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chris-3493
Reviews
Ca$h (2010)
Poor but not as bad as earlier review
Not a great movie, poor script and weak acting from all the main protagonists. The plot line is, as an earlier review, alluded to, very simplistic although although not as much as many other crime movies. I had the misfortune to see Bruce Willis in 'cop out' the other day which made this seem unbelievably complex in comparison. The earlier reviewer got a few things wrong. The scene where Sam And his wife leave for the day is, badly done granted, a flashback to before he comes across the cash. Sam endures a sleepless night worrying about money and the impending bank manager. Presumably he was on his way to the bank when the case fell on to his car and this is why he was 5 minutes late. In short, the first opportunity he gets, back home with his wife, he does count the cash. Secondly, the greeting to the manager of "my banker" wasn't for the viewers benefit but was a sarcastic salutation to show how Sam no longer regarded his position as subservient to the bank manager, heavy handed but really quite obvious. Thirdly, the scene with the black guy wasn't great but Sean Bean's accent wasn't Irish, nor was it anywhere else in the film, but broad Sheffield in Yorkshire where Sean Bean is from. I did find the start a bit puzzling as we saw a short haul BA 737 landing at a UK airport only to find Sean Bean walking out into a US car lot. Simple stuff like this should have died with the 70's.
Donkey Xote (2007)
Possibly the worst CGI movie - ever
Over the Christmas period we've taken our sons to see quite a few movies. I thought we reached the bottom of the barrel last October when we went to see 'space chimps' but that was long before Donkey Xote (DX). Let's start with the positives. The animation isn't bad whatever some reviewers here may have written. It's not cutting edge and is a little on the simple side maybe but it's easy on the eye. That's it. Everything else is simply awful. I don't know if the original Spanish version makes more sense but the plot is is over complicated, the dialogue impossibly convoluted and the acting voice overs appalling. Watching it is a little like reading obscure eastern European poetry. It seems to be as much an exercise in proving what an intellectually clever chap the director is but in trying so hard to do so shows actually that he's completely clueless. There are characters cropping up in the film that are utterly pointless, don't add to the story and serve to confuse the audience. The script is largely read as if your listening to the kind of live translation service that you hear at news conferences or during UN addresses. some of the voices are so irritating you could easily feel like screaming. The voice over for Don Quixote's horse is, possibly, the most excruciating that I've ever heard. It pains me to say that my boys (aged 3 and 7) enjoyed it. That said they didn't really have a clue what was going on and they will happily sit in front of any cartoon in any language without any complaint. If you're a sentient adult please, please, please give this movie a miss.
Arthur et les Minimoys (2006)
Shame - kids will enjoy it but really not great.
I'm sorry but this film really falls short, although kids, surely the main target audience, will not notice many of its failings. So what went wrong? There's several key problems, the script is sometimes simply awful, the dialogue is forced, contrived and unreal, it's almost as though it's been written by a French philosopher, need I say more. Worse still is the acting of the voice overs in the English version. I'm sorry but Robert De Niro is simply awful. An early monologue by the King has all the power of some bloke off the street blind reading a script. there's no conviction, no belief, in short, there's no acting. This would be bad enough from anyone but from De Niro it's a disgrace. Just another paycheck maybe? To be fair to De Niro, most of his colleagues are not much better. Freddie Highmore is strong, although not his best, but the remainder of the cast should be embarrassed by their performances. The plot itself is not strong but the love interest between Arthur and the princess is cringe worthy. I know they're meant to be the same age but the film never really helps you to escape reality so it just sounds like young teen Freddie and middle aged mum Madonna have the hots for one another. That definitely does not work for me. My sons enjoy this film so I give it 4 but if it weren't for them I'd probably score it 2.
Garden State (2004)
Amusing film
This is an amusing film but exceptionally American. When I was 14 I read a book called "pardon me, you're stepping on my eyeball" by Paul Zindel and I have to say this film reminded me of it, a lot. I'm British and found that whole American 'needing to find out who I am' and 'deal with personal issues' stuff quite perplexing. The key difference between us and Americans is that Americans just think too much about stuff which we just accept. All that personal self awareness psycho-analysis stuff is beyond me. I mention all this because that's kind of what this film is about. Don't be put off though because it's very amusing. Some moments are laugh out loud good and the acting performances are excellent. If you're not American you may find yourself thinking "what's the point though" as it's a 'journey of self discovery'. Personally, my philosophy is I think therefore I am and that's enough for me.