ElephantBoy
Posts: 7359
Joined: 13/4/2006
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Anna Karenina (Joe Wright, 130 Mins) 6.5/10
I admired the ambtion of this version of the famous story to be so dramatic and in your face visually, with an unervey dreamy quailty which seprates it from many safer period dramas, however it is only partly sucessful. After awhile the style becomes overbearing, too stagey and makes the characters and story seem very empity. The film did feel over long, even through it is from a 900 page novel. The performances are very good, not least Jude Law who gives his most powerful turn in over a decade. It is a very well crafted and interesting film, but the characters are just too cold as is the world of the film.
The Imposter (Bart Layton, 99 Mins) 8.5/10
The film noir style of this is so fitting, as there is such darkness and mystery surrounding this story and its character. The documentary is chilling from start to finish, with excellent research and in depth interviews. It is balancing well the story of the imposter's background and that of the family's struggle. As things devolop other themes come out such as the advancements crime resources and the believe of an old fashioned investergator to get to the truth. A unbelieveble story in more than one way.
Liberal Arts (Josh Radnor, 97 Mins) 7/10
For the first half an hour I thought this was going to be another cliched, sunny, quirky for the sake of quirky indie flick, but the as the central characters devolp the film becames more heart felt, is truly sweet and takes an interesting look at some key modern issues. The stand out scenes are where the lead characters swap letters discussing classical music and its place in the modern world, as well as the scene where he reads Twilight just so that he can have a debate with her over it, her defence of the novel says everything about her character's directness and how much more postive she is than him, also is an interesting comment on modern criticuism. Elizabeth is once again wonderful, she carries the tense scenes with the limtied Radnor, and sells the conflict of the character, her appeal and why in the end the age difference may just be too much to overcome. Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney give relieblely edgy turns. Its not perfect, but still a little suprising.
Looper (Rian Johnson, 118 Mins) 8/10
Unlike most modern Sci-Fi fare this actually has character depth, dramatic weight and human issues at the heart of the story. I actually cared about what was at stake and was conflicted with the lead characters and their motivations. The visual look and ideas behind the plot borrows from a bunch of films, but Looper still has its own identity. The three leads are very good and Jeff Daniels gives a nicely understated steely performance. The director also keeps a good handle on the effects and produces some exciting setpieces throughtout.
Paranorman (Chris Butler, Sam Fell, 92 Mins) 7.5/10
This latest stop mortion animation has the feel of classic disney, with well rounded characters and a strong moral for the younger audience. The animation is very striking, the jokes broad appearing to both age groups and there are enough good scares to make it dark enough for a more advanced child too.
Ginger & Rosa (Sally Potter, 90 Mins) 6.5/10
First thing Ella Fanning gives a very mature and belivable performance in a very difficult lead part in which she has to carry the film emotionally, appently there is Oscar talk and it would be justfied if she got a nod. The early scenes in London give a very tough and compelling rites of passage story with striking colour schemes and a beautiful chilling air. The period detail is top draw, but the story starts coming apart in the middle with some crude posh british steriotypes and contrived plot advancements. The writing of Ginger's mother and her break up with the father is very weak, as is Christina Hendricks forced London acient and desprate performance. The ending was very unsettling, yet powerful, but the final scene maybe should have been lost. Solid, but it could have been much better.
About Elly (Asghar Farhadi, 119 Mins) 8/10
Thought provoking drama, which plays out in a very naturalistic way, with compelling performances and a raw feel. Each scene takes its time and is full of powerful lanague and a air of truth. Like Farhadi's masterpiece A Separation each character is perfectly balanced. What felt true was how one incident like this can bring nasty tensions out and how people tend maximise every little detail to try and get to the truth and hold out hope the worse has not happened. The idea of the Elly character as the outcast who fades into the background and then disappears reminds a little of that Buffy episode with Clea Duval as the unpopluar girl who becomes invisible. Emotioning draining right till the end.
After Lucia (Despues de Lucia) (Michel Franco, 93 Mins) 7/10 LFF Screening
This very modern story about buliling is one of the most uneasy experiences I have had inthe cinema. At times I wanted to be sick and just felt so upset with the world we live in today. It concerns a teenage girl and her father who move to a new city following the death of her mother, both struggle to settle in, he at his new job and her at school. The turning point of the film comes when she gets drunk at a party and sleeps with a boy who films it on his phone, the video gets around the school and this one event sets off some very grim viewing. There is almost no redemption throughout. At times the extreme scenes felt a little too prolonged and over egging the point, also the ending was strange. Trust me it is a good and worthwhile film, just not one I could recommend or maybe even sit through again.
Coming up I hope to see, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Tabu, Skyfall, Hope Springs and Rust and Bone.
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