2007 #15I think my viewing of Spinal Tap may have suffered from years of hype. In some ways it was exactly what I’d expected; in others, not. There are plenty of funny moments, and the odd hilarious one (Stonehenge), but there were times when I felt a little underwhelmed by it.
Maybe you had to be there; maybe it is indeed a victim of hype.
This is Spinal Tap is on ITV4 tonight, Thursday 18th June 2015, at 1am.
The latest effort from the director of Memento and Batman Begins is an intriguing one.
A well-handled complex narrative (it again jumps about in time, but never to the audience’s confusion), even if the twists are relatively easy to guess. A credit, then, that the film doesn’t totally rely on them.
I’m a big fan of Nolan’s work and definitely continue to be; this may gain that missing point on re-viewing. See it.
The Prestige placed 4th on my list of The Ten Best Films I Saw For the First Time in 2007, which can be read in full here.
I was attracted to this because it was billed as a modern musical, with an impressive cast. Tsk.
Some people are put off by the musical tag — well, don’t be. The characters occasionally sing along to some popular songs (and sometimes to ones you’ve never heard in your life), and sometimes do fun dance routines. This sits at odds with the gritty-ish melodrama of the plot, but that’s the fun.
It’s worth a punt, but expect to dislike it.
I like a good musical. I wouldn’t say I was a fan of the genre on the whole, but I do enjoy good ones. South Pacific, to my mind, is not one of the very best, but it has its moments (and its songs!) and there are some fair points underlining the plot. If you don’t like musicals this one probably won’t convert you; if you’re a musical fan… well, you’ve probably already seen it.
Will Smith gives up the comedy act and blockbuster action for the sort of true story that you thought only happened in movies.
His relationship with his screen-son is impressive acting, ’til you realise it’s his real-life son too, but even that does little to undermine things. It manages to avoid the sugary sentimentality that you might expect and in the process makes for a fair tale of the underdog succeeding.
Cute kid too.
2007 #10Proof if it were needed that the format of the rom-com has gone largely unchanged for at least 80 years! In that respect It makes for a fairly entertaining film, with some story elements that modern audiences might find surprisingly, well, modern.
Entertaining but not essential.
2007 #9The fact that it’s an old silent film will be enough to put most people off. Some of those are worth seeking out, of course, but I would hesitate to recommend this one.
The score may be a little unfair as the plot and execution of it aren’t too bad, but somehow I can’t bring myself to give it any more.
This is a tricky film to rate. The plot is pretty inconsequential and drags things out a bit toward the end, but that’s not what you come to a film like Ong-Bak for — it’s here for the action.
When it comes (the pointless plot machinations hold it off for a while), it delivers pretty well indeed, with some impressive work from star Tony Jaa.
I err on the side of generosity with my score.
2007 #7As you may have gathered from #6, I think that both of these films are fine examples of Bond filmmaking. FYEO is probably the better of the two, but not without its faults — no Moore film would be complete without some moments that threaten to utterly balls it up, and this one has a painful, outdated comedic ending, as well as an unnecessary pre-titles.
I dislike Roger Moore as Bond, mostly based on the number of piss-poor films he starred in. It seems I may just have been watching the wrong ones.
Whereas FYEO (see #7) is relatively widely praised, Octopussy is relatively widely panned. I’m not sure why. Yes, there’s a crap bit for about 10 minutes in the middle; yes, the clown outfit is a little silly; but, for the most part, it’s pretty darn entertaining.
Not the franchise’s all time high, but far from the worst entry.
100Films.co.uk 