adamblackshaw-14445 Reviews

Civil War (2024)

Still undecided

[6/10 · 17 April 2024]

CIVIL WAR is gripping, tense and felt very authentic. The editing was tremendous. The musical choices were often a bit odd but I did enjoy the use of SUICIDE. Acting was good. Great seeing Dunst scowling and not playing the pretty girl (she's probably a bit old for that now these days anyway). I like how Garland kept the politics out of it. We had little idea of why/how the war started and who were the bad guys. A couple of references did suggest the Govt were leading a totalitarian state but many times you had no idea who was on which side. It was an anxiety producing film but......there was just something missing. I came away not entirely sure what Garland was wanting to say. War is futile? War correspondents are immoral? I think I needed Dunst's character to be more fully fleshed out. She also needed to be more front and centre. She was at times, of course, but then at others she was just one of the group. The final attack on the White House will go down as one of the great scenes in American filmmaking. It's a film I would watch again to see if I can tease out any subtext.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Sequels are often doomed to disappoint

[5/10 · 19 March 2024]

DUNE Part One was quite an extraordinary film. I've watched it many times because it's not just the narrative that's interesting, it's also the mood. It had a poetry to it that satisfies repeat viewing. Unfortunately Part Two doesn't.

Sequels are often doomed to disappoint because we've already been shown the good stuff. The main characters, the director's vision and especially the look and feel of the movie. The sequel often has little more to show us other than the movement of plot. BUT it can show us character development and here that simply doesn't really happen. Sure Paul develops into being a leader but you get no great sense of him changing. And what I felt was weak in Part One, the villains, are exposed even more. I never felt the Baron was particularly evil and Raban comes off as a Mummy's boy. There's no genuine menace. At least Lynch's villains were repulsive (even if they were cartoonish). Yes we get Feyd for the first time but he seems very one dimensional and his growly voice is simply off-putting. The Emperor has little presence, his daughter even less so. Chani is clearly the best character.

It also felt like each of the main characters were off doing their own thing with little cohesion and key moments were rushed. This is particularly the case with Paul drinking the water. THAT is a huge moment but here it's not given the drama it deserved. And where was the soundtrack that was sooo mesmerising in Part One?

Anyway, go see it on a big screen. I will see it again as sometimes a second viewing changes my opinion, but I'm no fan boy who intends to gush over something that disappointed, particularly after the wonderful Part One. Oh, and clearly it's being left open for a third film.

Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

Lightweight

[3/10 · 16 March 2024]

What is it about any Coen film that people have to start screaming? I remember it way back with RAISING ARIZONA and thought it was fake and annoying even then. Do they think it's their trademark? Anyway, DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS is a pretty lightweight comedy crime caper which attempts to be edgy with a lesbian narrative. It almost feels like Ethan rescued it from brother Joel's bin. It's like someone trying to make a Coen Bros film. It never reaches the screwball comedy it needs to become and when you find out what's in the briefcase it's more cringe than funny. The main actors are appealing enough even though Qualley seems forced and grates at times. Feldstein steals every scene she's in. The psychedelic scenes make little sense.

Saltburn (2023)

Brideshead meets Mr Ripley and no one is the winner

[4/10 · 24 February 2024]

SALTBURN looks great. The art design is top notch and that birthday party looked like good fun. The ensemble cast was also very good. Pike stole every scene she was in even if her waspish crassness was over the top at times and not terribly believable. Possibly one of Grant's best roles since he peaked way too early in the wonderful cult film WITHNAIL AND I.

But we've seen this film before. The fish out of water. The poor guy dazzled by the lifestyle of the uber rich he wants so much. Then there were THOSE scenes which were largely incomprehensible. Sucking Felix's semen bath water. Tasting Venetia's menstrual blood. The creepy sex with Farleigh.

I'm clutching for a deeper meaning here bc it feels like there is one beyond the yuckiness of it all. Then having him hump Felix's grave was the final wtf moment.

