allmouth Reviews

Katalin Varga (2009)

See this film

[8/10 · 9 February 2010]

I missed this first time round and am so glad I caught up with it at an afternoon showing at a local independent cinema. Even more encouraging was that I expected to be the only person there but, although only a smattering of people (in a large auditorium), there were enough to create an atmosphere (that may be in my head but hopefully some people will get what I mean). So, transfixed by Hilda Peter from the outset, the film moved beautifully through dreamy countryside as the revelation of a hidden secret drove Katalin and her son away from their marital home. The menacing undertone haunted their journey to remote villages, the audience waiting for the inevitable vengeance to erupt. The nature of the film and its brutal climax prompted something I love to see as the credits rolled. No one moved or spoke. If the audience is out of their seats the second the picture fades I feel either they're relieved the film has finished or have weak bladders or a drink problem. Katalin Varga was successful in conquering the audience, an endorsement of its quality. See it.

Mum & Dad (2008)

Financial limitations apart.............

[6/10 · 27 December 2008]

As an obviously low-budget film I'd say this is a job well done within the limitations that such lack of finance offers. From the moment that Lena is taken back to Birdie's house the intensity is sustained, admittedly over the top at times but it held my attention. I don't feel I need to know why the dad is as he is, what motivates the mother or why the other two 'children' haven't tried to escape, as a claustrophobic, hellish situation the film does work. There are the inevitable predictabilities as this scenario is a variation on the theme of plenty of other films but without pointlessly harping on about comparisons I feel that Mum & Dad achieved as good a film as it could have been, an accomplishment which should lead to the writer/director being given a longer leash on his next venture. As a footnote, I'd say that Olga Fedori has enormous presence and I hope the quality of work comes her way to realise what, to me, seems to be great potential.

Unrelated (2007)

I'd like to say this was a good film but.........

[1/10 · 4 October 2008]

The one thing this film was, was a brilliant portrayal of the obnoxious moneyed English at play in Tuscany, the arrogance and superciliousness of the younger characters and the emotionally uptight 'olds'. I'm not sure if this was the intention of all concerned as the programme notes at the cinema summarised the film as 'an illuminating and touching study of personal crises over ageing and our need to belong'. The Oakley character was particularly repulsive, superb acting there. As for Anna, her desperation oozed out of every hangdog look she delivered, perpetually on the verge of tears which she duly wept with absolutely no sympathy from myself. I'm guessing the dialogue was improvised, if not then the irritating 'banter' and outpourings reveal a script of true mastery, very naturally mundane with the 'youngs' speaking American TV influenced posh and the 'olds' confined to world weary tones. Overall, I couldn't have cared less if Anna had been gang raped or if they'd all been killed in the car crash, the world would be better off without people like these. By the time of Anna's revelation to V at the hotel I was so sick of her face that it was the one moment I laughed. It was bad judgement on my part going to see Unrelated and half way through I was close to walking out but like any disaster, it was difficult to avert my eyes, a woeful experience. I hope all concerned go on to better things.

One for the Road (2003)

Well worth a look........

[22 November 2004]

If you're familiar with the films of Shane Meadows then give this a try. Located in the same region (Notts) as SM bases his films this has the same dry, deadpan humour with dark undertones and real settings.

I don't like making direct comparisons and although I've used Shane Meadows as a reference I think this stands on its own as a quality piece of work. The principal characters are pathetic to a man, drink drivers compulsorily attending a course to try to get their sentences reduced. Delusion plays a big part in their make up, almost endearing in their hopeless optimism. A British film that doesn't depend on cockney chancers and tasty geezers. Thank f........... See it/rent it/buy it. Simple as that.

Rory O'Shea Was Here (2004)

On a more serious note......

[18 October 2004]

The acting in the film was unquestionably superb and, thankfully, the film didn't try to play on the basest emotions of the audience. Given the protagonists condition it would have been easy to do this. My main misgiving is that life simply isn't that 'easy' for wheelchair bound people. I know that we have to accept cinematic licence but if the able bodied need a film like this to realize that the 'disabled' don't have it easy then they'll be really shocked if confronted with the actuality of their obstacles. If this film has touched you then go and do some volunteer work, get involved, campaign, do something. Not being funny but borrow a wheelchair, try to go to the pub, a club, public buildings, shopping.........etc., etc. Point made. Apologies for being po-faced about this.

Back to the film - a must see.

The Mother (2003)

Some mothers.......

[29 November 2003]

I'm usually harsh on British movies as they are generally predictable, over-acted, obvious in dialogue and heavily reliant on cliched emotional set-ups.

Although this could be accused of some of those traits it dealt with a lot of issues very uncomfortably, far more so than if this had been a simple, tidy, loose ends all-tied TV drama. A couple of times I winced at what I was seeing but was fairly quickly drawn back by a follow-up scene which resumed what, overall, was an excellent film.

Emphasis has been given to the older-woman-having-sex aspect but there's far more to this film. If you don't like your family and friends then this might push you to re-evaluate those relationships. Might reaffirm what you have but it's definitely worth seeing although it's not all easy viewing.

