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Reviews
Unbreakable (2000)
A different take on a superhero
Few films split movie goers like this one, you either love it or hate it. OK, i will come out early and say it is one of my all time fav films. It can be slow, heavy going in places but it has moments of light you rarely see in cinema.
I think what frustrates many people with the film is that it's not about Spiderman, The Hulk or anything like a comic book hero, just an ordinary man coming to terms with the fact he is anything but ordinary. He cannot fly, shoot webs, he's just... unbreakable.
Willis as David Dunn gives just about the best performance he will ever give, understated, restrained yet just right as a man still trying to deny what he has always known he is. He walks away from it early in his life and enters middle age lonely, his marriage failing and stuck in a menial job as a security guard. He still loves his wife, his son but nothing is working for him any more, he is isolated and alone.
To me, this is where the film works best, as David finds his true self again, he once again finds the people who love him, and he can love back leading to some of the most beautiful, touching scenes I have ever seen in a movie...
The weightlifting scene, David's son putting more and more weight on
David carrying his wife back to their bed, ' I had a bad dream', 'It's over now'
David showing his son the newspaper report of his actions at breakfast.
Nothing dramatic, just played with a wonderful subtleness missing in many films today, played with the eyes and all the better for it.
Not a perfect film, but I love it, oh, and don't forget a wonderful soundtrack
Simon
District 9 (2009)
Gets better with each viewing
OK, so by no means a perfect film, but does ask a very original question. Exactly what would we do if 2 million + aliens turned up on our doorstep tomorrow with nowhere else to go ?
They have interstellar technology but no power left to drive it, 99.9% of the aliens have no idea how to use it anyway and worst still the moveable pieces of technology they have (ie..weapons) are useless to us as they are all DNA encoded so they will only work for the aliens themselves.
I think it offends a lot of 1st world viewers of this film that we would actually treat a space fairing species this badly, but I think a lot of 3rd world viewers watch it and probably have a more realistic view of life, if they are not strong enough to take over and have nothing for us to exploit, somewhere like District 9 is pretty much where they would probably end up.
So, to change things around, I'm going to start with the weak points..
1) South Africa - I just wished that the film could have been based anywhere but here, while appreciating that a lot of the on location shots didn't even need to be created I think the impact would have been a whole lot bigger if the alien landfall had happened in a deep southern state of the USA. I just felt it gave a lot of people a 'cop out' to be able to think it wouldn't happen like that here.
2) The Bad Guys - OK, we all like bad guys to be bad guys, but these were like sooooo bad guys !!! A little less would actually have been a whole lot more.
And the good stuff...
1) Sharlto Copley - Starts out as a total nerd, someone you actually really dislike at the start of the film but come to like, admire and finally cheer for at the end of the film. A stunning performance and a credit to the actor for doing something I don't think I have ever seen anyone do so well in a film before.
2) The effects - Seamless in a way I'm pretty sure none of us have seen before. They are no Avatar pretty, but real life in a way that has pretty much raised the bar a long way for anyone in the future.
So no, not perfect, just a bloody good film
Simon