Change Your Image
sandersofthec
Reviews
The Fighter (2010)
Powerful boxing movie
It's not often you get to see a combination of great acting, great dialogue, great film making. In this movie you have a chance to see all of these things.
Mark Wahlberg excels as the up and coming boxer struggling with a stuttering boxing career and living in the limelight of his older brother. I often find his films very hit and miss but I think this must stand out as the highlight of his acting career so far.
The star of the show for me though has to be Christian Bale, who once again shows what a powerful and diverse actor he can be. His portrayal as an crack addict living in the past, his one good fight everpresent in everything he does is first class.
I really can't recommend this film enough, even if you are not a boxing fan. The story just grips you from the outset and carries you all the way through.
I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Solid horror
I haven't seen the original movie so I can't compare the two, although I am aware of the controversy the original stirred.
The cast of this movie are solidly cast,each actor doing a good job in their respective roles. The lead female, Sarah Butler, in my opinion has some talent certainly. Her portrayal as first victim then predator is very convincing.
The movie fails though on two fronts. Firstly, the rape and torture scene went on far too long. I'm not sure what the director wanted to achieve on this front but it came across as somewhat gratuitous. I got the point after 5 mins, I didn't need to see another 20. Secondly the story has far too many plot holes in it, even for a horror movie, and it doesn't really enable you to relate to the victim at all.
The movie is certainly not one for the faint hearted, it has plenty of violence and some very graphic scenes. That aside I still found myself watching until the end, just to see what would happen.
All told, a very decent attempt at a horror.
The Pit and the Pendulum (2009)
Terrible adaption of a classic story
If you have seen the original movie version of this and expected much of the same then you shall be sorely disappointed.
The cast are, in a word, shocking. Wooden acting, poor dialogue, there is nothing endearing about them. You almost want bad things to happen to them just so you don't have to see them anymore.
The whole film seems to exude a sense of TV melodrama. That is, the lighting and sound seem better placed for a daytime TV movie: Cheap.
I sense the directors seem know this and to counteract it have introduced, rather bizarrely, an almost softcore porn edge. Nudity, homosexual encounters ll give the movie a very surreal edge.
It would be a disgrace to even relate this to Poes' work. Terrible film.
Valhalla Rising (2009)
Lumbering film interspersed with beautiful film making
The plot of the film involves a previously captured warrior escaping with a young boy and finding themselves in a strange island whilst searching for Jerusalem and the glories of the crusade.
I'm not going to spend much time on the plot because I feel the film is not really abut the storyline, which is in fact rather confusing and seems to amble somewhat. The films' strengths definitely lie with the outstanding acting of all of the cast. Mads Mikkelsen portrays a powerful figure of "One Eye" , a role it should be noted that involves no dialogue at all. His role steals the show for me, although supporting cast do a decent job as well.
The scenery and panoramic film making is breathtaking and a joy to watch.
So why only a 5?
For me the story is just too confusing. The limited dialogue, far from creating suspense and atmosphere, seem to hinder the plot line to the point where I was just not too sure what the actual message of the film was.
Overall the director has some skill and I would look forward to more of his films, hopefully in the future a more well rounded movie.
Devil (2010)
Decent thriller
I look forward to Shyamalan movies and have to say I enjoy the sense of intrigue he brings to the screen. Unfortunately in this instance I am left somewhat disappointed.
However, this film is by no means bad, it just lacks the imagination that I come to expect with his films. The story is centred around a group of people trapped in an elevator and they start to turn on each other. As the story unfolds the presence of the devil in the elevator starts to emerge. No great mystery and certainly no twist at the end.
The acting is decent but due to the short length of the film you never really empathise with the characters. The director does manage to generate a sense of unease around the elevator and this intensifies toward the end.
All told I felt this film was a decent attempt at a different type of film for him, it just didn't really take off. Twenty minutes longer running time and a little bit more character development could have been the difference between "good and "decent".