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Reviews
Infinity Pool (2023)
What?
Well, when I settled down to watch this movie after deliberating whether or not to rent it from Amazon, I was keenly anticipating a horror/thriller with plenty of food for thought. Mia Goth is normally excellent, and her male lead - Alexander Skarsgard also usually delivers the goods. The premise too seemed promising - fenced/gated compound which is a luxury resort, with the guests forbidden to go outside. Obviously, evil lurks on the other side of the fence... It is difficult to describe how disappointed I was by the end. Had I not paid for the movie, I very much doubt that I would have even made it to the end. This was a scandalous lump of pretension, with a ludicrous performance from both of the leads, and a director who seemed determined to leave no pseudo-intellectual stone unturned. Ms Goth in particular is wholly unrestrained, giving an eye-rolling, scenery chewing performance worthy of Tod Slaughter in his prime. Utter rubbish. If you take my advice, you will save your money (and your eyes) and just read a good book.
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Hitchcock anyone?
I haven't read the book on which this movie is based, but I hope it is less formulaic and cliched. This was a poor man's "Rear Window" with more blood and violence and none of the suspense. In fact, a clip of the Hitchcock movie was shown. A good cast who were woefully under-used. The sole exception being the leading actress, who was in pretty much every scene and certainly worked hard for her fee. Gary Oldman popped in for a couple of scenes, as did Julianne Moore, but they were wasted in a movie which just never reached its potential. It felt as though the makers were working from a formulaic list - time for the creepy lodger, time for the wife/murder victim to enter, time for everyone to gather together and conclude that the protagonist is a drunken, pill-popping kook, time to show the deaths of her family (whom she thinks she calls every day) and finally, time for the twist - it was the one you least suspected. A real shame.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
What TV should always be like
This is top class stuff. All of the cast put in superb performances, with a script which resonates with realism. I understand that some of the dialogue was improvised - if so, then it is impossible to tell. Kate Winslet (whom I have previously not really rated) delivers an incredibly powerful performance in the title role. She is simply flawless. But, then so are the other cast members. I watched this in one sitting and immediately watched it over again. One believes completely in these characters, and i found myself really caring about what was happening to them. Heart-breaking, funny, tense, shocking and tragic in turn, it is a true classic.
Watcher (2022)
Rear Window like
As another reviewer has pointed out, this movie seems to owe a great deal to Hitchcock and his fondness for injecting huge doses of paranoia into his heroines (and the heroine here is even a slim blonde - just the type Hitch liked sooo much in a creepy way). The acting is pretty good, with Maika Monroe doing her best as a rather irksome leading lady. She wears a permanently "out of sorts" expression. I couldn't help but think her problems would be eased if only she and her partner would just BUY SOME CURTAINS! It's always good to see Burn Gorman - a fine and under-used actor who can be menacing without any apparent effort. The 4 stars belong solely to him.
Jeune et jolie (2013)
Yawn - here we go again
Yet another tale about a French woman (only just 17 in this case), who, for no discernible good reason decides that the way forward for her is to become a prostitute and have sex with a bunch of sad, sleazy old guys for money. She doesn't seem terribly interested in anything and is really a bit of a cipher. The director - Ozon - is at pains not to inject any kind of social or moral judgement into the movie, simply showing the girl and her repellent clients. Eventually, one of these men dies in the act, and so the girl's extra curricular activities are discovered. What can she do? How will she cope with her secret being out there? Well, just as easily as she drifted into being a call girl, she decides to drift out of the life. Just like that. The cynic may think that these movies - Belle de Jour onwards - say more about the directors than the main characters. Very cliched and obvious. The actors give better performances than the material deserves.
Salem's Lot (1979)
A fondly remembered creepfest
I remember vividly reading this book years ago, and being utterly drawn in and mesmerised by Stephen King's genius (by no means for the last time - he is a genuine literary giant).
When I later watched the mini-series on TV, I was fully prepared to be horribly disappointed. I was totally wrong, and, over the two nights, I found myself transfixed by the tragedy unfolding in Salem's Lot. Yes, there were departures from King's book (mot notably in the appearance of Barlow), but Tobe Hooper's sensitive direction took the viewer into the insular, small town ethos so brilliantly drawn in the original story.
A uniformly fine cast deliver the goods in great style. However, although everyone was finely portrayed, it was the veteran James Mason who, at the time, stood out for me. And, watching the TV movie many years later (40-odd years later, actually) I was once again enthralled by Mr Mason's amazing performance. He swept all before him and was the elegant epitome of evil incarnate.
James Mason - a hugely under-rated actor of immense talent. He gave this brilliant movie a touch of real class. Brilliant.
Pleasure (2021)
Porn is no picnic
I watched this film with a degree of trepidation. As a relatively enthusiastic consumer of porn myself, did I want a "warts and all" expose, which would turn me away from naughty movies forever? Well, as it turned out, this movie didn't really bring anything new to the table - all men in porn are seedy, sleazy and deeply unattractive pigs. We all knew that (yawn). However, what this movie did was to show a well drawn, 3D character sucked into an industry which taints her and, ultimately, she ends up perpetrating the same acts against another girl as those which, when perpetrated against her, she considered were rape. She basically sexually assaults another female performer with a strap-on dildo and carries on even after the woman yells for her to stop. The movie is extremely well directed, and the lead - in her debut movie - is quite extraordinarily excellent. But, for all of its explicit and uncomfortable scenes, we are left with the images of those paunchy, sweating, repellent men and the sad inevitability of Bella's ultimate descent into degradation and her own corruption and loss of ideals. It need not have been set in the world of hard core porn. Most workplaces are hostile and careless towards women. No doubt that those traits are more prevalent in an industry in which people are objectified and used. Uncomfortable viewing distinguished by fine direction and an astounding lead.
Hellbender (2021)
Strange stuff
This movie is, as another reviewer has said, not your typical horror movie. In fact, it's not really typical of anything. I watched it with a feeling of unease and slight confusion. A young girl is kept in seclusion by her mother, and the story deals with the girl's gradual revolt against her confinement. There are some scary moments, but the main thrust of the film is the relationship between mother and increasingly angry daughter. I think the best way to describe this oddity is "eerily compelling". If you want a unique and weird cinematic outing, then this may very well be the film for you. Odd.