Change Your Image
graham-319-209399
Reviews
The Lost Century: And How to Reclaim It (2023)
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Because that, therefore this.
What complete & utter tosh. It starts on climate change, with some broad, sweeping claims - then jumps straight to "space aliens, we can use the same power source as them" without any indication as to HOW we might manage to do that. We just can. Sure.
After that we get a string of low-grade conspiracy-theory 'this guy invented this, then died in mysterious circumstances' drivel.
I was yawning by this time.
Then we jump back to how the space aliens' technology can fix everything... again with no mention at all as to how this might be achieved, as currently no-one has a clue how they do it; if they do it at all; if they actually exist.
If they do exist, why don't they ever drop in where people can see them properly. Always some backwater where the only camera around can't take clear pictures.
And, of course the entire underlying consipracy theory - the gubment is keeping all this good stuff away from us, for some nefarious purpose.
Amazon ought to be ashamed of giving budget and air-time to this type of delusional programming... or at least market it as a comedy, not to be taken seriously.
Intergalactic (2021)
Thunderbirds meets 70's Doctor Who
We couldn't manage to get through the second episode. Sometimes pilots don't quite convey what the whole series will be like, so I'll always give it til episode two in case they pulled something out of the bag... but this one I'm afraid, didn't. If only it was as good as either Thunderbirds or 70's Doctor Who. This has production values reminiscent of low budget 70s sci-fi. I was certain some of the 'CGI' scenes were actually models on string. Music is incessant & buries the dialog, which may in fact be a blessing in disguise. Fast cuts & hand-held camera do not hide the fact there's no actual excitement happening. Plot was oh so thin. Good girl gets framed. Unexpected baddie is lurking. Two aggressive characters with no apparent motivation & one who possibly escaped from an 80s French art-house piece; doing nothing but mugging hammily & grinning like an idiot - again with no apparent motivation. Honestly, it wasn't even bad enough to hate it, it was just so lacklustre & mediocre we gave up. Shame, really, as I do like some of the cast's other work.
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Too 'teen' for me.
We gave up after two episodes.
It's not terrible, but the acting is stilted (possibly the fault of the script rather than the players) & the plot is just a bit clumsy, with sporadic exposition followed by a bit too much angst for the situation. It's definitely aimed at a teen audience; those who liked His Dark Materials, with which it shares a certain ponderous inevitability. There seems to be a lot to be explored, but it's weighed down by hesitant pacing & the awkward 'will-they-won't-they' of the two leads.
Whatever they're trying to do, I'm sure they'll manage to do it in the end, and very probably live happily ever after; I just don't have the will to follow their journey.
Tribes of Europa (2021)
No, it's not like 'Dark'
I started to watch this because a review said "If you liked Dark..."
The only similarity is it's in German.
It really doesn't have any spark of originality though, it's like Mad Max meets Myst.
Deeply unsatisfying. I gave it one episode, which is a rare early drop for me; usually I can manage to give something a better shot than that.
It wasn't bad, it just wasn't interesting enough for me to care what might happen next.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
A good movie... spoiled by atrocious camera-work.
Was going to binge-watch all 5 of the Bourne movies. First one great, second with change of director, irritating.
This one, same director as the second, Greengrass. Switched it off halfway through. I think that must be the first time in my life I've 'walked out' of a movie because of the camera work.
His insistence on wobbly hand-held shots even in relatively static scenes, intentional blur using long exposures, and fast cuts (without even timing them, they're just random) rather than intelligent action was tiresome in the second Bourne. To have to sit through more of the same was just too much.
Other major action franchises, like Bond or Mission Impossible, can manage this without falling in the same trap. It can be done, just not by Greengrass apparently.
I'd love to know how the plot ended, but not enough to actually sit through it.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Couldn't afford a Steadicam?
Loved the plot, loved the acting - just what you'd want from a spy/thriller/action movie, Mission Impossible meets James Bond. Great.
But, by heck, they needed a steadicam on this one.
Almost every shot is done hand-held, whether it's needed or not. Sure, do it in the fast-cut action bits for a sense of confusion meets speed, but hold the damn thing still if it's a simple bit of dialog between two characters in a meeting, out for a coffee or a stroll in the park.
Documentary style is fine in the right circumstances, but not combined with fast cuts even in slow scenes. Bad timing throughout. Film school teacher says "1/10... see me after class."
Even in the action sequences it's a bit much. You don't need to cut an action movie like a pop video (even if this one wasn't even cut on a beat I could discern, it was all a bit random in the edit timings).
Bam//Flicker/Bam/Bam/Wobble/Wobble/Blur.
Michael Bay is well-known for his 'wth is going on' editing, but even he can slow the camera down when needed. Greengrass just doesn't seem to understand camera pacing at all. Plot-pacing is fine, camera-pacing is "three cups of coffee & a snort of some funny white stuff" too far.
Overall, a headache to watch.