But yeah, the film has a huge twist. A HUGE twist. A totally unbelievable twist. At least with the TALENTED MR RIPLEY you knew what the main protagonist was up to and so you were kept wondering if he would get away with it. That created a lot of juicy tension. With SALTBURN you were being asked to be shocked or stunned. Almost like a whodunnit. Instead it was more of a groan and just made the film look pretty silly.

The silliness was doubled down with the finale. Dancing naked through the mansion was such a cheap and lazy way to end it. And really, she signed over the whole estate to this loser? Really? C'mon :/

Argylle (2024)

How to ruin a good set up

[2/10 · 14 February 2024]

The first 30mins or so of ARGYLLE is actually pretty funny. The whole concept is interesting and you hope the film will build from there. Alas, it is not so. Very quickly it deteriorates into absolute stupidity. I'm all for outrageous, ridiculous farces but this film is just plainly stupid. It's interminably long and what pass as plot twists are of eyerolling inanity. Sure, it's supposed to spoof the genre but it doesn't even do that in a clever way. Bryan Cranston and Catherine O'Hara try to bring something to the story but even their efforts are wasted. Samuel L. Jackson makes a pointless contribution. It could have been a decent film if the writers had reigned it in. Do not waste your money, or especially your time(!), on this heap of fetid garbage.

Daliland (2022)

Actually improves at it goes along

[4/10 · 7 February 2024]

DALILAND starts out looking pretty dreadful to be honest. Kingsley's large nose is certainly off-putting though does play the part well. But it just looks like a cheap and tacky low budget biopic. Things do, however, pick up in the second half of the film. The main actor playing James Linton is well cast, as is actor playing Gala in all her horrible glory.

Ultimately what really should be a 3 hour film is crammed into far less screen time. As much as Dali squandered his gifts and shielded his neuroses by turning himself into an artworld clown, he still was a a major celebrity of the C20th and I still await a definitive film that tells his story, warts and all.

Birdsong (2012)

I've read the book as well

[7/10 · 24 January 2024]

The book felt like Faulks really just wanted to write about WW1, which he does well, but someone whispered in his ear, 'Hey Seb, no one wants to read such a depressing topic. You gotta spice it up. Chuck in a love story. That'll do it'. And Faulks did more than that. He chucked in some spicy sex stuff which tbh is a tad awkward to read. Not to mention the jump from sideways glances to full on sex didn't make make sense to me in either the book or the film. Redmayne spends an inordinate amount of time staring vacantly and Poesy barely looks at him, let alone giving off a 'give it to me baby in the red room' vibe. Also, as good an actor Redmayne is, I'm surprised women seem to think he's terribly handsome. He looks kinda reptilian to me, and not in a good way. Posey on the other hand is incandescent. I could stare at her face all day.

The film cuts out what I think are some extraneous storylines in the book which actually improves it. And I think the love vs hate dichotomy that fuels the whole narrative is telegraphed much better as well. I still haven't completely wrapped my head around why Isobel left Stephen. I've read a number of thoughts on this and still am none the wiser. I suspect I might be a bit dim.

Weir's homosexuality was made clearer in the film but I'm not sure if this was even necessary, other than to make the story more contemporary. Firebrace was really the heart of the story but much more of a central character in the book, although he does deliver the key message in the film.

Napoleon (2023)

Disappointing

[6/10 · 24 November 2023]

Well that was disappointing. It just seemed lacking, lacking and lacking. Why was that? There was no great dramatic arc. No build up of tension or anxiety. I felt I saw the Wikipedia version of the story with the emotion drained from it. And it was oddly lacking in being truly epic. Sure the battle scenes were grand but we've come to expect that in a film. Granted it was fantasy but they were much more epic in Lord of the Rings. There was also so much time between the siege of Toulon and the next engagement that the narrative dragged. And way too many odd short scenes, mostly of Nap and Joe fawning over each other. I felt lost in the sequence of events at times. And the story lost itself, not sure of what it wanted to really drive it. Let's make a comparison between this film with a budget of upwards of $200M and THE KING (2019) with a budget of $23M. The latter is, admittedly, ahistorical, but my God it tells a great story with real drama and characters you care about and who grow as the film develops. It's a film I continue to repeatedly watch. Even the battle scenes had more substance. I don't think I'll return to NAPOLEON in the future. It's a shame bc Phoenix's and Kirby's performances were good, not award winning good, but good.

