Change Your Image
themurphys-11710
Reviews
The Nice Guys (2016)
Well-crafted fun
Slapstick pastiche of.a buddy cop movie from.70s/80s that somehow also manages to have vibes of a kid's movie from the same time (although with very non-kid themes!). A surprisingly complex storyline, great dialogue and spot-on casting. Gosling and Crowe are perfect as the mis-matched duo of sleuth and hit-man and play an equal part in making the film such fun. Adding a street-smart young daughter to the mix gives it an unexpected twist. The visuals and soundtrack are an absolute love-letter to the era - The clothes! The cars! The music! I've seen it three times now and it is still just as entertaining. Such a shame there was never a follow-up.
The Ides of March (2011)
A sad tale
I am making my way through all of Ryan Gosling's movies and struggled to get through this one having previously watched Half Nelson (which is quite a different film!) in which his performance was a tour-de-force. In contrast, his character in this movie is pretty standard fare and there isn't very much for him to get his teeth into. Don't get me wrong, he makes a good job of it, as do all of the other actors, but the somewhat sad and tawdry story has nothing new to say (although 'don't sleep with your boss' is a message that bears repeating...). Perhaps it was a fresh take on things when it was made, but not in 2023.
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Unexpectedly touching
This film is odd in the way that real life is sometimes odd. Sometimes things happen that you would not believe if it was the plot of a film. This film is like that. It's not a true story, and it may seem far-fetched, but I found it completely believable, no doubt in part due to the incredibly sensitive portrayal by Ryan Gosling of Lars as a grown man partially stuck in childhood (due to the difficult events of his birth and upbringing) who's psyche devises a way for him to move forward with his life. Setting the story in a small community in a relatively remote location allows for a set of social 'rules' to operate on much more personal scale than is possible for city-dwellers. The community accepted Bianca, accepted Lars' idiosyncrasy and in doing so understood more about themselves and what it means to live well among others.
Half Nelson (2006)
Immersive
For me, this film achieved the feeling of an immersive fly-on-the wall view of the interaction between two people stuck in the hold of their own particular life circumstances. Their eventual mutual - and essentially unspoken - understanding of the similarity of their predicaments, and their desire for the other not to succumb to the seemingly inevitable future before them, brokered at least a respite (hopefully more) from the path life was offering. The characters were completely real for me - there was no Ryan or Shareeka, only Dan and Drey - amazing performance from them both. An absolute classic.
Fracture (2007)
Very enjoyable!
A great evening's entertainment provided by two great acting talents (apologies to all you Gosling haters, but I think the guy is very good). Enjoyable 'cat and mouse' dynamic between the older cerebral 'perp' and the apparent upstart young DA, neither of whom can ever accept being on the losing side. Loved the way the whole thing looked. Dropped a couple of stars as not convinced by the hook-up between Gosling's character and his future boss and there were some weak points to the plot if you thought about it too hard, but it's not supposed to be a 'true crime' or a documentary, so just enjoy!
La La Land (2016)
Liked the middle part...
I had to scroll through the opening musical piece (in fact it made me abandoned the film the first time round) and I found the ending very unconvincing, but enjoyed the love story in the middle. Yes, often relationships are all about timing - meeting the right person at the wrong time can suck, but come on! In 5 years Mia became a successful actor AND got married and had a child - no way! Sure, perhaps Mia and Seb needed to focus on achieving their respective dreams separately (although, to be honest, I'm not even sure about that) but I would have found it more convincing if they had both had to 'give their all' for their art. Weird.
Barbie (2023)
A missed opportunity
Great visuals but the 'plot' felt like a bunch of stale ideas that the writers were desperate to include but hadn't really thought through. A real missed opportunity to take the discussion forward about changing society's gendered expectations for both men and women. Instead the writers chose our existing system - but with women 'in charge' - as the final outcome even though they had a whole imaginary world at their disposal to explore an alternative. This was not a kid's film but it was quite a childish treatment of an important topic. I fell for the marketing campaign though! It it got me excited to see the film and buy a ticket, but the 'bait and switch' nature of the campaign left me confused and disappointed.
The Ipcress File (2022)
Clunky pastiche
Couldn't bring myself to watch any further than the second episode. Terrible all round - like a clunky project by sixth form students. Even Joe Cole looks like a spotty youth - completely mis-cast.
Holding (2022)
Loving it!
Watched 3 of the 4 episodes so far and I think it is absolutely brilliant! I'm Irish by marriage and completely recognise the characters and the way they interact and communicate. It's incredibly poignant and full of pathos - perhaps 'modern' Ireland will no longer produce these tangled stories of family secrets, but by God, this story is delivering in spades! Delaying watching the final episode as I don't want it to end...