My reviews round-up:
Orphan
“Here we have a movie apparently so convincing, so scary, that it could put people off adopting. Well, good. If you’re so flaky that watching a movie convinces you that, actually, adoption isn’t for you, then you have no business adopting children. You’re presumably the sort of person who thought a puppy was just for Christmas. Go rent The Omen too. And Rosemary’s Baby.”
Click here for Orphan reviewed and rated in full
In a word: SCHLOCK
Skin
“A complex film that lives or dies by the strength of its performances, it is a shame that there are some strange gaps in the early parts of the story. Still, gaps are preferable to hand-holding and Skin is to be commended for its refusal to paint a black and white picture of relationships in a country so illogically blighted by officially-sanctioned madness.”
Click here for Skin reviewed and rated in full
In a word: WORTHY
Harry Potter & The Thing Of The Magic Whatsit
“The crowning glory of the film, as ever, is Alan Rickman as Professor Snape. Rickman continues to channel a less manic version of his inimitable Sherriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves), which is, needless to say, all to the good. Spitting average-on-paper lines like “How grand it must be to be the chosen one”, his venomous line delivery has all the mesmeric precision of a poisonous but exquisitely crafted canapé; the attention to the texture and tone lavished upon every syllable is rivalled only by the equal care he gives to ensuring his devastating pauses are also worth a thousand words. Not for nothing did he appear in a 2009 stage tribute to playwright Harold Pinter, famed for his attention to silence.”
Click here for Harry Potter reviewed and rated in full
In two words: THE USUAL
G-Force
“G-Force wasn’t just designed to have cross-generational appeal: it’s aimed at a cross-cultural audience too. Cool, collected Darwin, voiced by Sam Rockwell, is your standard middle class hero – Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. But there’s plenty here for the “minorities” too, and it’s noticeable that although the tech is up-to-the-minute, this is not a film trying to be especially modern in its values. Disney’s Holy Grail is wide appeal, not progressive attitudes – otherwise we probably wouldn’t find big black gung-ho guinea pig Blaster, voiced by Tracy Morgan, embodying pretty much every cozy black stereotype from amiable street slang (“Holla!”) to way-cool breakdancing. They do, however, stop short of suggesting he’s packing in the pants department.”
Click here for G-Force reviewed and rated in full
In a word: CORPORATE
And on DVD: Marlene
“In an age of glossy whitewashes of celebrity subjects and unofficial warts ‘n’ all tabloid peerings at the underbelly of the stars, it’s quite the treat to encounter a beast which is neither. Watching Marlene is like watching expert fencers circling each other, cautiously testing defences and looking for a sly opening. Except that in Dietrich herself, we encounter an ego so sui generis, so deliberately provocative, it’s impossible to pin down her motivations for the contradictory self-mythologizing in which she engages. Just as she enjoys another minor victory over Schell, she seems to get bored of the game, a retired cat who can’t really be bothered with all this mouse business, darling.”
Click here for Marlene reviewed and rated in full
In a word: ENIGMATIC
