Category Archives: FilmReview

2011, Based on a Book, Basically Sad, British, Imperfect, Love Story, Mediocre, Melodrama, Not Feel Good, Orchestral Music, Quiet, Sex Scenes

The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

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From NetFlix:

This remake of the original 1955 film, adapted from a Terence Rattigan play, stars Rachel Weisz as a wedded woman who falls hard for a younger man. Her determination and emotional obsession lead her into tragic conflict with the morals of the day.

Up to a certain point good acting made the story interesting enough to watch. But in a pub scene disappointment set in. Have you ever seen an amateur production in which the actors are unable to deliver a strong emotion without recourse to yelling? At this point my opinion of Rachel Weisz as an actor fell quite a few notches.

Both Simon Russell Beale as the affectionate but dull husband and Barbara Jefford as his insufferable, snobbish, and cruel mother did a wonderful job.

Tom Hiddleston, the lover, you may recall as Loki in “The Avengers” or as Capt. James Nicholls in War Horse (2011).

At least we had the sobbing violins to tell us when something sad was happening.

Try some other film.

2011, Based on true facts, Disturbing Image, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Military, Redemption, Religious Theme, Sadism, Suspense, True Story, Violent, War

Machine Gun Preacher (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Gerard Butler stars in this true-life story of Sam Childers, a drug dealer who turns his life around to become a spiritual warrior. His mission? Rescuing child soldiers in the Sudan from lives ruined by their forced participation in bloody conflict.

Before starting to watch this film I expected to watch part and then stop because Gerard Butler is not the star of the drama world. However, in portraying the real-life and still very active Sam Childers, Gerard Butler found for himself his perfect role. Granted the macho war scenes might be over the top Hollywood or (given the horrors inflicted on Ugandan and Sudan by the psychotic monster Joseph Kony who is at the present being hunted by UN forces) might just be what must really happen to protect the children. Butler convincingly lets his work bring him to a boiling cauldron of angry hate that nearly destroys his church, business, and family. His subsequent return to a more balanced approach to his even now continuing work is cleverly connected with the very first scene of the film (but no spoiler in this review!).

One other actor that you might recognize is Michael Shannon who plays Childers’ best friend Donnie. Shannon did an outstanding job in the film Take Shelter (2011).

Be sure to watch the closing credits because a side bar shows many photos of the real Sam Childers, his family, and his work in South Sudan.

2012, Chick Flick, Feel Good Not For Children, Flirting, Love Story, Nudity, Quiet

The Vow (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Rachel McAdams stars in this romantic drama about a newlywed woman who slips into a coma after a car accident and awakens with amnesia. Her devoted husband (Channing Tatum) must help her recover and also win her back.

What’s not to like about a chick-flick that offers all the feel-good enticements you could hope for:

  • Great flirting technique brought to us by Channing Tatum
  • Great flirting responses brought to us by Rachel McAdams
  • Poetic wedding in an art museum
  • Support from a large group of similarly artistic friends
  • Her success as a sculptress
  • Her post-accident memory of only her former life as the daughter of a wealthy successful lawyer
  • Kind and caring Channing, who only wants Rachel to be happy
  • etc.

Will our heroine re-learn to love our considerate, unselfish hero who never stops loving her despite all the hardships (such as her controlling, ambitious and disapproving father)?

Stay tuned, because I’ll never tell.

Could Be Hard To Watch, Could Be Sad, Crime, Crude Talk, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Explicit sexual discussion, French, Gangs, Gay theme, Grim, Limburgish, Nudity, Police Story, Psychological Drama, Race Relations, Revenge, Unusual, Violent

Bullhead (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Tortured by his past and despairing of his stultifying present life, Belgian cattle farmer Jacky becomes entangled in a violent web of deceit involving local mobsters and determined policemen after he uses illegal growth hormones on his herd.

Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts is the perfect choice to play the sadly damaged character Jacky Vanmarsenille in this film spoken in Limburgish and French. His facial expressions capture Jacky’s shame, longing, loneliness, shyness, and rage. To say why he feels these emotions would be a major spoiler. Through a series of flashbacks you learn his past history. Expect some very violent scenes.