Young Adam (2003)

A long 90mins

[28 September 2003]

I'd hoped for a lot more from this film, especially after hearing Ewan McGregor being interviewed recently. He made the point that it was good to be involved in a 'British' film which didn't have dialogue which explained itself and had an independent feel. Shame that he forgot to get himself involved in something that wasn't rubbish. The morality aspect was hammered home to the extent that I felt like throwing myself in the canal. If I'd have had to sit through one more scene of Ewan sitting smoking, troubled and damp I'd have owned up to the 'murder'. The couplings certainly weren't gratuitous but had such a tedious regularity that renaming the film 'Carry on Barging' wouldn't have been too far off the mark. I get the impression that most who are praising this are diehard McGregor fans whose bias is temporarily blinding them. There were quite a few females at the showing I saw and I'm not sure they were there to appreciate the direction or the narrative. To end on a positive I'd like to hope that British film can get away from tales of plucky northerners triumphing over adversity or cheeky 'gangland' cockneys 'aving a larf and that 'Young Adam' avoided this is to its credit. I live in hope.

28 Days Later (2002)

High Expectations, low delivery......

[3 November 2002]

It's often been said that the way to judge a film is by the reaction of the audience. After about twenty minutes people were fidgeting, getting restless, going to the toilet and whispering to each other. Not much more time had elapsed before couples were openly chatting and I'm sure if someone had produced a pack of cards we could have had quite a game. Anyone familiar with The Avengers (circa Honor Blackman) and early Dr Who will have seen this film before. If I'd have turned on the TV at two in the morning and this had been on I would have placed it in the mid-sixties. Was this intentional or was it simply that poor? Well acted? Who? Which character? The plot – did anyone else guess who'd survive? The storyboard for this wouldn't have taken up much room would it. Monkey infects population, uninfected seek sanctuary, uninfected find sanctuary, sanctuary bad, good prevail. Jim could have so easily been a profound character but he wasn't, Selena was so much better before she became girly and where did Hannah come from? Was she Frank's adopted daughter? Scary? Perhaps if you shriek when you see a spider or are scared of on screen flashing effects there may be one or two moments which unsettle you but if, like most people I hope, you need a well disguised set up to your frightener then you won't get it here. We know it's a film so a bit of intelligence is required to lure us into a suspended disbelief. The background music – what the f*ck what that about!?!?

Please don't try to dignify this film by attempting to apply depth of meaning. It has no redeeming features and anyone who has wandered round The City on a Sunday will be familiar with empty London streets so the opening barely has an impact. I can't be bothered to continue to slag this film off, there's far too much to go at. Roll on ‘Porno', hopefully that won't be a cock-up…….

My Little Eye (2002)

Gullibility.......

[27 October 2002]

Having read some of the other comments (not all) there seem to be certain people who deserve what they get if they believe the hype. Make your own judgement of whether you want to see a film by your own instincts, not from what a two minute trailer is trying to sell you. If you think, 'Duh, they're telling us this is the scariest film ever so it must be' and are then astounded that it isn't then you deserve an axe in your head for stupidity. Of course it isn't the scariest film ever cos your own subjectivity will determine that. What it is is an unusually filmed, differently presented, tension filled drama. No problem with the acting as, assuming you go along with the premise of the film, they're supposed to be 'regular' people. The soundtrack moved away from the sudden orchestral bursts to make you jump and I thought it sustained itself throughout. Go and see this if you're interested in films, don't bother if you want to feel the same way you did the time you saw your favourite horror film.

All or Nothing (2002)

High Hopes not realised......

[26 October 2002]

Mike Leigh has had his day if his latest offering is anything to go by. This film has absolutely nothing to say, certainly nothing that hasn't already been portrayed in any number of lowbrow soaps on TV. Timothy Spall was dire. Did anyone else want to punch him when he did his poor little victim look? Mike Leigh's back catalogue is impressive, some great work ('Naked' - a classic), but maybe it's time to veer away from his attempts at social realism (like he did with 'Topsy Turvy') as this film was cliché ridden with very obvious characters, almost Mike Leigh by numbers. I feel bad about slagging off a ML film but someone needs to say it as the media have a 'kings new clothes' approach to him, an unacceptable level of sycophancy. TV is already riddled with this kind of mind-numbing domestic melodrama and we don't need any more. Levels need to be raised but I'm not sure that ML is capable of that anymore if this is anything to go by. Time to stand down Mr Leigh, this was an embarrassment of filmmaking.

Waking Life (2001)

If you are alive....

[14 May 2002]

....and you think and enjoy film then this is for you. If you're cynical and negative then don't bother, allow others to be stimulated by it.

Yes, I can see how the animation could be irritating but there's enough content in there to rise above the visuals. Just accept the animation as another aspect of the films character and then sit back and become absorbed by what you're seeing and hearing.

To people who've been over-exposed to philosophy this might be old hat but to others whose lives are otherwise occupied you're presented with a concentration of thoughts and musings which will leave you with an abundance of ideas, enough to keep you going for, well, your waking life.

Excellent stuff. Precious.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

True story given Hollywood mistreatment

[2 March 2002]

The film was ruined for me right from the start by the woeful miscasting of the leading man. Did anyone take Russell Crowe seriously? I'm barely able to make an objective judgement of the film itself as I was completely distracted by how bad RC was. Was he supposed to be hamming it up? I find the plaudits coming the way of Beautiful Mind inexplicable. Jennifer Connolly - what did she do that was so worthy of the praise being heaped on her? Russell Crowe - farcical. Maybe I've missed something but isn't a film supposed to draw you in, get you to believe in the characters, take sides, sympathise, empathise and connect with you at some level? This is a poor film.