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Silent Witness: Falling Angels: Part 2 (2015)
A mess filled with gun drill shaped plotholes!
Such a shame. Another well acted, nicely shot, effectively plotted episode let down by shoddy writing, editing and logistics.
The twist doesn't work. To the point it's almost insulting the audience. Lana can't have administered the killing blow, because the plot details around that make no sense. For the first kill, Rosemary, Owen doesn't yet know about the adopted child, because that is only revealed in the cafe later. So how can he know to kill the person who gave her away before he knows Lana had a child that was given away?
Now, let's play devil's advocate and assume maybe the scenes were non-linear. So the cafe scene happened before the kill. Which of course makes no sense, but still. Now the second kill, the ex-boyfriend and father to the child is supposedly killed by Lana, but in that same sequence Owen returns to the apartment to find Lana tucked up in bed. Now, again, allowing for some leeway, maybe Lana returned home before him and waited for him to come home.
But then why on the third kill, Jamal, when the twist shows her administering the killing blow, does she then act like she knows nothing about the killings after his face appears on the TV. Which means that altercation in the bathroom also doesn't make a lick of sense considering the twist reveals they killed Jamal together.
And after all that frankly lazy, embarrassing plotholes (all of which are in the script by the way, so the editor can't be blamed), factor in all the ridiculous other coincidental, deus-ex-machina nonsense throughout. Chief of those being how lucky it is that not only everyone they need to kill take the tube and all still live in London, but that they also travel with enough frequency that all of them can be killed within the short week time frame the events take place.
Not to mention the questionable moralistic concept that a sociopath can seemingly pick any random homeless person and manipulate them to kill. What a wonderful zeitgeist message!
This is ludicrous. Embarrassing. And insulting to the audience. Which is a shame, because the episode has merit in other areas, particularly a shocking (in the way it's shot. It's obvious from the start this will be their fate), but fitting denouement. But in all honestly, after this episode I only felt cheated and insulted.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Watchin it now for the millionth time.
If I hear one more comment about how 'This movie wouldn't have been the same without the ending' or 'It's a movie reliant on the plot twist' I fear my head may well explode and I'll be another of the young Cole Sear's visitors.
Where to begin. This movie is more than a twist ending. It's how movies should be made. From the beautifully haunting score by James Newton Howard, the unbelievably sophisticated performance by Osment (I hate pretentious child actors doing scary, ie 'The Ring', but this kid is special), the dark,moody directing of Shyamlan, Bruce Willis's excellent tortured performance (fast believing he's the best at tortured expressions in the business. See Twelve Monkeys & Unbreakable) and the unsung hero or heroine in the form of Toni Collette (easily the pick of the performances. Haven't seen her mentioned much. Watch the movie again and just focus on her).
So what's bad about this movie....ummmmm. Give me a minute or two. Nothing. Not a thing. Its a masterpiece. Need more evidence?
Focus on the little subtleties in the movie. I'm not talking the 'Rules and Clues'. I'm talking human eccentricities. Those things that breathe life into a character. I don't care about the horror. My favourite bits:
The 'step backwards' scene. The camera from Cole's POV zooming out. The fact Cole wears his father's glasses with the lenses taken out. His father's watch he found in the drawer. The fact he pays the kid to pretend to be his friend for his mothers benefit. The line 'They don't have meetings about rainbows.' The 'shopping trolley fun ' scene.
Obviously I still like the obvious scenes (the twist revelation, the 'revealing to his mother the truth, Watching it again and missing the clues) buts it's the human characteristics I like.
There's so much more than just a twist movie here and it pains me to think that people that think otherwise should have a voice on here. Then again everyones entitled to there opinion. Even if it's the wrong one...which I guess is subjective anyway.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Go watch it now...I don't care if you've seen it. Watch it again....and again...and again.
This is how to make movies.
Welcome any feedback/criticism. The e-mails there.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Where do I start?
Well... this is the cat out of the bag. Pandora's box opening. Why did I ever find a critique site. I'm one of the most opinionated stubborn sh...uhh so and so's.... in the world.
So I guess first and foremost did I like it. No!..........Just kidding. How can you fail to? Its my favourite movie of all time. It has just occurred to me that this may be my first ever sober critique of the film. It's one of those movies confined to the small, smokey, pokey corners of a pub when the issue of greatest film of all time comes up. There's always a 'goodfellas' and a 'Godfather trilogy' and an 'Empire Strikes back' 'Labyrinyth' (?) Voice in the crowd ,(I mix in strange circles) But its fairly unanimous, everyone likes this film. So why?
Where do I start. Morgan Freeman...Goes without saying. Tim Robbins...Not sure anyone else could play Dufresne now. Bob Gunton....Born to play evil. William sadler...Under-rated.
But it's not really the actors or the Director/photography etc. It's the script. Beautifully constructed. It flows like liquid perfection. Morgan Freeman's VO helps no end. (Brad Pitt described it in 'Se7en' commentry as the voice of god).
I had the fortune to watch this before the hype. I got it out on video the day it came out cause I was a fan of Morgan Freeman. I sat there in silence for fifteen minutes after the final credit had scrolled past my screen. It's that good. Breathtaking. (spoiler) When Red wanders across that beach and we see Dufresne there, and the camera slowly pans upwards and away, you know you've been part of something special. I'm not a fan of sickly sweet 'hollywoodised' endings but every now and then they get it right.
I should stop now cause I could go on for ever. (The 'record' scene, Brook's parole, the 'beers on the roof', the 'poster', the 'salvation comes from within' rock hammer).
I better stop there. Need to take a tablet. See thats why they shouldn't make movies this good.
Yeah I quite liked it then.
Don't mind and comments/critique/feedback. The e-mails there.