nunyabiz1973 Reviews

RocknRolla (2008)

Classic Ritchie Fun

[10/10 · 1 October 2008]

I saw a preview screening of this last night and it was great - a humorous and engaging ride through Ritchie's modern day London. Everything, from the stellar ensemble cast to the pacing and character development was pitch perfect. Everyone I spoke with after the screening agreed, it was the most FUN we've had with a film in ages. We laughed out loud, we cringed, we clapped and cheered. It's everything you could want for entertainment.

The character development and flow were spot on, it gave enough to understand perspectives and motivations without slowing the story down one bit. And there are some real 'characters' in this film - delightfully quirky, oh so colorful and just the right bit of humanity to make it all come alive.

There are some fantastic scenes and sequences in this film that people will be talking about for years to come. The acting was top notch, the writing excellent, great story with perfect direction and editing. This film leaves you with a sense of fun that stays with you long after you've left the theater.

If you prefer films of immense depth, with long drawn out shots of meaningful glances full of unexpressed emotions, and character development that explores the minutiae of the human psyche, then you're in luck - Oscar drama season is upon us and you have a plethora of boring and dull films to choose from. As for me, I don't care much for films that make me want to hurl myself off the top of the parking garage, life's too important to be so serious all the time. I'd rather be a RocknRolla.

Pathology (2008)

worthwhile psychological thriller

[8/10 · 4 April 2008]

After seeing an advanced screening, this film honestly delivered more than expected. Not being a fan of the gruesome torture-porn films so wide-spread in recent years, nor of the writers previous film (utterly ridiculous, in my opinion), I had reservations going in. Not in regards to the abilities of the cast, but as to how the concept of the film would be handled on the screen. The first 10 minutes, while well done, gave me pause as to whether the filmmakers would get beyond showing how extreme and outrageous they could be to an actually engaging story. In the end, I found the graphic and brutal nature of some of the scenes to support the development of the story and it's well drawn characters as well as the effective exploration of the darker potentials of the human psyche. My final impressions were of the solid performances of the cast and how the film was able to accomplish making the outrageous and often twisted ways of its characters seem both natural and plausible given the context of the story. I highly recommend giving this film a shot, even if it isn't a genre you'd typically see.