LoveFilm Reviews

A friend of the family bought us a three-month subscription to LoveFilm for Christmas. I didn't really think we'd get that much use from this, as we generally seem to have a million other things going on, but we signed up and gave it a go. The basic concept is that you keep a list of ten DVDs that you are interested in seeing, and they send you two of them. After you have watched them, you top up the list, send the DVDs back, and they send you two more.

Actually it has worked quite well, so we have kept the subscription going. I put various recommendations blog-citizens here have given me on our list - along with things the kids fancy seeing and a few other films that look interesting - and have had several films that we have enjoyed watching together. I did think about reviewing the films individually, but there are too many, and I couldn't be bothered, so here are several short reviews together.

Casino Royale   

What do you do with a franchise that has become so silly and so jaded that you couldn't even satirise it? The revolutionary approach here is to hire some decent writers and actually spend money on a good script, rather than ever more special effects. This film still has a long and pointless chase scene - ironically recognised as such - it has action and it has humour. But most of all it has good writing and good acting. It works as a film in its own right, as well as working as the prequel to the Bond legend. I am surprised to say that I really enjoyed this film. So much so that I went to the public library to reread the book (which I last read in my early teens). The book was rubbish, but they made a very good film from it!

The Incredibles   

I expected this to be better. It was all right, I suppose: cartoon action, family values, pulling together to defeat evil, some humour; but in the end the flavour was bland and disappointing.

The Game    and a half

Interesting film. Immensely wealthy control freak, Michael Douglas, gets a weird present from his brother - a 'game' that strips him of his control over his life. Excellent writing and excellent acting make this a must-see film. Even the predictability of the ending is mostly overcome by the pace of the disintegration that gets him there. There was just a bit more suspension of belief required by the end than I was willing to give, otherwise this would have been worth the full five smileys.

Bewitched   

Grim. Exploitative film about an exploitative remake of the old TV series Bewitched. They hire an unknown to play Samantha, and guess what ... she's a witch! Except that she wiggles her ear not her nose. Wow! The characterisation is totally unsympathetic, the dialogue is dull, and the ideas are non-existent. Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine all fail to get anything out of the leaden writing. Not worth the time.

Dogma   and a half

Another interesting film. The comic book style and the language take a while to get used to, but this is a film that just fizzes ideas. In many ways this is a one-man film: writer and director Kevin Smith's vision and humour dominate. But what makes it really work is an incredibly strong performance by Linda Fiorentino as Bethany Sloane, an abortion clinic worker called on to save the world when God goes missing. Through all the insanity and strangeness, she keeps the whole thing solidly grounded; she is the realistic, relatable character who makes all the weirdos stranger and more interesting. The film has banished angels; a thirteenth apostle (left out of the official records for being black); two prophets - one foul-mouthed, the other silent; the voice of God; a pole-dancing muse; and Alanis Morissette as God. The whole film is based on a misunderstanding of Roman Catholic doctrine concerning plenary indulgences, but never mind. One to watch, but only if you don't mind a lot of swearing and scatological jokes.

Miss Potter   

A film telling the story of Beatrix Potter's relationship with Norman Warne, who first published her children's books. The books themselves, with their charming illustrations of Beatrix's 'friends', are the stars of the film; but Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor put up a good show too. The stifling respectability of Beatrix's upper-middle class London upbringing is painted in heavily, but given humanity by Bill Paterson's Rupert Potter, her father, who clearly wants the best for his daughter, but can't break away from his assumptions to see what that 'best' really is. This is a very good family film, but its (probably inevitable) flaw is that the real Beatrix Potter was so much more than just a children's writer. The film deliberately only deals with one part of her life, as it has to realistically, but the incompleteness does show. This is the best 'family film' that we have had from LoveFilm, by a mile.

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