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Reviews
Interview with the Vampire (2022)
Hell's Bells Ringing indeed....
To anyone who likes this series...did you read the novel? If you haven't then you really should. You really, really should.
I can never understand why someone feels the need to take a beautifully written fantasy and turn it on it's head. Why? Why, dear God, why?
I was very excited wen I heard of this production but what a massive disappointment. I shall pray that the next book in the series is recognised as the perfectly formed gem that it is and given the visual treatment it deserves.
I hope Anne isn't turning in her grave; if there's one lesson here then it is that death is sometimes a blessing. Shoot the director. Disembowel the screenplay writer.
Moonfall (2022)
Emmerich Strikes Again
So Oblivion, Independence Day, Armageddon and The Matrix go to a wine and cheese evening. However by the time they get there all the wine has been consumed. 'Never mind', they say, 'there's plenty of mature cheddar. Tuck in.'
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Never Mind The Critics
Seriously, what are you all complaining about? I think it's great that we have a plot that isn't a regurgitation of rebels fighting one empire or another resulting in a big old battle with an award ceremony for dessert (and Jedis and Darths akimbo). I think it's great that the Star Wars landscape has widened out a bit.
OK, some of the costumes are a bit rubber-suit. The appearance of Suzi Quattro in episode 3 was a bit cheesy (cue the dramatic pose like you're in a vogue video and over-reliance on eyeliner). Yes, the dialogue falls a tad flat here and there. But this isn't high art guys, it's entertainment. It's not meant to challenge the limits of philosophy or even the boundaries of sci-fi.
I bet that most of the peeps who lapped up all of the many tedious superhero movies of late are the same ones who take delight in writing a negative review because that's where the cool kids are at. Favreau is the best thing to have happened to Star Wars since Mr Lucas got too rich to care what anybody thinks. And can you imagine how bad things would be if Disney hadn't brought in a genuine fan to direct proceedings? Honestly, the mere thought makes me shiver. How bad was 'The Rise of Skywalker'? (Spoiler: really bad).
I say keep going and damn the torpedoes.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
What a turkey
Convoluted plot. Wooden acting. Terrible script. On the plus side, it should appeal to the audience that liked 'Highlander: Endgame' and are still waiting for part 5. Also Keanu got another big pay day. Thank god I didn't pay to see it but it doesn't stop me wanting a refund. Yak, yak, yak. Fail, fail, fail.
Code of Silence (2021)
Realism on a tight budget.
There's a lot of chat these days about the Kray twins. They were hard men, the fans will say, but fair. And above all they loved their mum. What tends to be less emphasised or sometimes glorified is that they were vicious criminals who stopped at nothing. Without the implacable efforts of a few good men things would have been a lot worse.
The film centres on the efforts of the good guys who brought them to their just desserts in an era when police work relied on brains, intuition and sweat, and the bad guys toted shotguns. Not a computer in sight, just mounds of paper. The director tries to portray an unromantic snapshot of the nasty side of life - with success. You won't find many flirtations with sixties nostalgia here. Not even a Mary Quant hairdo.
The villains have a suitably classic Jag while the detectives make do with a decent-looking Morris Traveller. But that's it for the props department. The entire location for the shoot appears to have been a derelict factory in the less-fashionable end of Pontefract. A framing shot or two of some of the more memorable bits of the East End would have been good. It could have been a bit more 'The Ipcress File'.
Stephen Moyer actually looks remarkably like the real-life Nipper Read, and carries the role well. Ronan Summers portrays the callous nature of the Kray twins with chutzpah. However little work seems to have been done to emphasise the differences in their character. Personally, I felt the psychological attack on Read by the twins to have been a little overplayed, and Read appears overwhelmed by it. I imagine that he would have experienced something closer to contempt at any such diatribe. Certainly, I doubt Read was the sometimes easily vulnerable shrinking violet of Moyer's character.
There is a dearth of films made on a nothing-budget by talented but impoverished film companies these days, and this is one of the better ones. By their nature, a focus on character is essential since the fairground-ride effects of most current headline productions are far beyond the ambitions of the not-yet notable director. Still, this sort of thing regularly attracts large audiences at the Globe theatre. And with that in mind, this script would transpose well to the stage. I liked it.