Film
9 posts
The Martian – a film by Ridley Scott Ridley Scott, acclaimed director of many films including the cult classic Blade Runner, is back on true form. The story follows a simple format: NASA mission to Mars becomes entangled in a storm and leaves behind, presumed dead, crew member, Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon). Damon has to come to grips with being 54 million kilometres from earth in a planet...
Nightcrawler - a film by Dan Gilroy Jake Gyllenhaal really nails it this time. He plays Lou Bloom, a controlling maniac with a strong dose of OCD, who turns to filming crime scenes in downtown Los Angeles and then sells his bloody offerings to a local TV news show. This modest budget film noir is Dan Gilroy’s first stab at directing and I could sense some influence from the controversial...
Interstellar - a film by Christopher Nolan Set in a futuristic dustbowl, reminiscent of depression era The Grapes of Wrath, Christopher Nolan, of The Dark Knight Trilogy, serves up a gargantuan of a film (literally as it spans three hours) to depict Matthew McConaughey leading a space mission, in the hope of saving the world. At times, the storyline appears far-fetched but this is a truly amazing spectacle which...
Maps to the Stars - a film by David Cronenberg Watching Maps to the Stars is like reading American Psycho - the horrific book by Brett Easton Ellis famed for depicting a “master of the universe” banker who gets his kicks by murdering women. Both Maps and American Psycho are brutal yet also extremely compelling. In the past David Cronenberg has wowed his audiences with many works that include his...
Gone Girl – a film by David Fincher The adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s pacey mystery novel may take a while to gather momentum but that is due to the author herself, who wrote the screenplay and ensured a faithful rendition of her book. However the novel, through its clever use of presenting the views from the main protagonists as the facts according to Amy versus Nick, holds the reader’s attention...
Frank, Lenny Abrahamson The classification for Frank says comedy. But for me it runs as pure pathos. On paper Lenny Abrahamson's work, Frank, loosely based on the life of Frank Sidebottom (the comic persona of musician Chris Sievey) would probably not merit a second glance yet to do so would be a huge miss. I plane watched Frank - on an eight hour trip to Boston and thank you...
The Two Faces of January, Hossein Amini It is a slow grind but, have faith, The Two Faces of January is adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1964 novel. American author, Highsmith, wrote clever, suspense novels which are often psychological and disturbing. Her works have been filmed several times, notably by Hitchcock in Strangers on a Train (the best interpretation) and Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley. Anyone who knows Highsmith understands why...
The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese It is all about excess. There is no safeword - and even if there were, as Leonardo DiCaprio discovers in the candle wax scene, it wouldn't work. Scorsese mixes up a lethal cocktail, of money, sex and drugs, to deliver an almighty adrenalin rush that is The Wolf of Wall Street. But this is no quick fix; for nearly three hours DiCaprio...
Dallas Buyers Club It’s 1985 in Dallas and the shock news has just hit that matinee idol, Rock Hudson, has died of AIDs. This sets the scene for drug fuelled electrician cum rodeo rider Ron Woodroof, played by Matthew McConaughey who gives the performance of his career, and Woodroof’s own battle with AIDS and the FDA. McConaughey is almost unrecognizable, having lost close to 50 pounds for the film. Resembling...