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MarkGren
Reviews
Fourteen Days in May (1987)
Gritty Capital Punishment Documentary
We had to watch this in high school as a combination of topics on capital punishment and documentary making. As documentary making techniques go some of the work done here was sloppy and could definitely be seen to give a biased view of the situation (that the guy they were following was innocent) but some of the points raised were highly valid and interesting. It gave an insight into some of the possible injustices of the legal system, and also the emotions experienced by a person on death row. In the end it was worthy program to watch and left you with conflicting views over the realisation of the capital punishment idea, and that's probably the most rewarding part of the experience
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984)
Worst Film Ever? - Very Possibly
When visiting my grandmothers house on a Sunday afternoon i'm normally susceptible to all sorts of tripe that pass as Sunday Afternoon Family Films. Today I was treated to this, but Sean Connery is in it, it can't be that bad can it? Yes it can. This is far and away the worst film i've ever seen. The acting is horribly bad, but not in a funny way. It's beyond laughter. The concepts are completely implausible and the whole thing is just horrible. I don't know why Connery was involved in this but I bet he wishes he wasn't.
Road to Perdition (2002)
Road to nowhere
After all the hype surrounding this film i was expecting it to be at least a good example of it's kind even if it broke no new ground in film making. What i was disappointed to find was that it was an average story told in a boring way. The acting was faultless but you couldn't help feeling that people in the cinema were just waiting for something to happen and when it did it was so obvious there was a collective groan. Overall very disappointing.
Antitrust (2001)
Trust me, it's bad
After seeing the trailer of this film in the cinema, i thought that it was an original concept for a thriller, setting it in the competitive world of computer companies. The all star cast was another message that this film would probably be good. But when i didn't go to watch it in it's first week of release then it disappeared by week 2 i feared something was a miss. Patiently i waited for it's DVD release, then bought it rushing home for an enjoyable evening's viewing. The anticipation on the way home was far better than the film. For a start the direction is appalling. There's no thought gone into it at all and the director just makes up a part for himself, so he can appear in the film. I wouldn't be rushing out to employ him in the future. Secondly the lead role is completely miscast as Ryan Phillipe. Phillipe normally the cool character as in Cruel Intentions and Way of the Gun but in this he's supposed to be a bumbling hero which he attempts to portray by slipping when he's running and having geeky friends, but he just doesn't look right. The female stars, Rachel Leigh Cook and Clare Forlani don't feature enough but when they do neither of the performances are close to their bests. The only highlight of the film is Tim Robbins in a role that could have been made for him and it's his fiery temper and mysterious ways that drag the film along. The final point is that this film is another one which fills the trailer with scenes you don't see in the film and instead feature only in the deleted scenes section of the DVD. Causing even more disappointment as although some of these scenes are crude they do fill in important gaps in the story.
The Way of the Gun (2000)
The way forward
This film is one in the Reservoir Dogs theme, it relies on style and coolness rather than story content. The tale itself isn't bad, a couple of happy go lucky criminals stumble into a kidnapping of a surrogate mother but they are unaware of the consequences of who they are dealing with. Del Toro and Phillipe are brilliant as men who don't really care about anything and by considering that you can try and get inside their heads. The world must be a different place when you have no remorse about your actions and the swagger in which they conduct themselves is beyond reproach. Speaking of cool James Caan as the bagman in pursuit of the duo is unbelievable. He's almost James Bond like in the way he feels he's going to get his job done one way or the other. The rest of the cast all carry out their respective duties well and it all just blends together to make a film that really is enjoyable to watch. The main points i would like to raise aside from this it has a brilliant final scene featuring all the action you could wish for. But then comes out with a closing sentence that's just confusing. Also don't watch this film if particularly squeamish as some of the scenes are quite graphic and the imagery suggested by some dialogues is even worse. But if you can survive that, then this is a good film.
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Caught in the web
As a genre i usually love these films, where a clever serial killer tussles with an equally brilliant detective. And with Morgan Freeman in the lead role it is usually a recipe for success as in Kiss The Girls and Se7en. But Along Came A Spider never really captures you like te previously mentioned films. The script isn't particularly bad and certainly has some original ideas. But there are gaping holes that leave you wondering Why did that happen? and Why did he say that? Also i wasn't overly impressed with the choice of leading lady, and this causes no real chemistry like Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs or the friendship between Freeman and Pitt in Se7en. To summarise it's a film you should watch when it's on TV but there's no need to rush out and buy it.