Multiple Micro Movie Reviews – Part Three
Matchpoint – Has Woody Allen ever made a creakier and more wooden film in his life? Well, yes actually; but that is another story. Matchpoint has a killer cast, a real plot (a rare treat these days) and some rather interesting things to say about the human condition. However, it suffers from a tourists-eye representation […]
Matchpoint РHas Woody Allen ever made a creakier and more wooden film in his life? Well, yes actually; but that is another story. Matchpoint has a killer cast, a real plot (a rare treat these days) and some rather interesting things to say about the human condition. However, it suffers from a tourists-eye representation of London and as a result never manages to feel “of the place” (even Sliding Doors felt more genuine). The dialogue is so stilted and poorly constructed it resembles the returns section of Ikea on a Saturday afternoon. Worth it only if you can stomach (or ignore) the limitations.
Domino РIs this what passes for hard-edged cinema these days? No, I didn’t think so. Even the so-called “sexy” scene with Ms Knightley was yawn-worthy, which is really saying something. Amazing, true-ish story, one of the most bankable young actors in cinema today and a good-enough supporting cast produce a turgid and slow-moving case-study in why postmodern film making is dying faster than a stranded fish on a highway.
The Wedding Crashers РI shouldn’t like this film. Worse still, I know I shouldn’t like this film. But as much as it shames me to admit it, like Dodgeball, Happy Gilmour and Spanglish, I like this film. It is genuinely funny, the dialogue is almost Whedon-esqe in it’s wittiness and unlike a lot of mainstream hits of recent years, I actually cared about the fate of the characters. There is no question that Will Ferrell’s appearance as the godfather of wedding crashers (and manchild mid-lifers) steals the show. Worth the price if you want a lighthearted, funny (if at times offensive window) into the contradictions of being male today.
The Squid And The Whale – A complete waste of time. Forgettable tripe for most of the same reasons the Royal Tannenbaums was rubbish. If you actually still cared by the time the final scene came around you are filled with far more natural compassion than me and your sainthood is in the mail.
Redeye – Does what it says on the tin. Tight, straightforward genre film with enough twists to make it interesting, but not too many (sometimes restraint is the sign of good writing) for it to get “Lost.” Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams are two actors with huge potential.
