BigJimNoFool Reviews

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Very Good

[8/10 · 21 December 2020]

"600 years? 600 years that would be quite something"......Col. Nicholson likes the idea of a bridge of his building standing as monument to his psychological victory over his captor col. Saito.

Like Lawrence...it looks stunning with the jungle and prison camp both forbidding and arduous. The lush greens set off against the blue sky and a lovely sequence tracking the demo squad through huge bamboo and frolicking in waterfalls was memorable.

Overall i found it to be more enjoyable than Lawrence.... with it moving along at a better pace and a more interesting dynamic between the characters but does drag a little in places especially the 3rd act. A lovely piece of filmmaking though that i can appreciate even all these years later.

Alien 3 (1992)

Poor

[2/10 · 21 December 2020]

2 things were learnt over the 2.5hr! Runtime. 1. where george lucas got his ideas to bore the arse off the audience for when writing the star wars prequels and 2. where the costume design dep for The Matrix got their inspiration.

Man this was boring with very little to enjoy. Only watched it because its a David Fincher that I had previously not seen and will never, ever revisit it.

Nebraska (2013)

Good

[7/10 · 21 December 2020]

I was not expecting this to be so frank and darn right filthy, especially all those old dears! It was funny and compassionate without being overly sentimental which was my fear going in. Top marks for Alexander Payne and keeping things interesting in what could have been a pretty poor affair in lesser hands lets face it since the plot is fairly silly and also a bit dull.

I laughed, i enjoyed it and Bruce Dern is especially good to watch. Solid.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Terrific

[9/10 · 21 December 2020]

The scary eyes of Norma Desmond will haunt my dreams. Great performance by Gloria Swanson whom ive never seen before.

Im really enjoying discovering these classics at the moment and having enjoyed Double Indemnity this is another Billy Wilder success. Directed with the same perfect pace and a visual flair he managed to rein in some quite dark and often surreal material here to create an engrossing and intriguing drama.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Classic

[9/10 · 21 December 2020]

Magic! Exactly what i needed on a Sunday night facing another working week in mid December.

A man hides in a writing desk ("get back in there you mock turtle" is one of the funniest lines I've ever heard), woman jumps from window, mother in law gets picked up and lifted out the door by a hoodlum associate of a jealous ex husband....this film is gloriously mad and I loved it.

It straddles a unique and fine balance between funny, lighthearted slapstick with dark undertones of a politically motivated hanging and a cat and mouse game of relationship politics hitting ever lower depths......not to mention the press subversion elements...what a densely packed script that is handled expertly well by the director in keeping the pace going full tilt throughout. When i checked the credits i was pleased to see lederer and hechts' names responsible for the writing(having found out about them via Mank recently).

The performances are first class too with Rosalind Russell blowing me away having never seen her before and Cary Grant being all sauve and great too. Great cameo character in Pettibone who plays a comic dunce with an important role brilliantly.

About Time (I) (2013)

Dull

[5/10 · 21 December 2020]

I went into a dark place, clenched my fists but unfortunately i never got the time spent watching this back.

Its not bad, its just dull.

Citizen Kane (1941)

A well made, innovative but tedious drama

[6/10 · 12 December 2020]

Re-watched having just watched, and really enjoyed, MANK. This however still remains, for me, a film that i admire rather than love or even enjoy. It's just rather dull in performance, script and having a connection to any of the characters. Sure its directed with visual flair and there is some lovely shots and photography to be enjoyed.

Overall i just didn't care enough about Charles Foster Kane to have an emotional attachment to the film and therefore as a drama it failed.

Double Indemnity (1944)

Truly a classic at 76

[9/10 · 5 December 2020]

Any film that after 76 years that can hold up this well is surely a stone cold classic.

For me the 3 strong leads, terrific script that crackles with great noir dialogue and a director that moves things along without a wasted word or frame, made this a hugely enjoyable experience in truly tragic cinema watching our femme fatale and anti-hero fall from grace.

Old Neff shoulda taken that desk job!

Mank (2020)

Brilliant

[8/10 · 5 December 2020]

Gary Oldman is a beast what a performance and he is let loose with a superb script and makes the most of it. You can tell he is loving every minute delivering the tasty dialogue.

What a terrific story too that was paced right and told with directorial flair by Fincher, a complete triumph.

The script is witty, funny, clever and interesting and always engaging even if some of the characters are lightly drawn or explored and with moments where it does veer off course slightly or drag a little.

Overall though i had a great time watching this and will now be knee deep in researching all these different characters represented here.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Not quite the hitting the mark of greatness

[7/10 · 26 November 2020]

Not quite the masterpiece i had previously thought it to be. Was this due to me seeing Rushmore and Bottle Rocket for the first time just before this? I think so because Rushmore especially has the heart to go with the oddball humour and carefully crafted characters whereas i found this to be full of largely unlikable characters playing out an unengaging plot with only a few chuckles here and there jarring with the attempt to garner some sort of genuine emotion. The narration and episodic nature of the story too took me out of it and being able to fully connect with the multitude of characters.

Bill Murray crouching at the window to talk to Margot though.