Queen of the South (2016–2021)

Entertaining if a bit of a soapy

[7/10 · 1 November 2023]

I binged all five seasons over a couple of weeks. The recipe of everything gets sorted, then goes out of control, big shoot out, then sorted again, is tiresome after awhile. A cartel leader with a big heart is also something of a fantasy and the ending, though it's what we all wanted, is just too cheesy to be believable. Still it's an entertaining ride and you do care for the characters and hope they pull through.

If you want to watch the 'real' cartel story then the SICARIO franchise is much closer to fact. Hopefully a third film is on the drawing board.

On another note, the bad guys shoot as badly as Stormtroopers in STAR WARS. How the good guys manage to get away ever time using only handguns when confronted with multiple machine guns firing at them beggars belief!

The Creator (2023)

A whole lotta nothin

[5/10 · 26 October 2023]

There are films that make you think. There are films that provoke strong emotions. There are films that stay with you for days. Some films, great films, can do all three. This is not one of those films.

I was looking forward to a film that might take on the challenge of exploring how AI is going to impact on our lives. What I got was a stock standard big production that is terribly overcooked, full of clichés, zero character development and patchy script. People will marvel at the visuals and, yes, they are quite spectacular, but they come at the expense of quality storytelling. Like so many films in this genre, as the credits role, this film is completely forgettable.

Asteroid City (2023)

A little more 'normal' than usual

[5/10 · 3 September 2023]

You either like/love Anderson's style of filmmaking or you could hate/loathe it. Personally, I quite like it. The Darjeeling Limited is still my favourite and I often re-watch it, same with Fantastic Mr Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel. I almost walked out The French Dispatch bc I just found it intolerably boring. So it was with some hesitation that I saw Asteroid City. Fortunately it was a (slight) return to storytelling, although I found the B&W theatre production within the story simply irrelevant and annoying. It is a film that really doesn't amount to much. I've rad it was about grief. Well, that was a surprise! I never really got that. Anderson isn't going to win over any new fans with this.

Godland (2022)

Could have been more

[6/10 · 31 August 2023]

GODLAND reminded my of MEEK'S CUTOFF, and not just because of the squarish aspect ratio. Both are a journey across harsh landscapes that test and transform people. But to my mind it is no BLACK ROBE. I've read reviews calling the main character, Lucas, pious with a desire to save souls etc. I didn't get this feeling AT ALL. He seemed more preoccupied with taking photos than being some kind of head in the sky religious zealot on a mission to spread the word of God (as in BLACK ROBE). There's very little Bible thumping to be had. Other reviewers have also called it 'bone-chilling', 'horror' etc. It's none of these things. I'm not sure why they are reaching for such superlatives. It's actually a fairly pedestrian story and the dramatic moments came as something of a surprise (to me at least). I found the ending somewhat unfathomable as well bc, for me, little led up to it. Still, it was satisfyingly bleak with majestic mountains, mist, rivers and glaciers. But really, it could have been much more,

Barbie (I) (2023)

Did I just watch a 2hr Mattel advertisement?

