To me, Charlie Chaplin is probably the greatest nonverbal communicator and comedian I’ve ever watched. I’m a big fan of his silent films, and how he is able to say so much without a word. So, when I heard that he made ‘The Great Dictator’ his first ‘true sound film’, I was intrigued to see how his comedy and storytelling was affected.
Of course I knew this film came highly recommended, but I still managed to be impressed by how…
A star-studded cast with a world-class director and an established story. On paper, this should have been a hit. In reality, it is sluggish, poorly paced and hampered by poor accent choices which make the dialogue indecipherable at times without subtitles. The final third was great and really well-shot, but I'd already lost much of my excitement for the film before then.
This was a film that really ebbed and flowed for me. The highs were pretty intense and nail-biting (and gave me a couple of jumps) but the slow, cinematic scenes in between the action took me out of it a few times. Also on that point, I felt like there were a few odd music choices that didn’t really match the vibe of what was on screen.
The final thing that irked me a bit was the inconsistency and lack…
The film that asks the question: “Why doesn’t my wife like the AI Megan Fox sex robot I got while she was in the hospital getting heart surgery?”
No nuance, no interesting progression or dialogue. Just flat and lifeless like the AI future it tries to critique. Even the ending was left open and ambiguous to avoid any sense of satisfaction. Lazy.
The *only* part of this film I liked was that they watched Casablanca together at the start of the film and then she quotes it back to him later on; I thought that was a fun moment.
