These "students" seem to do nothing but socialise. 24/7. No-one writes an essay, spends time in a lab, works on a project or goes to a lecture. They don't even play any sport or belong to any club. Apparently elves appear in the night and do all their work for them. No wonder the particular Oxford college they are at is unnamed. Not good publicity. Imagine a film or TV series about airline workers or car mechanics where everything happens in the canteen/cafeteria but no-one goes near a plane or a car. Totally unrealistic and populated by mostly not very likeable people. Just what are the makers of this film trying to do?
Reviews
20 Reviews
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
(2022)
Shows why Christie is an overrated author.
19 June 2022
The best thing about this film is the recreation of 1930s England: the clothes, cars, houses, social mores, the casual smoking. But the plot is essentially incoherent and the production here is too drawn out. Even a tighter script would have struggled to make this a narrative that adds much to human understanding.
Silver Skates
(2020)
Splendid film, full of good things.
1 July 2021
A film has to be good to be worth more than 2 hours of my time but this one most certainly is. Almost always good to look at and some good action scenes as the plot twists and turns. When did you last see a cops and robbers chase on ice skates? Striking contrasts between the plush lifestyle of the ultrawealthy and the hard-scrabblers just trying to survive, like delivering the 1900 equivalent of Uber Eats. A major delight was the British accents of the dubbing actors. Didn't expect that and it was great. One quibble is that numeracy-challenged characters think 1900 was the beginning of a new century. It was, of course, the concluding year of the old one. Setting the film in 1900 was probably a safe option for the Russian filmmakers but some of the Russian audience must have nodded, inwardly or outwardly, to pointed remarks about unjustified wealth.
The Dig
(2021)
Good but 5-10 minutes too long
30 January 2021
Well worth making a film about the greatest archaeological find in Britain, good performances, but it would have benefitted from excising or reducing Peggy Lyons' emotional issues with her husband. It's as if the makers thought an archaeologically centred film would be too dry without some kind of love interest. Instead more could have been made of what a narrow escape the Sutton Hoo find had. If it hadn't been found in summer 1939, that piece of land would have been used as a British Army tank training ground a few months later when war broke out. The ship would have been crushed and most or all of the treasure lost forever.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
(2019)
Film poses a question to which it has no answer
21 January 2021
Couldn't make head or tail of this film. Just what was it trying to do, what was its point? Scene followed scene without any clear connection with what came before or what was to come. Bernadette did not come over as a sympathetic character, rather it was those who had to put up with her that had my sympathy. Avoid unless you like movies that are a mess.
A film that is about something and makes you care about the people
12 September 2020
As someone who was born in Zambia, grew up in Zimbabwe and lived in the short-lived Central African Federation of those 2 countries plus Malawi, this film meant a great deal. It felt and sounded very authentic, the characters spoke and behaved like real people facing problems that make many of ours (speaking as an Australian) seem minor in comparison. Like how to get a decent if elementary education and avoiding the lure of ready cash at the expense of the environment and future agricultural productivity. When you have to sell the tin roofing of your house and replace it with thatch. Beautifully filmed, acted and directed.
Funny Cow
(2017)
A bit of a drag
3 June 2020
This film had its moments but was a bit of drag, meandering around and doubling back on itself and leaving the viewer unsure of what the point was at times. Yes, it depicts how hard it was for a female to crack the stand-up comic circuit but adding her own rather unattractive personality to the fairly unattractive supporting cast did not make for great viewing. It was all a bit grim. Was surprised by the rave ratings and comments on the container of the dvd.
Molly's Game
(2017)
Machine gun delivery
25 January 2020
Watching this film is hard work because it somehow seemed a good idea to deliver almost everything in a rapid-fire, breathless, machine gun style. And the pace is relentless, only occasionally slowing down to speeds that are comfortable. It is not easy seeing how sleazy and soul-shrinking is the world of men (all men) who have more money than sense and put too much value on adrenalin rushes. What a waste of time and money. Something for Bloom to reflect upon in her autumn years: why did I facilitate that?
Tarantino gets most things right
23 August 2019
Such as the recreation of the 60s: cars, décor. smoking, TV etc. He is a most stylish and skilful filmmaker and knows how to create and film memorable, impressive scenes. And for most of the film he restrains his love of violence. But then at the end, an unnecessary orgy of violence which it would have been more classy and stylish to suggest or report. Back in the C5th bc., Greek tragedians knew that simply reporting mayhem was the classy way of doing this. One has to wonder about the psychological health of QT and his obsessive fascination with extreme violence. A special delight of this film is the lovely throbbing sound of Rick Walton's V8 Cadillac, featured in a number of scenes. And near the end, there is a rustbucket V8 with a defective muffler that emits a chugging throb that is pure heaven. (Rick comes out to complain about the noise but ignore him). Well done, QT, for resurrecting this great clunker.
Ophelia
(I) (2018)
Sumptuous feast for the eyes
11 August 2019
It is not surprising the name of the costume designer features so early in the credits because he played a major role in making this film so watchable. All those gorgeous costumes must have cost a bit but along with some splendid décor, ecclesiastical and baronial interiors (and a few exteriors) and outdoor scenes of woods glades and hills this film never fail to offer pleasure for the eye. The story proceeds at a sufficient pace with some unexpected twists and turns while bringing out how empty and unsatisfying royal or any great power can be. Is it really worth fighting so hard for? Pity about the mayhem of the penultimate scene, it was unnecessary, but makes Ophelia's choice at the end seem a wise one.
Renoir
(2012)
Captures Impressionism
14 July 2019
My main problem with this film was knowing almost nothing about the life of Renoir and his son Jean and so had no idea how far it was factual and how fictitious. That said, it was lovely to look at and it seemed at times to be capturing Renoir's paintings en plein air and brought out how difficult it can be for the children of famous men, especially men who did not express affection to their children.