[6/10 · 29 August 2023]

BARBIE is a great example of hype over substance. It is laugh out loud at times and Gosling steals every scene he's in. The art direction is on point. What makes it tiresome is THE MESSAGE pummelled into the audience, but then were we expecting any subtly? Probably not. Ultimately my wife just thought, 'I already know this. I don't need to hear it. But maybe some women do?' I get her point. In the end it felt like we were being sold Barbie Dolls as some kind of icon of feminism. But seriously, they are a very poor example of female role models. Not surprisingly Mattel was one of the producers.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

My fav Anderson film

[9/10 · 1 June 2023]

My fav Anderson film (followed by FANTASTIC MR FOX) that I have watched multiple times and will continue to re-watch. In some ways it's less like other Anderson films. It's less mannered and has less contrived framing - y'know, those symmetrically framed of scenes with toy-like, pastel coloured buildings. It's also less 'cutsie'. But in other ways it's 100% Anderson - quirky characters and improbable moments. But this film also has many moments of genuine heart, helped by a great score (eg 'Strangers' by The Kinks). You do feel like you go on a journey with the three leads, both internally and externally, and tells a story about characters, rather than being a demonstration of 'how cool am I as a filmmaker'. I'm still a fan (though THE FRENCH DISPATCH bored me to tears) but I hope Anderson returns to this style of movie making.

The Innocent (2022)

What film were the critics watching? Not this one!

[3/10 · 2 May 2023]

I read critics lauding this film using superlatives like 'amazing', 'hysterically funny' and 'a delight'. With great hopes we handed over our money and went in. I enjoy French comedies but they have proven to be hit and miss over the years. This one is a big MISS. It's also a mess. The acting was fine, as was the plot, so what was it? I can only put it down to the script, direction and editing, which is pretty much most of how a film is made. Apart from not being even mildly humorous it was just so disjointed. Some scenes made little sense. I do give it points for the scene in the diner. That was quite well made and hinted at a completely other film the director might be more proficient at.

Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)

Underrated

[7/10 · 23 April 2023]

This is a really entertaining and straight forward crime drama with good central characters. There's no bells and whistles here, just good story telling with enough hints of back stories and enough tension to keep you wondering. We stumbled across it and glad to see there are more in the series. The Nordic Noir genre is awash with TV series and it's hard to know which to watch and which to avoid. Department Q is certainly one we will keep in touch with. I especially want to see how the relationship between the two leads develop and how their personal lives intersect with their work. Give it a look.

Suzume (2022)

Not his best effort

[5/10 · 20 April 2023]

YOUR NAME (d. Makoto Shinkai) is one of my favourite animes, along with THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME and HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. I'm not a fanboy of Ghibli and like to see the work of other directors in the genre. Unfortunately SUZUME is not one of Makoto Shinkai's better films. The visuals are stunning but it's really a linear plot that rolls out without much of a dramatic arc. It lacks a heart or any substantial character development. The characters just seems to have to go here and there trying to close gates and catch the cat, over n over n over. I quickly lost interest. I did enjoy thinking about it in the cultural context of Japan coming to terms with the devastating tsunami. Reminded me of how the early Godzilla films were a response to the atomic bombs dropped during WWII. Worth seeing in the cinema just for the artwork on a big screen.

The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

Silly......truly silly

[3/10 · 19 April 2023]

THE POPE'S EXORCIST is truly a silly film. Not at all scary apart from a few 'jump scares'. It makes THE DA VINCI CODE look like a masterpiece and isn't a patch on THE NAME OF THE ROSE or even the original THE EXORCIST. I make these comparisons bc I was really hoping for so much more. I like a good mystery amidst the pomp and glitter of the Catholic Church. But it really doesn't come close.

The real exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, has been used to create this totally predictable and fictional hogwash. We've seen these characters before. The innocent family heading to doom is from THE SHINING, the Father Gabriele Amorth character is Anthony Hopkins' Van Helsing and his priest offsider is any number of ineffective wet priests from any number of movies. The 'possessed child' is no Linda Blair.

Only one thing elevates it above 2 stars and that's Russell Crowe. He does his best with this unfortunate material. He really does fill the screen in the same way Gérard Depardieu can. At 59yo he's looking the worse for wear these days but hey, he's an exorcist so I assume he's seen some stuff.

Don't waste your time and money on this dross. I was laughing through most of it.

It looks like they are wanting to turn this into a franchise. The ending suggests they could make another 199 films! God help us! That would make James Cameron feel inadequate lol.

