apban Reviews

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

'Style over Substance' is the point of this film

[7/10 · 28 August 2008]

In the audio commentary for this film Norman Jewison describe TCA as a film of 'style over substance' and he's right, but the style is the very point of this film. As Norman Jewison points out in the audio commentary from the sound mixing, to camera work, to the editing it was all an experiment in style and the final ingredient in this experiment is the acting. First Faye Dunaway is uber, calm, sexy and collected as she openly admits that she's 'immoral and in it for the money' and is not afraid to use her womanly charms to get what she wants. But for me it's Steve McQueen who sets the tone for this film and in my opinion I find it hard to believe that he found this role challenging because as always he is the epitome of playing it cool.

Now I first saw the re-make before I saw the original version and I can't say which I prefer more, there are elements of the re-make that made the idea of the film somewhat stronger but then there are the more quite and subtle moments in the original that were somewhat trampled on by the re-make, for example the love scene. In the original it is a somewhat cheeky, humorous, and a quietly smouldering piece of storytelling, but in the re-make it is nothing more than a full blown, out and out, there no need to imagine it affair. Also another thing that the re-make will not surpass is Steve McQueen as Thomas Crown, now I like Pierce Brosnan, but Steve McQueen is cool without trying to play at being cool and that's the difference. Also the original doesn't go for the Hollywood ending of Tommy and Vicki ending up together. As Norman Jewison says in the audio commentary of the original the fact that Tomas Crown, before he's even done the second robbery, has made up his mind that he'll be on the plane and knows Vicki will betray him is wonderful cynical, he never even gave her the chance.

But to give the re-make some credit the fact that it has Thomas Crown take part in the art robbery is a nice touch and adds more to the idea that he's doing it for kicks. Also the re-make makes a bit more effort to give the story more substance, and that's something that the original should have had.

If the original Thomas Crown Affair had a bit more substance, and a better development of plot, the caper itself and Tommy's and Vicki love affair then I think the film would have a much higher standing in cinema history.

But then again Thomas Crown's life is all about style with no substance, a wealthy man who lives in a big house by himself with no other meaning to his life than to play the part of the rich playboy being seen at the right clubs and wearing what's fashionable. No wonder the man was bored.

King Arthur (2004)

Fan videos can make something so bad, so much better (Spoilers for this and PotC: At Worlds End)

[3/10 · 17 January 2008]

First things first, if anyone watched this film thinking that it would be a bit of an insight into how the legend of King Arthur was created is frankly an idiot. It's a big budget Hollywood film the tag line line that it's Arthur before the myth is just a new way to bring in audiences.

But anyway I finally finished watching this film last night and sorry to say that as the film went on it did not improve. This maybe my own fault as I did watch fan videos first so knew what was going to happen to Lancelot, if I had the surprise factor I'm pretty sure I would have screamed "Nooooooooo!!!!" As I did when I saw PotC: AWE, which was not worth 3 hours of anyones life and then they killed Norrington. But anyway King Arthur, and it was the directors cut that I watched by the way.

But just to get this bit out of the way, before I go into the film itself. This film now has one of my all time favourite lines.

Lancelot to Guinevere : I don't believe in heaven, I've been living in this hell. But if you represent what heaven is, then take me there.

Smooth, don't you agree? And said in a lovely deep voice.

But now onto the film. These are the things that I liked about this film.

The mood and atmosphere of the film.

Lancelot - Ioan Gruffudd played him so well with that charm but a bit of the dark side and the hint of his interest in Guinevere, and that she was the battle he choose to die for.

Lancelot and Guinevere: The hint of something there, and while I'm not one of these people who thinks Keria Knightly is a fantastic actress, in this role with that underlining current of her and Lancelot she did a good job of it. I also think it helped that Keria Knightly and Ioan Gruffudd had great chemistry, in fact in my opinion they seemed to have so much more and better chemistry than Keria and Clive Owen did.

The rest of the knights. I think that scene near the beginning when they're talking about what they will do when they return home and the scene of them sitting out side drinking before they learn of the other mission was a very good starting point of there friendship and relationships. Also Ray Winestone, legend. I mean in the big fight scene the guy gets a spear in the back, but he just keeps on going. Well I guess you can't kill off the guy who has 11 brats, that would be too sad.

I also liked the bit with the knight that didn't say much and the little kid. A very nice story that managed to be told in a film that seemed to have no real direction, or in fact story. And this leads on to what I didn't like.

Basically that is the rest of the film.

To me Clive Owen seemed wooden through out. The supposedly close relationship that Arthur and Lancelot had didn't come through.

