jon-dav-121-403936 Reviews

Best Laid Plans (2012)

Great performances from a superb cast...

[8/10 · 27 February 2012]

Not sure what film Dodgy-Milk was watching, but it wasn't the same film as me. Maybe something like "War Horse" would be more to their taste...

This is a gritty character study about hopes & dreams, manipulation, deceipt, selfishness, betrayal but ultimately love, albeit it a little unorthodox. It is "loosely" (and I mean very loosely) based on Stienbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and if you're familiar with the book you'll get it but it's used more as an idea for the film, rather than a screenplay.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought the main performances from Steven Graham, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Maxine Peake were excellent with strong support performances from the other members of the cast particularly David O'Hara who is in menacing form. Throughout the film, it's funny, uncomfortable, tender and shocking in equal measure...

It is a very "British" film and if you're expecting a "Hollywood" blockbuster because you've seen Graham as Al Capone in the brilliant Boardwalk Empire, this might not be the film for you.

It's a good 8/10 from me and I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes "proper" films...

War Horse (2011)

What a load of sentimental old tosh...

[5/10 · 9 February 2012]

You always know what you're going to get with Spielberg, it's well acted, well shot, well directed and great cinematography but this really is a poor film let down by a very thin plot in my view. It takes an age to get going, such as it does...It's neither one thing or another, it's not a war film, it's not a love story and it's not an animal "road movie", it seems to fall somewhere in the middle for me. The biggest problem I had with it was the predictability of it all, it's very formulaic and there were no surprises whatsoever for me...plus, with the odd exception, it is just sooooo slushy all of the way through - I thought I was going to have to reach for my sick bag at points.

It lacks any real punch at all in my opinion - possibly due to the 12A rating and wanting to attract a younger audience. It's a bit like Black Beauty in places (particularly for about the first hour!) and you can almost imagine the theme tune playing in the background.

My wife loved it funnily enough but I found it incredibly dull. Could have been so much better!