I loved the Butterfly Effect and was interested to see this as a Netflix movie after being very disappointed in others such as Triple Frontier and Velvet Buzzsaw.
Well all I can say is that Netflix has redeemed itself greatly with this offering, great characters, great performance and a great story, murder, tension and parallel time arcs thrown in.
It has a feel good ending matching four weddings but is so technically we'll crafted you forget all the complexities that have been woven into this movie.
If you love murder mysteries, time travel, suspense or even good old fashioned love stories then this is definitely for you.
A word of advice, alter the settings in netflix and watch in the original language with English subtitles, dubbing is not a good way to enjoy foreign cinema
Reviews
4 Reviews
Velvet Buzzsaw
(2019)
Pretentious art horror or horror about pretentious art?
3 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This is is a difficult one, as a horror it falls short, not suspenseful enough to raise any nagging doubts in our minds or not shocking enough to make us jump or grab the nearest pillow to hide behind.
The cast is impressive if not all totally committed to the project, Toni Collette throws herself in with the usual verve and Rene Russo also puts in a good performance, Malkovich is somewhat underused and doesn't show nearly as much enthusiasm as his other recent Netflix outing Birdbox.
The standout for me was Gyllenhaal, camp as a row of tents and yet believable as a man confused by his feelings for a female friend/lover and caught in turmoil over the unexplained horrific deaths that start to take over his world.
I personally found the film more of a curio, one which could either be relegated to the horror also rans or be mentioned by the likes of Kermode as a reference point in future genre documentaries.
The basic premise is not one that needs analysing past it's blurb, poncy art types being generally loathsome, mystery spooky artist dies, spooky artist's work found by wannabe poncy art type, poncy art types die trying to exploit dead artist's work.
Whilst I cannot categorise this as a horror per se I would struggle to place in any other category, that for me is a disappointment as whilst not every film can be be placed neatly into boxes I was hoping for more of anything that could let me file this away, instead what I was left with was a feeling of malaise and a wondering of what might have been.
The cast is impressive if not all totally committed to the project, Toni Collette throws herself in with the usual verve and Rene Russo also puts in a good performance, Malkovich is somewhat underused and doesn't show nearly as much enthusiasm as his other recent Netflix outing Birdbox.
The standout for me was Gyllenhaal, camp as a row of tents and yet believable as a man confused by his feelings for a female friend/lover and caught in turmoil over the unexplained horrific deaths that start to take over his world.
I personally found the film more of a curio, one which could either be relegated to the horror also rans or be mentioned by the likes of Kermode as a reference point in future genre documentaries.
The basic premise is not one that needs analysing past it's blurb, poncy art types being generally loathsome, mystery spooky artist dies, spooky artist's work found by wannabe poncy art type, poncy art types die trying to exploit dead artist's work.
Whilst I cannot categorise this as a horror per se I would struggle to place in any other category, that for me is a disappointment as whilst not every film can be be placed neatly into boxes I was hoping for more of anything that could let me file this away, instead what I was left with was a feeling of malaise and a wondering of what might have been.
Now You See Me
(I) (2013)
Lighten up people!
29 October 2013
OK, this film is not perfect, yes you could argue it's pretentious and unbelievable but come on...it's light-hearted entertainment.
I really enjoyed this movie, didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, the cast was quite impressive even if not all of them were on top form, Woody Harrelson has been better as has Caine and Freeman but we are never going to be in Oscar territory here so they can be forgiven for realising they are not going to get any awards off the back of this movie.
The premise is quite unique and even though you see some things coming a mile off some twists are not so obvious and bring an 'Oh of course!'.
4 Magicians are brought together my an unknown person in what appears to be with the sole intention of robbing money, however this soon becomes clear that this is maybe a rob the rich to give to the poor and then to something else entirely.
If you want an easy non-taxing 2 hours of entertainment then this is for you, if you want an Oscar contender then look elsewhere.
I really enjoyed this movie, didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, the cast was quite impressive even if not all of them were on top form, Woody Harrelson has been better as has Caine and Freeman but we are never going to be in Oscar territory here so they can be forgiven for realising they are not going to get any awards off the back of this movie.
The premise is quite unique and even though you see some things coming a mile off some twists are not so obvious and bring an 'Oh of course!'.
4 Magicians are brought together my an unknown person in what appears to be with the sole intention of robbing money, however this soon becomes clear that this is maybe a rob the rich to give to the poor and then to something else entirely.
If you want an easy non-taxing 2 hours of entertainment then this is for you, if you want an Oscar contender then look elsewhere.
Sightseers
(2012)
Brilliantly subtle, real, breathing, believable characters
24 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Can I just say that this is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, having see Ben Wheatley's previous offering Kill List which I enjoyed up until the last 10 minutes, I was hoping for something a bit more flowing and understated.
I was not disappointed, the 2 main characters played by Steve Oram and Alice Lowe were superb, Steve's character Chris is incredibly ordered and anything that veers from his 'normality' clearly drives him beyond reason, Alice's Tina is a little powder keg, who's character develops beautifully from downtrodden daughter to homicidal maniac without her heart skipping a beat, you can sense the tension and a perverse sexual energy bubbling under her dowdy surface.
The 2 lover's go on their 1st holiday together in Chris's caravan, touring such delights as the blue John Caverns and the Crich Tramway museum, meeting normal, believable characters along the way, you cannot help but feel sorry for some of these who in various situations manage to cross the seemingly dull ordinary midlands couple, yet you also can't really dislike the 2 main players either, genuinely funny without trying and deadpan deliveries make this a joyous British film with laugh out loud moments aplenty.
The matriarchal character played by Eileen Davies although not on screen much steals the show, I defy anybody not to laugh at her on screen antics.
All the people the touring lover's come across are underplayed and believable, anybody who has been to places such as the site's shown in this movie will relate with the characters in this movie.
Overall, any fans Black Comedy will love this, beautifully shot in gorgeous British Countryside with strong likable leads and bit players, the ending was also a lot better than Kill List:)
I was not disappointed, the 2 main characters played by Steve Oram and Alice Lowe were superb, Steve's character Chris is incredibly ordered and anything that veers from his 'normality' clearly drives him beyond reason, Alice's Tina is a little powder keg, who's character develops beautifully from downtrodden daughter to homicidal maniac without her heart skipping a beat, you can sense the tension and a perverse sexual energy bubbling under her dowdy surface.
The 2 lover's go on their 1st holiday together in Chris's caravan, touring such delights as the blue John Caverns and the Crich Tramway museum, meeting normal, believable characters along the way, you cannot help but feel sorry for some of these who in various situations manage to cross the seemingly dull ordinary midlands couple, yet you also can't really dislike the 2 main players either, genuinely funny without trying and deadpan deliveries make this a joyous British film with laugh out loud moments aplenty.
The matriarchal character played by Eileen Davies although not on screen much steals the show, I defy anybody not to laugh at her on screen antics.
All the people the touring lover's come across are underplayed and believable, anybody who has been to places such as the site's shown in this movie will relate with the characters in this movie.
Overall, any fans Black Comedy will love this, beautifully shot in gorgeous British Countryside with strong likable leads and bit players, the ending was also a lot better than Kill List:)
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