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stevewilkinson0910
Reviews
Sing Sing (2023)
Not enough context
I was persuaded to see this last night in Sheffield, largely based on glowing reviews by the press. But it was a big disappointment.
Jesserrifkin's review was bang on about the lack of character background. I could not relate to any of the convicts because there was hardly any mention of:
What their crime was, where they were from, their family or how long they'd been inside. Very few of them were filmed in their cells so we couldn't get any idea of their life behind bars.
The film starts with a group drama workshop as they calmly discuss their recent production. This threw me off completely. No bars? No guards? It looked nothing like a maximum security prison, more like a summer theatre camp.
We see them briefly lining up for something and one guard is a bit mean about their language. Wow, scary stuff. Then there is some kind of unexplained alarm that goes off and they drop to the ground. But there was no menace, no hardships, no violence, no suffering. Prison movies need this to at least offer a contrast to the nicer moments.
Think of Andy Dupre in Shawshank. His misery of solitary confinement then his joy at playing Mozart. Sing Sing had nothing like this.
And also, where is this place? There were a few outside shots of a train going past and a river. I needed at least one good drone shot so I could understand the context of the location.
There were also scenes filmed where it looked more like a factory than a prison. Some random window where the two main characters met for a chat. A grassy bank where they met for another chat. Eh? Where are the guards? Where is the security?
Finally, the drama skills demonstrated by the men. I have been in amateur theatre as a director and trying to get boys and men with no acting experience to open up and express themselves is extremely difficult. Yet these convicts were completely free of inhibition and able to handle Shakespeare (of all things!) like they'd come straight from RADA. Very hard to swallow.
So, overall, good acting I suppose but a self indulgent, incredulous movie that forgot what it was supposed to do: entertain an audience.
On reflection it would have been a reasonably interesting documentary, nothing more.
Twin (2019)
Atmospheric drama, but one massive flaw....
A good, but overlong Nordic thriller with an interesting plot. The acting, music and cinematography are fine but it is let down by an enormous plot hole;
Nobody challenges the identity of the brother until the end of episode 6 when the daughter finally catches her "dad" out with questions about a previous holiday.
Are we really expected to believe that the father-in-law, the children, the work colleagues and the lovers of the twin brothers cannot tell them apart? Even the most identical twins would be different in terms of teeth, moles, voices, mannerisms and most importantly, knowledge.
The new"dad" knows nothing of the work he is supposed to do, he doesn't know his friends' names, where his son's school is... he can't even start his own car and his father-in-law is watching him!!
No. Totally ridiculous. He would have been rumbled in the first five minutes if any one of the characters had been just 1% more curious, particularly the young cop whose deduction skills are practically zero!
The Next Three Days (2010)
Superb thriller. Better than the French version!
An outstanding thriller with solid cast performances throughout. The Pittsburgh setting is a breath of fresh air and the tempo of the movie is its great strength. Moments of touching emotion tempered with fast paced action sequences. The story of an ordinary person put into a vulnerable and dangerous setting is always fascinating. You find yourself thinking, "what would I do in that situation?" There are very few plot holes, if any. No ridiculous special effects or unrealistic fight sequences that plague so many movies in the genre.
I decided to buy the French version "Pour Elle" to make my own comparison of the two films. The reviews here that praise it unequivocally and heavily criticise the Russell Crowe version are way off base. the French version is mediocre at best. It lacks realism, the acting is wooden and setting is vague. The police and prison officers are not as intimidating, the parents of the lead actor are weak and the chemistry between the husband and wife is unconvincing. Just because it has subtitles does not make it any better!