Cinema - Comments / Reviews by Magic Marmalade

Cinema - Comments / Reviews by Magic Marmalade

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
Magic Marmalade 23rd Dec 2021		Cinema Late Night (2019) (2019)	Rated 8/10 A girl, standing in front her boss, asking her not to fire her. As much as I thought this was going to be a snappy, witty razor sharp comedy (which it is), it turns out this is actually a romantic comedy.... a rom-com. Except, instead of a boy - girl / man - woman arrangement, and in the traditional sense of “romance” that we're used to, at it’s heart, it’s about the relationship between Emma Thompson’s ageing talk show host anchor, deemed past her prime, and about to lose her show, and the young, optimistic (naïve) Mindy Kaling character, who has ambitions to become a comedy writer for the show, who is hired, it seems, purely for diversity’s sake, and tries to freshen up the show with a new perspective. And while it is funny, razor sharp, and cracks along in super snappy smart manner, it doesn’t do so at the expense of genuine feeling, and warmth. With some sombre moments underpinning Emma Thompson’s acerbic nature, and a kind of cynicism about modern cynicism (meta-cynicism?) , it’s pretty much as feel good as most other romantic comedies. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 22nd Dec 2021		Cinema Predestination (2014) (2014)	Rated 9/10 Probably the best time travel movie I've seen. ...And in my view destined (pre-destined???) to become, if it isn't already, a cult classic in the sci-fi genre. And that's because this is not trying to be, and isn't an "action adventure" type if time travel movie, which usually use that device as a means to some other end, such as to provide thrills and spills etc. Whereas this is a more philosophical drama style of movie... a "talky" movie, who's end, and subject is time, and time travel itself... The characters are there to serve that end. The plot begins something something like a bad joke: "A guy walks into a bar...." ...And then strikes up a conversation with the barkeep, and the discussion unfolds, as the "guy" relates an ever increasingly improbable tale, or so it seems, about his life story. From there, revelations are made, and by degrees through means of flash backs, the plot ratchets up through the gears, revealing a very twisty journey through time. So a lot depends on Sarah Snook, and Ethan Hawke, and their exchanges, and both, especially Snook, act the be-Jeezus out of this, with top notch performances. In the end, this film is about the logic of time travel, a point which most, if not all time travel movies very quickly come unstuck, especially when they try to justify themselves through exposition, or try to treat it in the sense of the physics as possible, and real.... Movies like Back To The Future succeed by not picking too hard at that scab, and recognising that time travel is just a device to serve the action / adventure storyline. ...So very quickly, such movies that try too hard reveal plot and logic holes you could drive a Delorean through :) This, plot wise, and logic wise, is almost perfect, even if the physics are still a little speculative and unlikely. The drama, twists, and the mindbending implications of the logic are spot on. If it is an action / adventure / Thriller style sci-fi you are after, like Looper or Tenet, or something else with loud explosions and rooftop chases and such (Terminator(s)), then you will be disappointed with this, but if you prefer a more cerebral time travel movie that isn't simply trying purposely and expressly cook your nut (Tenet), then you will enjoy the steady pace of this excellently thought out movie. 3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 18th Dec 2021		Cinema Punch-Drunk Love (2002) (2002)	Rated 7/10 Surreal rom-com noir. I have been hearing about this increasingly over the years, and always intended to see what the buzz was about. A couple of things put me off though, principally Adam Sandler... who's name induces cringes in me, as I really do not like his usual comedic style, or the films he tends to be in. The other thing being that the "buzz" was a very kind of low level one, so I just kept of forgetting about it. So I was pleasantly surprised when the DVD turned up in the charity shop the other week, when I went to buy a stack of DVDs and books in anticipation of the next lockdown. It's strange... damn strange! And probably all the better for it, as it has a bizarre, unsettling quality in the film-making style that subverts the romantic comedy basis of the plot. Sandler's character is a lonely, messed up, angst ridden, paranoid (certainly mentally ill) "entrepreneur" who works out of an industrial unit in the middle of some drab, nowhere town, and who's hobbies include collecting free air miles tokens from puddings in supermarkets, in bulk, and generally getting fixated and obsessive with things, as well as evading the attempts of his many sisters trying to set him up with a date, or at the very least, pull him out of himself and be more sociable... ...And so one of the women introduced to him: Emily Watson, inexplicably comes to like him, and want to go out with him, in spite of his apparent lack of interest, inappropriate social responses, unpredictably excessive behaviours, and generally insular, festering nature. In the background is this bizarre and nightmarish sub-plot that develops when he phones a sex line one evening when he feels particularly lonely, and then becomes the subject of a campaign of spiralling persecution and victimisation by the woman he was talking to, and the whoever she is working for. It all makes for a distinctly uneasy, claustrophobic experience, which is further enhanced by these kind of Rothko inspired art-installation type interludes / transition films, and the clunky, odd, and dissonant, and non-musical random