alan-nutter Reviews

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Important subject, but overly long

[8/10 · 20 October 2023]

I've rated this 8/10 because of the quality of the acting and the importance of the history this movie is based upon.

It appears though, that Scorsese, due to his previous body of work, has reached a point where people around him may be afraid to speak up particularly when it comes to editing.

Whilst beautiful to look at in many scenes, the movie is anywhere up to an hour too long for the events portrayed.

As an example, without giving too much away, there is a scene which involves fire and the same shot of human silhouettes against the backdrop of the fire is shown several times when once would've been enough to convey the imagery.

It remains a movie worth seeing, but the editing staff around the Director should have been more upfront with him and shortened or cut several scenes which fail to move the story forward.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

From Dusk Till Dawn

[7/10 · 18 March 2023]

The title of my review is, From Dusk Till Dawn.

Two very different movies. But I came away from watching them with exactly the same feeling.

Both movies had quite a lingering set up with interesting characters and terrific acting by the leads and supporting cast.

There is also great similarity in that each film gets to around 2/3 of its running time and then becomes a completely different movie.

In this film, something happens, and you think, "ok, that's a bit odd, but I'll go with it".

At this point, I was wavering between an eight or nine out of ten because of the high quality of the actors delivery.

In the TV world, you have the phrase, "jumped the shark" an incident happens in this movie where it felt like that for me

As a result, I was saddened to revise my rating to a 7 out of 10 and it could've been even lower were it not for the actors involved.

Creed III (2023)

It's just not the same without Rocky!

[7/10 · 8 March 2023]

I'm a fan of boxing and this is a decent boxing movie.

It's very well produced and the fight scenes, with the exception of one artsy moment are very polished.

As a fan of the Rocky movies and the first two Creed instalments, however, I just felt there was a big piece missing without Rocky playing his part.

It felt diminished, and I had less emotional investment in the characters.

If they were to produce another movie, for the first time since the original Rocky, I could not say at this stage, whether I would actually watch it.

I'm sure many others will not feel this way, but I hope that this is the last of the Creed "franchise".

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)

If like me, you had never seen Whitney in concert . .

[8/10 · 5 January 2023]

If like me, you had never seen Whitney in concert, get along to the cinema to see this movie, because it is as close as you will ever get.

I do not own any of her albums, but you can't deny that she has one of the most stunning voices ever recorded. The creative decision to use her voice in the movie was absolutely the right one and with the sound in the cinema, it is stupendous.

The reaction to the movie itself appears quite mixed, and I did not feel it was a strong as Bohemian Rhapsody, which had the same writer.

It was still a decent movie, however, elevated by the incredible voice of Whitney Houston.

Before going, I wasn't overly excited by the prospect, but for anyone with an interest in music and performance, you should definitely go along, even if only to appreciate what it might have been like to be at one of her concerts back in the day.

Charley-One-Eye (1973)

Prime candidate for a remake!

[7/10 · 13 September 2022]

Prime candidate for a remake!

It's frustrating that so many movies are remade that were already great films in the first place.

As others have said, the acting in this movie ranges from poor to over the top and the pacing of the movie isn't ideal.

The two main characters could also be put in more jeopardy than we see here

The basic premise of the story is very good though and it could become great as a remake.

Would love to see this happen.

I can't remember another movie where I have rated it 7 out of 10 when the acting has been this much below par.

Glad I stumbled across this. At the time of writing, it is available on Amazon Prime.

Samurai Cop (1991)

Unintentionally Funny!

[8/10 · 13 July 2021]

Movies are a passion of mine and I have watched thousands for their artistic merit. This is not one of them.

The acting is abysmal, the budget minimal and the dialogue atrocious.

I stumbled upon it yesterday with some excerpts on the Internet and found each clip to be amusing.

Miraculously, I gave it 8 out of 10 because there are few films I've watched recently which have made me laugh out loud so many times - even if it was as the title of this review says, unintentional.

Grab some popcorn, put your brain in the fridge and switch off with this ridiculous movie.

