Reviews

The first time I saw this film was on DVD, and the film appeared to be mixed in such a way that the ambiance overpowered the dialogue track, making it very difficult to understand. I thought this was an aesthetic choice and actually admired the film for it - it felt voyeuristic enough with the digital photography, why not obscure the dialogue as if it were not exposition but actual genuine conversation between people? Of course the downside to this was that I didn't know what was going on (a point I'll further elaborate on in a moment) and, as far as the dialogue goes, in the few instances you could actually hear anything it sounded either dreadfully cheesy or not like anything anyone would ever say, ever. It made me quite happy I wasn't hearing too much, so as not to ruin the illusion of a complex and sophisticated narrative.

But that was watching it out of context.

I've now watched it again on Blu-ray, the dialogue track is clear and precise, and I can finally follow the plot of this film. And BOY does it move!

It turns out what was obscured was a water tight, katana sharp script which tore you through its glamorous yet downright f-ed up world better than, I feel, far too many films I've seen in recent years. It's ironic that behind its rough and somewhat awkward exterior lies a smooth as polished marble interior. I don't think it's a very accessible film -i f it were pulled off in a cleaner fashion (shot on film etc.) it might've seen more praise, though, from where I'm standing, I think the two aspects compliment each other. It runs so smoothly underneath that when it gets plush and stylish, you fully believe it, as you do when things get tough and procedural.

Some of the character stuff's still flawed - I believe in the drama of Sonny and Isabella's relationship but not in the actual relationship, and did Jose just fancy her too? I mean I was struggling to see his problem with them.

I think my personal favourite thing about this film is that, tonally, I can't sense any difference between it and the series. I mean I'd describe it as 'exactly the same, just not dated'. Can't quite say why ... I can only assume Miami VICE is just as relevant today as it was back in the 80's

I was taken aback by how funny this was because it's just so achingly wholesome ... and that's all the review I think you'll need, I can only imagine you were avoiding it for that reason too. They're gay, she's an immigrant, the kids are noisy, but they all have one thing in common - their home planet, Utopia.

Now, there's a minimum of 10 lines per review; and encourage pithy critique that does not - one tries to be as forthcoming as one can, without ruining anything about the product - but if IMDb insists: each episode ends with a monologue, à la 'melted cheese down your throat', though sometimes it's funny (either way, I could still do without it). There are times when the comedy is surprisingly slow to where you've figured out the joke before it's told, only what's told actually ends up being a less punchy version of what you saw coming. And, finally, blah blah blahs too blah blah blah.

Nevertheless they did good with this, it somehow turned out better than we all thought it was going to be.

When it's not being divine inter-conceited - completely out of nowhere, into your lap bull - it makes not a single shred of sense. This is a masterclass on how NOT to write a screenplay. Monty is the only consistent thing in this film. What does a drug dealer want with his kids? How did his ex wife turn into such a monster? What exactly does someone like Julia find 'fall in love' attractive about him? ... I mean I know a relationship like there's isn't far fetched but, in this movie, it only seemed to make sense for them to find each other fun.

It's all drama for drama's sake and, in no way, illustrates the idea that when everything seems like it's about to get the better of you, don't let it because things are about to get better for you. It's a good message, just prove it properly.

It's a real shame someone couldn't make something more substantial and important out of this ... I mean they've managed to take an issue about many things - youth, poverty, society, mentality, anger - and turn it into nothing more than the documentation of some black kid being killed.

My first issue is with the narration. Why is it there? He's dead. Is he talking to us from beyond the grave? If so, he's got a pretty muted perspective on things - I mean you would think he'd have more to say concerning his current state than simply who he is and what happened to him. WE ALREADY KNOW. And if we don't we get to know through watching the actual film playing before our very faces. You can't just DO narration, not anymore. It needs to be within some sort of context. If he's so desperate to tell his story that he must travel to this plane of reality and narrate a film then more needs to be said beyond the painfully obvious. Trite things like this sap a film's intrigue and disengage the audience.

My second issue is with the characterisations. An 18 year old kid who goes out of his way to kill a 15 year old, who may or may not be seeing his girlfriend (the 15 year old kid who definitely didn't know she wasn't single), is BROKEN. He is not an evil, brooding antagonist, he's insane in the membrane and that needs to be addressed ... and if he just so happens not to be, then THAT needs to be addressed; the fact that he's grown into that way of thinking. The point that's clearly being missed in all of this is that there's a "Shakilus Townsend" case almost every other week. It happens WAY too often to just be turned into a 'simple-Simon' murder story, since it's made obvious to be a much bigger issue than that. It's shrunken when you treat a character like Danny's so broad and generically.

Ultimately, watching this film, you get the sense that all the research done prior to making it was in the reading of THE SUN's article ("Honey trap girl is found guilty"). I mean it's almost as if they didn't actually talk to the Mother. We know no more than we already did and that's really strange when you not only have the Mother on hand but all seven of the convicted caught and locked up. I'm certain none of THOSE kids were approached during the making of this film - how laughably amateur!

This was the one chance to enlighten an audience of angry, narrow minded Brits repulsed by gang culture, so that we don't continue to ignoring or even try to blitz it but embrace and attempt to fix it.