Maigret (2022)

Inconsequential

[3/10 · 28 February 2023]

I like watching Gérard Depardieu lumbering about in movies. Before I really knew him I saw DANTON (1983) and I was amazed by how this bear of a man filled the screen. He was incandescent. I have since seen him in many roles where he has outshone the other cast members. MAIGRET is a good looking film and the set up is interesting but it was sooo very disappointing. It just peters out to something neither dramatic or of any kind of consequence. We were left asking each other, 'So, that's it?'. I was expecting so much more. A twist perhaps? I understand the character is a much loved fictional French detective but he's no Poirot! At least not as depicted in this movie.

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Never quite gets there

[5/10 · 28 February 2023]

I haven't read the book but imagine it was way better than this movie. The film was okay. It is an interesting and fairly new story that it is pretty well told. The main character is engaging if we spend too much time watching her looking doe-eyed. Apart from the father, the characters are not wholly black and white - I wish we learnt more about Chase's motives. But ultimately it becomes a courtroom drama that lacks drama. I can't help but compare it to SNOW FALLING IN CEDARS which is far more poetic and deals with the courtroom scenes with much greater sensitivity and gravitas. What redeemed the movie for me somewhat was the ending. That will stay with me, even if the rest won't likely.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Visually stunning but.....

[7/10 · 8 February 2023]

There's no doubting the visuals of this film and the war sequences. They are bloody, gritty, violent etc etc. It is a big picture movie that deserves to be seen on the big screen. But I felt there was something missing at its centre. The big sequences are delivered at the expense of a more psychological examination of the experience of the main group of soldiers we follow. Instead we get a much simpler story of young, naïve soldiers thrown into something they are totally unprepared for and used as cannon fodder by those who are not expected to fight. In fact, much of that is pretty cliched. If I compare it to the Australian film, GALLIPOLI, the latter far surpasses it. And that's because we get to really know the main characters and feel deeply for them.

Yellowstone (2018– )

Highly manipulative

[8/10 · 28 January 2023]

'Lolita' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov set out to write a beautiful piece of literature but on a subject that was immoral and deplorable. The reader is thrown into a state of cognitive dissonance. It's great novel but....but.....

'Yellowstone' has a similar effect. Viewers are presented with a stunning aesthetic and seduced by the cowboy myth. But the family at the centre of the story are ultimately corrupt, vile murderers. Yet we are expected to sympathise and cheer them on. It's not unlike another popular series, 'Succession', but on horseback. However, while the family in 'Succession' are more clearly ugly, the Duttons and their entourage are held up as a shining example of America as 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'. It's a terrifically manipulative series.

The English (2022)

Patchy, to say the least

[5/10 · 7 December 2022]

Westerns are my favourite genre so of course I'm going to watch it and I'm an Emily Blunt fan - SICARIO is a terrific film. But her acting here just seemed a bit off-kilter. And the plot had various jumps that made little sense. The connection with her fiancée was left more or less dangling throughout and his storyline just seemed oddly irrelevant to the main story. Where other might scream 'woke', I had no issue with the constant reminder of how illtreated Native Americans were. This has been a buried history for far too long imho. I enjoyed Chaske Spencer's character and look forward to seeing him in more productions. Rafe Spall as Melmont is genuinely disturbing. It's an ok miniseries but falls short in many areas.

See How They Run (2022)

Truly a dud of a movie

[3/10 · 5 November 2022]

I'd watch Saoirse Ronan in a toothpaste ad. Along with Timothée Chalamet, I think she is the best of her generation. But even she cannot rescue this film. Talk about a lacklustre movie! It loses itself in Agatha Christie references, trying to be clever, but ultimately delivers very little. There's the occasional chuckle but these are very few and far between. KNIVES OUT is better and even that is pretty ordinary. It doesn't even work as a whodunnit. In the end it's never really launches into anything memorable or entertaining. Why people are giving it anything more than 5/10 stars is beyond me. Oh, and clearly the director is a fan of Wes Anderson as many scenes mimic his work.