Veronica Mars
The script is as sharp as ever, and all the feminist, postmodernist, Raymond-Chandler-meets-Nancy-Drew elements are present and correct.
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Tag Archives: Thriller
All is Lost
Redford is great as the single character, and I can only imagine what a ridiculously arduous physical shoot this must have been. Sure, there are obvious stunt double moments but for the most part, he climbs, swims, jumps and well, flails for much of the running time.
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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
At the end of the day, Jack Ryan is a film hobbled by a) its need to be action-packed, and b) the fact that said action is woefully executed. It’s a decent time-waster but really feels like a missed opportunity.
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Gravity
It’s like a version of Apollo 13 where you don’t know the ending; that’s really all you need know about the plot. Suffice to say that this is the very definition of edge-of-your-seat entertainment, and there’s not a second wasted during the brisk 91 minute running time.
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Gravity is fantastic enough to restore one’s faith in the potential of great film, while being a thrill-a-minute ride that never lets up until its perfectly timed denouement. Brilliant filmmaking. See it.
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The East
Sarah, like a lot of Marling’s characters, is a woman slightly out of step with the real world. As an undercover operative, she can’t divulge any information about her work to her boyfriend, so she spends the majority of her waking hours professionally lying.
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Stoker
Stoker should be used as a reference piece when attempting to create an evocative, haunting and alluring film. Every shot is incredible, and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung constantly breaks all the rules – I lost number of the times that the camera ‘crossed the line’ – yet it all fits together like a vividly disconcerting puzzle.
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World War Z
It focusses on the first few days, where everyone’s just been zombified and are running through the streets biting people. The first half hour of World War Z really rams home this concept – the initial explosion of infection, so to speak, is staggering to behold – and it’s a case of nail-biting tension from the get-go as Gerry and his family struggle to reach safety.
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The King of Pigs
The King of Pigs is a brutal tale that is not for the faint-hearted. Whilst the pacing never feels sluggish, there is one subplot that could have easily been excised. The dénouement feels like a bit of a narrative fumble but for the most part this is compelling viewing.
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Mud
The simple fact is that, when not doing romantic comedy dross, Matthew McConaughey is a fantastic actor. I would have thought that after all this time, people would realise this, but in my experience most are immediately dismissive of the guy.
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Broken
The narrative frequently takes a step backwards, to cover the same short period of time from another character’s perspective, and sometimes deliberately withholds information, so that you’re not sure of the order of events. This works particularly well in a couple of the film’s tenser scenes.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Broken