What is remarkable about Drive is the assurance with which Refn and his cast deal with the material. The film features a wonderful opening sequence that defines the lead character and his world with effortless grace, and then follows that bravura entr
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It does feature Lautner topless in the first five minutes, so I suppose it’s attempting to please a certain section of the community. Alas, his physique isn’t matched by his acting ability, so most of the time he comes off as an underwear model who’s really good at posing but no so good at delivering lines.
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The Hunter is a visually stunning film. It doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming a tourism commercial, but it does capture the Australian bush beautifully. The cinematography in general, including the up close and personal character moments, is perfect.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Hunter
Without ever taking it too far, he brilliantly exudes a forgotten menace, hinting at what Rosario used to do for a living. It’s just a pity that he doesn’t really seem to enjoy his new life, because this stops us from truly feeling for him when everything goes pear-shaped.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading A Quiet Life
If the film had knocked it out of the park with a stunning final scene, then it would have all been worth it. Suffice to say, it features nothing of the sort. It’s kind of strange, but not strange enough, and it’s sorta funny without being properly humorous. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? is one for Herzog fans only.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
The sheer idiocy of both the victims and the perpetrators meant I simply wanted the film to be over. Aside from the notable camerawork, there’s nothing clever about this film. Kidnapped is a turgid, unwarranted feature that left me angry that I’d spent 81 minutes of my life watching it.
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The cinematography is striking and includes some truly brilliant Steadicam shots that are executed with astounding precision. The colour palette is ideal and Tamil Rogeon’s score is nicely understated, with great low end growls that perfectly complement some of the film’s more extreme moments.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Blame
The sheer number of climactic scenes, scares and twists pushes the film into ludicrous territory several times, and it’s such a pity because any one scene in this film is brilliant in isolation. The film, or indeed the script, could have done with some serious cutting down to size.
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Another problem is that Pino Donaggio’s score isn’t particularly memorable. It felt like a film such as this should have had a constant, ever-present soundtrack to provide the film with a sense of momentum.
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It must be a great luxury indeed to be able to call upon Robert De Niro to play a supporting character of such little substance. Sure, turning up on set for a few days to do your scenes might be financially rewarding, but this character could have been played by any number of journeyman actors.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Limitless