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ArtfulLodger
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LOLA (2022)
Microbudget but fun time travel movie
OK not travel but viewing into the future, then making decisions in the present based on future knowledge.
My 7/10 is generous, I know, but that's for what the filmmakers achieved at the budget point and for a compelling idea. Historical future fiction is a weakness of mine, and whilst this isn't Azimov, it manages to get the time travel aspects "right" in-universe. Nothing annoys me more than a film which sets up rules then breaks them.
Another (very different) modest budget British time travel film which gets its timeline "right" which viewers may wish to try is "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel".
Cool It, Carol! (1970)
Pretty awful as seen from 2023
Our characters head to London to make some cash, Asquith's character becomes a superpimp, then they get prudish towards the end. Not funny as a comedy, not interesting as a story, just titillation in the grubbiest way. We see semi-nudity regularly, and "Carol" is naive and frankly a bit unrealistic about being pimped out to all and sundry and shooting mucky movies, but as the story is so shallow it's the only way it functions at all.
TBH "Last Night in Soho" (Edgar Wright) does it better, goes deeper, is more interesting, is darker, funnier, and portrays the scene more realistically despite being newer.
Professor T (2021)
Clearly a remake, but enjoyable
You can tell from the names in the credits that this has a lot of touches from the original producers. Casting very pleasant, stories quite fun and it'll be interesting to see where it goes once it takes its own flavour and direction in later series.
Hunt for the Skinwalker (2018)
Christ almighty this is dull
The filmmaker knows it, too, because he uses tension tones under every moment of it, all the interviews with people telling you what other people told them, or telling us all the great things that happened off camera. The most "spooky" actual shot shot of a blue orb that flies exactly like a moth might be ... a moth, maybe?
Didn't pay for it (on TV), wouldn't pay for it. 2hrs is a LONG time for nothing to happen.
Hellfjord (2012)
Hot Scandinavian Fuzz
This show owes a lot to Hot Fuzz - city cop in small town of yokel characters with something unspoken afoot, and the second half of the first episode even borrows from the very Edgar Wright quick-cut close- ups "getting ready" sequence. Even almost a "greater good" scene.
I'm reviewing early as I'm not sure I'll finish the series. If I hadn't seen Hot Fuzz I may be a little more forgiving, they may have taken this setup to different places, and there will be different gags so maybe I'll stick with it...but if you haven't watched Hot Fuzz, you'll see so many similarities it may feel a little overfamilar
Pompidou (2015)
Heavy-handed silent comedy
The fundamental flaw in this show is that we're told 'Pompidou' is supposed to be likable - he isn't. That's fatal. No caring for the protagonist is such a shame as Lucas can do better, indeed has done better. Second character 'Hove' is a thin foil, not a Jeeves. A great comic actor (see 'Julius' from 'The Thick of It'), underused. The whole show feels like Lucas trying to recover from the wilderness after some borderline racism in 'Come Fly With Me'. This isn't the vehicle for that. Maybe it'll sell in international markets like 'Bean', but Lucas is no Atkinson, sadly. Atkinson throws it all behind physical comedy, Lucas apparently doesn't have as much natural comedic instinct to throw behind Pompidou. 3/10 - those three are for the excellent dog puppet. It lit up the screen, and was more likable and developed as a character than either of the humans.
Four Boxes (2009)
Better than it looks
I was expecting to hate this, especially as it started with low contrast shots, typos on the title cards, etc. I really thought it may be one of those films you watch whilst you're doing something else, so I kept half an eye on it. I really wasn't engaging a lot, doing other stuff, then there was a change of pace (when the film matched the DVD box genre), then another one again (when it went further off-piste). It got my attention.
6*'s - we're in the 4-5's for the first hour or so, but we get to a 7, maybe 7.5 for some inventive thinking and the meta-ness of the film. The first hour is fine to half-watch if you've got other stuff on too.
Stag (1997)
Cunning twist? Nah...
Well that's 90 minutes of my life I'll never see again...the idea was fine, cheap to shoot, could have covered some real ground, but in the end took the easy route through every choice it had to make.
When the strippers were doing their stripping, right upto the pallid sex scene, I was convinced one of them was a transvestite! I see now it was the lighting, and stronger physique of the actress combined with awkward-looking boobs, but by golly it would have made such a better film if it had been. If you can bear watching it again, see if I'm right, then if it would have been a worse film for it...
Scores 3 for the fact the production was so economically planned...I have to wonder if they shot this in less than a week, single location, etc. Must have been cheap as chips. It'll have made it's money back many times over above a big expensive blockbuster! :-)