Reviews

In 2019 I said this of ARTICLE 15, another Indian masterpiece :

"Every single moment of this film is powerful"

The same applies to 12TH FAIL. No wonder it won Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Editing at the Indian FILMFARE awards (the "Oscar"-equivalent awards for Hindi-language films).

If you have a heart you cannot but shed a tear multiple times throughout this film - it addresses poverty, casual crime, the lack of jobs, the class system, prejudice, hopelessness, hope, and, ultimately, the beauty of humanity when it is given a chance.

I said of ARTICLE 15 that every Indian person should watch it ! Well, make it a double : every Indian person should watch 12th FAIL too.

Like Article 15, 12th FAIL is cinema at its absolute best, and from the 9.0 rating on IMDB, it looks like thousands across the World think so too.

Fantastic - Fantastic - Fantastic !

Loved it !

If you enjoyed the famous "Run Lola Run" with Franka Potente then you'll enjoy this one with Emilio Shakraya.

Different actors, of course, different script, different times, but the city is the same : Berlin, and the main man has to get across it meeting all sorts of obstacles in the way in 60 minutes, for the most important fight of his life.

It's epic, It's relentless. It's human. It's poetic.

The Germans sure do love their cross-city epics, and they make them well.

If you want a pure high octane non-stop edge of your seat action, ignore the negative reviews, don't hesitate - book the sofa for the evening and enjoy !

This is a series you have to watch with ZERO expectations of any kind, and an OPEN mind.

If you do then you will find this series absolutely magical.

Do not expect this to be a thriller or cop film - it is not, yet at the same time it eventually is of some sort.

I didn't expect a feminist film from Turkey. I didn't expect a scenic masterpiece, taking in Turkey and the Greek Islands. And after the first 2 episodes I certainly did not expect it to become a chase thriller, and, yet, it became just that and more.

If this series was a film, it would be in the running to win Cannes and the Best Foreign film at the Oscars. It is that good !

The two women stars have a fantastic chemistry and rarely have I seen a film or series where you feel strongly that the actors loved acting in that series. The mother, Melisa Sözen, takes acting to a supreme level transferring every emotion through the screen straight at you. She is superb and I will look out for her films in future.

Congratulations to the two directors, Umut Aral, and Gökçen Usta, for their superb direction.

I leave you on one word which explains the last two episodes : Bambi.

Sandra Bullock's career is mirroring Tom Hanks : started with comedies, sometimes action films, but has now graduated with honours to very serious films, loads of them.

This is an excellent simple plot drama with capitals DRAMA. The way to the end of the plot is heart wrenching at multiple turns.

Ignore all the bad reviews - they're from misogynists.

Also, this is not an action film, this is pure drama, expertly directed and tense throughout the entire film. The only time you can relax in this film is when watching the credits at the end.

I would not be surprised to see Sandra Bullock Nominated for yet another Oscar in March.

This is so quintessentially French, I can see many English speakers will find it difficult to warm to, but I think a lot of our European neighbours will like it.

It's a comedy, serious at times, and it's a Christmas one, and totally utterly French in its multiculturalism.

I loved it. Direction is clever and on point, the plot is guessed quickly but the road there is always surprising and that's the best part of this series - you never know what will happen next. Often hilarious, other times crazy, but also often making subtle points about entrenched "attitudes".

However, most of all, while there are two obvious stars this is a mini-series where, actually, all actors are the stars of the series. Bravo to the Director !

Chapeau !

This film should hopefully get an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in the 2022 Oscars. It is hard to believe that anyone will make a better film than this.

There is no overacting, no over-pressing of points, just a simple "you-the-viewer-connect-the-dots" powerful presentation.

This is a human drama of the highest order showing what corruption does to millions of citizens, and anyone who follows South American politics will know that Brazil sits alone at the top in this respect. This film delivers punch after punch in the gut and towards the end you eventually realize that there aren't just 7 prisoners, there are actually 8 of them - I won't say why, but if you watch it you'll work it out.

It's a gut wrenching harrowing film of the highest quality.

The best outcome would be for it to receive a deserved Oscar as that might just start the beginning of change in Brazil.

Watch it !

I have watched a few Argentinian films and most have been in the mould of Perdida. Good, watchable.