The film didn't seem to have a plot it was just, come up with something so we can have a massive fight scene at the end. Which for a person who doesn't enjoy a lot of gore and didn't fully watch the battle scene in Gladiator, didn't seem to mind them cutting of heads and such.

It is meant to be winter but there were leaves on the trees and when they come back to the wall it looks like a sunny day, when in the previous scene they were on an frozen lake. I know it's Scotland but come on.

Also they allow the Saxons to come through the gate to there side of the wall, which brings up another point. Unless the electric garage door was invented in the 5th Century, who is opening and closing the gate? I think that is pretty much all I have to say on it, but from now on I will be watching King Arthur in Lancelot related fan videos only.

Century City (2004)

I'd rather have a "what if" futuristic lawyer show like this, then just another lawyer show

[7/10 · 16 January 2008]

I will admit here and now that I found this show on line and the reason I was watching was because of Ioan Gruffudd, that said however I really, really love the concept of this show. The "what if" questions it threw out our scientific advancement is something that needs to be debated as to how it will one day effect society.

However I will admit that this series didn't get off to the best of starts. The Pilot episode was not fantastically well written and the cloning plot line became to complicated. But I think this show, if it had been given time could have worked out a few of its teething problems and really established itself. Perhaps not as the best show on television ever, but I something with an interesting twist, with stories that made you think.

But as many have said, I think a small number of people can accept a futuristic show like this. Some will say that it's not sci-fi because it doesn't have big space ships, or lazer guns and there are no aliens. Me however, well I love this kind of stuff, don't get me wrong I like sci-fi with spaceships and aliens to, but this was taking a look at scientific advancement, that at this time is in it's infancy, and asking where it might be heading.

The characters as well were are really likable and your sort of general assemble of characters. One thing I really liked was the the two women in the show, where strong without being cold hearted or bitchy, they were not ashamed to have emotions. The cast itself as the show went on seemed to be bonding as characters also, and if the show had continued there would most likely have been very enjoyable chemistry between all of them.

I know this show may just seem like another lawyer show, but to be honest I'd rather have a "what if" futuristic lawyer show like this, then just another lawyer show.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

This film is not that bad, in fact it's actually quite a good family film

[8/10 · 12 January 2008]

I saw this film a a few weeks ago on the New Year telly, and out of the choice there was of things to watch, this film was the right one. In admittance I had seen the second film first and thought that it wasn't bad either, though everyone had said that it was a big improvement on the first. So when I settled down to watch the first film I braced my self for a film that was, 'so bad it's just bad', but was completely surprised that the film wasn't bad at all, in my opinion it was actually quite good.

In fact as the film got to 30 minutes in I was sat trying to work out what was supposed to be so bad about this film? It had good pace, nice comedic moments and enjoyable, likable and fun characters, there was some heart in there to and the CGI was good and the action in the film is not too much as to over shadow everything else. So I thought that perhaps the problem would be that as the film went on that the end was to be a let down, many a film has been destroyed by a bad middle or pathetic ending, but no the film seemed to be well laid out and at a good pace.Some people I've asked have said that the film was cheesy, but the film is cheesy in a good way, like the new series of Doctor Who is and I believe that the Fantastic Four wasn't designed to be as hard and serious as Batman or X-Men. Yes the film does have some logic holes, but what action or Sci-fi film doesn't? The fact is that if you want a film that young children can watch or you can watch as a family, then I think the Fantastic Four is an all round enjoyable and lovely family film.

Now I will admit that I'm a viewer of the film that didn't read the Fantastic Four as a comic and do not remember the cartoon series at all, so when I came to this film I was just an ordinary viewer watching a set up film for a franchise. Now I understand why some fans may have been unhappy that the film left certain points and pieces out, but the fact is that film is a different medium, and what works in a comic book or cartoon may not translate well to film, or for the beginning of franchise. The first film has to set things up and I think the film is a good basis for the Fantastic Four franchise. Though I do think that perhaps the Fantastic Four may have been better served as a TV series, but that's another issue.

But to put it another way. I have seen and really enjoyed the new Batman Begins, Superman Returns and first two X-Men films, but I bought none of those on DVD. I own both of the Fantastic Four films and I look forward to a third one.

Superman Returns (2006)

takes a while for things to come together and the pace is a little slow, but you know what the film needs time.

[9/10 · 8 August 2006]

In my opinion it is a fantastic film.

I really, really like this film and if a sequel was out tomorrow I'd be first in line to see it, because I just want more of Bryan Singer's Superman.

