lunanul

Overall, this was an epic dud with an abundance of carefully-constructed visuals and set pieces that are mostly devoid of emotional impact (with a few solid exceptions, to be fair). File under 'one shot wonder': a filming technique that is practically guaranteed to land the director in the Oscars pool, regardless of content. Much of the time, the viewing experience was akin to watching a video game; sometimes, a quite silly, unrealistic video game. Those interested in WWI are advised to check out the superior "They Shall Not Grow Old" - a documentary on WWI by Peter Jackson.

Plenty of good in this movie, but many major flaws, including an overwrought soundtrack of low-register string music (also present in 'You can count on me'), and a forced sense of 'realness' that works in the early stages, but eventually turns grating and farcical. If you can endure to the end, great scenes emerge throughout, but heavily dampened by gratuitous gloom.

Gorgeous visuals and animation, but story and character development are seriously lacking. At times, felt like watching an interactive video game, albeit a somewhat boring one.

Has a lot going for it: intriguing premise, actors that are normally good (but wasted here), etc. That's where the goodness ends, however. A laugh-out-loud-bad stinker of a movie in which *you* know what Eastwood's next "discovery" will be in the murder case a long time before does, and every potentially powerful scene is undermined by coarse acting, bad script and cheesy music. To be avoided.

Disappointing, highbrow tabloid journalism. Has a strong start with decent background on the roots of Scientology, but too soon devolves into a lurid exposé of the weird, dark innards of the church, with far too much focus on "star" members such as Cruise and Travolta. In the end, you mostly have a big pile of guts with very little analysis. Virtually none from professionals in religious studies, psychology, etc. While decrying the church's manipulative tactics and ends/means brutality, this film resorts far too often to the same methods in making its points. That said, if you know little of Scientology, it's a good place to start learning, especially if you're thinking of joining. :-)

This is the least of Tarantino's films and hopefully not his swan song. Happy to have seen it in the 70mm 'Roadshow' version as there were at least some lovely big screen treats. No interest in seeing it again (having seen every other QT film multiple times) Not much else to **** completists only.

THIS IS AN ART FILM. Don't go expecting a traditional horror/scary movie 'cuz this ain't it. Think creepy, not scary. Slow-moving, atmospheric, with an occasional chilling and/or horrifying moment (yes, some good ones, but not many). There's a lot of nearly unintelligible dialogue. One main character has a voice that sounds more animal than human. Key scenes are whispered (in Ye Olde Englishe). And when you do understand the words that are being said, they can be a bit laughable if you haven't submitted to the movie's spell. I guess I didn't, 'cuz I snorted when snorts were clearly far from the maker's mind. That said, its dour gray aesthetic is still floating around in my head, so not forgettable, which has value. I'll probably see it again on a small screen, with the benefit of subtitles.

One of the most intense moviegoing experiences of the year. Multiple moments of absolutely stunning beauty and horror. Does that sound like a recommendation? It is.

The best one could hope for in such a movie would be for the creative staff to mine the old stuff for gold and serve it up in a fresh, new way. What I witnessed was a kind of reverse alchemy wherein the gold was transformed to (mostly) lead, with an occasional blink of polished brass. I am very fond of the first two movies in the original trilogy (episode IV and V) and haven't seen much magic come out of Star Wars movies since then. There was one fine scene in ep. VII that truly captured the old magic, but that was it. 2 minutes out of 135 is not a golden ratio. That said, a person who has never seen the original trilogy could be in for a real treat. Maybe.

Starts amazingly well, but by the end is bloated with distractions. Too much overlap with Being John Malkovich (a tighter, superior effort). Yet if you're a Jonze fan (as I am), it's a must-see. Lower expectations a tad and enjoy the copious good stuff.