KeithTAndrews's Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

4/10

21 July 2006

The first film was excellent. Fun, exciting, enchanting. The sequel is long, boring, and pointless. Johnny Depp has become a pale characterisation of his former self. Didn't grab me at all. He over-acted in away akin to Willie Wonka. For a man of such accomplished talents his choices of recent film and his acting in them has been at best cringe-worthy and at worst plain bad. The scenes where he runs along the beach away from his cannibal captors just makes me wonder why would anyone want to run in that manner in the first place. The charm that Depp can so easily create in a character is lacking.

It's the first film repackaged without any of the charm. I guess you expect lots of Pirates running around doing Pratt things and if that floats your boat, then fine and dandy. I fell asleep. Honestly, in a packed cinema, I couldn't keep my eyes open.

There are lots of returning characters from the first film, in which they were adequate if not essential. Here they are brought back without any great purpose- and I couldn't remember who half of them were.

I know they are making the 3rd film in the franchise- one was enough for me, I have no desire to see a third.

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Brokeback Mountain (2005)

5/10

Truly average

4 May 2006

I was so looking forward to this film, having not had the opportunity to see it at the cinema. It one Oscars and Baftas, so my thinking was that it would be truly excellent. How very disappointed I was. It truly is a most average and mundane film. None of the characters could I get very much sympathy, so I was not very interested in what did happen to them. But, that's OK because nothing really did happen to them. Jake Gyllenhall was good but has done better. Heath Ledger was terrible- at times it is virtually impossible to understand what he is saying, as he mumbles just about every sentence he has to speak. The really disappointing thing is that it fails completely to address any of the issues these men have about being gay> it makes no statement, it has no opinion. All you really get is the Wyoming and Texas scenery, which looks about as damp and cold as the film.

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Mysterious Skin (2004)

10/10

A gem of a film but brutal!

23 January 2006

Warning: Spoilers

This is a film of magnificent quality, yet deals with what is a every brutal subject matter. It is sensitively handled by the director and beautifully performed by the lead actors. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet are excellent through out. Gordon-Levitt portrays an intense sexuality combined with a brooding sadness, whilst Corbet plays the geeky kid to perfection.

Whilst the story is about these two characters they don't actually meet until the very last scenes. It is this clever inter-weaving of their two stories that is highly appealing- they are obviously connected but how?

It is only at the end that we see the abuse suffered by one was shared by the other. They have just reacted to it in entirely different ways. Whereas Gordon-Levitt appears to have embraced his homosexuality, Corbet has blocked all memory of the abuse from his mind. The final realisation of how brutalised the two boys have become is shocking.

Not for the squeamish, the strong gay undertones to this story will not be too everyone's liking. This is no Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Beautiful Thing or Get Real. This is a story that borders on the study of the effects of paedophilia on the recipients of the abuse. It won't necessarily be a film that you ever want to see again- but for sheer honesty, feeling, and a story well told this film is a gem.

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Wondrous Oblivion (2003)

10/10

Wondrously Uplifting

4 October 2004

This film is simply quite magical.

Its subject matter is really racial hatred in Britain in the early 1960s, but it is done against the background of a Jewish boy being taught to play cricket by an Afro-Caribbean who has moved in next doors.

The charming script is matched by outstanding performances throughout, with Delroy Lindo being topped only be the young, and excellent Sam Smith.

Perhaps most rewarding of all is that there are no cop-outs in this film- the boy doesn't get the girl and win the game. He has to make a choice, which is beautifully handled.

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The Exorcist (1973)

1/10

Total disappointment

4 October 2004

Having waited 30 years to see this film and having suffered some of the hype, my overall feeling is that this has to be one of the poorest films of all time.

It is poorly characterised, there is no story, none of the performances stand out, none of the characters appear to have any great motivation the effects are weak and dated, and there wasn't one moment where I felt even remotely scared. It's not only that not a great deal happens, I could not relate to any of the characters, they were so bland, that I just didn't care about what happened.

This film has no redeeming features, that I am left amazed at the reactions it has had over the years. Despite its controversial subject, the only awards that this film should have received would be ones that consigned it to permanent B-list status.

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KeithTAndrews

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