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m_stone
Reviews
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Good, but not good enough
Let me qualify myself first. I enjoyed this film. The 1 hour 40 minutes I spent in the cinema were a pleasant experience. It didn't drag and I didn't find myself mightily confused about what was going on. Not enough Salma Hayek (not nearly as much as in Desperado, if you know what I mean ;), but there you go.
I rewatched Desperado before going to see this, and I wish I hadn't now. I'm a fan of this style of movie, Rodiguez, Tarantino, etc. and OUATIM isn't as good as Desperado. Can't put my finger on why, but it isn't. Maybe it's not as stylish. Maybe the dialogue isn't as good. Maybe the violence seems more gratuitous (although that would seem unlikely). Maybe it's the overly complex plot (films of this nature should be simple, and let the characters progress it rather than the plot, IMHO). Maybe it's all of the above. It's been too long since I've seen El Mariachi to compare it to that, but if you haven't seen any of the trilogy, watch Desperado instead. However, if you just need a thrilling ride, go to see this.
One last thing, it's not for the squeamish. Other films of this genre are violent. I don't have a problem with that. I found parts of this a bit grim for my tastes though (people who have seen it will probably know what I mean)
Anita & Me (2002)
Give it some more screen space
I went to see this movie because it wasn't Harry Potter or Bond, and I felt I should support the currently subdued British Film industry, but was very glad that I had. One of the best films I've seen so far this year - certainly better than most of the blockbusters so far.
I found it an excellent film with a nice blend of pathos and belly laughs, the poignant mixed with the comedic. I found Chandeep Uppal, as the lead, Meena, gave an excellent performance and deserves to go onto other things. Many stalwarts of British comedy; Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Kathy Burke, Mark Williams ... also gave solid performances. Of course, having grown up in the area it was set in I found myself identifying with the film more - wondering if the Queen Elizabeth Grammar school was the school I attended with the name changed; wondering if my family was ever part of the 70s Walsall tupperware set.
My problem came with the screening itself - seeing it on the Wednesday after the Friday release we were on one screen with 2 (evening) screenings on the smallest screen in the cinema (which was incidentally, mainly full). The previous week, I had seen Harry Potter, at about the same time, in the largest screen, and there were probably less than 30 people there, as it had been showing intensively every half an hour (and continues to). Most of the rest of the screens in the cinema were taken up with Bond. Come on British cinemas; push our own homegrown films a bit more - there's a lot of talent there but we've got to be able to see it.
The Guru (2002)
what have the critics got against this film?
Reading through the various reviews, they are almost uniformly bad. I had almost come to the conclusion we had seen different films, because the film I saw last night, far from being a flat, failed attempt at a Bollywood pastiche brought me in mind of past British comedy successes (FWAAF, East is East etc.)
If you treat it at face value as what it is; an undemanding romantic comedy then I think it succeeds. I laughed far more and much harder during this film than at any point in this summer's other so-called-comedy blockbusters (Austin Powers III - Yet another cash-cow etc.)
The tributes to the Bollywood scene which are used infrequently enough as not to tire of them bring a freshness to the film, and the comedy, given the subject matter, is subtle enough not to offend, but still manages to raise a smirk.
All of the cast seem to be having fun here; OK, it's probably not going to win any best actor Oscars, but I left the cinema in a really good mood - all I can ask of a light-hearted comedy.
Definitely recommended.