Daniel's Reviews

Thanks. Badlands isn't as fast-paced and entertaining as True Romance but a more creepier and visually stunning film.

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Considering how you feel about David Lynch's movies, is it safe to assume you enjoyed his TV series Twin Peaks as well, Daniel? Because that's one of my favorite TV shows ever and it has that same weird, unsettling atmosphere that his films often carried.

I love True Romance and that was a fantastic review-I agree with everything you said!!!

As far as the 2 films you mentioned-

I have yet to see Badlands, but I need to.

I did not care for Natural Born Killers, and it's the type of film I normally love.

Thanks.

With NBK I haven't seen it either but I've heard quite a few criticise it from removing the original point of Tarantino's script that was the satrical and media-mocking side of things where as Oliver Stone changes it so it's just all glorified killing, I'll have to see.

I also just watched True Romance for the first time fairly recently. Agree that it was a great film. Oh and great review as well. As you say the cast is phenomenal. Though I can't believe you didn't give Patricia Arquette much of a mention. From the first second she appeared on screen I just fell madly in love with that character.


We really are on very different paths just now Daniel! You're visiting all these critically acclaimed, all time classic films. And I'm having a Jean Claude Van Damme season!!!

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Yeh I barely talked about the main two characters and focussed mainly on the ensemble cast that when I think about it had hardly little time on screen (Pitt, Oldman, Gandolfini, Hopper, Oldman etc.). But yeh Patricia Arquette really was a great choice for the character, and like you said the romantic side of worked well with them, it seems Tony Scott fell in love with those two as well as he decided to alter Tarantino's script and not kill Slater's character.

And yeh completely different paths, I don't think I've ever watched a full JCVD film so I can't really comment much on that side of the reviews - actually if you count Kung Fu Panda 2 then I have seen a full film of his!

I'll perhaps give True Romance a rewatch at some point in the near future so I can do a proper in-depth review. Show you how it's done.

Aww that's so sad. Your life is incomplete without some Van Damme exposure!

I can't believe you've never seen a JCVD film. I thought it would be impossible to do that unless you actively avoid them. Though I think you're a bit younger than me so perhaps that explains it a little. Just when I was growing up Van Damme flicks always seemed to be on TV; it was impossible to miss his films, particularly the likes of Bloodsport. So did you never go through the phase most boys do of exploring the CVs of Stallone, Arnie, Van Damme etc?

If action films perhaps aren't your thing, but for some reason you were desperate to see a Van Damme flick I'd recommend JCVD, which I just reviewed last time out. See Van Damme go arthouse! No seriously.

I honestly can't see how anyone who's seen the film could say that. My main, possibly only, criticism of the film is that Stone hits you over the head with that message, along with a couple of others, throughout the entire film so blatantly that it takes me out of the film.

I still love it, though. HK 100 film.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I'm not sure how old you are, I'm 17 and I've only really started watching films properly in the last year or two. I've never really watched any of those action films though and that includes things like Rocky, Rambo etc. I've seen bits and bobs on TV now and again but never actually sat down and watched any, I'll definitely have to some time have an action film spree.

I can't really comment because I haven't seen the film, I've only really read bits and bobs of critics comments, definitely going to give it a try and see what it's like though, I reckon that I'll actually like it

When I first discovered this film I was extremely interested to see just how well you can make a film that is 106 minutes long and focuses around a young man who strikes up a relationship with an internet sex doll that he orders. This film is a film like no other I have seen before, original and unique, a small miracle in that it is so successful in making us fall in love with Lars and like his town neighbours feel sympathy and understanding towards him and his complicated situation that we on the surface would normally be perceived as weird and simply wrong.

Nancy Oliver’s original screenplay is brave and unique, and whilst at times is implausible it is always charming and never offends the viewer. The screenplay was rightly nominated for an Oscar but what really makes the idea work so successfully is the performance of Ryan Gosling, a small miracle in itself from one of the my favourite actors of this century so far. You have to question what another actor would have done in the same role, would he have been able to hold everything together and create a character that really captures the audience heart as well as Gosling who really grows on us throughout. We know that he is delusional and can not be persuaded against the existence of Bianca, but we have hope that he can overcome his problems and realise what he has in front of him, people willing to accept him and help him.

