artrouble21's Reviews

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

4/10

12 July 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Perhaps my memory is faltering but I remember really enjoying the last two episodes of GOTG - a really well done storyline, fun music, epic action scenes funny dialog but this one, errr wtf did they just phone in everything?

And there was a big fuss over the director. Yet GOTG3 is, based on the previous two, an abject failure, except Drax of course.

Then they save all these cute animals and kids and then go onto exterminate all these other cute animals on a planet that has an invasive humanoid species on it.

This was actually really bad but not I suppose unexpected. The actors were mostly okay.

4 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Annette (2021)

2/10

bad feelings

2 October 2021

Warning: Spoilers

Luckily the film I saw right after Annette was Walk Hard, the Dewey Cox Story. Simon Helberg was great in it. That film is also great, clever, funny.

Before I saw Annette I watched with great pleasure the Sparks Movie and like all their long standing fans I was excited to learn about Annette, their dream project realized at last and with famous actors and a large budget. The film opens and you feel this is going to be a great nonstop musical/artistic experience. Half way through I had to stop. I had questions, why was this so bad when the parts ought to add up to something, anything? But did not.

I took a week off, maybe longer.

When I got back to it Annette was still a puppet, Adam Driver was shrinking and the music was more repetitive, the plot obvious. Where this was going was not interesting anymore but I stuck with it because art/Sparks and low and behold in the last 16 minutes this movie found it's heart, Annette.

Young actor Devyn McDowell delivers the only convincing original performance in his entire cinematic folly. I still admire the Mael brothers even more so that they pulled this off but the only recommendation I have is to watch Devyn McDowell's career she quite literally delivered the best performance in the entire film.

3 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Self/less (2015)

10/10

the soundtrack!

16 February 2021

This was a great surprise of a movie, I just wasn't expecting my speakers to light up. I didn't know I had lights in these newish speakers, the woofer has one but that's on all the time. This movie might seem to have a familiar premise but this story pulled out a level of clever visual framing and amazing production and a soundtrack that drives the whole thing in a way loud soundtracks very rarely manage to pull off, it seems without Eiko Ishioka costume design Tarsem Singh used sound to raise the level of the drama the way costume and set design might be used. Ben Kingsley was a credible "moral" billionaire even if he lived in an apartment that looked exactly like DJT had just moved out. The casting was top notch all round. Everything was explained when the directors credit came up, I hadn't checked that beforehand.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Stardust (II) (2020)

6/10

Flynn's eerie resemblance

26 November 2020

Like an artist constrained to not use black and white in a painting the film's director has not used the music of it's heroic subject and just as the use of black and white is not necessary to make a painting so has the director found a way to make a film about a moment in Bowie's life without his music. Certainly we can harbor fantasies of a film where verisimilitude overwhelms us and all our rocknroll memories explode on screen. This is not that sort of film. So sorry for your loss. Stardust is a story of an apotheosis and one that did not come easily. Bowie was ignored by many in the early 70's including his record label. Many familiar characters spill across the screen and while you might gripe at Bolan or groan at Angie, Johnny Flynn's David Jones/Bowie is at times eerie as he emulates the shapes and features we associate with the man who sold the world. Not a perfect movie but Bowie came alive here at a time when still miss him. When Bowie played John Merrick on Broadway he wore no makeup and made no attempt to look like the famous Elephant Man and yet still carried the part to great acclaim. Kudos to director Gabriel Range for his choice of musician, somewhat acclaimed, Johnny Flynn to lead this thoughtful semi fictional look at where a Jones became a Bowie.

33 out of 49 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Ad Astra (2019)

1/10

such a disappointment

8 December 2019

I really should have read these reviews. I'd seen the preview and the chase on the Moon looked very cool, even though there seemed to be earth gravity once you saw the entire set up. In fact throughout the film one was treated to very well wrought visuals only to be surprised that basic science was being ignored, and not in a cool way. Other reviewers have mentioned the story and acting so I won't, I suffered it thinking there would be at least an interesting payoff at the end. This movie is disappointing and lowers the bar further in the "nothing there" genre of sci fi. I was considering watching it again in case I missed something so thanks reviewers for affirming my abject... disappointment.