It does take a while for things to come together and the pace is a little slow, but you know what the film needs time. Superman and the movies haven't been around for a long time so Clark and Superman need to be re-establish and Brandon Routh needs to be allowed time to establish himself as Clark and Superman. Which he does effortlessly. He managed to capture Christopher Reeves's Clark without turning it into some bad impersonation and also made Clark his own. But his Superman however in my opinion has a different feel to that of Christopher Reeves's. Which is also a great thing because this is a Superman who hasn't been around for 5 years and while he's been gone things have moved on.

Louis Lane played by Kate Bosworth has a 5 year old son and has been engaged to Richard another editor on the Daily Planet, who also has a passion for flying. What's really wonderful about Kate Bosworth's Louis Lane is that she's a real woman. She isn't played like the typical hard noised career woman. Superman's departure and motherhood have changed her and it is something the film recognises.

James Marsden who plays Louis's fiancé Richard White (Perry White's nephew) was Scott/Cyclops in the X-Men movies. The great thing about his character is that you would expect him to be a bit of an arsehole, because you would think the writers wouldn't want the audience to sympathise with the guy who is stopping the hero and heroin of the film getting together. What's great is that Richard is a great guy who doesn't have anything against Clark or Superman as you would expect, you can see why Louis would want to marry him and why they both work well in a relationship.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor is also wonderful. He isn't moustache turning or overly exclaiming that he wants revenge on Superman, and he doesn't attempt to kidnap Louis so he can show the heroin his evil plan. Louis is accidentally taken when she trespasses, with her son, onto Lex's boat. And then Lex leaves them on the boat as he goes to see how his new continent is working out, because he doesn't care about her.

The film is also beautifully shot and the opening scene of travelling thought space is amazing. I'm so glad I saw this film on the big screen to fully experience it. Bryan Singer has done a wonderful job of capturing a hard feel to the Superman story, along with some great little bits of humour in the film. But Singer allows his Superman to fall, metaphorically and literately. One of the most brutal scenes is Superman being beaten up by Lex's minions because the Kryptonite is taking effect. You don't see any blood, but you can see and sense how scared Superman is, without his powers to rely on he's just another human being, and if you've never have been 'just' a human being, it would be frightening. There's also that sense of burden that Superman feels, being the saviour. "You say the world doesn't need a saviour. But every day I hear people calling out for one." Really I can't recommend this film enough. You go into the cinema expecting your standard hero conquers all film, I already know the ending. But when you watch it you constantly question how you think it's going to end and overall the film feels like you're watching something original.

The only thing I can say against the film is that it does have that feeling that something is missing, something that you can't quite put your finger on. But that little feeling would no way influence me to call this a bad film or a disappointing film because to me it wasn't and I'd eagerly go see it again. Bryan Singer has created a wonderful Superman story and to me it's the one I want to see more of.

Slings and Arrows (2003–2006)

it really is as others have said a real gem

[26 March 2006]

I discovered this show a few weeks ago and it really is as others have said a real gem.

The first two episodes of season one do well in introducing the characters and the situation that the festival finds itself in with failing Shakespeare productions. But it's the third episode were Geoffrey is in charge of the festival that the series really begins to pick up pace and because it is a six episode series the series is therefore focused on one main plot which is the problems they face performing Hamlet. But while that is the constant theme it's the problems that the characters face that is the most interesting.

My favourite scenes are those that are either centred around Ellen and Geoffrey or Geoffrey and Oliver or even Geoffrey trying to deal with anyone. Paul Gross is absolutely fantastic as Geoffrey as he is a great comic actor. He seems to walk the fine line of Geoffrey being mad and begin very big, character wise but Gross always seems to rein it back to the right level each time and in the first episode I was sort of sitting around waiting for Geoffrey to return.

Martha Burns as Ellen the ageing diva is also brilliant and her diva ways of turning up late and her self centeredness is of a childish nature that she is just a great comical character. I love it when she's doing a show or clearly wants someone to go away that she'll yell at them and then calmly say that she's stressed or nervous.

The constant fighting between Ellen and Geoffrey but the undeniable chemistry between the two is great to watch (but that wouldn't be hard since Gross and Burns are real life husband and wife.) At the begin the barbs they throw at each other or more often than not just releases of tension and they each let it roll off their backs, kind of like kids in the playground. That is until the last episode of season one were they talk to each other like adults and begin to resolve the issue of why Geoffrey left. Once that is resolved when we come back for season two they are back to just throwing off handed barbs to each other and the attraction between the two is rekindled. Although they do then have problems when Oliver returns.

