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Robot and Frank

March 3, 2014
Film Reviews
8 Comments

Robot and Frank Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Sisto, Katherine Waterston, Ana Gasteyer

Robot and Frank: an aging jewel thief with dementia strikes up an unlikely relationship with his disability “death machine” robot helper – and re-ignites his criminal career. Frank is a great character; grumpy, witty, cheeky… a hard bunch to juggle and still keep the audience sympathetic. It would have also been too easy for Langella to over-cook his performance, but his chops are superb – it’s best thing I’ve seen him in, and great to see older actors / aging issues at the heart of a movie. Other than the slightly downbeat ending it’s a film that manages to stay charming, enjoyable and amusing for the duration. It’s also rrrrather quirky, but not in a ridiculous way. Surprisingly well-judged for such a pure-bred indie movie.

Score: 8/10

Robot and Frank Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Sisto, Katherine Waterston, Ana Gasteyer,

The Box

October 7, 2011
Film Reviews
2 Comments

The Box: a mysterious box appears on your doorstep – you press the button inside and get a million dollars; but someone, somewhere dies… do you do it? Despite this fairly strong concept and the interesting central question, this is undoubtedly the single worst sci-fi film I can ever remember watching – including all those B and Z movies. Most things in the film were pointless and poorly done; CGI, script, acting, style, direction, accents, the science, plot, music, 70s setting, 2 hour length… None of the actors set the world on fire, but Diaz in particular was woeful. There’s not one single redeeming or good aspect to this film I can think of. It could (and should) be re-made a hundred times better, however I doubt anyone will go near the story it after this abomination. Certifiably stinking!

Score: 0/10

Unknown

August 1, 2011
Film Reviews
1 Comment

Unknown: After a nasty car crash Dr. Martin Harris appears to have been replaced by an intruder, but nobody believes him. Liam Neeson is losing his shit in Europe again – this is deliberately and unfairly marketed as Taken 1.5 (just swap mentions of  “my daughter” to “my identity”). The film itself consists of three main parts: the first 1/3 was the slow setup, second 1/3 is a fairly strong unveiling of the mystery, and the final 1/3 is just fucking stupid. On the casting front, Neeson continues his storming re-invention as an action man, Betty Draper is Betty Draper and the thunderous European stars are all criminally underutilised in generic bitpart roles. Berlin tourist board will most likely be suing as it makes the place look a proper shithole. While it’s certainly not a terrible film Unknown feels like a second-hand idea, and makes you really, really want to watch Taken again.

Score: 4/10