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cosmicdusterian
Reviews
Shotgun Wedding (2022)
Just awful.
I was all set up to watch an action romcom and totally expecting it to be mindless meh fun, which is usually the case with JLo movies.
Mindless? Yes.
Meh? No. Much worse than meh.
Fun? No.
Shallow annoying lead characters with virtually no chemistry---no, strike that...they had absolutely no chemistry with each other.
The supporting cast had all the talent and makings to hit a home-run, but the script is...simply awful. "Shotgun Wedding" one of those romcoms that somehow manages to be completely devoid of charm.
It's not even worth watching for mindless filler. I found myself asking out loud at intervals, "Is this really as bad as I think it is?" I took a couple of days before coming to the conclusion that, yes, it was really as bad as I thought it was.
Archipelago (2010)
Flora and fauna interrupted by acting
Blues, greys, blacks and subdued colors are the palette. It's beautiful, the quiet is exquisite until it becomes almost claustrophobic. The setting is its own character sharing space with these people. The humans here, on the whole, are a fairly miserable lot; awkward, unhappy, angry, frustrated, and/or lost. The cook seemingly just wants to do her job.
At some point during the movie I realized this was exactly what Eddie Izzard was talking about when he was describing small British movies. Summed up: people walking into rooms, awkward pauses, stammered snippets of conversations, embarrassment, and, "What is it, Sebastian? I'm arranging matches" (or cooking lobsters) as action.
I can only speculate that it conveys what being British can be like for certain families; the class distinctions, the dysfunctional family dynamics. In this family it's like being suffocated by a blanket of polite repression. Even when it threatens to break free it's muffled through walls or whispered through "deep" meandering conversations with a bohemian artist. You almost long for someone, anyone, to lose it completely and unleash the pent up beast for all to see.
The acting is good. The scenery is lovely. If nothing else, the director definitely conjured up an atmosphere that lingered well after the movie ended. I'm still debating whether that's a good thing or not.
I usually like quiet atmospheric films like this, but I've no need to spend any additional time with these characters, and am hesitant to recommend their company to others.
Unless you want grey-hued repression with a bunch of miserable people fighting personal battles that apparently have been ongoing for years, you may want to skip this one. Without an idea of the starting point or motivations for the battles it's hard to actually empathize with these characters, nor care much about their ongoing plights. Neither the battle origin mystery, nor the characters themselves, are compelling enough to recommend this character study.
Wrath of Man (2021)
Okay. Bit conventional for a Guy Ritchie flick.
The story is overall very conventional. Figuring out the pivotal bad guy (lots of bad guys to choose from) wasn't hard, and the ending wrote itself well before it played on screen. Not what I expected from Ritchie. I really missed the beautiful orchestrated chaos he generally brings to his films.
The good - the story was an interesting enough tale with some minor twists for flavor.
Always a pleasure to see Andy Garcia in a role with such moral ambiguity. Like Statham's character, it's a real toss-up whether he's good or bad, which brings my own morals into question.
The bad-predictable on the whole. Although the ending was satisfying, it played like I'd seen it many times before. I was just trying to figure out which corner the "surprise!" was going to come from. (Spoiler: nailed it.)
Jason Statham, usually charismatic, was almost too robotic. Understandably, because the story itself didn't lend itself to quips, charm, and hilarity. He did dour very well. So much so, I have no interest in seeing this dour character again. A relative who passed through the room several times as I was watching noted Jason had the exact same expression every single time.
Hartnett was under-utilized and his character seemed to be under-written. I think I know what purpose his character was supposed to serve but that never quite connected. He wasn't a contender for more than a second-that might have been an actual unforeseen twist if his character became more pivotal now that I think if it.
Notable: There wasn't a wrap up scene showing the fate of the supporting characters, which made them feel like throwaways in service to the main plot. I have to assume the worst, even though the hero/anti-hero limped to see another day.
Overall, decent, if conventional, dark, violent story with an ending visible for miles. It won't be going on the replay/deserted island list like other Ritchie films, but it wasn't a waste of time either.
The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
A "love" story without love
In order to be a love story there should be at least an attempt at showing love. In order to be a tragic romance there should be a worthwhile romance for the viewer to invest in to begin with. There is neither in this film.
Clips of the couple in supposedly "happier" times does nothing to tell us what the attraction was. "Doomed before they start" love stories usually have something to hold the viewer's interest in discovering how it all goes wrong.
RW does a decent job of fleshing Hester out, but spending any time with that character is a tedious undertaking. The overwrought score marking her emotional journey enhances the tedium.
Same with TH as Freddie. The acting is fine, but where is spark that supposedly ignited Hester's enduring passion? She loves to expound upon her passion, but it's not shown in any believable way. Her restrained desperation, on the other hand, is all-encompassing.
This movie appears to be about two fairly unlikable people going through a rough time, but focusing mainly on Hester's journey. Freddie playing the role of adult in the end is the only thing that struck a note of triumph and growth between the main characters.
Perhaps the same goes for Hester as well, but given that I was thoroughly disenchanted with both characters well before that point, it wasn't enough to care.
The film is atmospheric in its relentless somberness. If that's what you're looking for, I can't recommend it enough.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
After all these years of hearing about this movie...
It took watching a YouTube video of Willem Dafoe talking about it with such affection for me to finally watch it.
Great stuff. Perfect casting. Fun, funny, different. A bit of a "Snatch" (one of my favorites) like tone, but still unique. Had an absolute blast watching it.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Double descent into madness
Atmosphere, tone, cinematography are incredible. Given the expanse of the ocean just outside the door, the overwhelming feeling is claustrophobic dread. I knew that going in but got nothing from the film except to admire its ability to trap the viewer in the same hellscape as the characters. All you wish to do is escape. It was a tough watch. These days I try to avoid films like this, so it's saying something that I actually stayed around until the credits started rolling. It was interesting enough that I didn't abandon it.
Top notch acting by Pattison and Dafoe.
Both of these characters obviously had a bit of a head start on their descent into madness before they even set foot on the island. I can't decide if that was a wise choice or not. Perhaps the men who manned remote lighthouses back in the day had to be a little mad to have the desire to do such a thing in the first place.