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The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
Better than the rating
This is a film that is very much suffering with audiences because it's not a boilerplate thriller. From reading the reviews here, people seem to be disappointed about the pace and the mystery not lasting to the final reel. Unfortunately, they're missing the point!
If you enjoyed Zodiac, this will be right up your alley. 'Figuring out' who the killer is is not the central conceit.
The performances are great. This is a film that has been made with a great amount of care and is not your standard mystery thriller but will still have you watching between your fingers.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
The summer's alternative blockbuster
After seeing Hellboy, I was looking forward to a sequel.I have come to expect nothing less than brilliance from Guillermo del Toro and I wasn't disappointed with this follow up.
Hellboy is funny, action packed and enchanting in equal measure. The scenes with the mystical creatures are amazing, the camera never dwelling long enough on some of the weird and wonderful beings, treating them as everyday sights.
Luke Goss pulls off a great performance as Prince Nuada.Unexpectedly, considering it's the guy from Bros... Seth McFarlane's turn as Johann Krauss is fantastic.
If you liked the first you'll like this even more.If you're a Guillermo del Toro fan you'll love it!
If you see only one film this summer, it's still The Dark Knight.But if you want to be dragged into a world which but for the amazing vision of del Toro we might otherwise never have seen, see Hellboy II.As inspired by del Toro's previous work as much as it is by Mike Mignola.
SEE IT.NOW.One of the best comic book films of all time.Up there with the Batmans of this world.
I look forward to a third...(after the Hobbit of course)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Hulk smash?
I saw a preview of The Incredible Hulk today. I kept my hopes low after being disappointed with it's predecessor and with the last blockbuster release of the year, Indiana Jones.
We are placed right in the middle of the action when the film gets underway.This is a welcome change from the drawn out explanations of other superhero movies.Quite simply we don't need one for Bruce Banner.
The action we are dropped into is slow burning. Perhaps not wanting to overload us, we are instead left with a little less Hulk than one would like.The way the action sequences were shot was a bit all over the place, reminiscent of Transformers in terms of not really being able to tell what's going on.
The film was enjoyable.Norton makes a great Banner and Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky is, as usual, fantastic.It is not as fun as Iron Man, Hulk falling closer to Batman Begins in terms of tone.There's plenty to enjoy though and Letterier's mark is definitely left on the film.
If you are already an Incredible Hulk fan, you should love this (there are cameos of course for Lou Ferigno and Stan Lee), if not, sit back and watch Hulk smash.
(If anyone else is reminded of Peter Jackson's King Kong in one particular scene, let me know I'm not the only one...)
In Bruges (2008)
One of the films of the year
"Somehow, Ken, I believe that the balance shall tip in the favor of culture, like a big fat f*cking retarded f*cking black girl on a see-saw."
If there's a line that perfectly sums up In Bruges it's the above.Offensive, emotional, hilarious and brilliant would also be good individual words..
This film is by far one of the best this year.For me it ranked up and around No Country For Old Men.Please God let Martin McDonagh make more movies (preferabley with Brendan Gleeson again).For those who worry about Colin Farrell's comic timing, WORRY NOT!He's spot on, complimenting the immense Gleeson and Fiennes brilliantly.
Fiennes is clearly in his element playing against type as a hard as nails cocky gangster who could be in the nest Guy Ritchie movie.
The film's strength is in it's ability to have you laughing one minute and crying the next.Martin McDonagh knows how to write, we all know that.On the path from stage to screen he has used his unique manipulation of the English language to prove his worth time and time again.As well as being an accomplished writer he's also a bloody Academy Award winner!! I saw this the day it was released in Ireland in a less than half full screen in the middle of the day and everyone of us was laughing away together in a shared experience of what will no doubt be a classic, Irish roller-coaster ride of a film.
(Christ, I even wanted to go to Bruges by the end of it..)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Oh dear...
The Last Crusade clearly wasn't what it should have been- The Last Crusade..Indy riding into the sunset...
Instead we get this.. Crystal Skull film
There is a serious lack of Indy in this film.Henry Jones Jr. is overshadowed by the presence of too many other characters, Mutt (LaBoeuf), Marion (Karen Allen), 'Mac' (Ray Winstone), Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and Oxley (John Hurt).The main sequence of the film consists mainly of Mutt and Spalko, Indy is sidelined to showcase Shia LaBoeuf.Spielberg clearly loves LaBoeuf, and this film proves it.
Maybe Darabont's script didn't give enough room to the character Mutt), hence why they didn't make it..?It would have been better than this.This is the film George Lucas wanted to make and not the one the fans wanted.This may as well have been Mutt the Movie.
John Hurt's character Oxley also appears as a blabbering mad man who does most of Indy's work.Despite how much time is spent on fleshing out these characters, it is hard to care about them.Ray Winstone's Mac is a cliché, in fact he is an exact copy of a character from Last Crusade who I obviously won't reveal for spoiler reasons.Ray Winstone, being an actor and person who I enjoy in films, is a very likable guy but even his best efforts could not save this character, let alone the movie.
Oh and for the apparent limited use of CGI?Don't believe a word. Everyone I saw the film with pointed out the OVERUSE of CGI in a film where we were promised it's limited use.There were occasions where I'd watch a sequence and think 'Why was that CGI when it didn't have to be?'.