The world of Lars, although implausible is always acceptable, because of its true human message. We get an insight into Lars’ life and why he is so reclusive and socially awkward, taking a particular dislike to people touching him hence wearing an unusual number of layers of clothing. We learn that his mother died giving birth to him, he carries around a small baby blanket come scarf to remind him of his mother, he is caring and is never violent or raises his voice yet is oblivious to the kind actions of those around him such as his brother and sister-in-law, and an attractive young work colleague Margo.

But it is not just Lars that makes the film so enjoyable, it is the community as a whole, essential to the film as although uneasy at first, come to accept Lars and his condition, welcoming and supporting his new doll partner Bianca. The performances all round are really strong and believable, applying hope and warmth to a difficult situation. Emily Mortimer as Lars’ sister-in-law is particularly kind and encouraging to Lars, even before he orders his doll yet he fails to recognise that the love and support she is giving him, explaining to his doctor that he feels she is rude as she does not understand that people do not like to be hugged. In one of the film’s most heartfelt moments she attempts to explain to Lars just how important he is when he tells her that people do not care about him,

“That is just not true! God! Every person in this town bends over backward to make Bianca feel at home. Why do you think she has so many places to go and so much to do? Huh? Huh? Because of you! Because - all these people - love you! We push her wheelchair. We drive her to work. We drive her home. We wash her. We dress her. We get her up, and put her to bed. We carry her. And she is not petite, Lars. Bianca is a big, big girl! None of this is easy - for any of us - but we do it... Oh! We do it for you! So don't you dare tell me how we don't care.”

The acceptance of Bianca is so real and charming that we ourselves come to love her, we see her teaching in a school and even getting her hair cut, I think you will be excused if you were looking for her actress at the end credits. Despite this love for Bianca that is developed, we feel even better when Lars begins to mature and confront the reality of his situation, beginning by asking his brother how he knew when he was a man. I won’t spoil the film’s ending but we feel a sense of happiness that Lars is able to triumph and finally accept the caring world he lives in and the effort made by those around him.

One of the most charming and popular films I can remember in recent times, I said before that Gosling’s performance was a small miracle in itself, the same comment can be applied to the film as a whole. The film is an American production, set in an American town and shot in the Canadian province of Ontario yet it has an independent feel that makes us admire it even more. The town that is created and its inhabitants is a delightful and warm little place, even the cold outdoors, snowy environment and bare trees help create a feeling of inner warmth and at times I felt like we were watching a low-budget Scandinavian film because of the settings and names of the characters.

It is always a breath of fresh air to see a film like this, wholly original, full of charm and warmth, and very engaging with its real human message that is set in a loveable and friendly world, people who criticise the film for is implausibility really are missing the point entirely, watching this film was a joy, how can anyone watch this and not fall in love with Lars and his community?

Do we have any lawyers on the board? I'd like to sue for plagiarism!

Daniel just wrote this in his Lars and the Real Girl review -

while on May 17th, 2011 I wrote this in my Lars review -

J'accuse!!!

But seriously great review of a film I just adore. I think I had it somewhere in the 40s/50s on my top 100 list

Haha man I knew you'd pick up on that but I was honestly thinking that when I was watching the film, honestly though I mean Lars Lindstrom - can you get a more stereotypical Scandinavian name?

Lol! You guys.

I've done it too.
In my reviews I give a short overview of the story (similar to something that you'd find on the back of a DVD box so I don't give away any spoilers) before I get on to writing the actual review and giving my thoughts.

I've notived a couple of story overviews I've written have a similar wording to Wiki... even though I wrote my overview off the top of my head it has similar stuff to other overviews.

Maybe it's just an unconcious thing, I've used Wiki in the past to look up films and maybe a few sentences or sentence layouts have stayed in the unconcious part... who knows.

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You're killing me kid!!! I can't believe you've never seen a Rocky or Rambo film either, especially Rocky. Man you Welsh people are weird!

Anyway you have 8 years on me so maybe that's the difference. It's just that back when I was at school Van Damme films were amongst those that everyone seemed to watch, and then come into school the next day and talk about. Talking about the violent moments and doing dreadful Van Damme impersonations. But then that was practically the dark ages now when there was no freeview, Sky wasn't as common, you couldn't watch films online, you couldn't pick up cheap DVDs on ebay, hell DVDs weren't even invented yet!!! It was tougher to track down films so you usually watched what was on and there always seemed to be a good bit of Van Damme on

Go Joe Calzaghe!

