Reviews

The trailers for this movie - buster Scruggs humorously shooting four guys in a disagreement in a bar, is what inspired me to watch this. The script in that short clip was tight, witty and I couldn't wait to watch the movie in its entirety.

Imagine my disappointment when Buster Scruggs gets killed about 10 minutes in, you realise that the title is catastrophically misleading and this movie is just six unrelated short stories watched together in no particular sequence. The only common thread is that someone gets killed at the end of each one. I'd kind of made up my mind about this movie after the 4th story-ette, but on the plus side the third story was the most dismal so anything after that was a slight improvement.

Looking at some of the reviews here I really don't know what people saw in this movie. Maybe they watched the first story then fell asleep and decided to give the movie a rating anyway based on the first 15 minutes? That's the only way I can imagine that someone would rate this film higher than a 2/10.

Reviewing this film, which I originally watched about 35 years ago, I was saddened that today's audiences have never, and possibly will never experience this level of utter brilliance in story-telling in their life times. It is a reminder of what happens when you stop trying to ram some b.s. Message down your audiences throats, and stop pandering to a theoretical audience who are totally clueless about what they want never having seen a really good film in the entirety of their naive and sad Millenial lives. It is what happens when raw talent is tasked with producing a clever, witty , massively entertaining, emotive and brilliant plot with such cleverly interwoven sub-plots. It is, sadly the genius the likes of which we will probably never see again. When combined with the brilliant and all-star cast, it is quite simply one of the three best films of my 60 year life.

Despite its 16 minute length, I was left with the feeling that there needs to be more source material for this to engage. On the plus side however the acting is good and convincing - a strong show from an unheard-of cast. The depiction of Londoners as hollow, cold, insular and socially worthless husks was very close to the bone, causing my second strongest emotion while watching this to be one of validation in emigrating from the UK. The film itself is of course a vehicle to both build up to and lend weight to the finale, which is poignant and potent enough to be memorable and debatable long after the film ends. Six stars.

Now I love an action movie almost as much as the next guy, and once you've got Tom hardy and Charlize Theron in it you've really got my attention. But this was just awful. Most of the ridiculous characters would only be at home in a child's comic. The character motivations were conflicted and inconsistent. The storyline was virtually non-existent or at best could be summarised in 20 words. Every other action by any character was illogical and bizarre. In the original Max was a compassionate family man, sworn to uphold the law with an unwavering moral compass. Suddenly he's all out for himself, treating pregnant women as a threat and having no qualms about leaving groups of six young women to die at the hands of the psychopath is just evaded. Way to go Max obviously protect and serve has come to mean nothing to you. To be honest I didn't even get to the end of this crap. I gave up just after the halfway point realizing that there was literally nothing I can think of which could be more of a waste of time than spending another hour on this.

A blisteringly good movie and such a wonderful surprise! I must admit, from the trailers I didn't recognise Sandra Bullock and it seemed the absence of any star appeal left me wondering whether I should give this my time. So glad I did as I've watched it three times now and the ride on this emotional rollercoaster has not been dampened. A stellar performance from Bullock whose character's helplessness draws you into the screen in the hope that you might be able to help her predicament. Also notable is Jon Berthnal's sympathetic performance which is a perfect counter to Bullock's character. Most notable though is the brilliant screenplay where we are drip-fed the reality, which bit by bit chips away at the perceptions of Bullock's character until the stunning finale, which will leave you in tears unless your heart is made of stone.

This film is so slow it will have you yawning inside 15 minutes. Incredibly the majority of this film is the pastor and his wife comforting one another and affirming themselves that God will see them through. The near absence of a storyline or certainly a story that could have been told inside 15 minutes has been combined with acting so wooden that are being generous in giving it 2 out of 10. The protagonist family are portrayed as almost in possibly wet - something that detracts from the credibility. With so many good books that never make the transition to film, I'm bemused as to why someone thought this unremarkable story was worth retelling. Frankly, I wish I'd read the reviews here before I wasted my time with this.