I could not find one part that I would say 'That was great, classic Indy'.There were a couple of funny moments but they could not fill in the cracks in this film.
This was clearly very disappointing for me, I was excited to see Indiana Jones back again, but I left the cinema very annoyed.If your unsure of whether to see Crystal Skull, don't.You will be left in a state of bemusement as the credits roll, simply wondering, where did it all go wrong?
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Worst Film of 2006
Ron Howard should just stop making films.The whole time through The DaVinci Code he treats the audience as if they're too stupid too figure things out for themselves.He makes the obvious even more obvious.(The bad guys have shifty eyes etc..) Not even Tom hanks,the everyman of modern cinema,can save this lackluster attempt at an adaptation from Dan Brown's book.There is no attempt to compensate for the books failings and follows it almost to the letter.
And the scenes with Silas and his whip just look completely out of place.They go on so much you just have to laugh.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction: Creepy Comics/Louie the Dip/The Wailing/The Landlady/Curse (1999)
Chilling
One can only imagine the horrors depicted in this segment of the classic "Beyond Belief".
This is DiTillio's finest hour.He shows his acting chops in his meatiest role yet as the dismissive Officer Baker.
It's only a matter a time before this actor.....it's only a matter of time.
Shows like this are hard to come by,the FX achievements in this episode are unrivaled to date.The muddy footprints themselves are masterfully portrayed and it boggles the mind as to how they appear in all their eerie glory.
Another classic not to be missed!
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction: Creepy Comics/Louie the Dip/The Wailing/The Landlady/Curse (1999)
Chilling
One can only imagine the horrors depicted in this segment of the classic "Beyond Belief".
This is DiTillio's finest hour.He shows his acting chops in his meatiest role yet as the dismissive Officer Baker.
It's only a matter a time before this actor.....it's only a matter of time.
Shows like this are hard to come by,the FX achievements in this episode are unrivaled to date.The muddy footprints themselves are masterfully portrayed and it boggles the mind as to how they appear in all their eerie glory.
Another classic not to be missed!
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Unbelievable
This is probably the worst film I've ever seen.Nothing can compensate for a horrible story,plot holes,terrible acting,it never ends.There's simply nothing right about this film.
It takes itself so seriously like it's redefining cinema but ends up looking like a complete parody of itself.The overly pretentious credit music says everything.
This was made so everyone involved could make their wallet a little chunkier and for no other reason.It's supposed to be a scary film,frightening,it looks like a joke.It should without a doubt be in the bottom 100.
Watch this film expecting a comedy and enjoy...
The Departed (2006)
Hype hinders what could be a good film
Martin Scorcese is the front runner to win a Best Director Oscar for The Departed.It's not that it's difficult to see why, but you feel this film is getting undue credit based on the hype surrounding it.
Firstly do not pay attention to the films place in the top 250 list.It is most definitely undeserved.What lies beneath the hype of the film is a good story,well told,but still lacking.This isn't a crime film,or an action film,it doesn't know what it is and ends up moving around needlessly.
The story is a good one and with a slightly better script this could have been one of the films of the year.
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Pretentious rubbish
This film could have been genuinely straight forward,entertaining and not crap but clearly early on it was decided to be over the top and pretentious.
The first half hour is a bit rocky but you're still hoping for the best.It never comes.The film becomes boring and obvious.You can the 'big reveal' (if you could call it that) coming a mile off.
Despite the film's name it loses touch with the Black Dahlia.It doesn't focus on that or much else for that matter.If you think your going to see a good crime/thriller,think again.
You don't care for any of the characters in the film,mainly because you don't know what's going on.The story is never properly developed,it jumps from plot to plot without leaving you a thread to grasp at.Someone thought that throwing in a lesbian scene would hold it together but it only makes it much much worse.Nothing can describe what a massive waste of time the film is.
This is below Swank and Eckhart as personally i think they're two very good actors.Josh Hartnett proves he will never star in even a half decent film and Scarlett Johansson makes you question if she can act at all..
Despite some valiant attempts to save the film the script is the ultimate let down,from there everything falls apart.If anyone tells you this is in anyway a good film give them a slap. Don't waste your time.
Casino Royale (2006)
Still Bond but not brilliant
From the opening scene you know this is a different Bond film to one you've ever seen.The filming is entertaining,with a very good pace.It does however force the point you feel of how different it is and runs for about 20 minutes too long.
As with all Bond films the plot is not of the utmost importance...but here it is anyway.Bond has just become 007 and must now compete in a high-stakes poker tournament against Le Chiffre.There are of course many gripping tosses and turns in-between to keep us entertained.
The acting in this film cannot be faulted.Mads Mikkelsen makes a stand-out turn as Le Chiffre,Craig makes the character of Bond his own(not particularly easy) and Judi Dench makes acting look easy as M.The scenes where we have Bond and love interest Vesper Lynd(Eva Green) in one on one situations did on occasion made me cringe.Not so much the fault of the actors but the script.This is what took the film down a notch particularly coming up to the finale.
The main success of the film is Martin Campbell's direction.As with Goldeneye he re-invents Bond and leaves us with a good film.Without him this film would not be anywhere near as good as it is.
Overall not as amazing as some people claim it to be but still well worth seeing.When the main talking point of the film is Bond getting his balls whacked you should know it's not going to be a classic...