Although you may find all the crime details confusing, they really are not very original or important. Jacky is important along with those characters associated with his tragic life.

Much of the violence stems from traditional racial hatreds between the many distinct communities, each with its own language.

Bullhead was on the 2012 list of Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.

In retrospect, the ending chosen for the story is quite probably the only possible conclusion.

If you can accept the sadness, violence, and somewhat brutish characters,

DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!

2012, Crime, Detective, Frenetic, Police Story, Suspense, Violent

Man on a Ledge (2012)

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From NetFlix:

When fugitive ex-cop Nick Cassidy steps onto a window ledge high above a busy Manhattan street, police psychologist Lydia Anderson tries to talk him down. But soon Anderson suspects that there’s more to Cassidy’s stunt than meets the eye.

Despite the fact that many of the action shots are impossible, this raucous sequence of one stunt after another is just fun. Impossible you say? For one example, how can our hero (Sam Worthington who played the lead in “Avatar”) stand for hours on a ledge and then climb by his finger tips from one floor to the roof? How can our hungry hero leap from ledge to ledge? How did our hero manage in prison to plan an incredibly detailed heist?

Along the way we meet

  • Jamie Bell (who was “Billy Elliot”) as our hero’s brother
  • Edward Burns (“The Lynch Pin”) as one of the very few honest cops in the film
  • Titus Welliver (Glen Childs of “The Good Wife”) as a bent cop
  • Elizabeth Banks (Avery Jessup of “30 Rock”) costars as another honest cop
  • Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”) as a reporter
  • Ed Harris (huge number of films) as the villain

Just suspend disbelief and enjoy the fun.

2011, Clever Plot, Crime, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, FBI, Grim, Murder Investigation, Mystery Film, Politicians, TV Series, Violent, Wonderful acting

The Killing (2011)

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From Net Flix:

The disappearance of a young Seattle girl sets in motion this moody crime series centering on a detective — Sarah Linden — who’s trying to start a new life in California but is unable to walk away from the mysteries posed by the complex case.

Three years after I first wrote this review (2014), Kathy and I have just finished streaming all 26 episodes of season one plus season two (no, not in one sitting). You must see both seasons to see the entire Rosie Larsen story. Amazon Prime offers four seasons for free. You can also use your Roku to search for all streaming sources for any given film, series, or whatever. There is more than one streaming source for “The Killing”.

This TV series from 2011 is well-written, well-acted, and immensely engaging. How, you might ask, can you spend two TV years investigating just one murder? As soon as you start the series you will understand how the plot intertwines many connected and well-constructed threads.

Rosie Larsen is found drowned in a sunken car. Finding her killer involves her family, her teachers, her friends, two starring detectives, and, possibly most interesting of all, an politician running for the office of Seattle’s mayor against a corrupt incumbent. Searching for that murder brings sorrow, family dysfunction, violence, false leads, FBI involvement, unjustified persecution, and the list goes on.

At times the series seemed to drag. An awful lot of time was spent watching the Larsen family suffer the effects of the murder. Just as much time was spent watching the detective Sarah get so involved with the case that she as a single mother does NOT do a good job raising her son. Thank goodness she has the support of her partner detective Holder.

Many surprises are in store, especially in the last episode. It is perhaps realistic and to the writer’s credit that some of the bad guys get away with their skullduggery.

Watching this series from week to week would have been sheer torture. Thank goodness the NetFlix discs let us watch episode after episode without foolish interruptions such as food, sleep, etc.

DO NOT MISS!

2011, Acceptable for children, Based on a Book, British, Corny, Feel Good For All, Horse story, Military, Orchestral Music, War

War Horse (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Adapted from a novel by Michael Morpurgo, this majestic World War I drama centers on Devon lad Albert and his steadfast horse, Joey, whose faithful bond cannot be shaken — even when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent off to France.

Initially I did not know who directed this film. But it does not take long to figure out: What director loves schmaltz? What director lingers a really long time on many of his shots? What director is one of the few remaining directors that use full, romantic, orchestral music (and that part I love!)? What director just does not know when to end the film? Answer: Steven the Spielberg. But at least he is consistent.

