kkitt Reviews

Hereditary (2018)

Maybe it's me...

[5/10 · 4 November 2018]

Sometimes it seems everyone else is raving about a film and I just don't get it. I guess this is one of those times.

'Hereditary' struck me as something that M. Night Shyamalan could - but shouldn't - have made: slow-paced atmospheric direction, gradually building tension and suspense, only for everything to unravel in a preposterous (anti)climax. There's a backhanded compliment in there somewhere, and maybe a spoiler of some sort.

Full marks for Toni Collette's tremendous performance but honestly, I can't help thinking this film didn't really deserve it.

Keeping Faith (2017–2021)

So far, so good - but...

[6/10 · 27 July 2018]

I'm currently watching this on BBC1 (going old school) and broadly speaking, I think it's shaping up quite well. I don't agree that it's too slow-paced - it's actually quite refreshing to see a drama series unfold gradually, rather than rattling along like a cartoon - although having said that, the editing probably could have been a bit sharper.

My only real complaint is that every episode so far has had a plaintive ballad smeared over the closing scenes, a pointless and obtrusive folly which does nothing to enhance the story and just turns the last few minutes into a rather dull music video. I'm not criticising the song itself but in this context, it simply doesn't work - any more than having a short play performed in the middle of a pop concert would.

On balance then, pretty decent - but I doubt anyone will be calling for an extended 'director's cut'.

The Godfather Part III (1990)

From the sublime... to the merely OK

[6/10 · 6 February 2010]

It was never going to be easy for anyone - even the original cast and creative team - to come up with a worthy epilogue to the Godfather saga. What disappoints me most about this film is that there were too many missed opportunities, resulting in a stylish but meandering melodrama that is a far from satisfactory final act.

Inevitably, where established characters have to be played by the same actors, there will be the odd crack to paper over - most regrettably, Tom Hagen's absence due to the failed negotiations over Robert Duvall's fee. Yet even where characters are retained, they bear curiously little resemblance to their younger selves. One of the most compelling aspects of the first instalment was Michael's slow transformation from squeaky-clean war hero into ruthless Mafia don; his reversion to 'good guy' status might have been equally fascinating but is never really explored. Meanwhile, his sister Connie seems to have assumed an uncompromising, matriarchal role quite at odds with the revulsion she displayed at Michael's earlier behaviour. Again, the intervening years alone are all that is offered by way of explanation.

Also, although one can accept that new characters are inevitable, the introduction of Vincent seems both contrived and unnecessary - adjectives that sadly are equally appropriate in describing this film's plot, which takes a great deal of time to unfold into very little. A far more intriguing storyline would have seen Mary murdered earlier in the film (and not just because of Sofia Coppola's lamentable acting) and then focused on a profound dilemma for Michael: whether to turn the other cheek and accept this karmic punishment for his transgressions, or to avenge his daughter's death by plunging back into the shady world from which he is so desperate to escape.

This could have been a truly poignant and morally ambiguous conclusion to the series but as it turned out, The Godfather III is neither sufficiently consistent with its predecessors to be a convincing sequel, nor engaging enough to be anywhere near as remarkable a film in its own right. Admittedly, it could have been far worse - but the sad thing is that it really should have been better.

Death Proof (2007)

A knowingly bad film is still a bad film

[1/10 · 22 January 2008]

When it comes to drawing on an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema to craft an immaculate modern classic, barely a handful of directors can hold a candle to Quentin Tarantino. Some would argue that his output has been on a downward trajectory ever since 'Jackie Brown' turned out not to be 'Pulp Fiction II', yet few other filmmakers have come close to matching the dazzling energy and wit of his first two films, and even the more recent 'Kill Bill' contained enough memorable set pieces to justify the required four-hour sitting.

However, where Tarantino's previous films excelled by skilfully weaving affectionate homage and technical innovation, here the scales tip too heavily towards the former; what we end up with is a competent but ultimately inconsequential pastiche, utterly devoid of the sparkling dialogue and engaging characters that have hitherto been the director's hallmarks. The '70s exploitation genre is convincingly recreated (to the extent that the appearance of a mobile phone seems oddly incongruous) but beyond this superficial achievement, 'Death Proof' appears to have no point whatsoever: it's the cinematic equivalent of driving around a ring road in a clapped-out Ford Cortina and picking up some rather dull hitchhikers along the way.

As Samuel Johnson might have put it, this film is neither good nor original - and presumably, was never intended to be the 'proper' follow-up to 'Kill Bill'. In fact, one can only guess at what purpose it was supposed to serve; maybe it represents a low-budget attempt by Tarantino to dismantle his own myth, wilfully confounding mainstream expectations and thereby seeking to reaffirm his credentials as an independent maverick.

Yet the suspicion remains that he simply made 'Death Proof' for his own entertainment and unfortunately, this kind of self-indulgence has shredded many an artist's reputation in the past. It remains to be seen whether, when Tarantino sees fit to release his next masterpiece, today's increasingly fickle audience don't choose to spend four hours doing something else.

Ugly Betty (2006–2010)

Ugly indeed

[1/10 · 9 January 2008]

I'm going to keep this as brief as possible since frankly, the abomination that is 'Ugly Betty' deserves very little of anyone's time.

In one respect, it is a remarkable achievement: I honestly can't remember when I last saw such a cliché-ridden, predictable and utterly unamusing 'comedy' series. Even your average production-line American sitcom usually bothers to include the occasional dash of humour but what have we here: hey look, Betty is walking towards a plate glass wall... anyone want to guess what happens next? Well, if you can't then clearly this puerile mess is for you.

Furthermore, the very premise of the series is itself fundamentally hypocritical: if the makers really wanted to make a point about beauty being skin-deep (this coming from a show filmed in California!) then why not cast a genuinely 'cosmetically-challenged' actress in the title role? Instead, they have supposedly 'uglified' America Ferrara by giving her glasses and a brace - I can't help wondering how many thousands of similarly-accessorised schoolgirls will be eternally grateful for that masterstroke. Overall, this "hey - YOU can be beautiful too" angle just smacks of a collective guilt-trip by misguided TV executives; personally, I find it so patronising that it makes me want to get my teeth bent and stained yellow.

This is neither the biting satire it thinks it is nor the heartwarming comedy it tries to be. It's a bad soap opera that relies on one-dimensional characters, recycled slapstick set-pieces and dialogue that's about as sharp as a wet sock in order to take pointless potshots at the media and fashion industry (shooting, fish, barrel etc.) I could go on but I've probably already spent more time writing this than the writers of 'Ugly Betty' spend on their scripts. Enough!