noise soundtrack, which can induce you, the viewer to feel like you're half nuts yourself, or getting there! Not the kind of film you'd usually associate with anyone in the cast, or even the director, Paul Thomas Anderson.... ...It's more the feel of a Charlie Kaufman scripted, Michel Gondry / Spike Jonze directed affair, perhaps inspired by a dystopian Franz Kafka paranoia novel. So think: Being John Malkovich, Enternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche New York, The Trial, plus one of your own, more low key, disturbing nightmares, and you're in the ballpark of where this is coming from. And finally, it comes to talking about Adam Sandler... because he for once, gives a very compelling, subtle, understated, brooding, twitchy, oppressed and introverted performance that it turns out he's really rather good at, and which was needed to sell this film, if it was to succeed. In all, this Noir-ish surreal rom-com is a refreshing change in subverting the usual rom-com ideas, even if it is nuts, and for that, you will probably either like it, or absolutely hate it, but I don't think this is ever going to be an all time favourite of anyone's... more a cult-classic / semi mythical movie hat will be spoken of in certain circles occasionally as being a benchmark of what the possibilities are within that genre, at least.... It's influence probably exceeds it's excellence, but for that reason, worth watching at least once in your life. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 11th Dec 2021		Cinema The Warriors (1979) (1979)	Rated 7/10 It’s like West Side Story meets Jason and the Argonauts on crack! ...And with a heavy feel of Escape From New York and idea or two borrowed from Vanishing Point (The DJ). I watched this by mistake the other day when it was on telly late night... ...The programme I was watching had ended and this started, while I was playing with my phone; when the deep seventies Carpenter-esque vibe of the music and visuals came on I looked up and thought: “WTF is this!?!” Very atmospheric, but absolutely mental! It drew me in, and I was mesmerised by it right through to the end. Preposterous and absurd plot and premise, with identikit gangs from someone's surreal nightmare punctuated with some of the worst acting you've ever seen... All the reasons I loved it! :) I mean, there's even a gang on roller skates!!! As they battle to journey through the city to get back to their turf after being accused of assassinating the “Big Cheese” of the gang world, and the word gets out to the other gangs to get them, I wondered if the people who made it were totally or stoned, or I was! ...And the amount of early / first time actors in this that you recognize from later fame is incredible (even saw Mercedes Ruehl in this)... and it took me a while to figure if the lead actor (Mr. Beck, of course) may or may not have been Jon Bon Jovi or not. Nuts... Wonderfully bonkers and nuts! 7 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 7th Dec 2021		Cinema The Majestic (2001) (2001)	Rated 9/10 Wonderful movie! I missed this first time around, as I think there was a lot else going on at the time to take attention away from it, and the reviews were not particularly inspiring... And also Jim Carey's over the top-ness had begun to wear a little thin for me. But he thankfully gives a very understated, straight up performance in this understated, slow paced, and yes, very sentimental film. It's not without it's faults of course, mainly in that it almost seems to be "designed" to be what it is: "What do people like in a movie? - let's take all those pieces, and make a whole new movie from them" ...As such, you'll frequently see immediately where plot points, and other ideas are from other movies as it goes (at least one of which, Carey has been in himself: Truman Show!) , and many other things that are not wholly original, but well worn, tried and trusted formula: A big city type gets stuck out in a quaint pastoral town with traditional values (Doc Hollywood), in this case, a Hollywood screenwriter, and he's got there by having an accident in which he loses his memory, and is taken to be one of the old residents, who was thought o have been killed in the war, now returned (Isn't there a Richard Gere movie along those lines?) ...But the townsfolk welcome him "home", and especially his "ex-girlfriend", and "father", owner of a dilapidated old cinema that the re-invigoration of the townsfolk his arrival inspires, promotes a possible return to glory days. It's perhaps loaded with too much by way of plot points, as it's set in McCarthy era Communist hunting America, and his accident is had whilst "fleeing" such persecution, as well as a big theme of honouring local war heroes, and also added to the mix, is the cinema aspect. But in the end (and this is a reasonably long film) it does tie together... somewhat. And they really threw the kitchen sink at this, with lots of actors you'd both remember, and love: Martin Landau, the dude from MASH, and at least a couple of the actors from Shawshank Redemption (Brooks) and Green Mile. But it's a very sentimental, slow paced, meandering, warm, cosy movie with a Nat King Cole soundtrack and such, that is great for a Sunday afternoon's viewing, sitting on the sofa feeling squishy :) 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 8th Nov 2021		Cinema Smoke (1995) (1995)	Rated 9/10 Finally got around to seeing this again the other day... after about twenty years! With the residual impression of the "action" in the tobacconists, I'd forgotten how much more there was to it; A character piece which only centres around the New York tobacconist owned by Harvey Keitel's Auggie... More prominently, there's William Hurt as a writer who has lost his wife in an accident, and is essentially floating around, and living by habit alone, and in an existential funk, until