Posted on January 20th, 2011 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet The Black Swan – Darren Aronovsky “And the Oscar for Original Music for 2011 goes to Black Swan and Pyotyr Illyitch Tchaikowski. Unfortunately Pyotyr can’t be with us tonight but he would like to thank His Imperial Majesty Tsar Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Romanov for his unfailing support and not forgetting his mum Alexandra Andreyevna and […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Darren Arnovsky, Darren Aronovsky, Drama, Fantasy, General, Hollywood, Horror, Oscar Winner, Romance, Thriller | No Comments »
Posted on November 2nd, 2010 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Embarrasssment defines and divides Americans and Brits. Movies reveal this. For Americans embarrassment is funny: for Brits embarrassment is, well, embarrassing. Films like Meet The Fokkers or any comedy with Robert de Niro in it demonstrate this perfectly. Ben Stiller is the patron saint of embarrassment humour. There is an instinct for schadenfreude in […]
Filed under: 2 star, Comedy, Director, Drama, General, Hollywood, Humorous, Lisa Choldenko | No Comments »
Posted on February 4th, 2010 by Zettel Film Reviewer
TweetFilm, performance, screenplay, art Technical, Effects, Art direction Avatar – James Cameron Avatar sucks: the bambification of an aboriginal narrative. A sentimentalised pastiche of a Native American stereotype. The Na’vi sound like Hollywindians and worship an Earth-mother who looks like a fibre-optic willow tree spiritually reified by tinsellated dandelion-seed-like Christmas tree baubles that slo-mo around […]
Filed under: 1 star, Action, Drama, Fantasy, General, Hollywood, Humorous, Sci-Fi | No Comments »
Posted on October 4th, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet The Soloist – Joe Wright Why do we go to the movies? I guess for as many different reasons as there are different kinds of films: to be entertained, informed, moved; to be made to laugh or cry, or exceptionally, both at the same time; or more rarely to be challenged, stimulated, provoked into […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Drama, Extended essay, Hollywood, Joe Wright, Philosophical | No Comments »
Posted on August 17th, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino The penny finally dropped: Quentin Tarantino simply has no imagination. He can’t create characters so he borrows bits from characters in films he’s seen. He can’t create a believable setting or narrative, so he echoes, parodies, de-constructs those of others. He is either passive or unaffected by reality or […]
Filed under: 2 star, Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, General, Historical, Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino, War | No Comments »
Posted on April 21st, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet State of Play – Ken MacDonald Question: you have a cleverly plotted, superbly crafted, well written movie with first class actors on top of their form: these ingredients are drawn together with assurance and style by an excellent Director and edited to a heart-beat – at times racing with the breakneck pace of events; […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Action, Hollywood, Political, Thriller | No Comments »
Posted on February 26th, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Gran Torino – Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry got to be old. And mean. I guess we expected that. Curmudgeonly, cranky, rollie-smoking, beer-drinking – a can and by-the-neck man, nary a glass in sight – ex-Korean War vet Walt Kowalski isn’t actually cop Harry Callaghan, just a kind of alter ego ‘with-no-name’ grown old, prejudices […]
Filed under: 3 star, Clint Eastwood, Drama, General, Hollywood, Philosophical, Political | No Comments »
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
TweetOscars 2009 – Nominations Predictions, Choices and Comments London: 01.40 GMT – Just in under the wire before the announcements are made. I do this every year as a kind of personal aide-memoire. Historically I’ve been crap at prediction. And my personal preferences, though supported by arguments in reviews are always at root personal. So […]
Filed under: Hollywood, Journalism, Oscar Winner | No Comments »
Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Vicky Christina Barcelona – Woody Allen Woody Allen doesn’t simply film women: he makes love to them with the camera. I don’t really know how healthy this is or even by what criterion of health one should judge it. Cinema is irreducibly voyeuristic so we are complicit. If you doubt me consider this: by […]
Filed under: 3 star, Comedy, Fantasy, General, Hollywood, Humorous, Romance, Woody Allen | No Comments »
Posted on January 2nd, 2009 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Che – Steven Soderbergh The essence of art is selection: and the logic of selection defines what is left out. The collaborative nature of the art of film-making increases the need for such eliminating decisions exponentially – casting, screenplay, lighting, angle, editing, music, sound and thousands of other decisions. The result is not the […]
Filed under: 3 star, Director, Drama, Extended essay, Historical, Hollywood, Philosophical, Political, Stephen Soderberg, War | No Comments »