A Most Wanted Man
(2014)
Largely incomprehensible
12 May 2019
Have to agree with those who found this film incomprehensible, and that applies to the ending too, a stop rather than an ending. By all means make a tight film about (possible) threats to security but make it make sense and make the characters notable for more than, e.g., chain smoking.
Green Book
(2018)
Starts well and goes on from there
15 March 2019
With some films you can tell from the first minute that it is going to be good, well acted, well scripted, well directed. This was no exception and the greater than average running time passed effortlessly. Wonderful performances from the two leads, quite a bit of humour, and heaven if you love cars from the 1950s and 60s. Don't buy the criticism of too much predictability. Apart from one scene about halfway through where you could more or less guess how it would play out, this film surprised more than it fulfilled predictions. Nothing was more touching than the postscript. If you believe in a meaningful universe, it was as if Tony and Don were destined to meet and make each other grow.
The Cry
(I) (2018)
Not worth 4 hours of your life
24 February 2019
At least half of this marathon was the camera looking at Jenna Coleman's blank face, which is emblematic of how little there is in this production. The flashbacks were overdone and only confused the narrative. Suspect they were put in in order to make the series more weighty than it really was. At the end, I could only ask, "What does it all amount to, how has it enlightened me, what has it told me?" Well, there were two unengaging characters going through various motions and I ceased to care.
The Favourite
(2018)
An unconscionable fabrication
30 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Using historical characters to provide a drama, putting words in their mouths and making them do things that do not affect the course of history is fine but this film goes way beyond that and ultimately disrespects the characters and their descendants, much like Amadeus did to Salieri and his descendants (yes, he had some, contrary to what the film would have you believe: Mozart was unfairly treated in this film too). Abigail Hill/Masham joined the queen's court in 2004, when Anne's husband Prince George of Denmark was still alive and he lived until 7008. The absence of Anne's husband is the central fiction and fabrication of the film and is so gross a misrepresentation that it overshadows whatever other merits this film may have. Oh, and there were never any rabbits in Anne's living quarters, and the costumes of the characters belong to a later period. Imagine a drama about the court of Queen Elizabeth II set in, say, 2000-2004 where Prince Philip is dead and the characters wear clothes from another era. Absurd.
The Selfish Giant
(2013)
Sacrifices intelligibility for authenticity
3 November 2018
This is how many people in northern England speak, fast, poorly articulated and heavily accented. All the characters, especially the 2 main boys, behaved and spoke in a very natural and authentic way but if ever a film needed subtitles, this is it. Even if you have some exposure to northern England accents, it is a challenge to hear and understand more than half the words, of which many are the f-word. Perhaps just enough to follow the story. Someone living in, say, Pakistan or Texas, or has English as a second language, has no chance of following the dialogue. Which is a pity because there is a worthwhile story here, although it has nothing to do with Oscar Wilde's short fairy tale. (So why the title?). The bleakness and desolation of the story and the setting are reinforced by the muted, washed-out colours, no bright colours, filmed with a sort of grey filter that made it a semi-black and white film. Indeed, if it had been filmed in black and white, nothing would have been lost.
The Flip Side
(2018)
Definitely fit for cinema release
9 September 2018
Set and filmed entirely in Adelaide and its surrounds, this film offers many moments of recognition for anyone who lives in or has lived in South Australia. Not a particularly memorable film but not cringingly awful either. Direction and acting are competent enough and there is a human story here that is told with a certain wry humour but with few LOL moments. (A fake boomerang that turns out to be anything but is one, and Henry's girlfriend Sophie is a hoot.) Can' t agree with the newspaper critic who thought the film should only have lasted 50-60 minutes and that it was padded with unnecessary scenes. The bowling alley scene, for example, was part of things going ever more pear-shaped for a financially stressed Ronnie, and the Q and A scene brought out what a poseur and phoney Henry was.
Nice idea but...
2 September 2018
This film could have been so much better. The basic idea was good and there is much to enjoy about period stories, the clothes, language, settings etc. But much of the acting in the film is exaggerated and hammy. It is as if the actors are in a theatre and are trying to reach to the back rows with dramatic speech delivery and gestures. In a film, much of the time you should act and speak as if the audience are a few feet away but this film at times resembles a pantomime.
The Eagle and the Hawk
(1950)
Nostalgia movie
24 June 2018
Like for souper-1, this is a nostalgia film for me, the first ever seen in a cinema, in Sydney in 1950, when I was 7. Seen with my mother and 5yo brother. Could only recall the torture scene and re-watching it for the first time in 68 years makes me realise how much over the heads it would have been for 2 young boys. Not the easiest of films to follow, partly because it is rather a mishmash of genres and burns rather slowly and a bit mysteriously at times for the first hour or so. A reminder of how films used to promote smoking, something so pleasurable as to be engaged in with your dying breaths.
Violent and ugly
6 January 2018
What an appalling piece of cinema. As if you can make a good film with nothing but special effects and very very loud bangs every few seconds. What does it say about our culture that Disney can not only think they can get away with such brain dead fare but, judging by the viewer numbers, are right. One of the worst films ever made, makes Plan 9 from Outer Space seem like a masterpiece in comparison. The only fairly pleasant scenes in this waste of 2.5 hours are those on Luke's island. Lovely to look at and nice scenery there. But even there explosions and violence regularly occur, as if the audience will drift off with without regular shocks to their nervous systems. Typical of this disgrace's lack of subtlety is Lord Snoke (Snake?)What an ugly name, to go with his reptilian appearance, just in case we don't get the message that he is a bad guy. Childish, comic-book stuff.
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