he almost gets killed stepping into the road while a little zoned out in a daydream, and is saved by a young (apparently homeless) guy, who he offers to take in for a couple of nights by way of thanks. And then Auggie's ex girlfriend turns up out of the blue after many years seeking a favour, and with big news that's sure to rock his quiet little world. The many character's stories intertwine and have significance and repercussions for each other (as they usually do in this kind of New York story kind of movie). But overall it's an engaging and quirky little film, with lots of warmth, and makes a nice break from the usual CGI extravaganza as modern cinema exclusively provides these days. Not sure if one or two of the character dynamics have aged particularly well, in light of modern mores, but if you can get over that, it really is a great little movie, that might make a good, off the beaten track - Thanksgiving movie for our American friends (if they are tired of the usual staples for this time of year). (There's also a funny little dialogue free video story at the end which illustrates Auggie's Christmas story as he tells it to Benjamin - and all set to a great Tom Waits tune). 3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 30th Oct 2021		Cinema Mallrats (1995) (1995)	Rated 8/10 Well this one surprised me, at how well it's actually aged... ...At least, it wasn't anywhere near as disastrous as I'd expected to have done so! Having not seen it since the nineties, when things like this, and it's brilliant predecessor Clerks were my thing, I was happy to stumble across the DVD again at a boot fair. Basically, an ultimate slacker movie centred around the relationship between the grossly immature and overly geeky and intense Brodie (Jason Lee), and his girlfriend Rene (Shanen Doherty), who he is ingrave danger of losing as she wants him to grow up, and stop being such a complete tool, he sets off on an everyday oddysy / adventure / quest to win her back in the local shopping mall, with the aid of his friends, including the stallwarts Jay and Silent Bob. And with Ben Affleck continuing his mean jock promoted to local store manager in a sharp suit asshole role with aplomb stealing Rene away to the approval of her dad played by Michael Rooker,.. who together, play the Darth Vader and Emperor to Brodie's low rent Luke Skywalker in what is basically a low rent, everyday Star Wars episode in a shopping mall death star. Of course, Kevin Smith was well into comic books, comic lore, Sci-Fi and cultural references long before Marvel had even conceived of it's global cinematic dominion, so this was pretty obscure at the time of release, and has actually grown in relevance as the rest of the world has caught up with it, in it's cultural preferences. This even has Stan Lee in it!!! So while it has actually done the reverse thing of the more common thing of ageing badly, the other surprise is how actually (relatively) enlightened it's attitudes to men and women's relationships are... (for the time, and it still has the odd wobbly moment, but nothing that can't be forgiven :) ...But actually quite funny still and with quite a sharp wit all round.... lot's of fun. A great way to spend a couple of hours, hanging out in the mall with flaky friends, while plotting the downfall of the evil empire :) 7 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 16th Oct 2021		Cinema The Conjuring (2013) (2013)	Rated 6/10 Haunted house movie's greatest hits tribute movie. This is, although full of perfectly serviceable scares, creeps, chill, and jumps, nothing anyone has not seen before, and although "based on a true story" etc. it is basically assembled from a dozen different (And better) movies... ...There's Amityville, The Exorcist, Chucky (There's a haunted / possessed doll in here too), Poltergeist, and a plethora of different ghost siting "documentary" tropes in it. Predictable, and largely dull. Either the writers have got to get some new material, or the ghosts do. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 2nd Sep 2021		Cinema The Forgotten (2004) (2004)	Rated 7/10 Feels like a made for TV production... ...A bit cheap, with ideas above it's station. There's moments of pretty wobbly (literally!) camera work early on, and it feels like it's setting itself up to rehash an old idea of a psychological thriller about what if everyone forgot about someone you knew except you, and presenting itself as something more profound, but with that whole NCIS vibe going on. For this reason, I was not impressed early on, feeling it was miles below where it thought it wanted to be... ...At the same time, I was perplexed at the truly astonishing cast in this, for such a cheapo production... contractual obligation? .... tax loss enterprise? ...But no, as it very soon answered all my queries, and allayed my fears, by showing itself for what it truly was... an extended Twilight Zone episode... now it all makes sense! And judged on that basis, it got better and better in the watching, using that basic premise merely as a platform for a mystery / conspiracy film. And especially the rather cruddy music score over the top, suddenly it made all the sense in the world: I mention Twilight Zone, when actually, this has all the hallmarks of The X-Files! It is basically that... a not overly long (hour and a half) episode of the X-files, which, if you love that series, you'll more than probably like this> In fact, I'm certain you will. A few twists, some nicely genuinely surprising moments, and a good evening watch on the TV. (Probably suffered on a cinema screen by virtue of it's shortcomings in this regard, but on the TV, late night... much more at home!) 