Because I'm really lazy and can't be bothered writing new reviews, here are my previous ones from before
Connor Macgregor Reviews...Pan's Labyrinth
It really is in all honesty a foreign modern masterpiece. Not many fantasy films are as this emotional , this entertaining and this mystical as this. Del Toro is a directorial genius and its this film that has put him on the map , if not already. This is Pan's Labyrinth.
In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.
Personally this film is a definate masterpiece by any means. The Acting is great and really lures you in to the belief that the events that you are watching in the film are really unpleasant and grumesone. Ivanna Baquero is very charming as Ofelia and its her story and her character alone that make the film worth while.
I will also say the narrative pacing is brilliant and gives you time to breath whenever something scary or something thrilling occurs in the film. The Cinematography is beautiful and any frame of that film you could take out and frame it in an art museum or in your own home and sit there , look at it and magnify it and then proclaim its a piece of art. Watching it was a nice and peaceful experience unlike most films i have watched. And this being foreign made it more of a masterpiece because foreign films as a whole you could either like or dislike. Never the less its great relaxing.
What else can i say ? its a masterpiece , See it if you havent now because if your havent , your missing out and it is your own fault. Pan's Labyrinth is a foreign masterpiece.
Rating - 99% - A
Connor Macgregor Reviews...La Haine
Different approach this time , i am going to review something foreign and was made a few years back. So sit back and read my review of La Haine.
The film follows three young men and their time spent in the French suburban "ghetto," over a span of twenty-four hours. Vinz, a Jew, Saïd, an Arab, and Hubert, a black boxer, have grown up in these French suburbs where high levels of diversity coupled with the racist and oppressive police force have raised tensions to a critical breaking point. During the riots that took place a night before, a police officer lost his handgun in the ensuing madness, only to leave it for Vinz to find. Now, with a newfound means to gain the respect he deserves, Vinz vows to kill a cop if his friend Abdel dies in the hospital, due the beating he received while in police custody.
The Subtitles didn't bother me as i do enjoy Foreign Films when i come across them. Vincent Cassel is one of those great talents that Hollywood have just began to notice. Hollywood arent good at finding talent outside their own country (Bar UK) and this film really shows how good Vincent Cassel is as an actor.
This is a great film about social problems , gangs and how the central characters deal with those problems. I think its very well paced. Not much happens , but events are taking place on screen that makes the events that happen on screen feel more safe and interesting. I like that they shot it in Black & White. It looks grim and bleak , where as in colour , i think it would have been boring and not very interesting to follow.
I also love the locations used in the film. Paris is sterotyped as the love capital of the world , but when seen in a film like La Haine , you rarely see any love or passion. Its just like any other city in the world but with its own cultural differences.
Overall , Great Drama film with a great time frame and compelling characters. La Haine is a must see.
Rating - 81% - A-
Connor Macgregor Reviews...The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
Intro: With La La Land's astonishing success last year, one of the films mentioned by Damian Chazelle was The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, a french musical film made in the 60s. This peaked my interest, and I was eager to see this as soon as I can. But did it live up to the hype?
Plot: This is the story of 16 year-old Genevieve and 20 year-old Guy who are very much in love. Her kindly mother, who runs an umbrella shop, won't hear of her marrying, particularly as Guy has yet to complete his compulsory military service. Genevieve is heartbroken when he leaves for his army service in colonial Algeria and is upset to have received only one letter from him in two months. She's also pregnant. Her mother has a solution to the situation in the form of diamond merchant Roland Cassard who has helped them out in the past. Roland is a kind man who accepts to raise Genevieve's child as his own. By the time Guy returns from Algeria Genevieve is married and the umbrella shop has been sold. Several years later, they meet again.
Music & Lyrics: The key strength of this film is the music. It's fitting and whimsical for its time, and gives the film a very charming personality for the audience to absorb. But at times, I feel the lyrics don't often work, or are a bit clunky at certain points in the story. It's all sung through beginning to end, and there are times where it really doesn't work very well. But when it works, you feel the effect of the mood & tone the film is trying to set to you.
Characters: The two main characters are Guy & Genevieve, played by a young Nino Castelnuovo and Catherine Deneuve. Both have amazing chemistry and you buy into their young, sweet, teenage dream of a relationship, even though the happiness is ultimately short lived. Both actors do very well with the material, and both juggle the highs and lows of love and growing up in different ways, both with light and dark moments. Special shoutout also goes to Anne Vernon as Madame Every, Genevieve's mother, a very nosy and domineering mother, who lets reputation cloud her daughter's true feelings.
Bittersweet: Again, I must reference La La Land, in regarding that they both have similar endings. Bittersweet being the classy word. Without spoiling it, it's an ending which is quite heartbreaking in many ways, but you get a sense that both the main characters are very different people from where they began in the film's start. It's also beautifully shot too, with the snow falling down very elegantly and light. Much like La La Land, both characters leave satisfied but saddened at the same time.
Overall: The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg is a strong solid musical, though with flaws none the less. It's romantic, whimsical, unique, and oh so very very french.
Rating: 75% - B+
Connor Macgregor Reviews...La Famille Belier
Intro: I found this film in a second-hand DVD shop, and because I wanted to watch more French cinema, I purchased it. And after watching it, It's definitely one of the best purchases I've made in a very long time film wise.
Summary: The Béliers are ordinary people: Rodolphe and Gigi are married, have two children and run their farm for a living. Ordinary people? Well, almost... since three of them, Dad, Mum and their son Quentin, are deaf. Which is not the case of the boy's big sister, Paula. And not only can she speak but her music teacher scouts her beautiful voice as well. He offers her to sit for the entrance exam of the Maîtrise de Radio France, a vocal elite choir in Paris. Her parents, who rely on her as their ears and mouth in the outside world, take the news badly. Paula, who hates the idea of betraying her parents and her brother, goes through a painful dilemma...
Story: I found this to be a brilliant, yet simple well told story. You immediately fall in love with the Belier family, and really see that despite the fact 3/4 of the family are deaf, life is very much normal for them. The film's narrative flows well, showcasing the story all through Paula's POV. All of the characters are unique with their own little traits, and I enjoyed seeing them interact as the multiple plots intertwined pretty well.
Louane Emera: The star of the film is easily Louane Emera. The film's young star started out in The French Voice, doing pretty decently before transitioning into films. With both a blossoming career in music and film, she's certainly a rising star in France. And in this film, she's just charming and lovely to watch. A very natural screen presence, and carries the film's emotional weight very well. I look forward to seeing her in more films coming up.
Message: As someone with a mental disability myself, I take to disability films personally. I don't know any deaf people personally, but the film was very clear in announcing the amount of training and learning about French sign language the cast has to go through. I like the fact that it's a story about following your dreams and potential, and fighting for something stronger and better for yourself and everyone around you.
Overall: This is an amazing film and one I highly recommend to those who are favourable to foreign cinema. It has a charming story, great cast, and is a more positive french film with more heart and charm than anything else.
Rating: 100% - A+
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