JBBu

If one is looking for an action packed sci-fi movie - filled with lasers bullets, scary monsters and explosions, this is not for you. If one wants a creative, intelligent, optimistic film, then I'd wholeheartedly recommend it. Of the plethora of science fiction films being released in the last few years, this was the best I've seen. (Even the critical darling, “Annihilation” was too dumbed down Hollywood for me, albeit with some creative art design.) The Beyond may not be up to the standard of art house sci-fi masterpieces such as Tarkovsky's The Stalker and Solaris, and Melancholia (And I’m pretty sure that all these films are far too slow for most of the sci-fi crowd). But in comparison to what's out there now, it excels.

The typical Malick technique of providing few clues on the "plot" with occasional voice overs and spare dialogue keeps one guessing.T he creative style of never ending 10 - 20 second strait cuts sequences from all points of view (from a go pro on the ground to an aerial viewpoint... in the snap of a finger) can be initially jarring. But overall I really liked this film as a dreamlike poem with great acting, filming and tasteful editing. Its his best one since Tree of Life.

This movie must be one of the most overrated films of the century. The acting is wooden, the humour misplaced and the action is clichéd time ten. The plot, if you can call it that, is a little more than a contrived re-make of the first Star Wars but similar art production that made the first one so fun.

What a deftly made propaganda film! Not Leni Riefenstahl, but a 2015 update version by the died in the wool right winger, Clint Eastwood. Like that propaganda film that justifies illegal torture, “Zero Dark Thirty”, it is excellent filmmaking. It is superbly paced and the photography is top notch. The soundtrack is riveting. The acting is excellent. And we sympathize with the protagonist who is a folksy hero. The bad guys are indeed bad. These “savages” (as “we’ call them time and again) drill holes in children’s’ heads for their parents betrayals and brutally attack our hero and his buddies. There are moments of decent that almost redeem it such as Kyle’s Brother’s shell-shocked rant on the war. However there is no mention of the 600,000 plus war related deaths (according to the Lancet) or that the drilling torturer was in fact modelled on a Sunni ally, or the US torture at Abu Ghraib, nor of course is there any mention of the innocents killed by snipers (as revealed by Wikileaks). We hear nothing of Fallujah’s American atrocities against real people with real families. We hear nothing of being led into this war under at misinformation and often outright lies (such as the Niger uranium, the chemical sites shown at the UN by Powell or the Al Qaeda training in Iraq… of none which is known to have existed.)

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS is an intriguing character study loosely based on folk cult figure Dave Van Ronk. It uses anecdotes from this life, and includes signature songs such as "Hang Me, Hang Me" and "Dink's Songs". The occasional right winged politics in this movie are the polar opposite's of Ronk's progressive-left stance, however. In typical Hollywood propaganda style they make unions look like the thuggish con men (not that they don't exist, but this stereotype is highly exaggerated often for political purposes). I loved the surreal ride to Chicago and back. It is an excellent slice of life film.

My expectations were low. Many reviews were unflattering and I never cared for for the fetish of British royalty. However this film turned out to be a moving love story made by a wonderful director and staring one of the best actresses in recent years..

As a Kiwi I am embarrassed for my country. To add insult to injury the NZ government are giving tax breaks and have changing labour laws to accommodate this garbage. We keep trying out Peter Jackson's movies in the hope he will relive his glory of Heavenly Creatures from many years ago. King Kong and Part Two of Lord of the Rings were not bad, but this movie will not appeal to anyone over 12 years old. A friend of ours who worked on it told us 2 years ago that Warner Brothers made sure that this series was made for children (where the money is) and instructed Jackson to essentially dumb it down. He succeeded beyond their dreams.

This film follows (and transcends) the European "art film" model of a non linear narrative, oblique dialogue and double characters (a la Luis Buñuel and Krzysztof Kieślowski). However it is also injected with American action film motifs combined with truly odd Lynchian touches that make this one of the most remarkable films of the 90's. The party scene is one of the scariest sequences caught on film...ever.

This film is a beautiful, but trying slide show of European style art film mostly made up of wide angle symmetry (often with a lighted doorway window in the center) on a stationary camera on a tripod. The closest it gets to action is when the camera occasionally pans or slowly zooms. The subtitles are barely necessary since there is very little dialogue. And it works wonderfully. There is an intriguing reference to Gabriel García Márquez's and Lisandro Duque Naranjo's "Milagro En Roma" in the film.

As a friend said, it is the depressing serious films about death and suicide that get the high critical praise. she will no longer seeing anything rated over 70 for fear that it'll be a downer. This one is delightful, funny, suspenseful ...and slightly fluffy. I'd recommend it to anyone.