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 29th Aug 2021		Cinema Akira (1988) (1988)	Essential viewing! :) [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 23rd Aug 2021		Cinema Peterloo (2018) (2018)	Rated 8/10 An extraordinary film. An historical piece, which serves to record a shameful event in British history, it centres around the immediate aftermath of the victory at Waterloo, where proud and preening aristocracy and ruling classes overtaxed, and underserved the struggling people of Manchester, Lancashire, who having basically delivered this victory through the expense of their blood, sweat, and indeed, tears, were all but forgotten in their demands for some basic subsistence, and the representation in Parliament that would give it to them... ....Naturally, they began to get more than a little agitated, and were threatening to rise up against their government if they did not get what they wanted. The uncaring government, and the subordinate landed gentry, Industrial magnates and company sought to "Quell" this unrest by sending the Yeomanry (Soldiers / police of their day) to supress and disperse an event held in St. Peter's Field, where the ordinary people of the towns and villages had gathered to hear Henry Hunt speak concerning their rights, and it ended up with an overzealous cavalry charge through a crowd of men, women, and children that left 18 people dead... and so was recorded as the "Peterloo Massacre" of 1819 thereafter by the media of the day. While this is one of those historical stories that is basically no more than a short article's worth to convey the essential facts, Mike Leigh delves deeper, by fleshing out the story with characters representing the people of the time and place, in a series of home-stead conversations, and set piece public speaking events. ...It is presented, therefore, as a series of discussions a lot like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, with each conversation more like a small treatise on Civil Rights and Liberties, from home spun philosophies to great speeches and pronouncements on the subject, all leading up to the titular catastrophe, and which serve to give it context, and underline it. This is not a conventional "drama", or period piece therefore, and is a thinking person's film, like a mediation on civil rights.... a "speaky" - "Talky" film.... ...A serious study of a serious subject. There is no music score, only the occasional piece of contemporary folk music played by characters in the film, and each frame of this movie is shot like an old oil painting by Rembrandt, or Vermeer... truly stunning cinematography! The "everyday-ness", and ordinariness of the characters, in presenting them as people you might know, and speak to them, and their almost festive mood on the occasion of a day out to journey to the event only serves to heighten the horror of the final disaster, as it too, is unscored, and filled with only the awfulness of the various screams, and random, jutting movements of horses, people and soldiers flashing across the screen in the grim confusion of the situation as the mood turns, and it descends into hideous chaos. An important film, therefore, and one which people, especially here in Britain ought to see, although wherever you are in the world, it's themes and events may be all too Universally understood. If there is a criticism I have of it, it's that the film ends rather too abruptly... with no follow up of what becomes of the various characters, almost like they've served their purpose, in telling the story, then ditched... even though they have been well built up, and moulded by the actors through the rest of the film.... seems a little callous, and odd, given the movie itself is about the indifference of some sections of society toward others. Would make a nice double feature, by way of contrast, to more mannered and reverential: The Madness Of King George... or maybe Blackadder III, as these also feature fat git parasite The Prince Regent (Later: George IV :). 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 9th Aug 2021		Cinema Unsane (2018) (2018)	Rated 8/10 Another one flew over the cuckoo's nest... ...But the premise of being an otherwise sane person in a psychiatric institution among people who are not is where the similarity ends. .....Well, other than it becomes difficult to tell the difference between sane and insane, which is a device well utilised here. This is basically your standard nightmare scenario: You're suffering somewhat, so seek counselling, and they say: "Sign here" and admit you to an institution for what you think is a day or so, not realising that the term of the contract you've signed is at least a week, and everyone thinks you're nuts... And of course, the more you protest, and the more strenuously you do so, the more nuts you seem. In this case, Sawyer is suffering from paranoia due to an experience with a stalker, and when she sees his presence everywhere, decides to get help, but ends up getting "committed". Obviously, this examines the idea that many women face of not being believed when they assert that they are being, or have been victimised, stalked... or worse. Indeed, she is convinced her stalker is one of the staff in the institution, with whom, and under who's power, she now finds herself. ...Is she right, or is she genuinely paranoid, and suffering from mental health issues? This ambiguity is maintained for just long enough, before taking a few twisty turns, such as is her institutionalisation been part of a conspiracy among health care and insurance companies... a scam, of sorts... Or is that part of her delusion too? Queue the "Kafka-esque" oppressive nightmare situation label. This is brilliantly conveyed by virtue of being shot (I think) on VHS tape, with that over-saturated look, and in a standard aspect ratio (There's bars down the sides of the screen), with very carefully crafted shots from strange angles, showing strange, or slightly "off" and unsettling scenes that would otherwise look crushingly normal... And almost fish-eye