Posted on October 11th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen Woody Allen is blessed. He has a God-given gift. That gift is to make us laugh: with an articulate wit, incisive irony, and a delicious sense of the personal and metaphysical absurdity of life. Camus in drag. His gift as an artist, is not to […]
Filed under: 2 star, Drama, General, Hollywood, Woody Allen | No Comments »
Posted on July 12th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet The Bling Ring – Sofia Coppola A rarity: a movie without a single genuine emotion throughout its full 90 minutes. The unspeakable ersatz world of celebrity slavishly but pathetically emulated by a bunch of young people descending like a plague of designer-brand locusts to strip celebrity homes of every famous named product […]
Filed under: 1 star, Comedy, Drama, General, Hollywood, Political, Sofia Coppola | No Comments »
Posted on June 28th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Shun Li and The Poet – Andrea Segre Like a glass of pure, fresh, home-made lemonade: with a hint of sweetness and a satisfying tang of fresh lemon on a sweltering hot, oppressive day – this delightful little gem refreshes one’s aesthetic palate, touches the soul and lifts the spirit. It is simply […]
Filed under: 5 stars, Andrea Segre, Drama, Europe/World cinema, General, Romance | No Comments »
Posted on June 24th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Before Midnight – Richard Linklater Simone Weil – “Perhaps love is an attempt to make permanent that which by its very nature is transient” Celine in Before Sunrise: “You know I believe if there’s any kind of God it wouldn’t be in any of us; not you or me, just this […]
Filed under: 5 stars, Comedy, Drama, Hollywood, Philosophical, Richard Linklater, Romance | No Comments »
Posted on March 26th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Trance – Danny Boyle Not all banknotes can be forgeries. A forgery can only be passed off as real against the background of a viable currency which requires that most notes in circulation are genuine. Much the same logical limitation applies to the central dramatic device that lies at the heart of the […]
Filed under: 3 star, Action, Danny Boyle, Gangster, Mystery, Thriller | No Comments »
Posted on February 7th, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Zero Dark Thirty – Kathryn Bigelow Lincoln could be described as portraying the unprincipled pursuit of a principled objective, in conflict with the principled pursuit of an unprincipled end. It is a tragic lesson of history that when old men possessed of power talk with passion about principles – young people die. No […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Action, Drama, Hollywood, Kathryn Bigelow, Oscar Winner, Political, Thriller, War | No Comments »
Posted on February 3rd, 2013 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Lincoln – Steven Spielberg “The past is another country. They do things differently there.” L P Hartley’s now almost proverbial opening lines of The Go-Between constantly resonated in the back of my mind throughout this powerful, accomplished, superbly acted film. With typical authority and characteristically meticulous attention to detail, Spielberg assembles to great […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Drama, Extended essay, Historical, Hollywood, Oscar Winner, Political, Steven Spielberg, War | No Comments »
Posted on December 16th, 2012 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Technical Quality Dramatic Quality The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Peter Jackson This visual realisation of a fantasy world of endlessly warring kingdoms is a technical tour-de-force: graphically state of the art with special effects to match. Simon Bright’s Art Direction aided by Andy McLaren and Ben Milson, together with Dan Hennah’s […]
Filed under: 2 star, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Hollywood, Humorous, Oscar Winner, Peter Jackson | No Comments »
Posted on December 14th, 2012 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet The Hunt – Thomas Vinterber This sensitive, insightful Danish film is the flipside to the Jimmy Savile saga. A timely warning that the undoubted truth that we should always listen to children, does not, cannot, mean that we must always take everything they say at face value. What this beautifully acted, subtly […]
Filed under: 4 stars, Drama, General, Philosophical, Thomas Vinterberg | No Comments »
Posted on November 24th, 2012 by Zettel Film Reviewer
Tweet Silver Linings Playbook – David O Russell The mesmeric Jennifer Lawrence almost makes this phoney movie work – but not quite. For me at least. Claudia Winkleman on BBC’s now equally unwatchable Twittery Film 2012 loved it; while her mate on the show, Danny ‘Boy’ Leigh hated it. Reluctantly, I’m with Danny […]
Filed under: 2 star, Comedy, David O Russell, Drama, General, Hollywood, Romance | No Comments »