5 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Swing State (2017)

6/10

See it, it's funny

13 February 2018

I was sure from all the one star revues this had to be some kind of political disaster movie. I thought 'skip it' but then I hit all the ten out of ten revues and suddenly I was interested. What could have upset all the One Star reviewers? Why this dichotomy? They attacked the actors (?) and almost every aspect of the direction. Yet the 'Tenners' all seemed to have seen a quite different movie and their criticisms seemed a little more nuanced. In fact when I went back and reread the 'Oners' they all seemed to have the same basic nasty tone and could easily have been written by the same person. I watched the preview movie and got enough of a chuckle out of it to commit to viewing the whole deal. After all the last movie that was called "the worst movie ever" is now a "classic" bad movie and the director/auteur is all over the internets. Pretty soon you'll see why the 'Oners' failed to appreciate this film, it's a humorous take on the right-wing radio show and the kind of faint hearted and barely educated version of humanity it espouses. Is it a great movie that cuts the knees from under the right-wing-nut-job agenda? Certainly not. It's a bit clumsy in places is about the worse I can say but it's actually quite well written, mostly, and the actors all put in a good comedic turn. And it's funny. And that it got up the nose of some of it's maga-minded audience is hardly surprising. Alex Beh is a standout in how he manages to change his entire character for his "role" without dieting, prosthetics or a fake accent. I hope he has a great career ahead. Yes the story is kinda dumb but I imagine the underlying conclusion the director wants the audience to take away is how lacking in scruples and morality the right wing talk radio pundits are. And he succeeds by making a funny not perfect movie. See it, the one star revues are way off base but those kind of people are known for poor decision making and seeing this movie was for them just one more bad move.

5 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Bushwick (2017)

10/10

Epic low budget POV in real time, don't miss it

28 August 2017

I think anyone going into this movie might imagine it to be a slick hipster goof on Red October but within its first few minutes it is setting the viewer up for a non stop ride.

The (almost) single cam POV and a story set in real time draws on masters such as Hitchcock (Rope) and Antonio (the Passenger) for tracking and steady cam shots that take a low budget movie to a heightened level. Tight framing creates a dramatic intensity without the need of CGI (or very little) for it's effects enabling a very dramatic story to unfold in a very familiar NY setting.

The subject/cause of the events is kept shrouded but as some "volk" have noted it fits into a political narrative that is familiar to us all in the USA.

The acting and the care and time the director gives for character development was unexpected but a great touch. Dave Bautista, straight out GotG2 and Brittany Snow are excellent in their roles.

So there you have it, no spoilers and make sure you see it if just to p o the "lone star" reviewers, ye haw.

39 out of 85 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Synchronicity (IV) (2015)

10/10

Classic sexy sci-fi

28 April 2016

I'm giving it 10 stars because the movie was far better by the end than I thought it would be at the start.

From the start though our cinematic sensibilities pick up quickly that there is not an "Independence Day" budget attached.

With a slew of time-travel themed movies recently relying on great story telling and acting and others on big budgets and vacuous stars I wasn't sure where this one would fall but immediately one was struck by it's style. A noir look and compelling soundtrack. But as the recursive story picked up - well written and a fine cast - any misgivings were forgotten.

This is an original story with not just fine twists but also perhaps a first in the time travel genre it's quite sexy. Great chemistry between the two main characters added up to a compelling tale that crossed interestingly between lust and science.

Not since Forbidden Planet haha joking but the soundtrack again is worth mentioning and will make a second viewing as enjoyable as the first. Sci-fi has been burdened by the heavy handed scores of John Williams for far too long. Ben Lovett provides a beautifully apt real si-fi soundtrack to a real sci-fi film.

Don't be misled by simplistic reviewers, it is a quite clever concoction of ideas but spread out across it's time frame with all the right moments well embedded the story is well told.

Jacob Gentry is a person of future interest.