lens shots on occasions. ...But it's more than that, as you get the impression this is a bit of a pet project, or labour of love for Steven Soderbergh, as there are a dozen or more influences you can readily pick out, and which have been chucked in a bag, given a shake, and created this... ...Such as the look, and feel of the movie being very reminiscent of George A. Romero's seventies / eighties Day Of The Dead films, and there's more than a hint of Silence Of the Lambs, Michael Mann's Manhunter, a good helping of John Carpenter / Halloween vibe, and done in a kind of hand-held camera, Blair Witch way, with a seventies style title and end credit shot. Not overly long, and an hour and a half, but uses the time well, being constantly tense, suspenseful and claustrophobic, and keeps kicking into different gears as it thickens it's plot at certain intervals. Occasional gore, and violence, some pretty grim (Would make a nice double header with: Joker!). Claire Foy carries the film, brilliantly conveying her character's turmoil through the ordeal, and the rest of the cast are great too. If you are a fan of those seventies and eighties thriller / horror nuggets, you'll love this, as it has one of those cult classic, shown in the dead of night gems feel about it, which I don't think the poster or cover of the DVD does justice to... (Actually, I think it's a case of mis-selling, as that poster art makes it look like a slicker, bigger budget affair / vehicle for upcoming starlet, which this isn't). [YouTube Video] 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 1st Aug 2021		Cinema Napoleon Dynamite (2004) (2004)	Rated 7/10 Bit of a Marmite movie this one... ...You will either appreciate it's wild eccentricity as a subtle form of brilliance, or you will be one of those people who say: "I don't get it". I found this on one of my old recordable DVDs during lockdown, and forgot I had it. It had been a while since I last watched it, and wondered if it was still as funny as I remembered... And I believe it is. ...It's humour may not be for everyone, as these are boldly drawn, even stereotypical characters, centring around the titular Napoleon Dynamite, who is a "socially awkward" chap to say the least. A guy who is a bit "bully fodder" in his school, and on the extreme outer fringes of nerd-dom among his contemporaries, ...However, he is not the only one, as he begins to gather a couple of outsiders / oddballs as friends, one of whom... Pedro, he tries to get elected as class president. Also, less aided, and more impeded by his own equally odd family, when his grandmother, who he lives with, goes away for a spell, leaving creepy and developmentally arrested Uncle Rico comes to "babysit" Napoleon and Kip, and decides to try an make the most of the opportunity. There are some really laugh out moments in this, including, my favourite part, the dangers of using a mail order time-machine :), and of course, the pay off moment, when, with the aid of a funky Jamiroquai track, and teach yourself to dance VHS cassette, Napoleon saves the day, and has a genuinely uplifting sub-urban super-hero moment. An odd movie, for odd people, like me! :) [YouTube Video] ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 1st Aug 2021		Cinema Bumblebee (2018) (2018)	Rated 9/10 The best Transformers movie by a mile! In fact, you don't really need to buy into the whole Transformers thing to enjoy this superb movie. ...And that's because this is more properly to be considered a retro eighties family fun movie of the kind Spielberg used to make back in the day... ...It just happens to have a Transformers character (s) at the centre of it. It's basically an origin story of how the Transformers came to earth, by way of a sending a scout robot (Bumblebee), who unfortunately has lost not only his voice, but his memory also, and is hunted and pursued not only by the bad guy robots, but by the earth-man military. Having parked up in an old scrap yard, he is found by Hailee Steinfeld's (is there anything this girl cannot do.... best actor of her generation?) outsider / misfit eighties teen to be her first car. Of course, she's got all of the usual eighties teen angst issues going on, and befriending the alien robot helps her work through a lot of these issues, in addition to throwing her into an intergalactic struggle to help Bumblebee recover his wits, and accomplish his mission, while evading his many adversaries. There is, other than the couple of evil robots, predominantly only this one Transformer here in this movie, which makes for a more focused film, and it is more about the relationship between her and Bumblebee. Very warm, great fun, and unlike many of the transformers movies, well pitched, in terms of tone, the humour isn't "off" (it knows who it's audience is). ...It will have great appeal to the original transformers fans, who grew up with them in the eighties, as this is, essentially, and eighties film that has somehow escaped into this horrible new millennium to remind us all what fun used to look like. Drenched in an incredibly well chosen eighties pop / alt soundtrack... (There's even a Smiths song here!) ...This is an absolute gem,,, shame I left it so late to watch it, I think I was put off the prospect by having been beaten into despondency by the previous Transformers movies... ... Real great popcorn Saturday night movie. Thoroughly enjoyable! :) [YouTube Video] ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 25th Jul 2021		Cinema Crawl (2019)	Rated 7/10 Too good a film for what it is. ...By that, I mean, this is a basic sea-creature feature type of thing, like you've seen a thousand times before, most notably in the shape of the original gold standard Jaws, through to Alligator (Remember that! :) - which this basically is, in new digitally enhanced trousers), Piranha, Sharknado perhaps, Mega Pirnaha, and etc. and