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Reviews
The Wrestler (2008)
Nothing to add, just to say it's beyond brilliant
I have never, ever been so taken with a film. I went with two friends, luckily close ones, as I cried like a child through a good third of the film. All those situations, from the trying to connect with the girl in the strip club, the estranged relationships, the wanting to change but just not remotely being able to, the heartbreak, the poverty, seeing the world change and not being able to keep up, ... from my limited experience this film was ruthlessly authentic to the nth degree. Astonishing film, I can't imagine seeing a greater, more realistic film. If, as we are told, god came down as Jesus to try and see life from our perspective, I recommend He view this film and see how it really is today.
The Matador (2005)
I just loved the film
A great, warm, human film that I loved. Bold, entertaining, at times hilariously outrageous and a film that doesn't insult the audience's intelligence. I loved the friendship between Julian and Danny, I could easily see myself being swayed by the charismatic, foul mouthed charmer Julian, despite being morally repelled by his work.
I didn't really pick up on him being bisexual per se, as some people seem to have, I mean anyone that cavalier about having so much sex with anyone from heiresses to impoverished prostitutes, I assumed his fruity references to boys and men was just his bawdy sense of humour. I guess he could have been a swinger, but we only ever saw him have sex with women. Though does it shed a light on why he inspects the woman's behind at the beginning of the film, is he checking for gender? Either way, it just adds another aspect to his incredible character.
Great soundtrack, my mum and dad loved it, I loved it, will watch it over and over, one of the best films in years.
Nathan Barley (2005)
What's not to like?
Well, I thought this was just great. Starting as a light hearted satire then slowly, inexorably descending into darker and darker territory, right up until the very end. The final scenes going beyond comedy and pathos, Dan resignedly saying "Shut up" as he lets himself drop out the window, the Jam-like rewinding of the camera and the freeze frame of Pingu diving out the window, the final image retreating as Dan lies motionless in hospital...
What's not to like about this series? The original music alone is incredible, a mix of IDM/electronica that's too convincing, too good to be just pastiche. Nathan's electro clash rap at the club is ... I don't possess an ounce of the wit necessary to describe it
"A night down the pub, with your mates, and its f--king mental!"
There are few conventional gags, but there are plenty of moments when I get a cold thrill down to the marrow that only comes from watching utter, deft genius on display. A desperately funny series, perhaps misunderstood. I think people may have watched this with far too many preconceptions, about Morris, about sitcoms, and were very quick to judge after just watching the first episode. People may have been upset recognizing themselves unflatteringly represented here, or irked that they were wrong footed in the way the series developed. Morris is a dark, dark, dark writer. A very funny writer too, and far, far more intelligent than 99.9% of his audience. That he lets any of us peasants see his work is a miracle, and we should be thankful for whatever he gives us.
Love Actually (2003)
Vile, thoroughly
*SPOILER* At the end of this 2 hour car crash my wife and I were left mute in sheer psychic horror. I couldn't believe that life in the outside world carried on after such a blight on not only film, but humanity itself. My wife had wanted to turn the film off at about the 60 minute mark but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was transfixed, I was being carried away on this cynical, witless, loveless juggernaut and I had to witness where it would finally stop. Some things should never be seen... I honestly respect other people's opinions but I am staggered by the amount of positive reviews for this film, this film is just.. just vile. What upset me? Everything, but here's some highlights..
The bit where the young chap goes to America. So he instantly meets three gorgeous women in a bar, and they start saying he should sleep with them but they only have one bed and no pyjamas, and they have a sexy friend coming over... I'm thinking what will be the clumsy joke here, they're prostitutes? The friend will turn out to be a transvestite? The English chap won't "rise" to the occasion? NO, none of these things. The genius of the writing means that THERE IS NO JOKE, the chap goes off and has sex with 4 girls and comes home with one of them. GENIUS. It's like he said all along, American girls can't resist an English accent. OH WONDERFUL. If I was an American woman I'd really enjoy this playful mockery of me, no, I really would.
The swearing. I am no prude, I swear with the best of them, I combine vile words to make new, impossibly rude phrases. But I don't swear in front of children, like the Liam Neeson character does, apparently for comic effect. And the endless amusement we are meant to enjoy every time someone with an upper class accent says f*ck or bugger. After "Four Weddings" and "Notting Hill" I was anticipating the first "posh people swearing" moment in this film, and at about the 2 minute mark Bill Nighy does it. Excellent!!! Now I could sit back and enjoy the hilarious set-ups that would allow all the other actors to take their turn saying the word "bugger" amusingly.
That run in with the US President... part of my soul actually died. And the list of all things wonderfully British that the PM gives, "The Beatles, Harry Potter, David Beckham..." Was this a joke at the expense of Tony Blair's "Cool Britania"? I only retain my sanity by telling myself that this is so, as any other alternative is too uncomfortable to live with.
When that child leapfrogs through airport security... in a film that's started with a monologue referencing 9/11 (I'm not going there, oh nooooo....) .....is beyond... words. Good job he was white with blond hair or there could really have been some "hilarious consequences".
The most telling bit, for me, is near the beginning when the Bill Nighy character says "This is sh*t" (or words to that effect) and his manager replies "Solid gold sh*t". I think the makers of this nightmare know exactly that this film is "solid gold sh*t" with its fantastic cast and dire, unfunny, and at times offensive (sizeist, sexist, racist) script, and they gleefully rub it in your face. This is the most cynical film I have ever seen. It's a series of 20 minute adverts for unfunny sitcoms chopped up and mixed together in the hope that if you throw enough some of it might stick. I don't just want my money back, I demand the two hours of my life I threw away watching this insulting rubbish.