Edmond (2005)

A mixture of slight horror, drama and very black comedy

[7/10 · 20 April 2018]

SOME MINOR SPOILERS - This movie is definitely not for everyone. It depicts a man suffering from the worst kind of mid life crisis and finding himself completely immersed in the seedy underbelly of New York. Solid acting performances from the cast overall deliver an interesting movie which is a mixture of slight horror, drama and very black comedy.

Battle for Haditha (2007)

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

[9/10 · 20 April 2018]

This is a superb movie.

As far as the cinematography goes, it is captured in a documentary style which gives it a heightened sense of realism and really draws you into the lives of the people potrayed.

It is a movie that perfectly illustrates the fact that there is good and bad on both sides in every large scale conflict.

It will be perceived by some as anti-American, but I don't see it that way at all.

It is an honest account of true and tragic events that reflect badly on humanity as a whole rather than any particular side.

Child's Play (1972)

Very slow building, tense, yet superb mysterious drama!

[8/10 · 5 April 2018]

If you're the type of movie watcher who prefers to be entertained without having to really invest in the film (and that's absolutely fine) then this movie is probably not for you.

I'm fortunate in that I enjoy all types of film from juvenile slapstick such as Top Secret to classic epics like The Godfather.

This particular film builds very slowly and although there's little "action" in the first third, it's well written and acted and the you can feel the tension build.

Without giving too much away, it's brilliant how convincing one of the main protagonists is due to the quality of the lines attributed to him in the screenplay.

Although I personally believe this movie deserves a wider audience, I fully understand that it will not appeal to a significant number of viewers.

Recommend if you appreciate slow paced, well acted drama.

Train Station (I) (2015)

Fascinating exercise in experimental filmmaking!

[8/10 · 3 April 2017]

This review is mainly regarding the unusual filmmaking style, so I hope I'm not giving anything away.

The movie is all about choices and the style is extremely interesting in that the main character is played by different actors in different locations around the world each time a choice is made.

I haven't seen anything quite like it before and the style itself helps to emphasise the underpinning message of the movie.

You have to suspend belief for some sections but, as a fan of cinema, I really appreciated the scale of collaboration it must've taken to bring this movie to the screen.

I'm Still Here (I) (2010)

The JP Method - Risk Taker Extraordinaire!

[8/10 · 27 February 2017]

Warning – this review contains major spoilers – please do not read on if you do not wish to made aware of a key aspect of the film.

I find it hard to believe that this movie has not been rated more highly by both IMDb users and the critics of the time.

I deliberately entitled this review The JP Method - it is one of the most well produced examples of method acting ever captured.

Joaquin Phoenix inhabited an obnoxious caricature of himself for two years whilst making this movie both in public and in private. His performance was so good that he managed to fool many people into thinking that he was having a very public meltdown.

Yes there were a few cast members that were made aware of the movie's intentions, but it would not have succeeded without these people.

My rating is based more on this impressive, sustained piece of method acting than on the movie itself, as I believe it's a fairly unique achievement.

The proof of success is that the only award the film received was a "Documentary" award from the Venice Film Festival. Surely that is the greatest recognition of this method acting that it fooled people who make a living within the movie industry.

Even if you ignored my early warning and have not yet seen the movie, if you are interested in acting and cinema, I would still recommend that you watch. I myself was already aware of the facts behind the movie before I sat down for a viewing and possibly found it all the more fascinating as a result.

I find it astonishing that a recognised actor would risk playing a part like this which required such real life public humiliation.

The Homesman (2014)

Warning disturbing scene in first 15 mins but otherwise decent movie

[6/10 · 25 October 2016]

This is a short comment to warn of a very disturbing scene in the first 15 minutes of this movie. It's a scene that'll stay with me for the next few days at least, I suspect and one I'll always think of if the subject of this film ever comes up going forward.

If you can get past this, however, there is an otherwise decent, if mostly bleak, movie to be found.

I say mostly because there are also some uplifting messages here if you look for them.

Personally, I'm glad I watched it, but it certainly won't be for everyone.

I marked these comments as a spoiler to be safe, although I've deliberately tried to write them so as not to give too much away.