Note: This review is a film that I've actually reviewed before, in fact it was the second ever review that I posted on this site when I awarded it 4/4. I've watched the film numerous times since and I really have enjoyed it every time, for some reason I felt the urge to write a much improved and much longer article about the film. I hope you enjoy it. Contains mild plot spoilers.

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Now posted in new thread - http://www.movieforums.com/community...d.php?p=928974

Nice review,you are very observant and found lots of similarities with other films which didn't even think of.Despite what you mentioned,this film also has a reference to Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas ()
However,for me,Rango wasn't very special (I'm not keen on animation overall) but it is quite inventive and original.

Oldboy follows the story of a man named Oh Dae-Su. We are introduced to him immediately when he speaks to his daughter over the phone on the night of her birthday; he then mysteriously disappears and is placed in a room for 15 years. In this small room he has nothing but a few objects to keep his life ticking over for the next 15 years, he has a television and a bed. It is through this television that he learns of the murder of his wife, with DNA evidence making him the prime suspect, with his daughter now adopted in Stockholm, Sweden. Whilst in this room Oh Dae-Su is given regular hair cuts and washes with people entering the room and attending to him once knocked out through gas that would fill the room as a small jingle played.

After 15 years he is released, it becomes clear immediately that his release is no coincidence and that he is to become a part in a well orchestrated game of cat and mouse where he must find his captor and discover the motive behind his 15 year confinement.

Upon his release, Oh Dae-Su meets a young chef named Mi-Do, instantly attracted the two begin a sexual relationship with each other, with Mi-Do agreeing to help her partner track down whoever is responsible for his kidnapping.

What follows is a film that feels like a combination of Memento and Kill Bill Vol. 1, the first half of the film is spent attempting to unravel the mystery through a series of clues but once the mystery is solved only further questions arise with the man responsible having bigger plans for Oh Dae-Su, provoking further questions and mysterious that remain unanswered until a powerful and shattering finale.

The film is filled with violence and scenes that many viewers may find disturbing, but do not let this put you off watching this wonderful film. Unlike other films where violence is simply added for stylistic shock value, the uncomfortable scenes are here for a reason in what for me was one of the most emotionally powerful films I had seen in a while. Take for example the film’s famous octopus scene where Oh Dae-Su orders a live octopus having just been released from captivity. This scene actually took four octopuses to complete, but that ensures that we see just exactly what we are meant to see, the live animal wriggling about as the consumer stuffs it all aggressively into his mouth. The purpose of this scene is not to shock us, Oh Dae-Su is a man who has just escaped captivity where he saw 15 years of his life wasted, in eating the octopus he is eating more than just your ordinary meal, he is consuming the living life out of a creature, just like his captor did to him.

There are other violent scenes as well, although all are as spectacular as they are fitting to the film and Oh Dae-Su’s revenge consumed character. In one scene we see Oh Dae-Su take on an entire hallway full of criminals waiting for him as he attempts to exit one building. In one of the greatest long takes in the history of cinema we see him take them all one and finally escape, this is no Jackie Chan style, fun and easy way out but it is instead a gritty and brutal battle for Oh Dae-Su who finds himself almost beaten to a pulp, only after fighting off the criminals, removing a knife from his back that he received during the fighting.

The hallway fight scene actually acts as a good symbol for the film as a whole, this is no straightforward revenge story where good overcomes evil, it is not as simple as that for Oh Dae-Su who will find himself battered and beaten just as much as those he faces off against. I won’t say much about how the film ends, but it is completely shattering and utterly brilliant.

Paths of Glory was Stanley Kubrick’s fourth (including Fear and Desire) full feature film, released in 1957 when he was only twenty-nine years old, yet watching this film feels like your watching a work of art produced during the peak of a highly successful career of an experienced director, a moving and powerful masterpiece.

In the previous year Stanley Kubrick had released The Killing, which although was not a commercial success and is regarded as relatively weak when compared to his later work. However watching The Killing it is not surprising that the same director would go on to create a film such as Paths of Glory, although more of a raw product than his later films, The Killing was still quite well received by critics at the time, a decent noir that showed plenty of signs of talent and potential. What is more surprising though is the fact that Paths of Glory was created only a year after The Killing.

The craft and guild involved in the film are superb, with some of the best scenes ever constructed on display. Later war films contain many memorable scenes themselves; however the battle scenes in Paths of Glory are as good as any you will ever see with a fantastic scene in the first half when the attack on ant hill actually took place.

