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Review backlog
Nov. 24th, 2010 11:44 amThe Constant Gardener - excellent performances all round in an interesting but sad romance/thriller with a conclusion that was vastly satisfying in one respect, but not so much in another. It was all rather too little too late on the romance front, but the triumph over the bad guys in the thriller aspect was very enjoyable.
The World's Fastest Indian - absolutely no idea what accent Anthony Hopkins was going for in this (he mostly sounded like he was from Yorkshire), but it was a gently entertaining film, telling a sweet story of perseverance and worldly innocence. I loved the way the various people Burt met on his travels reacted to him and the way he was so wonderfully befuddled by certain things but never lost his steely determination to achieve his goal.
Design For Living - a Noel Coward play we went to see last night. I thought the structure was very clever (if a little predictable towards the end) and the cast were generally excellent, performing very difficult parts (in some cases) admirably and with great flair. Bits of it were very funny, other bits were very witty, and overall I enjoyed it. However, I was confused as to whether we were supposed to be rooting for the three protagonists in the end or not. If the play was trying to suggest that their chosen lifestyle should be considered acceptable (which I don't have a problem with at all), it might have been more effective if they hadn't all been incredibly mean and selfish.
A Painted House - a very odd creature in that it's a John Grisham novel that doesn't have any lawyers in it. This doesn't detract from its quality at all - in fact it was refreshing to see him writing something other than a courtroom drama, and doing it very well. A Painted House tells the story of a family of cotton farmers trying to get the harvest in during the 1950s in Arkansas. The books achieves the difficult task of telling a story from the point of view of a believable child narrator, but maintaining an adult tone and themes. I find this very impressive when it's done well, and it's done extremely well here. The story is involving, emotive and well-written throughout.
The World's Fastest Indian - absolutely no idea what accent Anthony Hopkins was going for in this (he mostly sounded like he was from Yorkshire), but it was a gently entertaining film, telling a sweet story of perseverance and worldly innocence. I loved the way the various people Burt met on his travels reacted to him and the way he was so wonderfully befuddled by certain things but never lost his steely determination to achieve his goal.
Design For Living - a Noel Coward play we went to see last night. I thought the structure was very clever (if a little predictable towards the end) and the cast were generally excellent, performing very difficult parts (in some cases) admirably and with great flair. Bits of it were very funny, other bits were very witty, and overall I enjoyed it. However, I was confused as to whether we were supposed to be rooting for the three protagonists in the end or not. If the play was trying to suggest that their chosen lifestyle should be considered acceptable (which I don't have a problem with at all), it might have been more effective if they hadn't all been incredibly mean and selfish.
A Painted House - a very odd creature in that it's a John Grisham novel that doesn't have any lawyers in it. This doesn't detract from its quality at all - in fact it was refreshing to see him writing something other than a courtroom drama, and doing it very well. A Painted House tells the story of a family of cotton farmers trying to get the harvest in during the 1950s in Arkansas. The books achieves the difficult task of telling a story from the point of view of a believable child narrator, but maintaining an adult tone and themes. I find this very impressive when it's done well, and it's done extremely well here. The story is involving, emotive and well-written throughout.