48 out of 82 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Mr. Right (I) (2015)

10/10

post Deadpool funny

8 April 2016

An actually hilarious comedy that never panders to its imagined audience as so many American comedies do and is just a straight up clever funny classic romantic Hollywood movie. With a cast that actually successfully redefines that hackneyed paradigm. Natural comic Anna Kendrick plays a seemingly mentally fragile leading lady. Sam Rockwell as our indestructible hero continues to deliver the most interesting performances on film these days. Tim Roth as the usual Brit baddie but with a mean streak and many hued shall we say accent. Tim just keeps on giving. Where are the Oscars? Half way through you will be asking for a sequel or syndication which would surely destroy the concept. I'm going to watch it again.

23 out of 47 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Electric Slide (2014)

4/10

If you knew Eddie

23 December 2014

Warning: Spoilers

One could write the entire plot of the movie in here and it wouldn't be a spoiler. Thats because this film is not about Eddie Dodson, it's about who ever the character called Eddie Dodson in this film thinks he's portraying.

Dodson was a bit more than a furniture salesman, his shop on Melrose wrote the script for a hundred quirky 20th century/retro/moderne shops that followed in his wake and that includes all the original 70's Hollywood funk and fun. Out and about you might have caught Eddie cruising Melrose in a 1930's convertible with a bevy of gals or run into him at a party in the Hills.

Three things one can credit the film with are the Hollywood pretty people which was spot on for that time- probably still is- the excellent soundtrack and the resemblance of Jim Sturgess to Eddie, but there it ends character wise and with the absurd fedora. Eddie was famous not just for the number of bank robberies he pulled but also for the Yankee cap he always wore to a bank giving him name he was known for, the Yankee Bandit.

Eddies story is far more Hollywood insane than this film can deal with it seems, his connection to some big Hollywood names, his drug addiction- Its not hard to find with google- is not touched upon. What this movie is however is an effete homage to a time and place that was a lot more brash and impulsive. It's main character may have some interesting aspects but they don't add up to the type of person that drove Eddie to do what he did.

Can the movie stand on it's own given the absence of any real motivation on the protagonists part? Maybe but it's point is the people and the period and it barely goes there. If you view it knowing nothing of Dodson it might work for you but if you knew Eddie you are in for a disappointment. And if you find out about Dodson after you watch it you'll be miffed they didn't make the actual Eddie Dodson story. The directors seems to have had the components but not the story. Throwing in John Doe of the LA period punk band X playing a cop only underlines this point.

9 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Last New Yorker (2007)

8/10

NYC point of view

29 September 2014

Harvey Wang is an artist with a city in his veins.

The city is New York and whilst it has myriad faces we rarely see this view, the older New Yorker and his changing burg. Wang has created something very special that we can so easily pass by and ignore in a city as storied as Manhattan. With so much history and so many movies we have one now that was previously missing.

An old man, still filled with foolish ambitions yet facing withering financial prospects falls in love and his world is changed. And not in any expected way but as a parable of hubris that all ages are capable of but might seem fatal to a man this long in the tooth.

The story is told against the backdrop of a changing city. This film, only seven years old already shows us places now gone, a vanishing city that presents so much less opportunity to those who have spent the most time here. Wang's photographic eye captures the city without jabbing you in yours.

Fine acting from the cast makes this a very watchable and compelling movie. If you have a chance this is a great movie don't pass it by.

I give it 8, no not the greatest thing ever but one you will get a kick out of if you have lived here and are also getting long in that tooth.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Land (2010)

8/10

the films summery is decpetive

7 September 2014

this is the sort of film that should be shown in history classes in the USA.

BUT FIRST The IMDb summary of Land is not just deceptive but possibly designed to make you not watch it. It is not so much a mischaracterization but an actual slur. i.e. "But when the local fishermen, corrupted by new found power, begin acting in the same manner as the American developers" DOES NOT APPEAR IN THIS FILM.

Rather one or two shady Americans actually get their deserved Dickensian comeuppance. Half of the yanks in the movie are quite nice and opened minded. The local villagers were just reacting the way anyone reacts when abused by snobs with more money than sense.