This one, however, is on a different level. After 15 minutes I exclaimed to my partner : "This film is fantastic !".

This film stirs so many emotions : anger, horror at the inevitability of events that happen to some people who, through their childhood, were not given the means to discern the true rights and wrongs, and downright unjust; the terrible things that people do in the name of "family"; the incompleteness of some people's apologies to events and other people; and many more subtle points made by this film.

It's a heart rending film that leaves you angry, and that's a very good result.

Oscar material.

A 10 for me.

The only reason I managed to watch the full series is that I just wanted to know the "who dunnit", and it was also only 1 episode a week to suffer.

The only good episode was the first one which probably deserved a 6.5/7.0. From there onwards it was total irritation - the lead actress was irritating, the behaviour of the Navy was totally not believable, the tagged-on badly scripted love story was interrupting scenes that had some potential, the acting was leaden, the plot was so bad even a child would say "that's not possible", it was an utter disaster.

So, be warned : Episode 1 makes you want to watch the rest - problem is, that's the only episode that gets a good mark, all the others deserve a ZERO.

I am not Indian but this is a film that all Indian natives should watch.

Many will find it difficult; many will feel "this should not be shown in a film that the rest of the World will see"; some will stop watching after a few minutes believing "This is not India"; some will watch it, agree with it, but not discuss it with "friends"; and a majority will not watch it because going to the movies or having a television is out of their financial reach. Hopefully, however, there will be enough who watch it and who will be moved to start making a difference.

If anything this film explains why India, which makes more vaccines each year than the rest of the World combined, had such a shambolic COVID vaccine purchasing, manufacturing, and roll-out - simply because 70% of India simply "do not matter", "do not register" to so many of the remaining 30%.

In the first 10 minutes alone of the film, there are at least 20 strong and subtle points made by the film about current day India, and the film continues in this vein in a relentless fashion whilst at all times presenting a gripping thriller at the same time.

Every single moment of this film is powerful - the solving of a mere burst pipe problem outside the Police station is absolutely harrowing in its own right.

This film is a masterpiece of the highest order and should have won every single top accolade on every single continent in every country.

As a native of France who has extensively visited 4 continents and lived in two (Europe and Africa), and who has watched many Indian films before this one, I can say without hesitation that this film is also relevant to South & Central America, and Africa.

Again, a stirring, emotional, at times brutal, but in the end hopeful, masterpiece.

I will re-watch it many times.

Bravo !

This is the type of existential movie we have a lot of, and love, here in Continental Europe but which are so alien to North American and UK viewers, so I can see why most English speakers gave it terrible marks.

Our cousins across the Alps are coming up with great dramas during this pandemic : La Vita davanti a sé, the Zero series, and now this one, Security.

Despite the title Security is not a police thriller or anything similar : it is just a good existential drama around the principal of a security company which installs security systems in rich people's houses in the beautiful real town of Forte dei Marmi - from this film and Google pictures I just want to go and visit it !

This film is all about personal dramas, family dramas, people's varying characters and how some people's character traits can lead to tragedies multiple steps down the line.

I loved it.

Unfortunately IMDB, just like Amazon was for a while, is being spammed by FAKE bad reviews from organisations with a heavy right-wing agenda. Don't believe anything below a score of 5.

This is enjoyment at its best. It is NOT the story of Arsène Lupin, it is the story of someone modelling himself on Arsène Lupin. And it is a fairy story, just like James Bond or Mission Impossible.

And it is a very good one. Can't wait for Series 3.

It looks like Italy is waking up to its multicultural make-up finally.

First we had in December the wonderful "La Vita D'avanti a se" with Sophia Loren, and now this absolute gem, ZERO, the first ever Italian film or series centered around the lives of Black youth.

Bravo Netflix for unearthing this gem, and the soundtrack is just brilliant - I have bought most of the songs.

We are used to multicultural films in France, many of which have won our Cesars, so no wonder ZERO is at 7.5 in France, but the current 5.6 rating on IDMB is a bad reflection on IDMB's audience rather than on this series.

Inventive, Positive, Difficult at times, Imaginative, Realistic while light, this was a wonderful series which our entire household gobbled up in one night.

Italy - Keep waking up, we love it !