The story of the film follows the trial of three soldiers who are being charged with cowardice when facing the enemy. The troops were ordered to carry out the outrageous and impossible task of capturing the German ant hill; originally a captain is hesitant to carry out this order from those above but agrees to at the opportunity of a promotion.

Whilst only one third of the troops leave the trenches for the attack, only three are chosen for trial to attempt to make an example of their cowardice to discourage any future attempts of disobedience of orders. The trial scene in itself is expertly done, with Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax, a man who attempts to defend those wrongly on trial for their lives, delivering an emotional speech that ranks among the best ever given in the history of film. Douglas is fantastic throughout, with his good hearted and morally right intentions outlined at the films end when his motivations behind his defence of the troops on trial are questioned.

Kubrick’s anti-war film mocks the chain of command structure and structure put in place, focussing less on the war itself but more on those involved with it. Dr. Strangelove has long been one of my favourite Kubrick films and like Paths of Glory it also takes a critical stance against war, albeit in a more satirical manner.

Paths of Glory works mainly because of the characters we are shown, aside from the excellent Douglas we also has a great supporting cast, we no what the likely fate of the troops are yet their characters are none the less important. Then there are the men responsible from above such as the characters portrayed by Menjou and MacCready, men we grow to dislike due to their own interests as Kubrick looks at the human and moral side of war.

The film’s final scene is beautifully symbolic and fitting as we see the future Mrs. Kubrick sing a song in front of a bar full of haggling men, battling on despite the unfavourable odds against her.

Prior to Persona I had never seen an Ingmar Bergman film, it had been something I had wanted to do for a while and I had placed Persona at the top of my watch list due to how highly regarded it is in the world of cinema.

Although I had never seen a Bergman film, I had a rough idea of who he was and what his films were like as an experimental, art house director. However I knew nothing about the specific content of his films, I had not heard a word about any of his films or their plots, so I was going in to Persona with an empty mind, ready to be pleasantly surprised.

First impressions for both a film and a director are very important, they can leave long lasting thoughts in your mind and you can immediately get a taste for things to come. Such examples of this include films such as Reservoir Dogs immediately gave me a taste for the stylistic, violent and fantastic dialogue filled Quentin Tarantino films and Mulholland Drive, one of the strangest and most confusing film experiences I have had that had be gripped from the opening 10 minutes and left me curious and eagerly anticipate the viewing of more of David Lynch’s work. Persona’s opening is definitely now the most memorable I have seen, I can not remember something as powerful and impacting as it. We see a bizarre array of ultra violent images such as an erect penis, a lamb being slaughtered, a tarantula and a nail going through a human hand, all these images flashing before our eyes along with a repeating image of a young boy with a deep stare, accompanied by haunting music in the background.

These opening scenes are very much a sign of things to come in terms of the atmosphere throughout the film, equally haunting and as memorable, a truly enthralling experience that really does bring out a mixture of emotions and feelings. The film is as minimalistic as it is artistic, we spend the film watching the lives of two women, one is a actress who has decided to be mute and the other is the nurse appointed with the task of taking care of her, as the two spend time with each other they begin to generate a bond with each other, raising questions over identity, who a person is and what the desire.

Once the film is over you will be long thinking about what you have just seen, less serious film watchers may be disappointed by a non linear and non spoon fed plot that come with the majority of popular films nowadays, but the fact that this film is not a linear story that presents you with a fully explained logical explanation is not important, films do not have to be. In an interview I recently watched with David Lynch (whose Mulholland Drive left me with a similar feeling of awe afterwards) he talked about how films should be used as a platform to convoy the result of something else, thoughts or a theme. Ingmar Bergman’s Wikipedia page says 'His major subjects were death, illness, faith, betrayal, and insanity.' And his presentation of such subjects in Persona is clearly evident as Bergman uses his experimental film as a means of showing us something more than just a story: images, themes, ideas and great meanings. Bergman is quick to remind us that what we are watching is just a film, towards the end we actually see a shot of him and his film crew turning their cameras and in another we see some film burning away.

To summarise what I have already said, watching Persona was a fantastic experience. It's memorable, haunting, unforgettable, enthralling and at times very disturbing, it is impossible to put a single word on the mixture of emotions and thoughts you'll have once you have seen it.