Given that this is a Review forum without any topics about reviews I thought I'd start one up. So if you write reviews (and this doesn't include things like "This wuz gr8t" it should be actual coherent sentences) post here to discuss things like writing styles, offer encouragement/constructive criticism or just advertise your work. I realise that there's a wide range of tastes and ages so hopefully it should prove of interest to people here.
brief review and summary of Taxi Driver
Directed by Martin Scorsese
There once was a guy who was crazy,
Who shot those whose morals were hazy.
He was hailed as a hero,
This Robert De Niro,
So three cheers for Martin Scorsese.
A Clockwork Orange - A fantastic achievement from Kubrick that falls just short of holding itself in a state of perfection. A Clockwork Orange is a violent and uncompromising yet tragically sentimental look at crime and the ramifications that can follow acts of rage. Moral quandries are explored in this piece of art, a piece that utilizes a formula of contrasting natures that lays itself on constant paradoxes and juxtapositions of tenderness and tenacity, highlighted in the gentlemanly clothing adorning the brutal thugs and the sweeping, classical musical filling the acts of violence. The true standout of the film is without a doubt Malcolm McDowell, who gives cinema one of the greatest performances of a troubled youth looking past the moral voids of his life, looking for an inexistent meaning of his future. The film's messages are strong, it gives the audience an insight into the consequences of bad actions and that change in the persona can alter this, but, it also proves that change can be an easily manipulated thing that lay only on the surface of the individual. A Clockwork Orange is a Kubrick masterpiece with next to no falts (though it tends to drop a touch in the second act) and should be seen by everyone willing to endure acts of brooding violence, but the redemption that can follow this.
Some quick reviews/comments on films that aren't on this site yet:
Gwendoline
After directing two consecutive “erotica” classics Just Jaeckin decided to turn his attention to something a little lighter in tone, the result is this comic book inspired romp. Keeping his tongue firmly in-cheek, the Frenchman throws every conceivable B-movie genre into the mix, the result of which is a playful blend of action, comedy and S&M imagery. With suitably over-the-top performances, costumes allowing for maximum exposure of flesh and the odd splash of blood, there is enough on offer here to keep the majority of cult film fans happy. Admittedly the plot is a little wayward and the script is awkward in places but like Jaeckin admits in an interview “this isn’t Shakespeare”. So it’s up to you to take it for what it is – good, sleazy fun.
This is a solid, though rather uninspiring, action/polizieschi entry from Castellari, a director who was always skilled at staging action sequences. Despite the obvious technical quality and assured performances from both Testi and Hemmings, the film feels a little flat and never really finds its feet. It’s not a bad film per se but it lacks the usual testosterone fuelled drive that you usually associate with the director. Fans of the genre will no doubt want to take a look but newcomers would probably be advised to start with the director’s more accomplished work like Street Law or the over-the-top thriller The Big Racket.
It's yer boy, Ahston Kutcher. Yeah, so he has this chance meeting with his future love interest, while on a trip to New York
He makes a bet with her to prove he's not just a looser with goals for the future, that lives with his parents. In five years she is to call to confirm that his aspirations
have been achieved, making Ashton worthy of her affections. out of sheer desperation for a New Years'date she calls him in just 3.
Only to find that he is on track with the exception of getting married and having a family.
But circumstances being what they are. These two, despite how well suited are ill fated.
By year five he's back at home, a looser that achieved and lost his goals only to realize that they never brought him happiness. But sometimes even losers become winners if they go after what they really want.
A young man infected with an experimental bio-toxin is sentenced to prison for murdering his friends
who contracted the disease from him. The disease is very much like that of 28 Days Later.
As you may have already guessed it doesn't take long before the entire population goes berserk.
A CDC (Center for Disease Control) investigator trying to confirm the situation learns that life on the inside is no easy game of survival. With the assistance of an escape artist inmate and a hand full of guards trying to maintain order, this flick quickly becomes a blood bath.
With that said, this one sucked! Filled with bad acting horrid sound FX and a fairly contrived plot line the only redeeming quality this film possessed was that it had not just one, or two but, three intestine scenes and it ended on a down note.
see it cause you've got time to kill not for the entertainment value.
Just bumping this thread because there doesn't seem to be much review discussion going on in this thread. I've typed some more stuff on my page if anyone is interested - comments always appreciated.
Again if anyone is able to string more than a few words together then please post here to advertise your work. You don't have to be Roger Ebert just a few coherent sentences will do....
This won't save for some reason so i'll post it here
Certainly one of my favourite films of 2006, purely because of the superb direction, camera work acting and the beautiful locations-just stunning. I would have to say that Babel is far superior to Innaritu’s Amores Perros and the third in the trilogy 21 grams. It seriously beats the hell out of those two.
The characters are all interlinked in a very random way, it's a little like 10 degrees of separation .The characters are deep and insightful, each has a problem to face up to and the subtle, naturalistic way their issues play out make for truly emotional cinema. Each narrative delt with issues of family, racism, discrimination and issues of poverty as well. Certainly the issues of westerners in foreign country is brought about here by Innaritu with the characters of Richard and Susan, played by Cate blancett and Brad Pitt. We see the characters struggle to comprehend why they are unable to get the ambulance and why the people on the bus aren't staying for instance. The narrative with the character of Amelie, for me was far superior to the rest. I really felt for the characters within this scene as well as the kids going into a foreign country like Mexico- I mean this was particularly evident when Bernal's character breaks the head of the chicken and we see the two American kids looking on in horror.
All the performances are incredible, and very touching. Brad Pitt did an excellent job, and the alw
and the always outstanding Cate Blanchett, our of the most outstanding actresses of this decade for sure. Gael Garcia Bernals' second outing in this trilogy does another brilliant performance as did Rinko Kiku as the young deaf teen who was outstanding. Overall the acting was seriously top-notch, just a shame that Kiku and Barraza will unlikely get the Oscar this year. For sure this has to be the best role that Pitt has been in for age. Watching him perform in this film really, at least has shown some top-notch acting talent from him and I hope there will be more of this to come. Also, after hearing he turned down the role to star in Scorsese's Departed, I was slightly dubois about that but after watching this I'm glad.
Perhaps the narrative of the film will seem confusing to some people,, but seriously once you've seen this film you'll realis that you're watching art and art of some calibear that is just stunning I can't tell you enough. The themes explored are more than releveant today, plus it makes you think at the same time about life and the culture we live in and is it living up to our expectations that it. The most remarkable thing that i loved is the way director Inarritu and screenwriter Arriaga capture the different rhythms of life in Morocco, America, Tokyo and Mexico. Rather than using some kind of clear-cut stylistic device by establising the flow of the film early on- again just outstadning cinema at it's best.
To top it off, let me just say ''Babel'' is one of a kind. You most likely won't see another film that deals so well with the lives of different characters around the globe. Highly recomended!!!
Maybe it's the length of the review? It pisses me off that you can't cut and paste from Word directly into the review section. So I have to type things out twice...