etc. and so on, and so forth. - Except, the film-makers have gone about this with production values as if it was an Oscar contender! Mercifully, it's not over-long, and is very entertaining and enjoyable, with a basic set-up, of young woman... (Who purely coincidentally, happens to be a swimming prodigy... what are the chances!?!) ... venturing deep into a disaster area caused by a hurricane induced flood, to rescue / recover her dad, who has stayed behind, and become incommunicado... (meaning all the other locals have been evacuated, and the big nasty Alligator gang has had the opportunity to move in.... yikes!) But some very good decisions, make this film work, it doesn't try to encompass the whole weather / disaster movie epic scope, but keeps the action very tightly focused around the house, in which they are trapped with the big green meanies lurking around. ...This makes for a more claustrophobic movie based more on tension than the usual gore-fest you usually get from these movies. (There is some gore, but shot at a some distance for the most part, and artfully, and occasionally done.) And so it mainly rests on the two lead actors here, who really are good - Kaya Scodelario carries the full weight of the film convincingly, and Barry Pepper gives strong support. The thing that really sets this a cut above the rest, is the cinematography, staging / set design, and directing... films that look this good are usually reserved for more arty affairs, but it really does add atmosphere, because you are not distracted by unconvincing Hollywood cheapo weather affects, or comedy horror trying not to be. The only thing that possibly lets this down though is the CGI Alligators themselves, as I've yet to see convincing and realistic movement and behaviour of an animal in cinema created this way... but they are sparingly used for the most part, and the great cinematography conceals a lot of the short-comings of the beasties... (But oddly, also highlights them by way of contrast with the realism of the rest of the set.) ((Might even have been better tog o the animatronic route in some instances... might not have been the best, but I always appreciate the craft in creating a real alligator, albeit a stiff one, rather than just CGI-ing the thing)) So, Father and Daughter stuck in house basement which is slowly filling up with floodwater and Alligators, which they have to outsmart to survive... ... Worth an hour or two of anyone's time, and very enjoyable. Solid 7. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 30th Jun 2021		Cinema Upgrade (2018)	Review Bit of a RoboCop rip off, and with a few other movie elements mashed in, but an enjoyable film nonetheless... ... Little bit of action, some schlocky gore, and a few interesting ideas / twists on established sci fi themes. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 21st Jun 2021		Cinema Midnight Run (1988) (1988)	My favourite scene in this brilliant movie.... comedy Genius :) [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 14th Apr 2021		Cinema Apocalypse How (2008) (2008)	Maybe they just meant the world would end at twelve minutes past eight... and never actually specified a date :)
Magic Marmalade 12th Apr 2021		Cinema Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) (2020)	Sorry to be "that guy", but it also occurs to me that Wonder Woman has sex with a man without his knowledge or consent in this... ...erm... yikes!
Magic Marmalade 7th Apr 2021		Cinema (500) Days Of Summer (2009) (2009)	Rated 8/10 A boy becomes a man... ...the hard way. For as this movie makes clear, this is not a love story, it's a story about love... especially how young guys drag their adolescence into adulthood, before "love" or infatuation kicks it out of them... (sometimes) As Tom works in a greeting card company, and is basically a young guy with dreams of a life in architecture which seems destined to remain one of those dream not acted upon, all the while hanging out with his friends pretty much the same as he did at school, and with the corresponding level of maturity... ...Until, of course, the mysterious young woman arrives in the company, in the shape of Summer. Naturally, he gets all moody, goes overboard, and has his heart broken. The film jumps about across the titular 500 days, contrasting the good days of hazy romantic idealised memory, and juxtaposes them with the gloomy 20-something-noir days of his crushed existence because of her. And in so doing, he's trying to gain perspective on the events of the 500 days, and their relationship, and come out the other side... perhaps a little wiser. This film could easily be mistaken for a typical teen-angst, high school style melodrama for a younger audience, but actually, it's much more than that, as it is very innovative, witty, very sharply written, and very funny. probably for a slightly older 30 something audience looking back (And trying not to cringe at themselves). For me, at least, this was the role that hanged my perception of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor - no longer a "child star", and moved him into an area that allowed him to go star in Christopher Nolan films and such. And a brave role for Zooey Deschanel to take, as she is, at least on first viewing (And seeing as this is told from Tom's prespective), cast as the distant, remote ice queen villain of the piece... (Tom even muses at one point if she is in fact, a robot :) But you eventually realise that it's mainly Tom being a deluded douche, misreading, and misinterpreting through the prism of his youth. (So themes older guys and younger gals will recognise, and perhaps be all too familiar with) Over all, a very sharp, funny, and fun, romantic comedy that is a deprecation of a young guy who takes himself too seriously. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 25th Mar 2021		Cinema Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) (2020)	Yes... Spoiler alert! (heh heh heh :)
