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Reviews
The Holiday (2006)
Every Cliché in the Book!
All in all a very unoriginal and bland film. I struggled through this movie from beginning till end - it was predictable, slow and incredibly dull. Cameron Diaz is really at her worst, attempting to play the uptight snooty, career driven "filmmaker", Kate Winslet turns in a dreadful performance as the frumpy, unloved and needy journalist who suffers from unrequited love syndrome. The two swap homes (UK and US) and lifestyles in a Christmas attempt to find solace and emotional stability. Just as a breakdown here are all the dreadful character and plot points that just make this film a collection unoriginal ideas without a solid, emotional grounding: 1. Cameron Diaz plays a woman who cannot physically cry due to an emotional disconnection (guess what happens at the end... you guessed it, she cries) 2. Jude Law plays a would-be "player" who is actually a widower. All the would be phone calls from women who is seeing are actually from his ultra-cute daughters. 3. Kate Winslet finds love in a crotchety old man who is also alone and needs some form of confidence upliftment. 4. Winslet defeats the obsession she has with her ex and finally breaks away and moves on in an inspirational moment of awareness - truly predictable and boring. 5. Law breaks down his ultra smooth player tones to reveal his personal history and children and that he is just "a real nice guy". 6. Jack Black is miss cast as a film composer who has been messed around by an actress looking for a break... he eventually falls for Winslet in one the oddest, most unbelievable moments in the film. 7. The old man (who Winslet helps) is a screenwriter from the golden days of Hollywood. He is physically out of shape and struggles to move without a walker. Due to Winslets perseverance he becomes stronger and is able to walk up 5steps in order to receive an honorary award from the WGA. A terrible moment escalated to emotional manipulation due to an over the top score. 8. Diaz, as the hard nosed cow, falls in love with Law because of his kiddies and tragic history - despite her telling the audience and Law, over and over again that she wont fall in love. SURPRISE!! 9. At the end when Diaz and Law are happy and Winslet and Black are happy they are all celebrate new years together and dance around the living room.... they dance around the living room... they actually dance and skip and yell and shake and wiggle...
I hated this movie. I hate these clichés. I never want to see it again.
Alexander (2004)
I cannot believe it was actually made!
This film was made with a ridiculously large budget that could have been put to better use in finding a cure for stupidity. I hated every moment, every frame, every fake accent, every real Irish accent... I had to sit and wonder what Oliver Stone was doing making this film. He is so clearly out of his depth in this genre and style. I can't express my dislike for this film enough. I hope to never see it again!
Oliver Stone has said that Alexander did not do well at the Box office in America because the film is too intelligent for the average cinema goer, he expects it to do well internationally because the audiences are apparently smarter. Well... I am smart, I am not American and I can put the poor box office performance down to one thing... IT IS A BAD FILM! People don't like it because there is nothing to like in it.
Soldiers of the Rock (2003)
Story story story
I saw this film and have a number of problems with it: 1. Story - While the actual idea of the story is interesting the manner of execution is pure. I could not follow the story, find interest in the characters or believe that I was seeing to be true. 2. Performance - Over the top and inconsistent. 3. Music - Cluttered and annoying. Simply out of sync with the picture in tone and scale. 4. Cinematography - Nicely done, perhaps the only strong point of the film. 5. Editing - Repeated shots for dramatic emphasis, labouring on moments that are not needed. It is a poor cut that lacks direction. 6. Sound - In Dolby Digital 5.1 but that does not cover the fact that it is inaudible at times and simply poor quality. I do not see this as an amazing debut by Director Norman Maakem, I think he has a lot more to learn, to discover and to understand before he is considered a good director. This comment mainly stems from his lack of story telling ability and the poor performances in the film. I cannot recommend this film to anyone, purely because it has no redeeming features.
Pure Blood (2001)
Pure rubbish
I had the misfortune of seeing this film on TV at 2am in the morning. The storyline is contrived. The acting appalling. The direction non-existent. The music shockingly awful. I cannot understand how anyone would fund this film! It is a weird film purely for the sake of being weird, no story to grasp and find interest in, no narrative logic to comprehend, no characters to feel for. The film makers have tried to cover up lack of story integrity with obscure camera angles but it doesn't work. Nothing works in this film, it is a waste of money and time.
I wonder (as a south African) if our local film industry has any hope. We are constantly given dreadful local films to digest with no apology. Surely we have good stories to be told? Surely we have writers and directors who are actually talented? I shudder to think that this film got made with someone else's money in the hope that it would be good... I cannot understand how the script/ story would pass any sane persons desk and leave with a signed cheque!
I recommend this film to anyone who is a struggling with a script... it is a good lesson on what NOT to do in a film.