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California reviews 2
Feb. 6th, 2009 05:43 pmUnderworld: Rise of the Lycans - sadly, this wasn't either as good or as bad as I'd hoped. It had its moments, but they were few and far between, and the rest of it was fairly terrible. None of the half naked hairy men were remotely attractive, which was a shame, and Bill Nighy went past over-acting and way out the other side. I spent quite a lot of the film trying to figure out whether or not Viktor's chief henchman was Steven Macintosh, and it turns out he was - dear me, can't he find better things to do with his time?
The Company by K J Parker - I'm really not sure what to say about this book. It had a good premise - five ex-soldiers set up a colony on a deserted island and have to work together to make a life for themselves - but it was a bit of a slog, to be honest. The main plotline was masterfully woven together with a series of flashbacks, which revealed pivotal things about each of the characters, but none of those characters were likeable or interesting enough to elicit sympathy, and the ending was rather a non-entity.
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell - I'm really not sure why I keep reading this guy's books, as I neither enjoy nor understand them really. Some sections of Ghostwritten were entertaining, some were engaging, some were rather icky and others were just plain weird. I have no idea why they were all included or what the overall purpose of the story was, but I have to admit that it was skilfully written and very cleverly linked together. I just didn't get it.
Doubt - the first of today's double bill at the cinema, Doubt contained some excellent performances (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Street and Amy Adams demonstrating their superlative abilities) and an interesting storyline about the power of reputation, the futility (to a point) of going against established authority, and the dangers of acting on incomplete information. I liked the fact that nothing was concretely proven one way or the other, and the film was very well put together, but it did feel a little stilted on occasion, as can often happen when something is adapted from a play.
Push - quite a contrast to the morning's film, this was better than I had expected. I don't think Dave would like it, as no rules were set down and some of the powers seemed a bit inconsistent, but it was a well realised world, with an intricate and intriguing plot, which used all the various powers cleverly and often. I must say Dakota Fanning is developing nicely into a not-quite-as-annoying-as-before young actress, and she might well have an interesting future in movies if she keeps going the way she has been. Chris Evans was rather nondescript and the Chinese gangsters were one very small step up from cartoon characters, but Djimon Hounsou is always worth watching, and his henchman Victor had some very impressive moves. The ending was very abrupt - I'm assuming they're hoping for a direct follow-on sequel, but it made for a rather jarring conclusion to an otherwise entertaining movie.
The Company by K J Parker - I'm really not sure what to say about this book. It had a good premise - five ex-soldiers set up a colony on a deserted island and have to work together to make a life for themselves - but it was a bit of a slog, to be honest. The main plotline was masterfully woven together with a series of flashbacks, which revealed pivotal things about each of the characters, but none of those characters were likeable or interesting enough to elicit sympathy, and the ending was rather a non-entity.
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell - I'm really not sure why I keep reading this guy's books, as I neither enjoy nor understand them really. Some sections of Ghostwritten were entertaining, some were engaging, some were rather icky and others were just plain weird. I have no idea why they were all included or what the overall purpose of the story was, but I have to admit that it was skilfully written and very cleverly linked together. I just didn't get it.
Doubt - the first of today's double bill at the cinema, Doubt contained some excellent performances (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Street and Amy Adams demonstrating their superlative abilities) and an interesting storyline about the power of reputation, the futility (to a point) of going against established authority, and the dangers of acting on incomplete information. I liked the fact that nothing was concretely proven one way or the other, and the film was very well put together, but it did feel a little stilted on occasion, as can often happen when something is adapted from a play.
Push - quite a contrast to the morning's film, this was better than I had expected. I don't think Dave would like it, as no rules were set down and some of the powers seemed a bit inconsistent, but it was a well realised world, with an intricate and intriguing plot, which used all the various powers cleverly and often. I must say Dakota Fanning is developing nicely into a not-quite-as-annoying-as-before young actress, and she might well have an interesting future in movies if she keeps going the way she has been. Chris Evans was rather nondescript and the Chinese gangsters were one very small step up from cartoon characters, but Djimon Hounsou is always worth watching, and his henchman Victor had some very impressive moves. The ending was very abrupt - I'm assuming they're hoping for a direct follow-on sequel, but it made for a rather jarring conclusion to an otherwise entertaining movie.
