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Reviews
The Neon Demon (2016)
One of the best movies since Sunset Boulevard
One of the best movies since Sunset Boulevard (of that genre).
It paints a disturbing but realistic picture of the fashion/modelling world in the first 80 mins. Then shocks the audience with a final 30 mins of black comedy combined with surrealistic horror, which is the directors way of expressing what he thinks of the industry he has portrayed. There are 1 or 2 scenes that are maybe a little gratuitous, hence my score of 9 (instead of 10), but this is a great movie and makes an important statement, something that too few movies do these days. Easily Refn's best movie. Elle Fanning's acting is great, and with this performance she has jumped right into the A-list of top female actors.
Disgrace (2008)
Bad, bad, bad
Bad, bad, bad.
Mediocre acting.
Poor casting.
Mediocre script; and in particular... unconvincing motivation of characters, leading to a multitude of questions like why did a particular character take one action instead of a different, and more logical action? Very little that anyone does in this story makes sense, apart from the actions of Melanie's parents and the College administrators.
It is not convincing that Melanie would have anything to do with the rather repulsive college professor.
(spoiler) I'm not convinced of Lurie's supposed reformation; to my eyes it is either meant to be fake or it's bad acting. (spoiler)
I've not read the book, but I don't think I should have to; a filmed version of a book should be able to stand on its own. If it is necessary then the film has failed.
Supposedly an allegory, but surely the point of an allegory is that a seemingly different story/circumstance can give insight into another, but when the allegory is as confused as this, then it just does not work on any level.
Targets (1968)
Why is this movie rated so highly?
I can't understand why this movie rated so highly. There is nothing of interest to me here.
The script/story/plot is like a high schooler's project. The acting is scarcely believable. The direction and photography is all over the place, showing irrelevant meaningless details which obscure the main thrust of the story and action. The whole premise of the Boris Karlof character is particularly incredible (I mean lacking in credibility), and whose only purpose seems to be to enable a "clever" 10 second shot near the conclusion, where the real-life character simultaneously echoes the actions of the same actor on a movie screen.
I really am lost for words... it is actually rather difficult to meaningfully criticise something as mediocre as this.
Dream Demon (1988)
A very good, under-rated gem.
This movie is an under-rated gem.
It's genuinely scary, without being filled with blood & gore like many low-budget horror movies are.
Its has its flaws, but if you can get past them, you will be rewarded with a genuinely original horror movie. I had to watch it at least twice, before the full implications of the story became apparent to me.
There are many scenes, where you don't know what is real & what is a dream and for me, this adds to its effectiveness.
The soundtrack is also interesting because it was composed by Bill Nelson (ex Bebop Deluxe) during his "ambient music" phase of the 1980's.
I don't wish to discuss the story in any detail, because this might spoil the movie for you.
Unfortunately, this is currently unavailable on DVD, long since out of print in any other format, and might not be available again for some time to come, because it would appear that the rights ownership have become confused by bankruptcy. The only way to see it is to get hold of an old 2nd-hand VHS copy.
Thoroughly recommended.
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
quite simply one of the greatest movies of all time
quite simply one of the greatest movies of all time.
a unique work that created a genre of its own, and has been imitated since but never equalled or bettered.
part documentary, part roller-coaster ride, with music from Phillip Glass that is probably the best he has done, and one of the greatest movie scores of all time.
always appears in my top 10 favourite movies, and appears at my no.1 position more often than any other movie.
try to get hold of the full-frame IRE edition, rather than the inferior, butchered MGM "widescreen" version which in many scenes has important parts of the composition cropped out. the soundtrack is better quality too.
there have been countless scenes & ideas stolen from this for use in TV ads and other movies.
when a movie is as great *and* unique as this, words cannot really express the experience adequately, you just *have* to watch it.
to quote the guardian (a UK newspaper), "an unqualified masterpiece".
The Fly (1986)
Quite simply one of the best movies ever (of the genre)
Quite simply one of the best movies ever (of the genre).
The special effects are great.
The story is great.
The acting is great.
The characters are great (and very believable), which make you really care about what happens to them.
Most movies at the grosser end of the horror genre (including Cronenbergs) usually have such poor characterisation that I simply don't care about what happens to them - this movie is very different.
Probably Cronenbergs masterpiece.