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howard-kerr
Reviews
Mary Magdalene (2018)
Not a bad film
Well, not badly filmed, not with bad intentions, not bad actors (just not acting as well as they have done) but just so slow.
Not moody, arty, make you think slow but boring, s.l.o.w. slow. Not a lot of dialogue (this works for some films but not this one), lots of lingering shots of place, people and their faces looking at the sky, each other and anything else.
I loved Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator, but his JC wouldn't inspire anyone to follow him. A sort of mumbling, stumbling, scruffy JC with nice eyes though.
And although biblically there is not a lot on Magdalene (as it happens I had been reading the gospels recently) and the film acknowledges its artistic licence, there is also not a lot in the film about her - mainly she is used as the observer for the JC story (and we all know the ending of that, so I don't think it counts as a plot spoiler).
I am not sure of the target audience for this film - if you like biblical based adaptations then it is unlikely you will like this. If you don't then it is unlikely you would even watch it in the first place.
On the positive, there at least seems to have been an attempt to recreate the historical setting and context - at least within the limits that commercial film making allows.
Overall, a reasonable concept disappointingly executed. I can't recommend it.
New Tricks: Part of a Whole (2012)
It must be OK to focus on other characters from time to time
I accept that New Tricks did rather lose its way in later seasons, and the loss of Alun Armstrong was a big nail in the coffin. However, the criticism in one of the reviews that this episode focuses more on Strickland than the rest of the regulars I don't accept as an issue. I am a Dr Who fan and one of the best episodes is The Weeping Angels and this is billed as a 'Dr Who Lite' episode because he doesn't feature in it much. I think it does some good for any long running series to have story lines that aren't always heavy on the main cast. That said, this is just a great episode on its own - not only do we see a bit more of Strickland, we have Tim McInnerny playing the MI5 role really well. I have seen this episode a few times now and it is a great watch.
Larry Crowne (2011)
Tom, what have you done ?
Firstly let me say I think Tom Hanks has been brilliant - the Green Mile for example is one of my all time favourite films.
So I was looking forward to this, and the first few minutes seemed OK enough to make it worthwhile.
One comment on the opening credits - it says a Tom Hanks film, starring Tom Hanks, co-written by Tom Hanks, Directed by Tom Hanks, Produced by Tom Hanks. Rather reminded of Little Britain's take on Dennis Waterman - i write the theme tune, i sing the theme tune etc.
But back to the film - I will try not to put in any spoilers because the plot - as far as it goes - is very predictable. Also, this is billed as a romantic comedy / drama and I am afraid to say there is very little of each.
With the calibre of the actors you would expect their characters to be believable, but whilst Tom Hanks does a passable performance, Julia Roberts character changes hardly seem credible at all (perhaps she should have watched Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher for some pointers - which is not the greatest film of all time but quite funny nevertheless).
I know this is a bit of negative review as are many others, but the counteracting positive reviews might make you tempted to watch a film which is just plain tedious.
Sorry Tom, but this just seems like a big self-indulgence on your part and had it been anyone else I doubt the script would have got past the producer's waste paper bin.