Postby Tripod » Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:33 pm
Film: The Ides of March
Score: 6/10
Review: Came highly recommended, but to be honest I was a wee bit disappointed. There is surprisingly little politics, there is little suspense, the movie plods along at a rather slow pace, the finale is a bit open-ended. Nonetheless the story is solid enough and the actors (Clooney, Gosling, Giamatti, Rachel Wood) excellent.
Film: Drive
Score: 5/10
Review: Also gained rave reviews, also stars Ryan Gosling... didn't work for me at all. The opening car chase is cool, right out of Need for Speed: Most Wanted including cool down spots. Gosling's role reminds a bit of Statham in The Transporter, but he plays the really silent type, says about as many words as Schwarzenegger in the original Terminator, and is just called "the Driver". Somehow falls in love with a woman and her son, even though she's married to a criminal, but being the kind type he tries to help him with his next heist... I dunno, the film is sort of arty, minimalistic, moving along at snail's pace, I felt nothing for Driver or any of the other characters.
Film: Contagion
Score: 5/10
Review: Soderbergh is known for the stylishness of his movies (like Ocean's 11, 12, 13), but he lacks what would be necessary in emotional power to make Contagion work. The story is there, humankind on the edge of extinction, but it's all told so matter-of-factly that you will be surpressing a yawn instead of rooting for survival of the human race or any of the characters.
Film: Real Steel
Score: 5/10
Review: I've become a little nicer with my scores. Real Steel is enjoyable enough, the mimic function of the robot is great. But Hugh Jackman's character is totally unbelievable. At the start he's down to his last robot, bets more money than he has, makes a silly mistake, loses everything. He borrows more money, buys this really cool robot but goes for a main event right away without having practiced with all the new functions and loses badly again. But of course in the end he's so clever and patient to beat the best robot around... sloppy storytelling. Good fun apart from that.
WC Performances 2003: 28/31 - 2004: 14/43 - 2005: 17/63 - 2006: 31/50 - 2008: 12/41 - 2009: 14/34 - 2010: 24/46