phyllisknox Reviews

The Women (I) (2008)

a comedy? shocked and saddened-appalling

[1/10 · 17 February 2018]

To see women actors of such talent and achievement in such a truly awful film was such a heartbreaker. That these women agreed to do some misogynistic amateurish no-brain sitcom was appalling. I hope the were all paid well. As far as seeing it, here is what showed up for me, a silly, trite, sexist, elitist, shallow and downright stupid film. Oh gawd, The Women puts back women to a time that has never even existed! eeeeyikes!

The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)

A truly fine film

[8/10 · 10 July 2013]

This film rewards you....it is worth every moment of your watching time. The beauty of its title, the sweetness and affirming image of a yellow handkerchief...like a yellow ribbon is about waiting,welcome and coming home. The Yellow Handkerchief is a road trip movie. It is a quiet, quirky ride around the roads of Louisiana. It plays like real people who make real reconciliations and whose lives keep us captured and moving and flowing forward. William Hurt gives a performance of a supreme subtlety and beauty. Kristen Stewart, Eddie Redmayne and Maria Bello breath life into their characters. It is so rare to find such a sensitive cast that really click...a great ensemble piece ...all with a quiet nobility. Watch it.

Hanna (2011)

Fast, moving and original

[8/10 · 3 July 2013]

If you love magical realism, folk and fairy tales and absolutely beautiful cinematography, this one is for you. "Hanna" has the beauty and luminosity of Babette's Feast crossed with the grit of a very tight action film. Beautifully written, with a wonderful tension between the believable and fantastic, it reminded me a little of the novels of South American magic realism. It is smart, sweet, acrid and transcendent in turns and all though out. It is set in the Arctic, Morocco and the US and Germany, giving us a taste of the wild and exotic played against the bustle, flash and sophistication of diverse cities. The scenes that set us up to care for Hanna and her father at the beginning of the film, cast a mystical glamour over the whole viewing experience, and acts as a foil for the rest movie. The acting of main players Soierse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett carry the film to the very end, Cate is frightening and blood-chilling in this one. There is seamless character acting by all supporting cast. The conundrum of just who and what Hanna is and who she will become keeps things taut and true to the very end.

Lucky (III) (2011)

Brat Cinema...don't bother

[3/10 · 31 May 2013]

This film is on the cutting edge of a new genre...or maybe not so new...self-indulgent Brat Cinema....the character of the main characters and the writing could be straight from the mouths of grade 8 boys...with more than a little 'nasty girl' thrown in. It is adolescent in the extreme....in a more deft writer's hands the premise could have created some interesting and original film-making. I feel sorry for the actors who were convincing, considering what lines they had to deliver. It made annoying watching and mostly not all that funny. I agree with a previous reviewer that the trailer was far better than the actually cinematic reality.

Newlyweds (2011)

Finely written and finely wrought

[9/10 · 21 April 2013]

If you are looking for a mind-numbing action film, this one is NOT it! But if you are looking for quirky humour, biting wit, some sweetness and real connection to a story, (oops almost forgot....and you also love New York City, even though it was shot in T.O. I think) take the time and enjoy this film experience. This picture is in the school of Woody Allen's New York "relationship" films. Its an interior bristling with irony, conflict and resolution, and fun. Edward Burns writing is seamless, suspenseful, mature and real. Skillfully acted, beautifully on the edge, I cared about these people. Burns has written and produced an Everyfolk picture here....thank you thank you.

Hemlock Grove (2013–2015)

Slick and thats all

[3/10 · 20 April 2013]

Oh for some relief from the deeply and dolefully self conscious and contrived. I stayed to the end of the first episode because of the beauty of the art direction, music, costumes, production values and cinematography. Unfortunately the writing is 'Saturday afternoon teenage horror', very predictable and boring. Or it could be the editing which destroys any sense of flow in the unfurling of the mystery. As beautiful as the surgically brow-lifted and filler-ed senior actors and the fresh faced younger actors are, much of their work is stilted to the point of amateurish.But remember the writing is bad...god help them. Please stop spending money on making footage look and sound like this, the quality of a wonderful BBC series, and then give us a tween-age non-thrill ride worthy of the Fox News channel and the purple prose cinema. All in all the series is unworthy of the wonderful atmosphere and music created by the "support people"...all support no substance.