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johnstrick
Reviews
Fubar (2018)
Just awful
Not even Mark Heap can save this film. Terrible acting throughout. A ridiculous plot would be passable if the film was funny, but it isn't. You can see the "gags" coming a mile off, and the "bad guys" are seemingly a crowd of random security guards they got in on the cheap.
Maybe with a bigger budget, and a half-decent script, it might have been an OK film.
Also, stuffing a cloth into someone's mouth while not actually gagging them or tying something around it, will usually fail, so why the fella doesn't just open his mouth and spit it out is beyond me.
6 Underground (2019)
Escapist Explosive Entertainment
Yes it's far-fetched and over the top, but what do you want from a film?
Suspend disbelief for a couple of hours and enjoy yourself. Explosions and gory shootouts aplenty, this is entertaining nonsense with a reasonable storyline that, despite it's constant flashbacks and recaps, isn't overly complicated.
I liked it. Cool cast, impossibly good looking, and big budget special effects make for a solid 8.
If you like your films intelligent and thoughtful, you won't like this. But if you want to get a few mates round and have a good night in watching baddies get knocked off one by one, then you could do a lot worse.
Papillon (2017)
Good, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be.
Sadly, I've not seen the original of this film, as I liked the book so much I didn't want to be disappointed. Judging by some of these reviews, maybe I should have bypassed this and watched the original instead.
The cinematography was good, capturing the dismal conditions Papi was kept in, and I was impressed by the supporting cast more than the star.
The book transported me, and I felt every blow, every struggle, every day, and the exhilaration of the escapes. For me, that was what the book was about, more than the jail time. But this film doesn't come close to relaying that feeling on the viewer.
Rami Malek was excellent, and the sadistic governor too, but the end was a bit rushed. Personally, I think it would have benefitted from another 40 minutes, going over his survival inside, the interaction between the many characters in the book, and his subsequent new life in Venezuela. The last line, paraphrased, is; "this is not a story about me, it is a story about many men," highlighted what the book was about, but sadly, the film seems to have missed this point.
Now to hunt down the original...
Beast of Burden (2018)
Nope
After half an hour of Ratcliffe flying a plane and talking to various people through his headset, I was bored. But I soldiered on, to see if it would go anywhere. Another half hour passed and it didn't. Maybe there's a deep message hidden under the layers? But no, there isn't. There isn't even any layers. I'd come this far, so thought I'd stick it out to the end. In hindsight, I should have just drank some bleach. Dull from start to finish, and the confusing criss-cross story lines and flashbacks which may have all come together beautifully at the end, so it made sense, didn't. The whole thing ran like someone made the film using a free app on their phone to generate the script, the effects, the camera shots and the actors. I could've taken laxatives and the resulting expulsions would be more entertaining.
La vita è bella (1997)
Best foreign film ever
This is the most magical movie I've seen for a long time. Visually stunning and beautifully written and acted throughout. The subject matter doesn't make it sound like a lovely film but it genuinely is. You can feel the love this guy has for his wife and son from the minute we're introduced to them. His humour and happiness provide the strength they all need during what must have been an horrific period in their lives and history. Despite the horrors all around them, the subject is handled in a way that doesn't shock or detract from the story, which is ultimately about the strength of love, and the refusal to be broken by negative forces. It is a truly inspirational film and a lesson in storytelling and film- making. I urge you to see it.