A superb turn from the eternal punk, Alex Cox. Excellent performances and production design that never overshadows the rest of the show, despite being constantly inventive and energetic. And a great soundtrack by ChumbaWunmba (never thought I'd see myself saying that :))
Reviews
4 Reviews
Minority Report
(2002)
Lame and dumb, Dick turning in grave
6 July 2002
Take a tight story, elegant in the way that sci-fi short stories with a twist are, ruin the 'fun' concept by trying to expand on and explain it, then tack on some *awful* twists to spin it out an extra 30min. Try and be 'dark' and 'mature'. Get this pile of rubbish.
Plain awful. Some nice photography, but that alone isn't going to stop (once again) Phil Dick's name being dragged through the mud with an awful film using his name.
Go read UBIK, VALIS and FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID. Then next time a filmaker wants to 'do dick', you can point them in the right direction.
Plain awful. Some nice photography, but that alone isn't going to stop (once again) Phil Dick's name being dragged through the mud with an awful film using his name.
Go read UBIK, VALIS and FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID. Then next time a filmaker wants to 'do dick', you can point them in the right direction.
Banal, Bland & Cheap..!
25 November 2001
Crikey,
Very disappointing. Boring (way too long). Bland; really *dull* stuff. Special effects were *awful*; isn't this supposed to be a big budget blockbuster? -- everytime any SFX or stunt is on the screen everything goes blurred and the characters are replaced with _terrible_ CGI dummies that aren't even animated with any degree of competency.
The kids' acting is pretty bad (Harry is very wooden) -- and some of the bit part kids are just plain embarassing.
Really can't be motivated to say any more or to put any more effort into this review.
To summarise, this film really, really bored me -- it's photography, acting and general craftsmanship was _low_. Which is what I'd have expected from Columbus, but not from a franchise like Potter.
Very disappointing. Boring (way too long). Bland; really *dull* stuff. Special effects were *awful*; isn't this supposed to be a big budget blockbuster? -- everytime any SFX or stunt is on the screen everything goes blurred and the characters are replaced with _terrible_ CGI dummies that aren't even animated with any degree of competency.
The kids' acting is pretty bad (Harry is very wooden) -- and some of the bit part kids are just plain embarassing.
Really can't be motivated to say any more or to put any more effort into this review.
To summarise, this film really, really bored me -- it's photography, acting and general craftsmanship was _low_. Which is what I'd have expected from Columbus, but not from a franchise like Potter.
Together
(2000)
Together: didn't do much for me
1 September 2001
This reminded me of "Happiness" in many ways: it was over-hyped by critics, had many 2D characters whose quirks were there purely as straw-men for the writer to knock down with his jokes and both films seemed to get away with their simple, rather empty statements because initial critics found themselves charmed.
If this were in English and had a name like Spielberg attached to it it would be easily demolished for its sentimentality and silliness. However, as an example of the kind of soft-touch Arthouse cinema that people encourage these days, people seem to leave their brains in the lobby.
I won't list the weaknesses; they're easy to spot--intentionally so, as the writer wants easy fodder for his jokes--and you either sit their aghast at the paper thin treatment of sexuality or just glow with some sentimental residue that I couldn't spot, for all my efforts.
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If this were in English and had a name like Spielberg attached to it it would be easily demolished for its sentimentality and silliness. However, as an example of the kind of soft-touch Arthouse cinema that people encourage these days, people seem to leave their brains in the lobby.
I won't list the weaknesses; they're easy to spot--intentionally so, as the writer wants easy fodder for his jokes--and you either sit their aghast at the paper thin treatment of sexuality or just glow with some sentimental residue that I couldn't spot, for all my efforts.
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