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afx237vi

afx237vi
Film Freak
# Film Ratings: 810
Member Since: 26 Oct 2010
Location: South Wales, UK
Age: 43
Bio: Just a film fan.



My ranking guide:



80-100: Great. Some of my favourite films.

60-75: Good. Not perfect, but worth a watch.

40-55: Average. Some good points, some not so good points.

20-35: Bad. Not a total write-off, but generally worth avoiding.

0-15: Terrible. Avoid at all costs.

Recent Ratings

50 36%
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) - Rated 17 Dec 2013
Melodramatic and over-long psychological thriller with some serious scenery-chewing by Bette Davis. Despite its flaws, the elegant B&W photography creates a satisfyingly spooky atmosphere and when the end comes, it packs a surprisingly effective punch.
40 23%
The Mummy (1959) - Rated 16 Dec 2013
The Mummy is a very silly character, but Hammer does a decent job of making him at least vaguely scary. The shot of him coming out of the swamp for the first time is pretty cool, but unfortunately the scary bits are few and far between, with lots of dry talky sequences making up the bulk of the film. It doesn't help that Cushing plays such an unlikeable character, or that the film's climax revolves around a ridiculous twist involving Yvonne Furneaux.
65 60%
Kiss Me Deadly (1955) - Rated 09 Dec 2013
What a peculiar film. Despite being made when the term "film noir" didn't exist in film-maker's vocabulary, it seems completely self-aware, heightening every noir archetype to the max and taking Hammer's journey of self-destruction to the absolute extreme. I wasn't convinced by some of the acting and the story is just your typically convoluted private eye stuff for the most part. It's certainly an interesting entry into the noir canon, but I can't make up my mind on whether I liked it or not.
55 43%
Cloak and Dagger (1946) - Rated 07 Dec 2013
It feels a little too episodic to be truly engaging, with too many dry sections in between each stage of Cooper's adventure. That said, there's enough tension during the key moments and the fighting scenes are well-choreographed with a real sense of violence and danger. Cooper is pretty wooden, but Lilli Palmer is great as the machine-gun-toting heroine.
80 84%
On the Waterfront (1954) - Rated 01 Dec 2013
Sentimental and moralistic, for sure, but thematic simplicity becomes less of a problem when the acting performances are so assured and so full of empathy. It's not just Brando, either. Everyone is on top of their game here, but I was particularly impressed by Saint and Steiger. As good as the famous taxi scene is, my favourite moment was Brando's dockside confession being drowned out by the wall of industrial noise; it felt strikingly modern.
50 36%
Stoker (2013) - Rated 29 Nov 2013
Uneven mix of Alice in Wonderland, Shadow of a Doubt, gothic angst and sexual prurience. Some of it works, some of it does not. In particular, Wasikowska gives a strong performance, but the plot feels rushed and under-developed with twists that are hard to swallow.
10 1%
River Patrol (1948) - Rated 21 Nov 2013
Disjointed and perfunctory crime offering from Hammer studios. At only 45 minutes long there's no chance of building any atmosphere or developing any kind of feeling for the characters; it just goes through the motions, gets all the plot points done, then ends. Acting is wooden, direction is uninspired and the music is absolutely awful. The whole thing can only be described as amateurish.
60 52%
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) - Rated 13 Nov 2013
A beautiful setting and some striking imagery, but broad and simplistic in its exploration of the human condition. The middle chapters are particularly overwrought and detract somewhat from the peace and tranquility of the rest of the film (although I understand that was probably the point). I don't regret watching it, because it is visually rewarding, but I can't say I connected with it on any kind of emotional level.
75 77%
Kill List (2011) - Rated 06 Nov 2013
My new favourite genre: kitchen-sink-noir-occult-mystery-horror. Very strange, but very effective in building an almost unbearable atmosphere of dread and uncertainty. The mundane domestic scenes at the beginning are almost as uncomfortable as what comes later.
30 13%
The Gorgon (1964) - Rated 01 Nov 2013
Flawed, and not just in terms of the laughable special effects. Character motivations are hard to fathom, and the attempt at creating some kind of mystery about the identity of the monster is a total failure (hint: there's only one woman in the entire film, duh). You get to see Lee and Cushing face off at the end, but you have to sit through a dry and pretty tedious 70-odd minutes before you get there.