I thought I might know the story and the summary seemed to promise little more than an homily on power. In fact as the other reviewer here says it is a fascinating and well balanced study of the kind of land speculation we see home and abroad. But in this case these American's ignorance of not just Nicaraguan history but of Hispanic culture generally seems so 1980's it's hard to imagine but there you are. Great story and characters on all sides and well told.

What a beautiful land, change will come but it should be in the hands of the people that hold it not those with just dollars in theirs.

4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

It Was You Charlie (2013)

10/10

made my legs tingle

3 September 2014

I can't figure out who Charlie is. If you know tell me, I missed it. But this film is so good it makes mockery of many films that try for "dark comedy", or just comedy or dark. It's funny in layers that slowly diminish as the story resolves to Abner's redemption. It also shows up the vacuous indie movies with the BIG STAR on board that only mollifies the BIG STARS ego and is mostly a waste of time to the viewer. Recently viewed: Frank, funny, not a total loss but mostly as empty as Michael Fassbenders big head- Under The Skin with Scarlet Johansson, she takes all her clothes off in a dark twisted sci-fi but thats the most you'll get out of it. And MacFarlanes WESTERN that will give you a few yucks in the first 15 minutes but by it's end will have you questioning your own intelligence. I understand why these actors do these kinds of movies but for a real story dark- twisted-funny you will have to leave these pathetic A listers behind. Even The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is top notch without a doubt, is just a scenic trope compared to this film by Emmanuel Shirinian. Every performer in It Was You Charlie turns in an indelible performance. Michael Cohen is incandescent as the sad diminished Abner. It's movie full of characters and thoughts that slowly explode in front of you. And it is in the end, spoiler, a warm and well told story. Watch it, you'll be surprised yet again at the genius of film makers that know how to turn off the phony and and turn up charm. Oh yeah, as the film ended, as they do, both my old hairy legs started to tingle, registering an emotional state that I can only describe as "artistic satiation".

6 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Dom Hemingway (2013)

4/10

weak k-need

1 April 2014

certain ladies may enjoy the films of Jude Law. He certainly is a fairly decent actor and generally appears in films that appeal to ladies of a certain disposition. Nothing wrong with that. And he has a pleasant manner that also appeals to the gentlemen too. All well and good. So it was with little trepidation that I decided to watch the be-chopped actor in his latest attempt to regain his oft faltering acting credentials. It was no small disappointment and was easily a watchable film even considering the liberties he and or the director have taken with a certain London accent better exemplified by Sir Mister Lord Upminster Ian Dury and the Sexy Beast character of the be-knighted Ben Kingsley. Unfortunately all of this rang hollow from the wattled throat of the aforementioned Mr Law. As others have noted it is a film with characters one cares for less with the passing of time and a plot that is entirely un- memorable. Kudos to Richard Grant for staying the course. But in actually considering this cartoon character Law cooked up one has to say . . . shallow, unconvincing and unremarkable. Kingsley used the accent to project real menace. Dury, was the authentic voice of a Londoner, an East Ender that used invective to poetical effect. Here it is just more shouty invective from a cosseted actor who has little or no connection to his character other than some kitsch facial hair. There are worse films out there but as far as the Brit gangster oeuvre goes this is minor fair, straight to DVD pap.

5 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

God Don't Make the Laws (2011)

