fact technically brilliant but in many scenes there is simply too much going on & it's difficult to take it all in.

All in all there's much worse ways to waste a couple of hours on a weekend if you've got nothing better to do and if you are some sort of comic book fanboy then you simply have to see this film, just so you can say you have, and maybe that is the point of it. :-)

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Quality Film

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 25 August 2008 10:18 (A review of Mischief Night)

A quality British comedy packed full of down-to-earth humour that is hilarious in parts. Set in a Northern English city it charts events leading up to Mischief Night, a British tradition on Halloween when kids basically get up to no-good by playing pranks on the unsuspecting community. Drawn into all this are two dysfunctional families, one White, one Asian and the love-hate relationship that exists between them as cultures clash.

Bleak in parts but underpinned by a raw gritty truthfulness, the film portrays serious issues such as drug dealing, arranged marriages, and race relations in a very honest way but ultimately it's a heart-warming account of working class life. The character development is spot-on, the dialogue excellent and if you're looking for an entertaining evening in then this is the film for you. 10/10.

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Brilliant

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 25 August 2008 09:56 (A review of Welcome to Dongmakgol)

A truly wonderful film. Set in a mountainous village which the Korean War has bypassed the villager's peaceful innocent lives are suddenly shattered by the arrival of two rival groups of soldiers, one from the North the other group from the South together with a downed US airman. Slowly the two groups overcome their enmity to find something more important than their conflict and they eventually work together to save the village from the devastating effects of war.

The cinematography is spectacular and the acting is immense. Whilst it is primarily a dark comedy there are also elements of fantasy and the scenes of violence are quite graphic. It's an amazing human story & if you're looking for something different from the usual stereotypical Asian horror/action movie fayre then you won't much go wrong with this film. Watch it you be disappointed. 9/10.



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Outstanding

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 24 August 2008 08:06 (A review of Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War)

Two brothers are press-ganged into the South Korean army to defend their country from the invading North Koreans. The elder of the two feels it his duty to protect the younger, and do what he can to ensure they both get home safely but in doing so becomes brutalised by the war and loses his humanity.

An outstanding film that vividly depicts the horror of war and the effects it has on combatants and civilians alike. The combat scenes in the trenches especially convey the sheer brutality. Impacting artillery shells, exploding bodies, desperate hand-to-hand combat are all graphically portrayed. The blood spatters on the camera lens adds to the realism too!

Then there's the sense of futility that the film carries through it, how death becomes normal and killing an everyday occurence. Families torn apart, civilians routinely massacred by the North Koreans, South Korean soldiers executing unarmed and bound North Korean troops in revenge, in areas formally occupied by the North innocent civilians accused of collaboration during anti-Communist witchhunts and shot without a moments thought.

This film depicts the harsh realities of war and the cruelty it brings. But through all the savagery there does shine the hope that one day it will all be over and normality will return. An outstanding film. 10/10.






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A work of art

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 24 August 2008 05:51 (A review of Casshern)

Japanese scifi movie. In a dystopian alternate timeline Europe has been occupied by the Greater Eastern Federation (Japan) & a 50 year long war rages. Visually it's an amazing spectacle, a work of art that's surreal in parts with fantastic special effects. I'd love to see it on a big cinema screen. It's a live action remake of an anime movie & the effects recognize this with a great mix between live action & CGI. It has a highly stylized retro-futuristric feel that is a definite nod towards Metropolis. There's also a nod towards Frankenstein, Terminator & The Matrix.

The storyline however is quite hard to follow, due in part to the visual assualt on your senses & because the film is long, 2.5 hrs, and despite the spectacle the plot fights to hold your attention. A film that needs to be watched two or three times I feel in order to be fully appreciated. Don't let this stop you from watching it for the first time though, if only for the outstanding visuals. Highly recommended. 8/10.

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