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donaldhtaylor
Reviews
Nyad (2023)
More than just an underdog/age-is-a-number story
Yes, it's a great story of achieving a dream regardless of age. Yes, it's a great sports story: can the 60+ athlete achieve her goal? More than that, as Nyad herself says at the end (kind of) this is a sort about relationships. And that is what elevates it above a regular triumph over the odds story.
It is only when Nyad recognises how she has pushed her team too far, when she thinks about how badly she's treated people, when she stops to listen to them, that she is able to achieve her dream.
Expressed like that, this could be a saccharine, cheesy piece of candyfloss cinema. It's anything but, and what rescues it are the performances of Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, amply supported by Rhyd Ifans. The script is tight and occasionally very funny.
Bening manages to play Nyad as a complex character who's not always likeable but still make us root for her. Foster, meanwhile smooths troubled waters and keeps things moving ... until everything gets too much.
There is no melodrama, no overacting, just a strong, utterly believable sense of real people achieving something extraordinary.
The Sixth Commandment (2023)
Superb performances in a difficult watch
I can't remember having watched such compelling drama in a very long time. The pacing is superb - a slow ratchet towards the climax of the jury's verdict.
What makes it work is a combination of brilliant performances and scripting together with the constant, horrible knowledge that this is a true story. This may be Timothy Spall's greatest performance in a splendid career, which is saying something. Every actor, though, delivers, even those in the minor roles.
One unusual achievement of this four parter is a shift in style. It begins as an indescribably tense psychological drama, rather like The Talented Mr Ripley. In part 3 it shifts to more of a police procedural, but manages to maintain the tension.
You will almost not want to watch, but find yourself compelled to. At the end I found myself exhausted and, I'm not ashamed to say, with a tear in my eye.
Cats & Dogs (2001)
A great family movie
A great family movie.
Improbable? Yes, of course the whole thing's a fantasy, but very well carried out with plenty of humour and it never takes itself too seriously.
There's something in this movie for everyone - from juniors to adults - which is probably why it topped the US box office when it opened on Independence Day 2001.
It still holds up 10 years later, and is often dragged out for a bit of fun by my family on a wet afternoon.
I rated it 8/10.