Several movies in short reviews.
The Last Legion.
2007, dir. Doug Lefler.
This is an engaging and enjoyable film, not so much based on Roman history but more on the Matter of Britain (King Arthur legend) and as such does a pretty good job. Costumes, weapons, armor, sets are all very well done and the Ninth Legion doing the Testudo in the battle scene at the end is well worth the movie all by itself. Colin Firth is excellent and the cast as a whole is great. The only down moment is the child actor playing the Emperor, who unfortunately I can't stand. But apart from that, a very enjoyable film, though not for afficiondos of Roman history!
A History of Violence.
2005, dir. David Cronenberg.
Fabulous. Slow paced but definitely worth it. The build up is slow and intense and Cronenberg shows once again what an amazing versatile director he is. Viggo Mortensen shines in this film, and William Hurt and Ed Harris are fantastic in supporting bad guy roles. Highly recommended, although if you're squeamish, some of the death shots might make you ick-face!
Stay.
2005, dir. Marc Forster.
Clearly I am not smart enough to understand this existentialist piece of tripe. This is 99minutes of my life that I'll never get back and I miss those 99minutes. The only outstanding performances in this were Naomi Watts and Bob Hoskins. The film looked gorgeous, but the narrative was far too complex to make it an enjoyable experience, let alone for anyone to actually follow what on Earth was going on. Don't waste your time.
Children of Men.
2006, dir. Alfonso Cuaron.
This was an excellent film, well directed, beautifully shot, fantastically acted. My only gripe was with the open ending, but apart from that, I cannot recommend this film enough. Gripping from start to finish.
Eastern Promises.
2007, dir. David Cronenberg.
Brilliant film from Cronenberg, well written, well directed and amazingly acted - Viggo Mortensen steals every scene he is in and his Russian is flawless. A slightly abrupt ending but you can infer what happened. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in Russian crime, but this is definitely not a happy film - it's very bleak and very dark. However, it is excellent and I will be buying it.
The Other Boleyn Girl.
2008, dir. Justin Chadwick.
Historically, really inaccurate. If you know anything about the period, you'll be wincing at the huge holes in historical accuracy as much as I was. The beautiful costumes do not make up for this bashing of history. 'The Tudors' mini-series, for all it's own inaccuracies, is done far, far better than this. Only worth watching by people who are fans of the actors/resses or who don't know very much about the period. Otherwise, you won't really enjoy this film much at all.
2007, dir. Doug Lefler.
This is an engaging and enjoyable film, not so much based on Roman history but more on the Matter of Britain (King Arthur legend) and as such does a pretty good job. Costumes, weapons, armor, sets are all very well done and the Ninth Legion doing the Testudo in the battle scene at the end is well worth the movie all by itself. Colin Firth is excellent and the cast as a whole is great. The only down moment is the child actor playing the Emperor, who unfortunately I can't stand. But apart from that, a very enjoyable film, though not for afficiondos of Roman history!
A History of Violence.
2005, dir. David Cronenberg.
Fabulous. Slow paced but definitely worth it. The build up is slow and intense and Cronenberg shows once again what an amazing versatile director he is. Viggo Mortensen shines in this film, and William Hurt and Ed Harris are fantastic in supporting bad guy roles. Highly recommended, although if you're squeamish, some of the death shots might make you ick-face!
Stay.
2005, dir. Marc Forster.
Clearly I am not smart enough to understand this existentialist piece of tripe. This is 99minutes of my life that I'll never get back and I miss those 99minutes. The only outstanding performances in this were Naomi Watts and Bob Hoskins. The film looked gorgeous, but the narrative was far too complex to make it an enjoyable experience, let alone for anyone to actually follow what on Earth was going on. Don't waste your time.
Children of Men.
2006, dir. Alfonso Cuaron.
This was an excellent film, well directed, beautifully shot, fantastically acted. My only gripe was with the open ending, but apart from that, I cannot recommend this film enough. Gripping from start to finish.
Eastern Promises.
2007, dir. David Cronenberg.
Brilliant film from Cronenberg, well written, well directed and amazingly acted - Viggo Mortensen steals every scene he is in and his Russian is flawless. A slightly abrupt ending but you can infer what happened. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in Russian crime, but this is definitely not a happy film - it's very bleak and very dark. However, it is excellent and I will be buying it.
The Other Boleyn Girl.
2008, dir. Justin Chadwick.
Historically, really inaccurate. If you know anything about the period, you'll be wincing at the huge holes in historical accuracy as much as I was. The beautiful costumes do not make up for this bashing of history. 'The Tudors' mini-series, for all it's own inaccuracies, is done far, far better than this. Only worth watching by people who are fans of the actors/resses or who don't know very much about the period. Otherwise, you won't really enjoy this film much at all.