4/10

odd film

16 November 2013

There was no review of this 2011 movie but I took the time to watch it as the story has an interesting premise. Though it is a bit drawn out in it's execution it seems to want to be preachy and make the viewer think about mortality but lacks any real punch due to the pace of it's execution. Whilst the characters and scenario are stereotypical they are well played though the script often lacks any real depth even when it is trying to be dramatic. There are definitely some young actors in this film with a good future ahead of them and this film does no real harm to anyones career. I was a bit worried that it would degenerate into some quasi religious morality play but it seem to be more like a poorly realized contemporary version of Our Town. The "twist" ending seems like an after thought and doesn't really explain anything. But I sat through it and I've seen worse, maybe there is a lesson to be learned if not from the movies premise then from the way it is put together. My one major criticism is the music used throughout the film. Simple background arrangements work here and there but there are a lot of badly written songs that impinge on the dialog and whilst the idea seems to be to amplify the films "meaning" it constantly works against the both the acting and the script often drowning out the actors and distracting the viewer. I just don't see how a filmmaker can ruin perfectly good scenes with an overbearing soundtrack unless he owes the songwriter a big favor or something, he certainly did himself no service at all and came close to wrecking his work completely. This film would have worked much better if there wasn't some chatty song going on in the background, quiet works much better with this sort of dialog. I would have allowed 1 or 2 more stars had the film not used these lame songs. Still it had it's moments and is not a total train wreck.

10 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Copperhead (2013)

10/10

Removes the Stain of Birth of a Nation

2 July 2013

Warning: Spoilers

what is Liberty? Lincoln Vampire Killer was a far superior movie to the overwrought Lincoln. The one feted by Hollywood and the Washington Know Nothings, politicians and their ilk. Django Unchained told home truths in a colorful language intolerable to some. Spike Lee can suck it and I'm not the only one who told him so. Copperhead is a rare glimpse into the real realm of liberty's forge in a way few have experienced it. As a proud New Yorker and American this July 4 I hope and wish you will see this truly amazing explication of US and how we came to be. Copperhead is a quiet and powerful story that has a depth that will over power you slowly yet completely.

4 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Wee Man (2013)

10/10

calls BS on The Godfather and rightly so

20 June 2013

A brilliant movie, beautiful to watch in it's way, a damn near perfect film in it's true to life portrayal of the Glaswegian underworld. The American gangster movie is highly lauded but this film resets the genre to a different place and a more recent period, and this time it is the real McCoy not some Hollywood fiction with over blown "action" and set piece fictional events. This is set in the real world of a broken city. Not much to say other than worth your time. Yes in places the local accent will be a slight challenge for some but this movie delivers both in storytelling and cinematography. The compelling performance of Martin Compston as Paul Ferris is an eyeful, an actor to watch but in truth an all round great cast. Director Ray Burdis has elevated a hackneyed genre to an unexpected level. I think I'll watch it again.

6 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Mental (2012)

10/10

not a bit what I expected

26 May 2013

Not sure at first if I wanted to see an Australian movie due to the wretched nature of their soap operas and I had a bit of trouble getting into the first half hour. It has some odd plot bumps but they work overall and it's worth the wait for the various payoffs that crop up through out the story. Some great acting from all the cast. I had no idea the shark guy was Liev Schreiber and Anthony LaPaglia comes off very convincingly as the out of touch dad but it is the women and the girls that make this film and should be it's core fan base. However this is a "chick flick" that guys can actually enjoy too. I think it will be considered a minor classic some years hence. This really is a very very funny, clever film. You could do worse (Identity Thief) with bigger budget movies but this is one film I think will leave a lasting impression on the viewer and a real feather in the cap for the younger actors as their careers progress.

2 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

3/10

back-story destroyed

27 October 2012

some great acting and Garfield nails the Ditko posing of the original comics, don't have a problem with him being too skinny either. Scenes in the sewers nicely echoed the original comic version of this movie, the Lizard is a formidable foe. HOWEVER the back story sucks. Now Flash becomes a misguided good guy, Gwen Stacy is a science nerd, there is no JJ Jameson instead we have the insipid police character. Parker can't wait to show off who he is to all and sundry, and plot rip offs from the Rami movie abound. And for crying out loud Stan Lee can't get enough of himself even now, someone shoot the guy please, with a gun. Most of the Spidey stuff was fine but all other factors in Peter Parkers life were trashed. Surely this rewriting of the characters life/plot is a DC move. There are other reviews of this that I agree with but as to the massive plot holes thru out this film the biggest must be the end where the 'cure' is dispersed over the city and yet has no affect on SPIDERMAN, double duh. The Rami movie is far better and truer to the original comics, Garfield need to step away from this project before it taints his very promising career.

6 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

artrouble21

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed