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Assembly

August 6, 2009
Film Reviews
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Assembly: an epic Chinese film of one man’s struggle through two wars and his quest for recognition of his fallen soldiers. The first 60 minutes of the film shows 4 battles, 3 of which are so realistic that it makes Private Ryan look like a scouts training exercise – the only downfall is they cranked the ‘shaky cam’ up to advanced Parkinsons level in the first one. Some great suspence sequences leading up to the fights. The second part of the film drags on a little as the story weakens but the acting / cinematography / Chinese scenery keeps it more than watchable – and the ending picks up a bit. It’s brutal but humane, and Zhang Hanyu’s performance is utterly jaw-dropping.

Score: 7.5/10

The Assassination of Jessie James

August 3, 2009
Film Reviews
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The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford: The title pretty much sums up this film – twice as long as it had to be. At 2:40 I thought there’d be a lot to get through… this wasn’t the case… and it took about an hour for the first good bit of story to develop. Genuinely felt that every scene was at least 30 seconds longer than it had to be. Capturing the 1880’s details was done well, but to the point that it was difficult to understand ye olde dialogue. The best thing about the film was the short bursts of narration. Casey Affleck / Pitt did a great job of acting, but Affleck’s whiney voice started grinding my gears after about an hour. There’s also a few great bits of cinematography / imagery. Should have been great, but was mauled by the pace.

Score: 3/10

The Bourne Ultimatum

July 22, 2009
Film Reviews
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The Bourne Ultimatum: it’s almost like a bond film, with its bonanza of locations, technology, action and thrills. The shaky cam and generally gritty / urban look of the film means that watching it in HD is pretty pointless, although the amazing 5.1 track and slick editing more than made up for it! This film ticks all the boxes for a great action movie, yet it’s anything but dumb; it even leaves you thinking about things like intelligence tactics, torture and (to a lesser extent) the media.The entire trilogy is strong, and this final installment is the icing on the cake – setting a new benchmark for action film!

Score: 8/10