During the first lockdown this year I discovered the blockbuster Spanish series called LA CASA DE PAPEL and thought I would not find any better than that.

Well, Wow oh Wow - I have. This Korean series is the best series I have seen this year (2020), surpassing La Casa de Papel and Stranger.

It has everything at a very high level : sensitivity, suspense, acting depth, superb direction, critique of South Korean endemic deference to hierarchy and ensuing political and police corruption, sub-plots, the beauty of human beings, the failures of human beings, emotional conflicts, humour, team spirit, injustice, justice, and, throughout, how life is often simply not just Black and White.

All the while following an investigation into a murder for which a seemingly innocent man has been incarcerated.

The South Korean series STRANGER, which I also discovered this year, won all sorts of praise worldwide, deservedly, and scores 8.6 on IMDB.

This one, THE GOOD DETECTIVE, manages, for me, to be even better than STRANGER - that's saying something.

Superb, Superb, Superb !

What a surprise, what a surprise !

I thought this was going to be a financial thriller and ended up watching one of the best films in my lifetime.

Anyone who has lived in a developing country will experience a rollercoaster of emotions on seeing this film as the story could apply to absolutely any developing country. And what a story. Ten minutes into the film and I started saying "What a fantastic film - who made this film ?", and I carried on saying that at regular intervals throughout the film. This film has so many layers that if you understand everything it is trying to portray you simply want to meet the Writer/Director. For the Writer/Director to hail from New York and yet understand all the subtelties, consequences, and tragedies of life for the common person in a developing country demonstrates a unique capacity for observation and, critically, empathy.

This is a cinematically beautiful, sad, brutally accurate, tense, but also uplifting film, all at the same time. This film should have been taken to Cannes and it would have won the top prize - someone missed a marketing trick there.

Still - easily one of the best films I have ever seen. Watch it - you won't regret it.

Having a general knowledge of African geopolitics and of life in Africa is a great help in understanding this film because the points made by the films are often very subtle and very African. With this caveat out of the way, what a gem of a film this was. Is it a thriller : Yes ! Is it a court room thriller : Yes ! Is it a political film : Yes ! Is it a war film : Yes ! Is it realistically African : Yes ! Does it leave you thinking about it for hours afterwards : Absolutely Yes ! If you understand French, the original dialogue is best, but, thankfully, the English subtitles were for the most part good translations.

Without giving too much away there are so many subtly made statements by this film that you will never guess the main statement it is leading you towards, and yet where you think it is leading you throughout most of the film is itself gripping to the core.

An absolute masterpiece.

I had never heard of this film yet it was 7.3 on IMDb with over 50000+ voters.

Then I saw that Pharrell Williams was an executive producer on the film, so I was "Happy" to try it - :-).

What a different, enjoyable, and eventually rewarding film.

The film is about someone who is not just different from the standard stereotypes, but also ..... DIFFERENT ! And that tells you all you need to know before you watch it !

Watch it till the end - this film gets better and better throughout the entire film, culminating with a really rewarding end.

I loved it.

If you ever watched Kevin Costner in "No Way Out" and loved it, then watch this upgrade.

Wow, wow, wow ! I'll say just one thing : pay real good attention to the dialogues in the kitchen.

I intended to watch half this film one night and the rest the next night, as I needed to get up early for work. Forget that !!! This film grabbed me by the throat so intensely I had to watch it till the end and risk a bad day at work.

Top notch, from start to finish. The only time you will be able to relax and catch your breath is when you watch the opening credits !

Make no mistake - anyone who gives less than 6 to this film is prejudiced, whether they know it or not, or they are white Australians who do not want to accept that there other "Australias" within Australia.

If you watch this film with nothing other than curiosity as to where it will take you, you cannot help but be blown away by the simple power of this film.

Kudos to the screenplay, kudos to the director, kudos to the obvious off-the-cuff but first class acting, particularly in the prison scenes and the first rehearsal, and kudos for putting it all together as if you are watching Life rather than a film.

It is a film with so many stories : Liam's of course, but, also, his mother's story, his teacher's story (Christina Ricci), his brother's story, his school's story, the gubba teacher's story, his brother's story, and last but not least, his father's story. All of these stories grab you by the throat but you have to not be prejudiced to "see" all those stories.

