One-sentence reviews

[Feanor]

I've seem more than my usual number of flicks in the last month and thought I'd post some very brief reviews.

The Ides of March ~ Dir. Clooney / writer: Clooney / star: Clooney, et al. Quite disappointing given I like political shenanigan movies. No really sympathetic characters -- the Hoffman character came closest; wooden acting by Clooney. 3/5*

Hugo ~ Scorsese / Logan / Butterfield. Pretty good family entertainment; nice tribute to an early film maker. 4/5*

J. Edgar ~ Eastwood / Black / DiCaprio. Disappointing; it failed to effectively focus on either the man's achievements or his misdeeds. 3.5/5*

Let the Right One In ~ Alfredson / Lindqvist / Kåre Hedebrant+Lina Leandersson. I'm no aficionado of vampire flicks, but I liked this one. 4/5*

The Descendants ~ Payne / Payne / Clooney. This one shows off Clooney as the pretty good actor his is, a lot better than Ides, above. A quite descent movie about a variety of family problems. 4/5*

Remains of the Day (1993) ~ Ivory / Ishiguro+Jhabvala / Hopkins. A somewhat under rated film that shows what a great actor Anthony Hopkins really is. 4.5/5*

The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo ~ Fincher / Lasson+Zaillian / Craig+Mara. An OK but somewhat over-rated flick with a bizzare heroine and an all too predictable "nice guy" villain. 3.5/5*

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ~ Alfredson (again) / Le Carré+O'Connor+Straughan / Oldman. A quite reasonably good rendition of the famous Le Carré novel. Guinness'esque but good portray of George Smiley by Gary Oldman. 4/5*

Watching to the last film prompted me to rewatch the late '70s version and its sequel ...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) ~ Irvin / Le Carré+Hopcraft / Guinness. A stunning mini-series and my favourite of all time. Brilliant acting by Alec Guinness and a telling portrayal of British upper class bureaucrats. 5/5* This is a must see.

Smiley's People (1982) ~ as above. A very worth sequel to the '79 Tinker Tailor. 5/5*

[Worf101]

Another person telling me I have to rent the Tinker Tailer Series. I've not enough hours in my day!!!! Arrrgh!!!! I agree with most if not all of your reviews. Cept for J. Edgar and "Ides of March" because I've not seen them or rented them yet. I'll let you know after I do.

Worf

[Feanor]

And a couple more ...

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) ~ Heslov / Ronson+Straughan / Clooney, et al. A rather silly movie whose big flaw is the underlying story based on a Jon Ronson book. OK acting by Clooney and Jeff Bridges. 3/5*

Hoffa (1992) ~ DeVito / Marnet / Nicholson+DeVito. A spotty and uncompelling historical recount of the Teamsters career of James R. Hoffa, but powerful acting by Jack Nicholson, up to his best standard. 3.5/5*

[Feanor]

I've seem more than my usual number of flicks in the last month and thought I'd post some very brief reviews.
...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ~ Fincher / Lasson+Zaillian / Craig+Mara+Plummer. An OK but somewhat over-rated flick with a bizzare heroine and an all too predictable "nice guy" villain. 3.5/5*
...

And now I've seen the Swedish version of the same ...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ~ Niels Arden Oplev / Larsson+Arcel+Heisterberg / Nyqvist+Rapace+Taube. Same novel, same locations, same plot except for very minor dialogue changes. The English language stars, Craig, Mora, and Plummer are maybe a tad more glamorous; same for the visuals, however these things don't make the movie better. Lisbeth's Salander's background is a little better explained n the Swedish 3.5/5*

[Worf101]

I've been hoping to get a review from somone who's seen both "Girl With the Dragon Tatoo". My friend Sugi who owns The Spectrum Theatre (Spectrum 8 Theatres) has seen both and likes the American version better. If it is better that's a first. I still remember what they did to "La Femme Nikita". Well at least your review is consistent... you hated both of em!!!

Worf

[Feanor]

I've been hoping to get a review from somone who's seen both "Girl With the Dragon Tatoo". My friend Sugi who owns The Spectrum Theatre (Spectrum 8 Theatres) has seen both and likes the American version better. If it is better that's a first. I still remember what they did to "La Femme Nikita". Well at least your review is consistent... you hated both of em!!!

Worf

The monster serial killer motif has become a cliché, and the same for the "independent" woman fighter too. It takes a lot to use these themes and beat the odds to make a great flick. Neither of these versions quite does that.