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Repo Men
Repo Men (2010)
9/10
Much better than expected
20 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This film, IMHO, is a future cult classic. On one level it is a mindless action film about the sale and eventual repossession of organs, on another it is a clever film that has a lot to say about human behaviour and the division between reality and fantasy

Unusually the film seems to tackle complex issues without smashing you over the head with them, take for example the relationship with between Remy and his wife. His wife is desperate for Remy to quit the front-line work of hunting non-payers down and removing their organs and instead wants him to sell the organs (which they will never be able to pay for), to any sane watcher the two roles are as bad as each other!

I also like the way in which the film implies a world without a free press, again without being explicit, it appears that the organ removal procedures are well known to those about to have them taken away but the man on the street is blissfully unaware of the consequences of what they are getting themselves in to.

The ending is a work of genius, you are left not knowing what has really happened - were the last 30 minutes Remy's fantasy or someone else's. In a world where anyone can have their brain overridden anything is possible and you would never know whether what you were experiencing was real or fantasy (I love the scene with the kid shooting his mum, obviously a fantasy where the boy loves Remy the most)

The acting is also top notch, the main three characters Forest, Jude and Liev are all superb and make what could have been a very lightweight film have far more depth

It is worth noting that the film isn't without issues but the above is just a fraction of the things I picked up in the film and therefore it challenged me more than any other Scifi film this year
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Milk
Milk (I) (2008)
6/10
Shame it descends into Oscar fodder
4 May 2010
Milk should have been a classic, it has all the elements of a great film from the outstanding performances to the story itself which is a stranger than fiction tale (especially for those of us who are too young to remember such homophobic laws being considered in a developed country)

Unfortunately what let this film down was, at times, rather shockingly obvious direction. I normally like Gus Van Sant films but this time it appears he was more focused on restating the obvious and over playing scenes which would have been very emotional otherwise... The last 10-15 minutes of this movie are an awful example of someone who should have had more courage in the editing room (especially with such strong performances from the actors)

With 30 minute reduction in run time and a stronger belief in the intelligence of the audience this would have been superb
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Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York (2002)
6/10
A massive disappointment
15 January 2003
What should and easily could have been a masterpiece of film making turns out to be nothing more that an average story with a less than average script.

I won't harp on about Day Lewis (who is absolutely fantastic) or DiCaprio who whilst totally miscast performed admirably. Instead I will complain about the massive flaws in the script and general mood of the film.

The film didn't need a hero or a love interest but for some unknown reason Scorsese felt obliged to include both (as do most modern American film makers). Most great films have characters that you either love or loathe but throughout the film I could not help but feel that Bill The Butcher was generally a more likeable person than Amsterdam. For a start Amsterdam (as pointed out in the film) is sneaky, conniving and treacherous character who is seeking revenge for his Farther who died in a battle he willfully entered into. In no part of the film are we led to believe that his Farther was a noble or valiant character, in fact from my impression he was just as ruthless as Bill. This I appreciated.

I cannot help but feel that the film would have been so much better, if the audience had been left to make there own minds up about all of the characters. Both gangs were violent thieves and murders... We don't need heroes every time
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Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam (1999)
1/10
A very poor film
31 January 2000
I invited a few friends around to watch this film and the general consensus was that it was the worst film that anyone had seen for at least a year (Including wild wild west). The characters were unbelievable and misplaced. The story was labored, too long and the most laughable scene involving a dog and the worst special effects since Slugs punctuated a boring film that had a general lack of humor. I have never been embarrassed to have recommended a film for a group of friend to watch until I hired this, please don't fall into the same trap.
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