jeanjeannie38

IMDb member since June 2000
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    23 years

Reviews

The Silence
(2010)

What a Shame!
I watched this, potentially brilliant, mini serial for each of its four days. Each day I really looked forward to the next episode. However, having now watched the whole series, I have reached the conclusion that the drama should have continued for five days instead of four. The fourth episode could very easily have concluded with a cliffhanger concerning the main character. This would have enabled the drama to end in a much more satisfying way. Instead, after watching four days of a truly gripping thriller, the ending was very disappointing. I don't think merely leaving your audience with a good idea of the probably outcome of a drama is a patch on concluding with a fully rounded ending. Instead of the series concluding in a way that left me pleased I have invested my time and energy in it, I was left feeling it had been cut short because the writer (or director) had simply run out of steam. On the plus side the acting, especially of those playing the two leading characters, was first class.

The Lovely Bones
(2009)

Stale bread and soup instead of the banquet I expected!!!
What a disappointment! Far too much energy has been spent on creating special effects at the expense of the characters. The actors did a fine job with what they were given. It is a crying shame they were not given a script which would allow them to make better use of their obvious talents. I read Alice Sebold's novel and although I realise that a film has to cover a large amount of ground in a short amount of time, the ground covered was superficial. I felt like I'd been invited to a banquet but received stale bread and soup! Jackson should have stuck to what he's good at and left deeper subjects to those who can handle them adequately. I have avoided spoilers since everyone should have a chance to make up their own minds.

Eyes Wide Shut
(1999)

What a Shame!
I recently got this film out on video, and was surprised (after hearing much negative talk about it) to find myself enjoying it. It had the usual weird and wonderful hallmarks of a Kubrick film.

I enjoyed the minimalist style music, which accompanied the action, along with the more scene specific stuff (don't want to say more for fear of spoiling).

In my view the film was about long term relationships: how jealousy can create insecurities; which can lead people to play dangerous games in order to redress the balance.

Unfortunately, after a good start and a good build up of tension, this film simply stopped rather than ended. What a shame!

The way in which the finishing scenes lacked some special ingredient makes me question whether Kubrick was still around in the final moments of the film's production.

The film could have done with being several minutes longer, so that the points it made could have been delivered more slowly allowing the tension to be ease off less abruptly.

Argent content
(2000)

Wow, one of the most exciting short film I've ever seen!
Forget car chases, the roller skate chase of the two bank robbers in this short is, spellbindingly, delightful! The allusion to "Killing Zoe", with regard to the robbers' disguise, is tongue in cheek and quite amusing.

I've watched this film twice and each time it captured my attention completely!!!

I look forward, enthusiastically, to this director's future offerings!

My Name Is Joe
(1998)

An insightful film which resonates with truths about the harsher aspects of today's society
"My Name is Joe" is a film in which the complexities of social issues are explored to reveal unpalatable truths. It seems some people can find themselves in situations in which all their choices are wrong ones! This film pulls no punches and is totally believable. Perceptively cast this is a film full of poignancy and depth. "My Name is Joe" is Ken Loach at his very best.

Nasty Neighbours
(1999)

Tragicomic film about a refreshingly ordinary bloke down on his luck!
The tragicomic Nasty Neighbours is one of the best film I've seen this decade. Unlike so many others it is not about slick, glamorous yuppies (the kind of films I'm sick to death of) but about an ordinary bloke who is just trying to fulfil the role of breadwinner in an occupation where there is not always bread to be had and in which only the ruthless survive.

In this, modern day,"Death of a Salesman" the British Willy Lowman, played by Ricky Tomlinson, is trying desperately to hold onto the "American" dream of the "he-who-dares-wins" philosophy of latter 20th century Britain. He is failing miserably, unlike his prospering neighbours, the Chapmans (played by Phil Daniels and Rachel Fielding), who consider him and his wife inferior.

Ricky Tomlinson and Marion Bailey are excellently cast as the Peaches - he as Harold, the down-on-his-luck double glazing salesman, she as Jean, his nice but nutty wife. When the family's debts get out of hand the husband refuses to give up his Englishman's castle to the Bailiffs, implicitly believing that he should have something to show for his life's work. With his back against the wall, this follow-all-the-rules guy decides that for once he is going to rebel! The results are both hilarious and tragic.

This film, in my opinion, would be a box office smash hit if only someone would give it the chance!

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