innisfree-57210 Reviews

1917 (2019)

Bland

[17 January 2020]

Offensively bland, predictable amusement park ride of a movie. Professional cinematography of course from the expert Roger Deakins, but that is simply not enough. See Paths of Glory, Come and See and Apocalypse Now instead of this cliched empty spectacle

Guest of Honour (2019)

What has happened to Egoyan!

[9 October 2019]

Bitterly disappointing. Up until Felicia's Journey Egoyan was at the very top of his craft. Dense, intelligent storytelling, with considerable technical mastery, prefect mis-en-scene. Until that movie, he seemed perfectly willing and able to move towards the mainstream with skill. With the partial exception of Adoration, it's been downhill since. Guest of Honour is poorly executed, appallingly written, shows no skill whatsoever. Indeed, the one or two nice shots seem accidental. One big problem is his use of actors. Back in the early days he used actors who seemed to give his admittedly clunky dialogue a sense of gravitas - Gabrielle Rose, David Hemblen, Elias Koteas, Maury Chakin (sp?)....the new batch, Luke Wilson, Colin Firth, Ryan Reynolds, a succession of attractive but poor female actresses, simply don't cut it......the sublime brilliance and control of The Adjuster, Calendar and Exotica, the beauty of The Sweet Hereafter.....it's all gone now