By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51457253 The Commitments - (1991)
The Commitments soundtrack nearly hit #1 in Australia (both volume 1 and 2) - and that gives me the erroneous view that the film was a massive hit worldwide, but it struggled a bit in the U.S. The soul music it espoused and it's brief domination of the airwaves led to me feeling a little antipathy towards the film in my youth, but I'm going through a phase of giving these films I didn't want to watch back then a fair go. Fair enough, the music is actually great. It's an interesting film, because while many of it's ilk will focus on the newly formed, growing and successful band becoming tighter and tighter, the titular Commitments in this have many of it's members in direct conflict with each other - and this conflict is so red hot every gig they play is considered a miracle if a fight doesn't erupt mid-performance. This tension is what kept me engaged, and overall I thought this kooky film was good without being absolutely great. Nobody really stands out from the huge ensemble gathered here, and that might be one of the reasons why I can't see myself committing to the movie in any promising way - but there's an atmospheric, working-class vibe that I enjoyed all the same. It has a big heart, and if you're a fan of soul then that might just lift it into great territory for you. A mix of Dublin, Wilson Pickett and small-scale conflict.
7/10
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51992862 Collateral Beauty - (2016)
Jeez. Part-way through
Collateral Beauty I thought "this is actually really good", and then, by the time it ended, I felt so very differently. Watching this movie is like getting dressed up and getting in a car with your partner, intent on going to a great restaurant and having a good meal only to take a sharp turn before you get there and getting take-out at Burger King.
Collateral Beauty is a film that's intent on becoming so magical and sweet that it chokes on the excessive sugar contaminating it's blood-stream, washing away all of the interesting themes and storylines in favour of Hallmark feelgood quotes, guardian angel twists and nonsensical ethereal enchantment. It became a mangled mess, and disappointed me. I thought this was going to be an excellent film about grief, and the story about three friends interfering in the life of a fourth in a morally questionable way with mixed intentions was interesting. There were a lot of moral questions being posed that were interesting. This film deals with them in a not so interesting way : magic. Magic, miracle, angels and the healing ability of magic. My expectations lay crushed, and dead. I tell you - big time studios, production companies and distributors look on us, the general public, as children. Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren all wasted.
4/10