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Reviews
Ultimo 2 - La sfida (1999)
great
one of the cleverest Mafia/drugs films in a long time, ultimo 2 features a group of Carabinieri(Italian Police) trying to crack a drugs deal in south Italy, while coping with the stress it puts on their lives. The acting is impeccable, and the plot is equally good. The human drama is well portrayed, as one of the characters has to cope with his wife suddenly leaving him, with awful results.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I would like to say it was not that good
The book was great, the film was average. It lacked some of the events that made the book a great read. Some of the key sequences were left out, gollum came in much too early, and the ending was very tacky. Admittedly there is not much you can do with the ending, but the line "Lets hunt some Orc" was, needless to say, crap. Not only this, but it lacked the sophistication of the book, and left out all of the lighter moments of the film, as well as leaving out the reforging and renaming of Narsil. other wise, it is fine. Not fantastic, but fine.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Worth Watching<<>>
Film Review
This film was by a relatively unknown director called Bryan Singer, who directed other films like X-Men, the science fiction classic of 2000. However, the relative anonymity of the director did not in any way hamper the popularity or the acclaim of the film. In many ways, the style is very similar to Tarantino's films, in that the film does contain many violent scenes, and is in many ways a look at the less shiny acclaimed side of petty crime. However, there is one crucial difference: in Tarantino's films violence is both society and media is explored in a very similar way to Stanley Kubrick, while in this film, violence is used as a dramatic device, i.e. to present the audience with visually impressive scenes. The story is seemingly simplistic, and is, in a break from cinematic tradition, told via the medium of a narrator, who narrates through the action, with frequent cuts back to him as a frame of reference. However, the use of a narrator does not hamper the action, instead it highlights the events you see taking place.
The film is based entirely on audience expectation. A mystery is presented to us, then unravelled, but, before the final piece is in place, it shatters every thing the audience thought they knew or understood. This makes it an unusual film, as twist endings, though fairly common, are never truly effective, except in certain films, and those all follow a specific formula, e.g. Hitchcock's Psycho, among others sets up a murder where the culprit is obvious, then proceeds to make you realise that nothing is really as it seems. The murderer is someone completely different, and the confidence built up in the audience is quite abruptly shattered. The very same idea is behind The Usual Suspects. The story told seems consistent, and seems true, but there are little details. Then, when all is revealed, you feel shocked, and almost tricked, but not in a bad sense. It has been said by many classical directors that a twist ending is shallow, and fake, and is not the true ending for a film which uses a mystery as a plot device. I do not necessarily agree with this view. While it is true that many films which use twist endings are quite bad: The sixth sense is an example, some of the best films have been made thanks to them, like the fairly recent film Memento, whose twists are fascinating.
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
s**te
This film started out great. I thought it might be something to challenge other horror greats, like Suspiria, or Ring, but as soon as you actually saw the monster it became ridiculous. In many ways, the style and the idea were similar to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Not in any specifics, but the general feel and idea were the same. A movie best forgotten, i fear.....
Ringu (1998)
this is scary
There are some things in this review which may be seen as spoilers I don't scare too easily while watching horror movies. Most of them are either ridiculously boring and have dodgy music, but every so often, a film like Ringu comes along. And then, my impressions of the horror genre is changed. Ringu is the most scary film i have ever seen. In terms of making you Sh*t scared, this film is incredible. If you like art films, the music and ambience of this film is amazing. The camera work is superb, and i thought that the way that they used flashback and change of medium was very effective.
This film is memorable not just for these things, but for the television scene. A woman pulls herself out of a sealed well in a video, and walks slowly towards the camera. She is almost shambling, and her neck is bent with her hair falling over her head, so you cannot see her face. She is wearing a white dress. Slowly she comes closer to the camera, while one of the lead characters stares, horrified. Eventually, her head is pressed against the TV screen. suddenly, the screen ripples, and she slowly comes out of the TV, dragging herself through. The man tries to run, but she inexorably comes closer and closer to him. then, she looks up. All you can see of her face is one shrunken eyelid, with a shriveled eye inside.then, it cuts to someone else. The music, and the almost balletic way that the scene is choreographed, makes it the most scary sequence in cinema history.
Goodfellas (1990)
Best Gangster Film Ever
In my opinion, this is the finest gangster/mafia film ever made. De Niro is truly fantastic, and Pesci is at his finest. it is funny, tragic, and horrifying, and you walk away from it feeling as though you have come off a rolercoaster ride.
This is far better than any other gangster movie because it has such a wide range of emotions. The godfather is like war and peace, an epic in terms of length and gravity. Goodfellas is like a diary written by napoleons aide de campe, showing the humour behind the campaign, detailing the backstage scenes, and tells you that Napoleon hates milk in his morning coffee.
Scent of a Woman (1992)
An excellent film
The acting in this film is incredible. Al Pacino has never been better, except maybe in The Godfather. However, his portrayal of an invalid who wants one last chance to taste the good things in life is masterful. Chris O'Donnell is good as well, and this film is possibly his best ever.