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Hansel & Gretel Witch hunters. I came to this with VERY low expectations. My main expectation with this one was some sort of underworld-esque slow mo gun fest with poor characterization. While the film is admittedly a lot of what I feared it was going to be, the director seems to have been well aware of the type of film he was making and continually plays up to it. Added to that the surprising amount of nastiness from what I assumed to be a straight up pg-13 action movie and I have to say I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. It's by no means a classic but worth a watch if you find it cheap or on netflix. |
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Granted, Captain Phillips is based on a true story, and I would absolutely agree that Gravity is a polished 'ride' whereas Captain Phillips - partly due to Greengrass' one-foot-in-vérité aesthetic - is all gritty intensity, not least due to the terrifically naturalistic and intense performances from the Somali cast. And I would argue Tom Hanks displays the finest performance of his career - while Sandra Bullock is very good indeed, I found the emotional hook to Gravity far more contrived. The thing for me is that Gravity clearly intends to use its pathos (and succeeds to a degree) early as the crux of the film whereas Greengrass cleverly holds it back, letting the experience creep up on you (and our protagonist) when you're finally able to catch a breath, resulting in some of the most emotionally draining last five minutes of cinema I've seen for ages. |
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I also found Captain Phillips to be an extremely well made, utterly engrossing and emotionally draining thriller. It says a great deal for Paul Greengrass's direction that the initial attack on mission by the Somali pirates had me gripped, wondering if they were going to take the ship or not! I only found out about the controversy after seeing the film so it didn't spoil my enjoyment of one of the best films I've seen this year. Like the end of United 93, there were moments of breathless tension and suspense, even though I knew the ending of the story. I also felt Tom Hanks gave one of his career-best performances. Gravity is a completely different type of film, albeit one principally set in the action and thriller genres. I thought it was beautifully filmed and, because the scenario is plausible (China has shot down at least one satellite in orbit with a missile), I felt it made the film so much better than some of the more recent sci-fi action thrillers. Sandra Bullock is known of picking turkeys but, with this and The Blind Side, it seems her judgement is improving as she ages! Her performance impressed me as it displayed her range and acting skills I didn't know she possessed. In terms of the 3D, this is the only film I've seen where I thought the stereoscopic element added to the viewing experience as it made space seem huge, things floating in zero gravity (including tears) to have – and I know this doesn't make sense – a greater presence and weight. That said, my brother saw it in 2D and said it was really good and couldn't see how 3D would have made it any better.
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To chip in on the Man of Steel debate, the entire third act bored me as it was just endless CGI destruction and the number of civilian casualties would have been enormous. I really enjoyed the scenes between Clark Kent and his adoptive father, with the scenes featuring Kevin Costner being the best ones in the film. Michael Shannon made a really good snarling baddie but, like I said, the CGI fight scenes quickly became lifeless and boring, looking more like something from a computer game than a feature film. I'll need to watch Superman Returns again to form an opinion on how it compares to Man of Steel as it's been years since it watched it last. I can say with certainty that Henry Cavill was a better Superman than Brandon Routh, and Amy Adams was a better Lois Lane than Kate Bosworth.
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