Magic Marmalade 23rd Mar 2021		Cinema Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) (2020)	Rated 7/10 Really enjoyable movie... ...As opposed to either, the usual over-wrought DC Zach Snyder style, made for adolescent-teen sludge, or the once in a blue moon Nolan ones or the recent brilliance of Joker. A nice, lighter tone that doesn't require a degree in comic book lore, and is actually entertaining. Great opening sequence, once again Zimmer delivers a knockout score, and a very playful, humorous tone mocking (or satirising) some aspects of the eighties, while acknowledging some of the darker cold war aspects. An eighties style millionaire (?)... (modelled on nobody in particular I'm sure ...ahem) ... Is up to something, with a too good to be true business empire punted constantly on TV, and an interest in a particular object which has found it's way via the FBI, into the museum where Wonder Woman works, alongside Kristen Wiig's rather downtrodden low self esteemed multi- ologist. Dreams are offered, but perhaps at cost... or maybe it's all fake news? :) If there are a few downsides to this, it's that maybe there are too many strong ideas competing in here, each of which, might have been worthy of it's own film... female empowerment in the face of antiquated sexual predation (Metoo), and where that goes, amongst other things... ...And also, the effects, with regards fight / action sequences, which in interior settings, are quite brilliantly done, but look pretty shoddy, unrealistic, and preposterous in exterior locations for some reason.,,, the physics of it all, especially outside doesn't really work at all, especially as it has that contrast of the realistic interior work to underline just how bogus it looks. But minor quibbles, really, in an otherwise excellent, entertaining film. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 18th Mar 2021		Cinema Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) (2004)	Rated 8/10 Sci-Fi Romantic tragi-comedy. Given this was written by the baffling genius that is Charlie Kaufman, and directed by the quite singular Michel Gondry, this was always going to be a double bonkers brain scrambler... ...And so it is... ...In fact, that's the plot too! Jim Carey's grim and miserable Joel is suffering, for reasons he can't quite put his finger on, until he meets Kate Winslet's super-flake Clementine at a train station... and the two feel drawn together, almost like they've met before. And that's because they have. Turns out, they had a doomed, and fractious relationship, that made both so miserable, that Clementine had Joel erased from her memory, causing double despair to Joel, so he decides he can't live with that, and resolves to have her erased from his memory too. Until, of course, he changes his mind... unfortunately, while the procedure is taking place. The movie follows Joel being chased through his own mind and memories by this erasing procedure as he tries to preserve the memory of Clementine in the most obscure corners of his brain. It is, of course (consistent with the subject matter) quite a confusing film from the outset, using an almost Christopher Nolan-esque chopped and re-sorted time structure, but gradually, it pulls together and makes sense. It's all very clever, and seems a very writer-ly piece of zany philosophical, meditative madness, but what emerges at the end is sense of real warmth, and heart... and there's plenty of laughs along the way. This was one of my pre-lockdown charity shop DVD purchases, which I've watched a couple of times since, and it is growing on me more and more. One for the 21st century romantics. 7 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 20th Feb 2021		Cinema Stan & Ollie (2018) (2018)	Yes, very good movie. Wasn't holding out much hope for it to be honest, but nicely done, lightly handled, without just driving a wrecking ball through established reputations (usually one of main excuses for such a film), or a paper thin cash in where the idea has a story tacked onto it. But very warm, easy watch, that does good service to it's subjects I think.
Magic Marmalade 12th Feb 2021		Cinema T2 Trainspotting (2017) (2017)	Rated 7/10 Oh no... a sequel to Trainspotting! ...I thought, on discovering this follow up to the quintessential mid nineties brit-pop era brit-flick defining movie masterpiece, but now having seen it (there was nothing else on telly), I am very very pleasantly surprised. While there are of course, allusions to the original, it is a clear progression of that story, and feels just like a continuation of it, while having many of of it's own original elements, to make it work on it's own (not just relive old glories). Mark Renton's life has hit the buffers since running away with the cash he stole from his friends last time we saw him, and has returned home to face the music. Finding his old friends either having grown up and moved on... or refused to do so in some cases! Begbie is in prison, but not for long if he has anything to do with it, and he's after Mark with a genuine vengeance. So it's a reckoning for the events of the original, just as it is set in the context of melancholic nostalgia for the past, and being psychologically stuck there... while trying to move on. (I'm sure nobody on this site recognises those themes! :) Danny Boyle brings his fresh, snappy, and innovative directing style to the mix, to make a worthy Part II. 8 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 27th Jan 2021		Cinema Pleasantville (1998) (1998)	I watched my DVD of this again last night... painfully reminiscent of current events around the world. Along with 12 Angry Men, needs to be shown on TV soon, and regularly thereafter, as part of a good, wholesome civil education... lest we quite forget ourselves as a people entirely.
