the danish girl

bio-pic set in 1920s copenhagen about artist einer wegener
he becomes lily elbe with support of wife and artist gerda

what i liked

beautifully filmed with every scene like an artistic portrait
familiar architecture seen in copenhagen, paris and dresden
eddie redmayne's seamless transition is acting to behold
an art and trans-gender history lesson in one package

what i dis-liked

an assumption i had read the book or knew the story
the focus on the big picture and not the characters
watch-checking started early and was a constant
a strange feeling that there was no interest in me
probably because it is unashamed oscar-bait...

3.5 / 5

the big short

dramatisation of the cause and effect of the gfc from 2007
brad pitt - star and producer - for me he can do no wrong
ryan gosling, christian bale and steve carell - an a list cast

what i liked

technical but not mumbo-jumbo - another viewing will enhance
the cast feeding off each other to deliver standout performances
humour - characters (or actors) idiosyncrasies come to the fore
the use of occasional dialogue with the viewer for explanations
confirmation of the distaste for big banks and money-driven egos
the music - especially - closing with led zep when the levee breaks

what i dis-liked

it finished

4.5 / 5

star wars - the force awakens

first of many for this franchise ow owned by disney studios
the biggest film since - possibly forever - move over avatar
rated highly by critics and fans puts on the should-see list

what i liked

the similarity in presentation with the original from 40 years ago
john williams soundtrack also referencing past musical glories
easy to follow and keeps moving to a logical conclusion
the focus on characters and story not technical wizardry
daisy ridley as rey - a female assumes the main character

what i dis-liked

oscar isaac - this blockbuster will derail more serious acting roles
the new bad guy - adam driver as kylo ren - is a wimpy lead
dohmall gleeson - again - unconvincing - again - he not good
suckered into a likely never-ending hollywood run of sequels

4.0 / 5

the revenant

leonardo dicaprio's bid for an oscar apparantly
director - alejandro inarritu - birdman, babel , etc
revenant - a person who has returned esp from the dead
almost deliberately went in to this one with little knowledge

what i liked -

the scenery - stunning - saw it on a huge screen - the only way
the music - i love a dedicated soundtrack - ryuichi sakamoto
immersion - 2.5 hours spent in 1820's america - brutal
leonardo dicaprio - give him his oscar - hard-earned

what i disliked -

the dialogue - when it was there - frustratingly indiscernible
dohnmnall gleeson - ain't a patch of an actor on his father
the use of modern-day slang at times seemed out of place
repeated extreme incident survival leading to lol moments
revenge - the main game - once had - all good - the end

4.0 / 5

the program

dramatisation of lance armstrong's rise and fall
based on a book by sports writer david walsh

i liked -

an insight into how drugs enhance performance
impressive footage of high speed mountain cycling
standout acting from chris o'dowd as david walsh
concise and factual with a clear start, stop and 'arc'

i disliked -

use of popular music to cheaply enhance scenes
lack of engagement with ben foster as armstrong
known facts are the main pivots - no revelations
very little archive material pushs it to b-grade

3.0 / 5

trumbo

dalton trumbo - top mid 20th century screenwriter
one of many in hollywood who are communists
this film tracks his life after being on the blacklist

i liked -

history lesson - the hollywood communist blacklist
bryan cranston's acting in the lead role is very convincing
the brief text at the start explaining communism's popularity
actual b&w footage of courtcases, etc very cleverly integrated
the context of famous names (john wayne, kirk douglas)
helen mirren having fun as a celebrity right-winger

i disliked -

the lack of discourse on the appeal of communism
if plays like a wikipedia writeup - factual but no feeling
the (over) use of props make it like a very busy stage show
stereotypical performance of john goodman (the fat slob)

3.5 / 5.0