Member's reviews : the good, the bad and the ugly
Films below are offered on FiLMCiRCLE at time of writing, so be quick!
If you've seen a cracker or a shocker we would love to hear from you.
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Mama Mia!
If like me you're of the age where you leapt around as a kid to Super Trooper, then did the same again some years later in the Student Union, Abba can do no wrong... But if you hoped to cap your Christmas dinner with the sweet story of beardy Swedes and their spangly ladies, then you’re on a train to Rude Awakening Junction, my friend. A toe-curling medley ensues from where the Jeremy Kyle Show meets the Sound of Music.
Clearly beaten with a stupid stick and reared in front of Jerry Springer, a young woman concludes that her wedding day is the perfect occasion for a ‘Who’s My Real Daddy’ contest. So she steals her mother's diary and invites all of her ex-partners along.
This is the highest grossing film of all time in the UK, and it certainly was highly gross. I kept hoping I'd missed its point. JFS
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Definitely my favourite over Christmas and good for Valentines... Warm, cold, odd, sad, random, touching, trippy and colourful... a bittersweet love story built around the concept of being able to check into a clinic and have a particular person completely removed from your memory. If you're not a fan of Jim Carrey, you will be after seeing this. TF
Monster
It felt like we'd climbed a mountain or something... Loved it but you wouldn't watch it twice.
Harrowing and disturbing but real and passionate, the story of Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), a Florida prostitute who discovers true love and murderous hate at the same time - becoming one of America's 1st female serial killers. Well worth the ride. RF
No Country for Old Men
In some ways it annoyed me, but it left a good taste in my mouth for days.
Out hunting, Llewelyn Moss calmly stumbles on the grizzly remains of a modern-day gun battle, and returns home with $2M in a suitcase. Lucky? Well not exactly. He has pitched himself against the coldest of killers and quickly becomes the one who is hunted.
Beautifully shot, the film conveys a real flavour of small town outback Texas, of space and lawlessness. The knuckle-biting rollercoaster then hits a brick wall and trails off randomly. The ending is, if nothing else, realistic and non-Hollywood. Worth a watch. JFS
Hancock
Best watched after Monster (above) for the jaw-dropping contrast and ability of Charlize Theron. You simply can't believe it's the same actress.
Hancock is a superhero, but we‘ve been there and done that. His well-intentioned heroics get the job done and save lives, but he leaves catastrophic damage in his wake. The public has finally had enough and our man needs some modern-day PR.
If you like Will Smith and fancy some spectacular effects without the need to engage your brain, this is good fun. I enjoyed it but happy to pass it on. JFS
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