Film Reviews by JD

Rolf the actor playing Sebastian has a range of dreadful facial expressions that rival Daniel Radcliffe for awfulness. His smiles look as though he is having a seizure, shock looks like a bad bowel movement. None of the actors can really convince. The plot however is fantastic, a detective drama based on character profiles and psychological analysis. These whodunnits are written with loads of detail and are Christiesque except that the clues are in the piecing the whole together rather than single details. It is gory by UK standards and probably should be an 18 for violence and adult theme. It has a certain Swedish hallmark photography of stark plainness which is a bit edgy. Great detective drama, maybe the Danes should have been cast in it.

This Danish film is a true story about 2 civilians (after whom the film is named) who set about killing all Danes who have converted to working for the occupying German army. It is about them as people and the group they work within. If any of this is relevant to you it is a moving and brilliantly acted film with poignant political choices. For me it was well done but not that interesting. 2 biographies, based on much myth and legend no doubt, of two heroic figures standing up against the fearsome opposition. A good 1940s feel about it and characters who were very real, but not dramatic enough.

Although it has the the advantages of being a Coen masterpiece, I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere brought about mainly by the camera work and muted hues. The low contrast presentation add magnificently to what is a tale of a good folk musician unable to make money in the winter of 1960.

Usually I hate musicals, but although there is a lot of music in this it is in the format of a musician performing. The other reason I hate musicals is that normally they are done by people who are not particularly good at acting and only above average at singing doing dreadful pieces composed by folk like Lloyd Weber. Oscar Isaac really can play the guitar extremely well, his singing is crude but spine tingling in its sensitivity and the music is 1960 folk but the best of it.

I agree with another reviewer (PV) about the rest particularly the cat, what a purrformance.

Samuel Jackson's character is a delicate blend of victim and detached brutality. He plays it better than anyone else could. It is a pity that a lot of the plot rests on points of law that exist in America but not the UK. The main theme however is if this happened to you what would you have done? It is a soul searcher, and a pretty grim one at that.

This is a sequel that you really have to have seen the first for. The great draw of this detective series is the plot. It is very difficult to watch one episode and stop. The complexity of the clues is just enough to make it easy to follow but impossible to guess the outcome. The main character's (Saga's) autistic personality is a theme I think that could be less highlighted but does make it a bit quirky. The acting and personalities are otherwise excellent. There are some loose ends which are a bit frustrating but I suppose life is like that. I remain a complete Scandinavian drama series fan especially detective drama. This did not disillusion me.

This is a black and white Hungarian subtitled film. It is the sort of film that would win awards at an Art House festival. Really not my thing, far too abstract and dull.

This missed a great opportunity to tell an extremely important political story about an extremely brave man. The 2 saving graces is that the story is so important and Cumberbatch is good, even his Australian accent fooled this pomme for the whole film. The direction is just poor and the script should have come from a different angle. Much more about the political importance of driving for the truth at all costs, some more about the character of the person who pursued this. I hope this subject is done again, I bet Greengrass could get a 5 star out of it. The fifth estate is a reference to a new era in publishing the truth. This was also not really explored enough.

This is undoubtedly the best western ever made. If you haven't watched it recently it does not fade with age. If you have never watched it, this is how to make a western. It is about a gang of outlaws who rob from trains and banks. There are moments that rival "you're only supposed to blow the ******* doors off" with stunts that although straight forward beat any car pile up for thrill. The characters are marvelous and have a great dry humour. Newman and Redford never did anything better (and unfortunately quite a few things that were not so good). Arguably the best and most memorable ending of any film.

The suitability for adults had been exaggerated by a critic. It is first and foremost an animated film using Lego, in which there are goodies who fight the baddie. There is also a theme of a political state in which the workers are brainwashed into blind consumerism and production which I imagine is to spice the film up for those older than 12. It remains however a great film for 5 - 10 year olds.

You are assumed to find everything that de Nero and Pfeiffer and indeed all Americans do, as forgivable and even to find acts of brutality as amusing and heroic. No work is put into building up the characters into being believable and attractive. So that when these brash Americans move into a small French village it is not forgivable to set fire to the local supermarket because they are bitchy, it is not forgivable to beat the plumber nearly to death for overcharging and it is an overreaction for a girl to attack a boy with a tennis racquet until he is severely maimed for making a pass at her. It is clumsy and unpleasant. I started looking at my watch after 10 minutes. There is no redeeming feature in this pile of rubbish.

Peter Capaldi is this political drama. Every scene without him in lacks for it. He is a seething swearing tornado, spinning through the ministerial corridors of power. He is the spin doctor that makes ministers wince and fawn. His outbursts are utterly brilliant. Sometimes the swearing reaches levels of creativity that are artistic. He makes stressed Eric (a cartoon series) look banal. The plot is pretty good, it shows ministers as puppets of the civil servants and reactionaries to media pressure, who knows how accurate that is but I suspect there is more than a grain of truth. This is secondary to the whirlwind of humour. There are good comedians around Capaldi but to be frank their candles are blown out by the force 12.

Peter Capaldi is this political drama. Every scene without him in lacks for it. He is a seething swearing tornado, spinning through the ministerial corridors of power. He is the spin doctor that makes ministers wince and fawn. His outbursts are utterly brilliant. Sometimes the swearing reaches levels of creativity that are artistic. He makes stressed Eric (a cartoon series) look banal. The plot is pretty good, it shows ministers as puppets of the civil servants and reactionaries to media pressure, who knows how accurate that is but I suspect there is more than a grain of truth. This is secondary to the whirlwind of humour. There are good comedians around Capaldi but to be frank their candles are blown out by the force 12.

I love a Bruce Willis film. Escapist, macho, humorous, happy ending rubbish. There is no defending them against someone who doesn't enjoy them, like someone who reads Mills and Boon romantic novels. It is utter twaddle but you cannot fail to be uplifted by them. The addition of Samuel sneering Jackson gives Bruce a perfect stooge. Jeremy Irons does not do a mean arch-enemy with much style, this was a disappointment, may be he tried too hard. It was too much Shakespeare and too little pantomime. The plot involves Bruce and Samuel rushing round meeting insane demands. Lots of tension, drama and silliness. Loved it.

Sean Connery is my second favourite Bond (Daniel Craig my first). This must be one of the most famous older Bond films, few cannot have heard of it. Since 1964 it has repeated hundreds of times. The acting of some of the lesser prominent actors/actresses is appalling and even some of the more prominent ones. I was shocked. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be. As a Bond Classic it is great, if you have never seen an old Bond film though, probably don't bother. You need rose tinted specs for these.

I have read that Clint is a big 50's jazz fan. If you are too then this is probably a good film for you. I am only averagely interested in club jazz and so this film, even with the massive talent of Forest Whitaker, is pedestrian.