Change Your Image
hyph-n
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Watching the Detectives (2007)
An absolute delight
I found this via a search for Lucy Lui. Never heard of it but thought I'd give it a go. It was an absolute delight. Sure it's not polished, but the fun and cute warmth it contains is so infectious.
Lucy Lui is fully of bubbly fun, playing the part perfectly. Cllian Murphy comes over as genuinely unsettled but curious. The chemistry is there.
I've read it was shot in 22 days, and whilst that does show in a couple of less polished places, it actually adds to the authenticity of the situation and pacing. It feels like we are on the same journey as the cast.
Some of the situations are unexpectedly entertaining and the dialogue is at times a delight.
It's not a masterpiece, but then again it doesn't claim to be. It's fun, silly, light, and easily approachable. It smiles the whole way through.
This movie is a real tonic. Give a watch, and its low key joy will make you feel warmer inside.
Delightful. Recommended.
I Care a Lot (2020)
Well I liked this movie
A lot of people seem to hate this movie, which they are entirely entitled to. I didn't hate this movie at all. I rather liked it.
It is not claiming to be a documentary, nor a robust critique on anything really. It does though, make you think. It makes you think about the unlikeliness of it all happening, but also allows you to muse about the vaguest of possibilities of it all.
The movie is small in scale, but I think that the nuanced acting by both Pike and Dinklage is really engaging. A times, especially during the first court scene, you can see the merest hint of emotion from Pike. You can see what is going on behind her eyes. As a viewer, you may wish for something more obvious. I don't see that as under-acting, I see that as skilled acting.
Moving towards the end of the movie, you can obviously see its conclusion. Once again it makes you think about that too.
This isn't a blockbuster type movie, it is a quiet movie with a complex undercurrent.
Get yourself comfy, relax and let the movie pull you along at its own pace.
Recommended.
McDonald & Dodds (2020)
Delightful
It isn't gritty, it is colourful. It ambles along in an engaging way, that pulls you through to the end. Clever plot, with interesting characters. A great antidote to all the dark gritty stuff that is on TV. A real delight to watch.
Sombre (1998)
Worth the effort
There are films that have a very difficult and challenging topic, that may also be very explicit. There are films that are shot in a way that makes them difficult to watch; very quick cuts; rapid camera movement; odd direction. There are films that have a compelling story-line.
This film is all of those.
To begin with, you may be forgiven for thinking that the cinematography methods used here are just to make it look 'arty'. However, as it progresses, I think the extremely dark, edgy, and confused imagery is a reflection of the state of Marc Barbé's mind; closed, confused, searching; helpless. The almost total lack of dialogue adds to the tension, as you are pulled along to an astonishing climax that will leave you thinking.
Whilst you are watching it not everything makes sense, however, in the days that follow, you will find yourself revisiting scenes in you head, wondering what they meant, working some of them out.
Sombre is a very difficult film to watch. It will affect you. You will think about it afterwards. To me, this is what films are all about. What you get out of this film is directly proportional to the amount you put in.