Kids will love this beginning-middle-end story where subtlety is not allowed. Who could fail to love a horse with a lion’s courageous heart? Who could fail to love a kid who stays out in a storm to plow his crippled fathers’ field? Who could fail to love a WWI battle scene in which a Brit and a German cooperate mid-battlefield to extricate our hero horse from his entanglement in barbed wire? Need I go on?

Let us honor the reuse of that unforgettable scene from “Gone With the Wind” in which the darkened human figures are outlined in silhouette against a blazing crimson sky.

Don’t forget to read British author Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 children’s novel of the same name. Don’t forget to see the stage play version by Nick Stafford (which uses horse puppets) done in 2007.

Finally, ignore all my snobbish remarks because in fact I could not stop watching this beautifully filmed story.

2011, British, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good Not For Children, Flirting, Gay theme, Love Story, Optimistic

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

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From NetFlix:

To make the most of their meager retirement savings, a group of British seniors relocates to India to live out their golden years at the Marigold Hotel. But upon arrival, they discover that the once-lavish resort has wilted considerably.

For those of us in the senior set used to British film and TV, this feel-good fantasy is a welcome relief from today’s film violence, gloom, and never ending series of super heroes. You may have to suspend a bit of disbelief and just accept the several happy results. But isn’t that what a feel-good movie is all about?

In addition you get to enjoy a colorful travelog through the best parts of the city of Jaipur in India. All those magical sights alone are worth the time spent watching the film.

Because I was disappointed in myself for not being able to name all these British actors whose faces are so familiar, I review them:

  • Judy Dench we all know from “As Time Goes By”.
  • Tom Wilkinson was Archie in “The 44-Inch Chest”.
  • Bill Nighy, the tall thin man who played the long-suffering husband Douglas Ainslie, was Dr. Black in “Doctor Who”.
  • Penelope Wilton, who played Nighy’s unhappy wife, was Isobel Crawley in “Downton Abbey”.
  • Maggie Smith is, well, Maggie Smith.
  • Ronald Pickup, the wannabe gigolo Norman Cousins, has been a support actor in many performances such as Jeffrey Livingstone in “The Jury II”.
  • Celia Imrie, the sad Madge Hardcastle who tries to pass herself off as Princess Margaret, is also a familiar supporting actress in such roles as Lady Glenmire of”Cranmore”.

Possibly I am prejudiced by my age group, but I say DON’T MISS IT!

2011, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Drama, Gloomy, Mayhem, Medical Theme, Psychological Drama, Sex Scenes, Unusual, Violent

Perfect Sense (2011)

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From NetFlix:

After sparks fly between a newly single epidemiologist and a charming chef, a puzzling patient — a truck driver who’s lost his ability to smell — drastically alters the couple’s budding relationship in this sci-fi thriller.

To call this science fiction is entirely misleading. Basically it is a meditation on the importance of our senses and a “what if” assuming we lose those senses one by one.

Humanity without exception experiences an epidemic in which each person goes through a series of sense loses and negative emotions. Central to this story is the experience of a woman epdemiologist Eva Green and a chef Ewan McGregor as they go through these stages. Our hope is that they can withstand all these personal disasters and still succeed as a loving pair. I cannot give away the ending, but getting to that end could be somewhat harrowing.

Not for everyone, but a very original film.

2012, Acceptable Trash, B-movie, Car Chase, Crude Talk, Explicit sexual discussion, Gangs, Mediocre, Optimistic, Sex Scenes, Violent

This Means War (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Each determined to win the heart of a sexy blonde bombshell, two best friends and CIA spies turn their secret-agent skills against each other, heedless of the ever-widening trail of wreckage and collateral damage they leave in their wake.

“Acceptable Chick Flick Trash” fairly well summarizes this B-film. As you might expect you will encounter crude language, much talk about penises, flirting, sex scenes, etc. What you might not expect are all the CIA action sequences with lots of shooting. Except for the final action sequence that actually involves Reese Witherspoon, the other action sequences seem almost pointless.

Chris Pine you know as Will from “Unstoppable”. Tom Hardy is more of a newcomer to film. He was one of the fighting brothers in “Warrior”.

Having prepared you for the worst, you are now free to sit back and just enjoy the trash.

I LOVE TRASH!