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Reviews
Invasion Planet Earth (2019)
A pleasant surprise on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
A pleasant surprise on a rainy Thursday afternoon. I put this film on without much expectation, given the film's budget and low user rating (at the time of writing a 3.0) on imdb. Sure enough, the low budget is reflected in some of the elements of the film: the VFX, the acting, and particularly the sound. For the first 10-15 mins the sound recording and editing are very low quality, but after this it really improves. Either they brought on a new sound engineer, or the one from the start made massive improvements to their craft along the way (I really hope it's the latter). Visually, at times, this film is superb.
There are other reviewers taking a pop at the script, but I was really impressed at the risk taken to produce a challenging narrative structure, and feel it really pulled the film along and held my attention. Yes, some of the dialogue is clunky, which didn't help the actors much, but the story was satisfying and I thought the twisting narrative was clever and worked well.
It's a shame that the majority of viewers will give low ratings to films with limited resources by comparing them to big budget studio films. Given this filmmaker's resources, I think it's a great achievment.
You Don't Know Me (2021)
Good, but too many contrived twists.
Even though this drama does push through the boundary of believability with the courtroom speech scenario, it is worth watching, mostly for the good acting across the board.
The one thing that riled me up was the last 10-15 minutes. I just felt that the series of plot twists felt artificial. Seeing the jury read out the verdict twice (yes, I know it was just him playing out the scenario in his head) then realising in the closing moments that it was going to be left hanging... I tell you this, I shouted at my television. The ending didn't ruin it, but made it all seem a bit silly. Still, overall it was a decent watch.
The Vanished (2020)
Hard to Watch
The acting is atrocious. The script is plastic. The dialogue will make you cringe.
Every single scene made me want to punch myself in the face.
The final twist, which you'll see coming from miles away, does explain the implausible actions of the characters, but doesn't make the acting any less painful to watch.
Everyone involved in making this film is a seasoned professional, but this is amateur hour. Absolutely dire.
Mank (2020)
Strangely flat
This is a strange one. It's a very well made film, with good performances and some great dialogue, especially in the set piece scenes, but I just found it... flat.
I'm very familiar with Citizen Kane. I studied screenwriting. I love Upton Sinclair and find the politics discussed in Mank as fascinating as that particular period in Hollywood. Even the knowledge of these elements, without which the plot could easily be lost on the audience, wasn't enough to bring the story to life.
A couple of other reviewers have described it as a chore to watch, and, unfortunately, I have to agree.
I'll try again in a couple of months, maybe.
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (2015)
Rich Bros keep less stuff.
A succession of wall street types clear a fair deal of stuff out of their big, fancy, rich bro condos. It hard to empathise with people like this, especially the "homeless" guy who has access to enough money to constantly move around the world staying in hotels.
They may be able to cut 6 shirts down to 2, but they clearly can't escape the stranglehold of capitalism. Buy their new book.
The Two Popes (2019)
A Delight!
Another masterpiece from Fernando Meirelles (The other being City of God), it feels like you're watching a collaboration of craft as the two leads relish the finely crafted script from McCarten. The tone and pace work brilliantly to give the film a charm which sucks you in to the world of these two figures, and it's just a joy to watch Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Price.
The I-Land (2019)
Whoa, man. Who did this?
Could it be the worst TV I've ever seen?
Yes.
Give it a watch. It could be the worst TV you've ever seen too.
Excursion (2018)
Good idea, poor acting
The take on time travel is interesting, if a little convoluted, but the film is let down by the amateur acting and some poorly written dialogue (the actors' timing on delivering their lines gives it a 'student film' feel). That being said, there is potential in the script and production values which makes me think that the filmmakers, with access to better actors, are capable of producing higher quality material.