Luke Baldock
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Luke reviewed...
It's Not So Badlands, as two lovers go on the run, or the river to be… More
It's Not So Badlands, as two lovers go on the run, or the river to be more precise for some summer lovin'. It's realistic and comments stupendously on society and is still relevant today. If you thought Juno was real word on teenage pregnancy check again. It's a genuinely affective romance, though hard to decipher if Monika is a total bitch or simply childish and naive. It certainly highlights the responsibilities that need to be taken and shows for once the man being the outstanding role model the child can look up to. An unplanned partner in crime to the recent Sherrybaby. It becomes slightly melodramatic towards the end but Bergman's pacing and visuals keep it together.
14 days ago via Movies on Facebook
Luke reviewed...
Kotoko (2011)
A difficult and hard hitting horror movie masquerading as a drama.… More
A difficult and hard hitting horror movie masquerading as a drama. Kotoko (played by folk singer Cocco) is a mother that suffers from visions of dangerous doppelgangers, as well as constantly finding herself in troubling situations. Her child is soon taken from her and given to her sister. Kotoko is at times terrifying, at times heartwarming, and at times relentlessly shocking. There is always a powerful emotion behind every scene. Tsukamoto uses the hallucinatory images to create an intriguing but frightful world. Sound is also utilised to powerful effect but can become overbearing, just like it is for Kotoko. Along with some shaky visuals, this is a brilliant aesthetic representation of mental illness. We feel for Kotoko and hope for her to be set free, but mental illness is rarely so simple.
2 months ago via Flixster
Luke reviewed...
A bizarre and rather unlikable film. Isn't Anyone Alive? starts on a… More
A bizarre and rather unlikable film. Isn't Anyone Alive? starts on a college campus where we get a number of interesting conversations. One group of girls talk about urban myths and their place in society, a love triangle discuss how best to deal with a pregnancy, and a man looks for his sister. This is all underlined by the story of a train crash. The conversations are often well scripted, but unfortunately the editing is fast and furious for no real reason. The camera cuts back and forth between people talking at the rate you would expect in a martial arts battle. That's when it all gets weird. People just start dying, for no reason other than what the characters can speculate. It isn't the dying part that's silly, it's people's reactions to the dead. The acting here is sometimes good, but other times laughable. One character looks as though he is seconds away from bursting into hysterics, despite apparently being scared. It's all a bit too artsy for its own good, and ould have had a genuine feel of terror and emotion. Instead it just wants to confuse. Some nice soundtrack choices and moments of captivating cinematography aren't really enough to make this worth your time, but it is probably different to a lot of what you've seen before.
2 months ago via Flixster
Luke reviewed...
Headhunters (2012)
Headhunters is a film I was sure was going to be a cool Scandinavian… More
Headhunters is a film I was sure was going to be a cool Scandinavian hesit flick. I was so wrong, as this was just so much more. Hennie is fantastic as Roger Brown, a headhunter who uses interviews to obtain information on valuable art which he then intends to steal. He soon comes across Coster-Waldau as Greve, a man with a very rare painting. Just when Brown thinks it's going to be an easy steal things become more and more complicated, until Brown is running for his life in some of the most madcap and insane ways imaginable. Headhunters works thanks to the unpredictability of the narrative. Sure, you could probably guess quite a few of the twists and turns, but not exactly how they turn out. Tyldum (a director to watch), uses extreme moments of violence to shock you in scenes that take cartoonish action to new (often grotesque) heights. The editing is brilliant, never losing track of what is transpiring on screen, and there is even a lot of emotional weight given to Brown and the relationship he has with his wife. An enjoyable thriller that hints at a lot more to come from everyone involved.
2 months ago via Flixster