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The Deer Hunter (1978)
Not a classic in the 21st century!
There are some films that you can appreciate 30 years on, and there are others that tell of an era and of an opinion that is no longer transferred to subsequent generations. For me this is neither a tale of Vietnam action , and the extreme effect it has on the innocent like Apocalypse Now; and neither a tale of the homegrown American who leaves behind their romantic but humdrum mid-western existence only to be thrown into the worst of people's nightmares like Platoon. The Deer Hunter stays too long on the home life of the main characters, and for me fails to explain their true relationship, because not all of them go to war! The beginning of the film really drags on once you realise that the wedding scene is played out in full detail. It felt like I'd spent a whole day at the wedding. Yes we'd discovered some new revelations about the characters, but for a film that was 3 hours long, the beginning could have been more succinct. It is the fact that the script labours too long on the home life and not enough time on the war, and the aftermath that leaves me thinking that this "classic" piece of cinematography doesn't really cut it in the 21st century. If you take Gone with the Wind (some 68 years old), the script is so strong that you can relate to the individuals, feel the tension throughout the whole drama and come away feeling emotive. But with The Deer Hunter, (sarcastically) it was neither an intense Deer hunting film or a good Vietnam Movie. It just did both interpersonal relationship and Vietnam war OK, but neither exemplary. I recommend watching it for some classic movie moments, mostly in Vietnam. But be prepared to be distracted with boredom until you get to those scenes, some 1.5 hours in. 5/10.
Silent Partner (2005)
Slow to start - good story - good car chase scene!
The story does get off to a slow start on this one. Taras' acting in the opening sequences is impressive and I'm convinced of the Russian accents from most of the cast (who aren't actually Russian). I did think though that the Director may have cut her lines for the second half of the film, because she tends to grunt and groan more than she speaks. Nick played his character well; the character had very little personality. The car chase scene was particularly good, if you like them, appreciating that this was filmed in Russia, using Russian vehicles. I was disappointed with the scene involving a shoot out. It was poor scripting by having one heavily armed side against one with handguns, leaving it honours even at the end. I certainly wasn't convinced of the authenticity of that scene. To use the analogy of one of the previous comments on this film, it's like The Bourne Identity only slower, and on a much smaller budget, with the actors to match. 5/10 - stick with it to the end if you start to watch it.
Canes (2006)
So bad I had to switch off.
It takes a really bad film to make me want to switch off and this is the first in a long time. The plot line and special effects were 1980s quality and I was disappointed in the acting of Edward Furlong. It's the first time I've seen Chandra West and I did rate her efforts, although they weren't enough to drag this film up to any appreciative level.
Not Michael Madsen's best work either, although he's not the best character actor in the business, his skills as a "baddie" were never really exploited in the first half of this film - that's for sure. For a film to be this bad, you have to look at the Director. Either his budget was small or he wants to remain as anonymous as his films are!
Waste your time on something else, but not on this film!