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jjvmadden
Reviews
Ghosts (2006)
Gripping, involving, emotional - watch it!
This DVD had been resting on my shelf for some months - I kept putting off viewing it because I feared it would be a depressing watch. On the contrary, I found it to be hugely involving and, at times, extremely funny. It is incredibly moving (you will have to have a pretty hard heart not to cry at some scenes) but the eye-opening and potentially 'worthy' message is communicated with a humanity that is motivating and positive rather than simply depressing.
Nick Broomfield tells the story with subtle skill. The illusion of documentary reality is almost perfect but this does not distance the viewer from the characters - we enter into their thoughts and feelings partly through the excellent and subtle use of music and partly from utterly convincing performances.
Sin City (2005)
Adolescent and puerile
I am a fan of entertaining, violent action films in the Rodriguez/Tarantino style and am certainly not squeamish about on-screen violence. Sin City, however, is just so dumb that it beggars belief. This is not a shocking film in terms of the on-screen blood and gore but it is a truly shocking insult to the intelligence of the viewer. If you want to get inside the mind of a thirteen year old boy scrawling pictures of death and mutilation in his school book then this is the film for you. Could the creative minds behind this really be adults? The great design and first rate actors are wasted on this nonsense.
Vampire's Kiss (1988)
Very funny with excellent performances
This is a lost gem of a black comedy - worth seeing just for the great turn by Nicolas Cage delivering some of the best OTT rages committed to film! If you are a Cage fan you have to see this performance.
Vampire's kiss has a serious story about loneliness and alienation at its heart - the point is made in a clever and amusing way that keeps you guessing and also keeps you laughing.
I agree with some of the other comments made that this was probably a bit ahead of its time when released. Post Nolan, Tarantino, Kaufman, Gondry etc. modern film-goers are probably more receptive to the ingredients provided here - black comedy, parody, playing around with identity and perceptions etc..
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Excellent look at a subculture. This film grows in stature over time.
Drugstore Cowboy takes a look an element of the drug/crime subculture without glamorising, sensationalising or demonising it. I honestly can't think of another film on a similar subject that has managed to pull off this balance so successfully.
We care about the characters, but are completely aware of their (many) flaws. We are shown that drugs are pleasurable, but given a realistic portrayal of the great damage they can do. The crime scenes are exciting but we never lose sight of how risky and sometimes pathetic the crimes are.
This film is moral without moralising and humane without romanticising or sentimentalising the subject. Drugstore Cowboy may lack the visceral punch of a film like Trainspotting, but has a subtlety, depth and heart missing from other more voyeuristic cinematic treatments of drug use.
The Browning Version (1951)
Redgrave's performance makes this a must-see film
I was bowled over by the emotional depth of Redgrave's performance. If you appreciate fine acting this has to be one of the very best performances by any English speaking actor. At times his pain is almost unbearable to watch, but the deep sympathy you feel for him keeps you hooked. The film deals with its subject in an unsentimental way, yet it manages to be life-affirming - I found it to be a powerful experience.
The film is set in a time (fourties/fifties Britain)and a setting (a traditional public school) which places the action in what may seem an alien world to modern audiences. The miracle of the film is that the theme of how easy it is to lose one's soul through failure at work or dysfunctional relationships shines through with such immediacy and relevance. I think most viewers will find some sort of personal connection here.