A brilliant film.

What a film ! I had no idea this film was made by the director of Ong Bak so everything turned out as a most brilliant surprise.

If you want to read the best review of this film read the one from EBOSSERT on 14-May-2008. It says everything there is to say about this film. Basically, if you like action films, this is one of the very best action films I have ever seen and the storyline isn't bad either. The action sequences are just fantastic, and made even more fantastic because of the natural empathy one has for Zen, that girl !! I am already getting ready to watch this film a second time - that's how good the action was !

Quite frankly, I did not expect much of this film, particularly after I saw a score of 5.0 on IMDb.

Throughout the film you keep asking yourself "where is this going to" and each time, as the film goes on, you get more of a surprise and the tension increases a notch.

Throughout the film I kept thinking "Winter's Bone". This film reminds me a lot of "Winter's Bone", and they were both made in 2010, but at the same time this film is quite different, but still about small town and small community secrets all the same.

The acting is top class, and the direction flawless. No film stars on show but they're not needed - this is top class entertainment from little known actors (not for long) and it is top direction too.

Watch it - you won't regret it.

You know the situation : It's school holidays - no films for adults around, it's all kids stuff, and you find an odd film called B-GIRL on Cable. No other choice around at this time so you go for it thinking : "it will pass the time".

Well, after 5 minutes I didn't think I'd see the end of this film, after 15 minutes there was no way I was going to bed without seeing the entire film. It leaves you with a smile on your face, a warm feeling, you talk about it with your partner and then you hit the net to read more about it because .... you've enjoyed it ! In the end I loved this film, and the last 10 minutes are just ..... F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C !

Well, if you are open-minded enough to have liked Barber Shop, then you will like this Canadian film.

If your mind is as closed-minded as Fort Knox, then you will give it the current score that it has : 2.5.

This is a film for anybody prepared to watch films from outside of their own racial grounds. It is engaging, it is true to life, on two or three occasions you lose the connections between the scenes, but many times, especially towards the end, you find yourself having a tear or two in your eyes and this simply because it so often mirrors what life can be like.

I like it and recommend it to anyone open minded beyond the traditional American film.

I checked IMDb : 3.9 score. Then I worked out this was a "black" film, or, translated, an inspiring film where the main subjects are black but which can be inspiration to anyone out there. And "black" films hardly ever get scores above 5, so I decided to take it out anyhow and see it for myself.

What a film. What a performance from Terrence Howard, yet again - this man doesn't know what bad acting is; whatever the film, the Oscar winning CRASH, the revenge thriller with Jodie Foster, THE BRAVE ONE, John Singleton's FOUR BROTHERS, or HUSTLE & FLOW, this guy shows he is one of the best actors around.

Whatever your colour, simply put your Objective hat on and let yourself be inspired - you'll go to bed dreaming, feeling good, moved, inspired. Brilliant.

I started watching this film thinking : "I've got to go to work tomorrow, so I'll record the second half". Twenty minutes into the film I needed a coffee but was so captivated neither of us wanted to get up to make coffee. In fact we weren't even talking. We were totally totally captivated by the film.

This is a film where half way through it you've enjoyed it so much you think that whatever the end is like, you'll still end up loving the film, and the end really does not disappoint.

This Western is right up there at the top with the best of them, surpassing Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. Pure joy. And it leaves you dreaming ....

I was hesitating between giving 8 or 9 and decided for a 9 when I thought "It was so difficult watching this film - it really showed well how frustrating some things can be in Life; I'm exhausted".

And that in itself sums up this film : it does not have the top notch direction of Crash which won the 2006 Oscars, but, just like Crash, I was on the edge of my seat till the very very end of the film. I was punching the wall out of feeling as frustrated as some of the characters, I was tense and worried that someone was going to get shot, I was a total ball of nerves by the end. And for that alone I went for a 9 rather than an 8 : this film is 10 out of 10 in terms of drawing the viewer into the frustrations of police corruption, racism, sexism, cover-ups, minor mistakes which come back to haunt you big time, the effect on communities, fate. It is not a traditional Police film, it is a hundred times more than that.

If you liked Crash 2006 (the one which won the Oscars), then you'll like this film. Guarantee.