Magic Marmalade 8th Jan 2021		Cinema Cold In July (2014) (2014)	Rated 9/10 Violent, grim, disturbing, but really quite brilliant. This is one that has you sitting mesmerised and mostly open mouthed, unable to take your eyes away from the screen as this deeply atmospheric journey into darkness sets out apparently as one kind of film, but gradually mutates into an altogether different movie over is duration. In the face of it, it's about a man struggling to deal with the aftermath of having shot an intruder in his own home while his family slept... So you think it's going to be an anti gun meditation piece... But then it shifts into a kind stalker horror revenge movie, as someone was clearly but happy with him for his actions, before shifting even more, by turns, into a conspiracy mystery, then finally an all out revenge movie, with savage twists that are not for the feint hearted. I sat and watched it first time round having known nothing about it going in, but found it a brutally refreshing, and compelling watch. Strange that more was not made of it at the time, but in time, I think this will be considered an absolute classic of its era. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 6th Jan 2021		Cinema Tenet (2020) (2020)	Rated 6/10 Sci-fi James Bond style time heist palindrome movie ...Basically, a complete mind - f*&k in a can :) And while this nothing less than we have come to expect from Christopher Nolan - his usual twist on otherwise long established ideas make you look past the fact that a lot of what is here, you've seen before. It does borrow heavily from, or allude to modern, Daniel Craig era James Bond movies, both in terms of style, character types and presentation, replete with stereotypical (almost offensively broad) characterization of Russian baddie... (gives Kenneth Brannagh a chance to show off his more exotically terrifying slices of acting ham! :) John David Washington is hugely impressive in the "Bond" style lead character, with huge prescence, even though he is playing opposite Elizabeth Debicki's giraffe. The problem really is about the subject matter... in that you're always on thin ice when trying to make sense of time travel, especially in the face of a savvy audience, who's prime occupation these days is to pick holes in the shaky physics of it all (rather than enjoy the movie)... ...And after all, the ones that work in this area of sci-fi hit the sweet spot, of giving just enough physics (explanations thereof) to give the impression you know what you are talking about, and to set up the dramatic potential of the story, but without degenerating into ever more desperate logical justifications that cause characters to give on screen lectures about it while the premise dissolves like wet tissue paper just as quickly as the audience begins looking at their phones instead. (Nobody questions the time travel of Back to the Future for this reason... it don't get in the way of the yarn!) ...But even this would be too simple for Mr. Nolan, and has, instead, attempted a movie as technical exercise in constructing a narrative palindrome... and it really does seem he's finally bitten off more than he can chew here. I think he's buried the fact that he doesn't know the logical inconsistencies here in obscurity and obfuscation: Give a a couple of mind bending explanations using big words and people will believe it means something, even though it's clearly horseshit. But, it's something new, and makes you work as a viewer (a blessed relief in today's movie terms), and oddly, given the subject matter, unpredictable, and there's enough action and suspense to keep you interested, and distract you from probing too deeply into how the magic trick is done. Two outstanding issues though (perhaps they are the same issue?), is that this seems to be set up as being only half the story (palindrome), which could be why it doesn't quite work as such, as is, so a sequel should be on the cards, or resolution at least... and this is even more suggested by the fact that the huge set piece at the start, which has a couple of unexplained moments in it does not appear, or referenced at all at the end... which is where I suspect any potential sequel would end. Notably, no co-writing credit on this movie for Nolan's brother, and frequent collaborator (probably could have helped square this up a bit more), and no Hans Zimmer score this time... but instead a very experimental backwards, Aphex Twin does 1980s Tron soundtrack jangle and scrape fest... which is both consistent with the images on screen, and really interesting ! (one to seek out I think!) So possibly a case of Christopher Nolan's reach finally exceeding his grasp... (and makes you wonder what he has to do to up the ante for his next movie from this!) ... And is a thrill to see first time round, but I don't think it will be as good to watch in the necessary repeat viewing. 9 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 29th Nov 2020		Cinema Jerry Maguire (1996) (1996)	The odd thing about this movie is that it's littered with memorable moments that have permanently entered modern culture... yet the sum total is a film that's... well... Ok-ish. The sum is less than the parts.
Magic Marmalade 26th Nov 2020		Cinema Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) (2020)	[YouTube Video]

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