Film Diary: 2006

30 December 2006

Limelight 5/5 (D)

It seems slow at the start, which makes it too long, but the by the end of the film you can easily forgive any of it's flaws. A truly remarkable film.

28 December 2006

Monkey Business 2/5 (R)

I'm sorry, I guess I just don't get The Marx Brothers.

25 December 2006

24 December 2006

I was interested in this film when it got a limited cinema release earlier in the year. At that time I didn’t know there was some doubt about the authenticity of the film. However whilst watching it, the thought that it was all a hoax just grabbed hold at the start and wouldn’t let go. Things didn’t add up, other things seem to contradict and there was just the feeling that if anybody were going to fake the whole thing it would be this group of people. The problem is that the film whether it is a hoax or not should remain interesting throughout and for me this didn’t.

23 December 2006

The Da Vinci Code 3/5 (D)

When you're expecting something to be bad it often turns out not to be as bad as everyone was making out. Ron Howard's adaptation is far far too long (but the same can be said about most films these days) and feels like it could have been so much better. Ultimately it's a disappointment, highlighting the problems with the story rather than the sense of mystery but it's watchable never the less.

16 December 2006

Full Metal Jacket 4/5 (R)

Few things can equal the outstanding first half of Full Metal Jacket, including it's own last half.

Blow Out 3/5 (R)

14 December 2006

The Great Dictator 3/5 (D)

An incredibly powerful and quite remarkable film that sadly doesn't hold up throughout it's excessive running time

04 December 2006

Pan's Labyrinth 4/5 (C)

03 December 2006

Shaolin Soccer 3/5 (R)

Considering I was underwhelmed by Kung Fu Hustle and don't like football; I wasn't really expecting much from this. But I had a good time it was enjoyable fun.

La Belle et le bête 3.5/5 (R)

Nurse Betty 3/5 (R)

Switchblade Romance 4/5 (R)

Grabs you at the start and never lets go, until the last 10 minutes which then ruins what passed before. Up until that point it really is terrifyingly beautiful.

Infernal Affairs III 3.5/5 (R)

It's quite possible that I under appreciated this film. It was too late, I was slightly tired (i.e drunk) and didn't quite follow what was going on.

02 December 2006

Mondovino 2/5 (R)

If a point was trying to be made then it was lost amongst the unnecessary long running time, irritating camera work and little things like white captions on pale backgrounds.

30 November 2006

Infernal Affairs II 4/5 (R)

Could this be the greatest trilogy since The Godfather? (obviously not with Indiana Jones and Back To The Future out there)

29 November 2006

The Prestige 5/5 (C)

Maybe not completely worthy of 5/5 but 24 hours later and I'm still thinking about it, so why not?

28 November 2006

The Searchers 4/5 (C)

So often with 'classic' films it's more a case of appreciating and admiring them than actually enjoying them. When presented to a modern audience they can seem influenceable but often appear dated and quite boring. Not the case with The Searchers. At times it does look it's age but it is still watchable throughout and it's influence on Star Wars is obvious . My only real concern was having a murdering racist as the main character and not knowing if that was a reflection of the times of the story or the times of the film.

25 November 2006

Infernal Affairs 4/5 (R)

Seeing as The Departed is one of my favourite films of the year I was looking forward to finally seeing the original especially as most people seemed to think this was the better film. I can't decide which I prefer, I probably like them both equally but in different ways. Infernal Affairs is a lot tighter but lacks the character development (not that it suffers) and humour of the Scorsese film.

American Splendor 4/5 (D)

22 November 2006

Inside Deep Throat 2/5 (R)

Uninspiring documentary about an interesting story. Disappointing.

21 November 2006

Rififi 3/5 (C)

20 November 2006

Casino Royale 4/5 (C)

After Powers and Bourne it was clear that the Bond franchise would have to do something different in order for it to survive. The casting of Daniel Craig, an effective trailer and the involvement of Paul Haggis made this the only Bond film I've ever been interested in seeing; and it didn't disappoint. Occasionally it verges on the edge of ridiculousness with hammy lines and dodgy moments but it never takes these too far that they become laughable, in fact they almost seem a parody of former Bonds.

19 November 2006

Red Road 4/5 (C)

18 November 2006

Modern Times 4/5 (D)

Lawrence of Arabia 3/5 (R)

This may well be a great film but for me the moments of boredom far outweigh the moments of excellence. If it had been a lot shorter (most of the 1st hour seemed unnecessary) I'm sure I would have liked it a lot more.

15 November 2006

My Little Eye 2/5 (R)

Great idea that ultimately doesn't work. Over stylised to a point of irritation. At times it feels like it's descended too far into ridiculousness to ever recover but surprisingly it does. The satisfying climax only makes you wish that they'd tried harder in the middle of the film.