Stars - Leonardo Sbaraglia, María Valverde, Thomas Riordan, Andrés Juste
Director - Gonzalo López-Gallego
Memorable Quote - n/a, all in Spanish
Review - Hm, this is an interesting one. Of course it's a generic format - man gets lost in unfamiliar territory, teams up with girl, tries not to get killed - but this gives the whole thing a fresh look. Instead of forming a bond, the two main characters exchange sex for silence and consistently lie to each other, with Bea also stealing from Quim every time his back is turned. The antagonists are not mutants or rednecks or mental patients, but simply children who clearly do not understand how far their game is going. And when the crucial moment comes, Quim abandons Bea to the mercy of her captors, and - though he changes his mind - does not save her life. The tension is palpable, the sex is tasteful and brief, the gore is perfectly balanced between interesting and unrealistic - this is quite stylishly done. The ending is a little haunting, of course, and it's not entirely a masterpiece, but very enjoyable all the same. 4/5
#2 - SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
Stars - Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Keiran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Brandon Routh
Director - Edgar Wright
Memorable Quote - 'Talk to the cleaning lady on Monday. Because you'll be dust by Monday. Because you'll be pulverized in two seconds. The cleaning lady? She cleans up... dust. She dusts.'
Review - Now, book adaptations have always been a problem for me, as have movie versions of comics or cartoons. Particularly live-action versions. So, simply, I should hate this. But you know what? I can't! It's actually very good. Cera always puts in a decent performance and this one is no exception, pulling off his usual dorky humour with a little extra dork at times. Winstead and Wong were both perfect female stereotypes, and both very likeable - you have to feel sorry for Knives. Culkin was the hidden star (by which I mean that although he was not a main character, he was very good), and the supporting cast were all-round very good. Top-notch and very modern effects almost made you feel you were watching a video game instead of a movie, and it was all very cleverly done. Best moment has to be Scott jumping out of a window ninja-style, and best subtle humour was the 'song about Ramona'. Excellent lyrics. Anyway, most definitely worth a watch and probably worth another watch as well. 5/5
#3 - KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
Stars - Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman
Director - Hayao Miyazaki
Memorable Quote - 'If I lose my magic, that means I've lost absolutely everything.'
Review - Where's Wally? That's right, he's in this film, playing Kiki's rather juvenile love interest! And why do 13-year-olds get love interests anyway? Those silly Japanese. Well, I didn't enjoy this one as much as Spirited Away, though it was slightly less morally questionable. Except for the fact that Kiki goes around flashing her underwear all the time, which is a little odd. Anyway, this is good for kids I suppose, but I didn't feel that it transferred well to a mature audience. Being an older Gibli as well, the animation was very simple and not very eye-catching. The cat was funny-ish, but that was really all. Try again, Miyazaki. 2/5
No comments:
Post a Comment