Very lazy filmmaking and the poor treatment of a case like this. Shakilus Townsend and many other murdered black, British teenagers deserve better.

It is nostalgia ridden like many other films have been this past decade, the only difference is it's not of the cynical kind.

The film's narrative FELT all over the place (probably more the plot than the narrative) - there was a certain tightness missing from this that was present in J.J. Abrams' previous film but, other than that, everything else did exactly what it's supposed to. The kids are both engaging and entertaining, the monster turns out to be quite frightening, the dialogue's great, the acting's great, visual effects, cinematography- everything's on point.

It felt like I was watching a proper film! I mean it seems too much to ask for from our blockbusters these days.

I don't understand what all the fuss is about, I mean it must be the product of diminished expectation ... because I felt like I moron watching this.

There's this one character - who is, technically, the catalyst for all the "rising" that transpires - to whom your immediate reaction is, "What in God's name is your problem?!", shortly followed by, "WHY ARE YOU EVEN WORKING THEIR?!". There are also lots of scenes of stuff going wrong in a lab but it's not in that edge of your seat "these are very dangerous experiments you guys are conducting. I guess knowing what you'd gotten yourselves into kinda makes your PWNAGE fair" fashion, it's more "these are very dangerous experiments, YOU IDIOTS. Did you not know what you were getting yourselves into?".

There are a handful of Hollywood moments here and there, to make it all easier to swallow but it being easy enough to swallow as it is, they just made it all the more boring.

It's not terrible, I do like the fact that Caesar's growing smarter only brought him further in touch with his "ape side", it was a refreshingly un-condescending thing to see but, really ... who cares? It's still quite an unremarkable film and I'm left wondering where all the proper blockbusters have gone.

Go and see 'Super 8'

It's a very strange piece of work. On the one hand you're going', "This is, clearly, utter rubbish. EVERYONE's being stupid - even the show's plot is allowing itself to be driven by their stupidity", and on the other you look up at your clock ... AND HALF THE DAY HAS PASSED!

It doesn't amount to much - it's about this kid who likes some girl called Suzuka. there's a bunch o' "pull-n-tug" between them, with drama seeming to appear out of thin air (to aid them in their non-hooking up) and superfluous tangents for the story to go and waste time upon- It doesn't amount to much ... although it makes you think it's going to. One episode after the other, STUFF happens, developing to shake things up and you think all of it's building to something. It doesn't ... and the worst thing is you've figured it all out about half way through the series, you just spend the rest of it wondering if you actually have. In fact you feel somewhat played with at the end - like something has actually invaded your being. You get so hooked into this hypothetical mystery you've created in your head, about where it all could be going, and when you finally realise that it was on the 'Big Fat Nothing' road all along, you're just left feeling shaken.

Now for some strange reason, I didn't know how to feel about that ... and I don't even know why. I wasn't angry with the show for getting the better of me, neither did I admire it for doing so. I just sat and contemplated the aftermath for a bit. I had clearly cared about the series and, for the first time ever (I think), I just couldn't figure out why.

It's actually a bit like this review - despite how it begun, all I seem to have ended up doing is trashing the show. There's no pay off where I actually tell you WHY I liked it ... I mean I guess it just filled a hole or something. I don't know how or why but it just worked on me ... quite damned well in fact.

Not that I'd recommend it to anyone, of course

I've only recently discovered this series, after having been persuaded, for quite sometime, by people less intelligent than I to watch it (my younger cousin and other tweenies). It took persistent persuasion, on their part, because on the outside there appears to be absolutely nothing to this show. The circumstance is all too generic (Grange Hill, Teachers, Holly Oaks) and y'know ... you just can't trust British television anymore. But then I gave this show my time of day and, believe you me, it's the reason you're told to learn what you judge.

Waterloo Road is everything Skins wants, needs but will never have, starting with the writing which in comparison is EXCEPTIONAL. It's one thing to raise headline issues, it's a completely different, more skillful and admirable thing to tackle them head on, with all their complexities. And when you write at that level, where what you have to say revolves around the issue itself and not the way it is handled, then you leave yourself plenty of room for well rounded and properly developed characters. People who exist in the real world - those you cannot mold and manipulate to fit your ideals - you simply place them in a world of these ideals and watch them work their way through it. We have proper teenagers being portrayed in a way that Skins has absolutely no excuse for not being able to accommodate, and REAL ADULTS! Christ alive has this been something way over due in a show like this - I welcome it with open arms. And then we have the issues in and of themselves, which are far from fluffy and don't seem to have gone through the Sensationalizer 3000, like everything else on the box has. It's just plain good television, pure and simple, and I don't doubt I'm alone on this one.

This, along with everyone involved in the making and distributing of it, should be burned. It is witless, gormless, self gratifying, putrefyingly hateful and a disgrace to the art of film-making. Y'know; it's all good and fine to set out to offend sensibilities (I think), push and play with them, but that sort of stuff only works when there's a certain level of skill implemented in the execution. It's just a white and sticky explosion of a little boy's immature fantasies and an indication of just how shallow and infantile Rob Zombie's sensibilities are.

What a disgusting piece of work.