I like that the issue of whether or not Geoffrey is insane or that Oliver is a ghost is questioned and Geoffrey's concern and refusal to be insane and looking like fool again is actually quite serious and I like that it effects his relationship with Ellen and that she talk to Henry about it, even though that is somewhat a betrayal but she's concerned about him and admits she doesn't know how to deal with it. I wonder when it returns for the final series if Oliver will return because Geoffrey does say to Oliver at the end of season two that it's over and he doesn't want him to haunt him anymore. If Oliver does return I hope there are some scenes were Ellen and Geoffrey talk about it and his mental state.

I just want to mention Jennifer Irwin as Holly Day who is absolutely superb as the bitch who intends to turn the Festival into one big souvenir store and stage musicals. But because she is so fantastic I now find myself skipping her parts because the character of Holly is so spin chillingly annoying that I just want reach into the screen and kill her. The whole seasons you are just wanting for her to get her comeuppance and hopefully to also be run over by a pig truck.

I'm looking forward to the third but sadly last season of the show, but the best thing about the show is you can tell that the writers did plan where the season was going to go and character and plot development are hugely benefited by that. Also the show flows easily into it's second season which is also helped by that fact that the show has one director, Peter Wellington.

Peter's Friends (1992)

Spoilers!! despite the miss judge of direction is a rather enjoyable and delightful film

[7/10 · 17 January 2006]

This film has a great cast but is unfortunately let down by the direction. In my honest opinion Kenneth Branagh should not have directed this film. I think they should have chosen someone outside the group of very real friends to perhaps keep it from some sentimentality. Branagh also seems to not enjoy close ups that much as some really great performances are missed. For example the scene were everything is coming to a head Branagh decides to pan around a Christmas tree and you are unable to see the faces of the actors. This bad direction does take away some of the impact of the scene.

Despite the somewhat bad direction the performances are superb. While the whole cast is excellent I do think the best performance came from Hugh Laurie who was wonderful as a father who is trying to cope with the death of one his twins. The heart felt scene were he basically semi-explodes to his friends is so touching. He expresses his hurt about how people always say it's hard for a mother to lose a child and not the father is so touching and moving that despite the somewhat lack of close up his performance is still a knock out as is his scene with Imelda Staunton who plays his wife. Their scene were they work through their heartache is very powerful. I think Brangha was right to have played that in one shot. But alas both Laurie and Staunon are somewhat under used and their is very little of them actually talking to their friends.

This film despite the miss judge of direction is a rather enjoyable and delightful film that I do recommend and while does have some heartache it is a very amusing film.

House M.D. (2004–2012)

Three shows in and hooked already

[10/10 · 27 June 2005]

At the moment I am only on the third episode as I live in the UK and am watching the show on channel 5, but already I am hooked. I absolutely adore this show and Hugh Laurie is utterly fantastic. Having seen him on British television in comedy roles it was refreshing to see him in a US drama.

Since I am not American I don't know if his accent is great or not but to me it sounds pretty good and the fact that Bryan Singer thought he was an American when he saw his audition tape must mean something. But it isn't just Hugh who is great as the support cast are equally important and House's relationship with Wilson is one I am really looking forward to seeing develop and House's relationship with Foreman who is not blinded by House's own expressed brilliance and is willing to challenge him. The whole cast just add another layer to the show and to House's character. I know that some people have been complaining about some of the medical aspects in the show and that they do things that real doctors wouldn't do. It is a T.V show so when watching it you must remember that some of it will be hyped up for dramatic intention. And people have complained it's formulaic. All drama is formulaic it's the way television is.

This is something worth watching as the character development of all the characters will i think be worth watching. From the writing, acting and directing and the title music is great.

Treed Murray (2001)

you realise that everyone is both heroic and no-heroic

[10/10 · 19 January 2005]

If you were to read a summary of a film about a man stuck in a tree and you weren't at least intrigued about how a director and actors could sustain a film for about 94 minutes about a man in a tree then you clearly are a person with no curiosity. If like me you are a curious person then you have to watch this film and if you are not curious then i especially insist that you watch this film.

Simple concept. Business man Murry is on his way to work and to avoid homeless people and the crowd takes a short cut through the park. On the way he is stopped by a 14 year old who demands five bucks for directions. Murry who is not keen and to waste five bucks knocks the youth in the face unfortunately for him the rest of the gang pops out and Murry runs. Tired and with no way out he climbs a tree. From here on in is the setting of the film, Murry in a tree surrounded with five youths.

The acting by the entire cast is of high quality David Hewlett's performance as Murry is just a pleasure to watch as he tries to save himself but as he also reveals more of his sort comings. As the film progress' your perception of all the characters change as you realise that everyone is both heroic and no-heroic. The depth and breath of the characters is what makes this film intriguing, this film is purely about people and the lengths people go to survive and to belong to something.