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Reviews
The Danish Girl (2015)
I am surprised how poorly some reviewers rate this film
I saw this film knowing nothing about Einer Wegener/Lili Elbe and found it a most moving story with superb acting from Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. The former already has a great reputation and the latter(Ex Machina & Testament of Youth) must surely pick up the odd Oscar sooner rather than later.
Perhaps if I saw this film several times I should become aware of some of the flaws others mention, but for me the film felt complete and satisfying. Thank goodness there was no mawkishness in the closing scenes.
I am glad I watched this film, and may well buy the DVD - if my wife doesn't first!
Ex Machina (2014)
Superb
A excellent piece of SF that takes an idea that may soon be reality and works it through to a plausible conclusion. Everything about this film was 'right': the casting, the script, the acting, and the production.
In terms of quality, it reminds me of "2001 A Space Odyssey" with the additional benefit of CGI instead of men in monkey suits.
There is nudity and a sexual element, but to mind the UK BBFC with a 15 certificate got it right. I can guess why the MPAA gave it an R - they did the same to "The King's Speech" because the f word was used non abusively - but in 2015?
Unless you are of the Religious Right, watch it. You are in for a treat.
The Imitation Game (2014)
NOT a documentary
I saw this film hoping for a full account of how the team at Bletchley Park broke Enigma. What I got instead was a bravura performance by Dominic Cumberbatch of Alan Turing as a man of unique mathematical skills but completely inept at almost everything else. Presumably he was on the Asperger's spectrum, although that condition was not identified until long after Turing's death. Of course, his life had to telescoped to fit into the format of single film leading to a number factual inaccuracies many of which are listed in the Message Board below, but beware of spoilers.
In addition to these, I suspect the depiction of the Commanding Officer should be viewed as a depiction of the type of forces officer who was completely unable to come to terms with the behaviuor of the academics who made the whole thing work.
To my surprise, Turning's relationship with Joan Clarke (Kiera Knightly) appears to be accurate and not an attempt to bring in a love interest. Clarke's sex limited her role in breaking Enigma. Remember, 1940 was a time when the RAF was desperate for experienced pilots, but women who'd been flying for years were not allowed a combat role and we and were limited to ferrying new, unarmed, planes from the factories to airfields role.
One other thing that disappointed me was the failure to differentiate between the Bomb (that was partly mechanical and had lots of wheels) and Colossus, built by a Post Office engineer to Turing's design that used valves, was entirely electrical, programmable, and the ancestor of modern computers.
But, as I indicated at the start, this is not a documentary, it is a superb depiction of a genius.
Mr. Turner (2014)
No Story
My wife and I are with Gavin Ayling (1 Nov) about this film. A superb series of locations, acting, and costumes, etc but no story which meant there was little sense of the passage of time.
There were subtle hints such as the appearance late on in the film of a purple dress and some Pre Raphaelite paintings which I think places us mid-century, while a reference to the king early in the film must be before June 1837. It was that subtle: fine if you know English history, but otherwise the whole film might have covered a much shorter period of time.
Probably I should have got much more from this production had I known more about Mr Turner's life before seeing the film. On the whole, though, I am glad I went, and Timothy Spall continues to rise in my estimation.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
A disappointment
When I read the books I felt compassion for Lisbeth and what she had endured. The same was true of the Swedish films despite the handicap of subtitles. Consequently, I was really looking forward to this version, but somehow the edge had gone.
The actors were fine. I am unsure whether the problem was the script or the production, though I suspect the latter. There there was a gloss on the film that, for me, deprived it of bite.
If you had not seen the earlier version, no doubt viewing this will be enjoyable, though uncomfortable in places. I shall stay with Noomi Rapace and company.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)
Best of the series
This film was by far the best of a sometimes patchy series. There has been quite a bit of adaptation compared with the book, but it is on the whole an excellent adaptation which is true to the story, well paced, and grips the viewer.
My complaint comes in and around the Battle of Hogwarts where I regret the horror of it all has been toned down, presumably in search of a child friendly certificate. Gone was the reconciliation of Percy with his family which provided such a contrast with the death of Fred - though there was the briefest of allusions to it in one scene.
Gone was the book's emotion as the dead and dying were brought in from the grounds during the hour's cease fire. What we saw was much sanitised.
There were no tears from Hargrid as he carried back Harry's body.
I was disappointed that Grawp, the house elves, and Buckbeak played no part in the battle. I suppose that was inevitable, but surely the presence of these foreshadows greater friendship between the races if JKR ever writes book 8
My last regret is that the final dual between Harry & Voldemort was portrayed as a running battle in which Harry actively kills his opponent. In the book Voldemort effectively murders himself with a rebounding curse after declining an offer to repent. I understand why the film was done this way, but suggest it belies the true nature of Harry.
Against this, given how much it had to be compressed the explanation of Snape's true role was excellently handled, & the raid on Gringots as good as I hoped.
This is a film I shall enjoy watching many more times when it is released on DVD/Blueray.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The weakest Harry Potter film to date
I found this a disappointing film though it has some successful new characters. Imelda Staunton's Dolores Umbridge may not be in the least toad-like, but she so perfectly captures the smiling, 'girly', evil of the book, while Evanna Lynch has captured Luna Lovegood perfectly.
I am unsure whether the problem lies with the script or the production, but I left the cinema feeling I had seen only the highlights and not the full story. This is not simply a matter of condensing a long book: while The Goblet of Fire omitted much, it still had a sense of coherence a sense of being a whole. Another reviewer on this site (and I had not read this or any other review when I saw the film) summed it up well by saying she felt the produced was given a list of key scenes and just filmed them.
If you have seen the earlier films, be prepared for disappointment.