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Reviews
Dead Babies (2000)
Christ...
Friends and I picked this up from the rental place because of the name, and Paul Bettany. It was just woeful. Shallow, terrible plot/character development, nothing whatsoever to encourage watching it. I thought it was trying the whole time to be edgy and Trainspotting-esquire, but it failed on the basic level of having no content worthy of giving up two hours of time. The characters were distasteful, but not in the way intended (ie. not because of clever writing, more because they were so badly written as to be insulting) We only got through it thanks to a full bottle of Smirnoff and Paul Bettany in a blue pinstripe suit. Just terrible.
The Book Group (2002)
Excellent
I really like this the first time, and have been staying up late to watch the midnight re-runs on Irish TV.
I always liked this show, because of the (sometimes unbelievable) pretension of some of the characters, and the excellent acting throughout, particularly from Michelle Gomez, who I adore.
And, aside from the stories, and the dialog, and the acting, what had me bouncing up and down in glee was that Dirka and Fist, when alone with their husbands, spoke their native languages. This pleased me no end, as I always find it slightly ridiculous when foreign characters speak English, even when alone.
Top Gun (1986)
Glorious!
I adore this movie, and do hereby revel in it's glory. Now I'm not saying it should have walked home with a bag of Oscars, but in my opinion, it really is a great movie. Admittedly, ever since the first time I saw it, I always turn it off as Maverick throws the dog tags in to the ocean. I do this because anyone with half a brain can see the bristling sexual tension between Iceman and Maverick. No offence to Kelly McGillis, but Maverick and Charlie have NO chemistry together, and the sex scene you do see it ridiculously un-erotic. Removing any gay comments from this review, an under the circumstances, that's not to easy, Top Gun still, after an embarrassing amount of viewings, still makes me laugh, and cry, and cheer. And as long as you skip the end, there can be no complaints.
La ley del deseo (1987)
Excellent
I saw this film after having seen Bad Education, and there are many plot lines similar in both. I loved this film, not only am I a huge fan of Almodóvar, but in this film, the easy and simple beauty of the shots stood out. The acting was good, not amazing but good, particularly from Pablo and Tina. As well as directing beautifully, Almodóvar knows how to infuse a scene with sex, even if no sex is actually taking place-for example, when Antonio lights his cigarette of Pablo's. The film does become melodramatic towards the end, but I don't see this as a failing, melodrama, if done well, as it is here, need not be ridiculous
Bedrooms and Hallways (1998)
Interesting
*Spoilers* I enjoyed this film, but for a reason many seem to be deriding. I found the idea of Leo's attraction to Sally very interesting, from the point that everyone has someone or something in their past that makes them think "What if?" Brendan, I felt was using Sally as a way of anchoring himself in 'normality', a safeguard in case the whole gay thing didn't work out. (Which is pointed out to him in the film, by a character I presume he later sleeps with.) I think Leo could be straight, at least for a while, but only with Sally, and eventually, she's going to get hurt. All in all, an enjoyable contrast to the usual generic RomCom fare
How Harry Became a Tree (2001)
fantastic
I went to see this film with two of my friends, based solely on the title. None of us read any reviews and so were completely suprised by it. We all enjoyed it, despite being the youngest in the audience by about ten years.
What can I say, fantastic acting, fantastic story, fantastic script. Thouroghly enjoyable.