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The Offence 1972
A physically draining and engaging account of one man's descent into the darkest depths of his mind - a man who ends up inhabiting the very headspace he has set out to eradicate.
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Leviathan 1989
Remarkably mediocre effort here that wildly draws from both 'Alien' and 'The Thing' and achieves every cliche imaginable in terms of character types and panic scenarios. It's all here, flamethrowers, jettisoned escape pods by an edgy medical-type, countdown-to-meltdown alerts, orchestral surging themes (even Jerry Goldsmith on composing duties), inter-racial comic riffing between 'grunt' stereotypes, the list goes on and on. Interesting Stan Winston did the creature design/effects, and even Ron Cobb was involved with production design. If I had seen…
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The Silent World 1956
Whilst a stunning and vivid account of all things wonderful under the Ocean, it is very difficult to see past the pure barbarism of these Frenchman, harassing turtles to the point of drowning, dynamiting hundreds of fish for the sake of 'research', destroying coral reefs, mortally wounding whale calves and quite purposely running over pods of whales travelling considerably too fast for the poor creatures to react, butchering a school of sharks for simply responding to blood in the water.…
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Beautiful Girls 1996
A film that purveys quite a lot of revelations regarding the dynamics of relationships within the confines of a simple 'High-School buddies reunion' construct. The interplay between the older man and much-younger girl who have an instant connection and affinity for one another is handled quite poignantly and remains the single most memorable aspect of this movie. It also features grown men playing Hockey video games on 8 or 16 bit video game systems.
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Room 237 2013
A very interesting take on the hidden meaning withing The Shining that ultimately outstays its welcome and begins slightly to resemble a room full of enthusiastic fanatics riffing excessively. However it succeeded in prompting me to watch the movie again and to perhaps shift my focus from the main protagonist to the incidental details that are so densely littered throughout every shot.
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Django Unchained 2012
Strangely underwhelming, yet it is everything you expect a Tarantino film to be. Definite pacing and editing issues, but still a whole lot of satisfaction to be had here.
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The Quiet Earth 1985
A curious little film out of New Zealand (of course looking a lot like Australia) that reaches beyond the bounds of its budget to result in a unique Science Fiction experience. Bruno Lawrence does quite well as what we believe to be the sole survivor of the 'event', but his performance is thwarted by the emergence of other survivors and the post-apocalyptic dynamics that result. Faltering in its second half, The Quiet Earth still remains an intriguing (and under-exposed) take on the Post-Apocalyptic genre.
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Samsara 2012
Sumptuous 70mm visuals and suitably evocative and thoughtful soundtrack combine for an astounding 90 minutes that form a snapshot of planet Earth and all that it has become. Both a statement and also an observation, the film is the spiritual successor to Baraka, and if nothing else is a reminder of all that is at stake in our greedy pursuit for wealth and power on this planet.
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012
It is difficult to know just how to assess this film on its own merits rather than to analyse it post Lord of The Rings - it being such a behemoth trilogy of Middle-Earth overload. Granted this being first instalment of the Hobbit Trilogy there was always going to be a certain amount of padding and housekeeping (very hard to know why Jackson opted for a three movie structure for this adaptation), but the pacing and flow on display here…
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Sneakers 1992
I can understand the allure to the premise of this film (hacking, gadgetry etc.), but found it to be quite contrived and stale in execution. However it is so refreshing to see a subtle and considered musical score (James Horner and Branford Marsalis) to a film such as this. I think if I had seen this closer to its release I would have understandably have been more affected and had more of a soft spot for it.
