astrakhan
Celluloid Junkie - 3762 Film Ratings
Member Since: 06 Apr 2009
Bio: Insatiable, omnivorous cinephile. For every film I watch, two more unwatched ones grow back in its place!
Featured Reviews
Check out astrakhan's...
| 30 T1 |  |
Synecdoche, New York (2008) - 27 Dec 2009
"Charlie Kaufman's head has disappeared so far up his own ass that it has re-emerged from his own mouth as a stinking, shit-smeared parody of itself. Evidently that was the inspiration for his latest movie, which is just awful, unintelligible, incoherent, meaningless drivel. One of the few films I have been unable to sit through to the end. Shades of the quirkiness that made BJM and Adaptation so good, but trying too hard, it vanishes into a puff of smoke that should set off anyone's BS detector."
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| 82 T9 |  |
Tintin et le mystère de la toison d'or (1961) - 12 Jan 2010
"Delightful little adventure which will satisfy Tintin fans. The story is a class act, worthy of any Tintin book. The characters are suitably cartoonish and all look the part in a quirky way. The acting varies - Haddock and Calculus are superb, Tintin is energetic and quiffed but lacks that surprised/shocked expression from the comics, and Thomson & Thompson are a bit hopeless. Even Snowy gets his part to play, although the dog actor is unfortunately not as expressive as his cartoon counterpart."
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| 92 T10 |  |
Living in Oblivion (1995) - 30 Mar 2010
"Right from scene 1 I could tell this was going to be brilliant. The portrayal of the endless frustrations and compromises of a low-budget film shoot is caricaturish, but also gloriously true to some real life experiences I have had. Film world outsiders can learn just how hard it is to make a film by watching this, and us insiders can laugh about the process. The performances are also superb across the board, particularly Steve Buscemi and Dermot Mulroney. DiCillo is a very underrated director."
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| 84 T10 |  |
Okuribito (2008) - 07 Jan 2010
"At times laugh-out-loud funny, at times poetic, beautiful and deeply serious... Takita's film shows off his many talents, while treating the difficult subject of death thoroughly, from all angles, and in a way which truly allows the audience to reflect on it and learn something new. It could stand to be edited down, and some of the motifs can seem a little cheesy, but the complex fabric of this film falls subtly and on enough levels that such flaws can easily be ignored. A real pleasure."
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| 82 T9 |  |
Shrew's Nest (2014) - 25 Jan 2017
"A superior psychological horror - that genre the Spanish seem to be so good at recently - which turns into a bloodbath. The story is a slow burner, but its elements fit very nicely together. Macarena Gómez carries the film tremendously - she steals every scene she's in. The mise-en-scène also deserves plaudits, with crisp cinematography, a well-chosen colour palette, period detail, and lots of religious imagery and intense facial close-ups. Suspenseful, terrifying, and good to look at too."
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| 88 T10 |  |
Bad Boy Bubby (1993) - 21 Sep 2009
"Totally bizarre, but in large parts brilliant. There are just a couple of parts where the script loses its way, which keep this from being a work of genius. The parts played as a fish-out-of-water comedy are stronger than the parts as a religious allegory or morality tale. But together they create a nice balance. The underlying subtexts in this Australian film are complex and plentiful - as are the laughs, and grimaces. Why is this film, and Nicholas Hope, not more widely known?"
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| 79 T7 |  |
Greenberg (2010) - 19 Jun 2010
"At times Stiller's portrayal of the confused and directionless Greenberg left me cold. I could identify but not buy into or sympathise with his self-destructive eccentricities. Eventually, though, the film's characters did grow on me. Well, with Greta Gerwig it was not that difficult. I left fairly satisfied with the film's conclusions, but perhaps not with its journey there. The highlight was some of the relationships and dialogues, which were genuinely touching and real. More please, Baumbach."
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| 85 T10 |  |
I Capture the Castle (2003) - 28 Feb 2010
"Immensely enjoyable, despite the story becoming a bit silly (too much book crammed into one film). The production values were top notch, cinematography and lighting in particular world class - stunning to look at. Props and costume really excelled themselves to bring the 1930s sparkling to life (with just a few anachronisms!) Superb casting and fine performances from all around, particularly Romola Garai, a "plain Jane" who the camera adores. A great depiction of teenage hormones and emotions."
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| 90 T10 |  |
District 9 (2009) - 06 Dec 2009
"The documentary-like style makes this the most effective melding of sci-fi and reality that I have ever seen in the genre. The scale and ambition are huge, especially for an African film. And it pulls it off, with not one famous star. It also bravely alludes to some of the biggest problems South Africa has faced and continues to face, like racism, oppression, violence and AIDS. The film holds up a mirror to human civilisation. And at the same time, it's a sci-fi geek's wet dream in terms of FX!"
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| 82 T9 |  |
Coldblooded (1995) - 11 Mar 2010
"Likeable for the minimalism and directness of its script, and for the relentlessly logical and emotionless world view of its central character. The humour is essentially black but tends more towards the quirky or weird. Good casting. Decent direction and production values despite the small scale of the film, a good example to budding filmmakers. The ending was slightly weak; the film seems to chicken out of having a message, after suggesting for quite a while that it is going to have one."
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