Rushmore (1998)

Really brilliant

[9/10 · 23 November 2020]

Great fun with a terrific pace and tone, light hearted but with a heart in the right place and above all a goddarn hoot man it was funny so many great lines especially between Schwartzman and Murray. It felt like a big step up in every way for Mr Anderson after Bottle Rocket only 2 years previously and leading up to his first masterpiece in ....Tenenbaums all the hallmarks were there.

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Great first feature that set the good ship Anderson afloat

[8/10 · 23 November 2020]

Genuinely oddball comedy with some genuinely funny lines delivered in that deadpan drawl that only the Wilson brothers are capable of.

Extra points for a terrific soundtrack including Calexico and The Proclaimers.

Double thumbs up

500 Days of Summer (2009)

rubbish

[2/10 · 23 November 2020]

Dung, manure, poop, crap and cack

Pretty, insufferable duo dick around to an implausibly great and oh so indie soundtrack. Pa-lees!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

A slog with some decent moments

[6/10 · 20 November 2020]

That was a slog it has to be said. After about 1hr30mins i felt the minutes were creeping by almost like they were going backwards......anyway this gumpian tale started off like The Royal Tenenbaums with the big house full of characters and a few wry laughs like the cymbalist at the funeral but then it gets bogged down until eventually it drowned in it's own watery grave.

Shampoo (1975)

Rubbish

[3/10 · 14 November 2020]

Comedy? Where? I've not seen any, sorry. Not in my realm of humour but maybe someone out there laughs at this kind of thing.

Characters are superficial and uninteresting and the performances do nothing to make me want to spend much time with them. Who really cares about this man's shenanigans and his quite frankly thin ambitions? Does the director even care or is he more interested in the conversations like George has with the daughter where she is determined to know if he is gay which has not aged well it must be said.

The direction, photography and script are wholly unengaging which is surprising given robert townes' involvement in the latter having written the masterpiece and one my all time faves Chinatown. Maybe the co writer Beatty was the difference in that regard.

Overall not one of the New Hollywood greats for me. Maybe it's Ashby i dont get on with as i remember disliking The Last Detail.

Hellraiser (1987)

Ok

[4/10 · 14 November 2020]

Jesus wept! Big hair and big conceptual horror/sci-fi it must be the 80s!

Good makeup and effects that have stood the test of time.

The acting and stilted dialogue from the script are a big let down. I see a lot of pain and not much pleasure and that goes for me watching this as well as the characters on screen.

Overall this is b movie gore fest type horror with an iconic character in Pinhead and a vaguely subversive plot about guilt that has aged reasonably well.

Hereditary (2018)

Not for me

[4/10 · 14 November 2020]

Seems the horror genre is one i really continue to struggle with. If this is what good acclaimed modern horror is then im afraid i dont think i will ever get it. I always feel that im out of step with the films and am never sure how serious or not to take them. I dont get anything from them and just end up disappointed.

This to me was just ridiculous and full of cliched tropes like weird freaky kid with problems, seemingly happy middle class family about to be turned inside out, a seemingly benevalent stranger who turns out not to be so. To me all this is just obvious and tired and unimaginative and frankly makes me laugh rather than appalled or interested in any meaningful way.

First Man (2018)

Moving

[9/10 · 14 November 2020]

Loved it. Every minute of it. A few tear inducing moments. Gosling is excellent playing the restrained but driven and ulitimately haunted by tragedy character Armstrong. Chazelle direction and pacing are pitch perfect as is the score, sound design, set design and cinematography

Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak (2009 TV Movie)

Intimate and heartfelt portrait

[8/10 · 14 November 2020]

I knew absolutely zilch about this fella beforehand and 40mins later i feel i got to know what makes up the moments of this man's life and inner thoughts.

Brevity is indeed the soul of wit. Straight forward, straight talkin, no nonsense just a man talking about his life to his friend, the director, Spike with openness and honesty.

Blue Velvet (1986)

Odd and intriguing

[7/10 · 14 November 2020]

I appreciated it this more on this rewatch than the first time round. It all seemed to make more sense if that is possible in such a film as this. Strange and hypnotic it has an engrossing mood firmly in the gothic nature of small town America where nothing ever seems to happen on the surface but scratch below it and well, there it is, all human life is there.

How They Get There (1997)

Ace

[8/10 · 14 November 2020]

Lovely bit of dark comedy and the lengths we go to to impress each other

We Were Once a Fairytale (2009)

Very good

[7/10 · 14 November 2020]

Great use of Moonlight Sonata and surreal ending elevated this one

To Die by Your Side (2011)

Good

[8/10 · 14 November 2020]

Funny bones. An excellent animation with genuine humour and something we have never seen before

I'm Here (2010)

Very good

[7/10 · 14 November 2020]

Selfless sacrifice in the android community given the warm, soft focused, fuzzy treatment in a well realised near future world.

Beastie Boys Story (2020)

Format does a disservice to a story with so much more

[6/10 · 14 November 2020]

The unfortunate thing about this approach taken here with the 2 remaining B Boys on stage is that it feels so scripted and really clinical which is everything i thought the Beasties were not. What i wanted from their story on film is a bit more anarchy and the chaos of 80s and 90s NY to come out not two middle aged legends on stools talkin bout the good ole days.

Disappointed fan.