Gone Girl

SF: When I left the cinema I wasn't sure if I liked this film or not. I've enjoyed most of Fincher's movies and with the author writing the script, I'd have thought this would be amazing. There were plenty of things I enjoyed about this film, good bursts of excellent entertainment and thrilling plot developments but overall this felt like a great excuse for one twist after another. At some point the impact is reduced because you left waiting for the next big twist. The film does well to keep you watching two thoroughly unlikeable characters. I can't help but compare it to things like The Prestige or Memento which take a similar style but are executed in a far more intelligent manner. I'd be in no rush to see this again and the more I think about the more I dislike. However I can see this being a thriller genre fan's ideal cinematic experience, so for that audience it certainly delivers. 6.5/10

50Eggs: My partner wanted to see this one, so I went along to do my duty of seeing what I assumed would be a 'pink' film. Wrong. This is a a really tense and intriguing film. Not knowing anything about it beforehand was a boon as I couldn't figure out where it was going, and thus it kept me gripped for the duration (and its pretty long). Recommended. 8.5/10

DonkeyB: I felt like the film ended up being less than the sum of its parts [cliché, see if you can count the rest]. Rosamund Pike gives a stunning performance, but it turned into too much of a Paul Verhoeven bunny boiler for my liking and it was definitely too twisty for its own good too. My least favourite Fincher, going to watch Zodiac again because it will eventually be considered his masterpiece. 5.5/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Project Jen- He's just not that into you

I have problem with the italicisation
shouldn't it be: 'he's just not that into you'?

If I tagged everyone who was in this movie, I'd run out of energy for typing before I get to the review. Two degrees of separation news: Pacey's (from Dawson's Creek) big sister is in another film.

Diane Snyder and Warren Cheswick from Ed (which is one of the most underrated tv shows of all time) feature in the first five minutes.

Prejudices in the film (in order of appearance)

Racism (Africans in mud huts, seriously?)
Misogyny
Misandry
Homophobia

Gigi and Alex (Diane and Warren) feature all the way through it turns out. They're the stars, it's their story really. Awww isn't that sweet.

This is a really hateful film, it's just horrible in every respect.

Jennifer Connelly (who I love) plays a character who may very well be a psychopath, not very well.

Jennifer Aniston is barely in the film, but she seems to have a job working with two of the other characters at a mail order spice emporium where they keep having to come up with 'copy' for nutmeg. I'm not sure whether this is supposed to be funny or ironic or something but it isn't. She's not very good, but it feels harsh to blame her.


Some traditional Blue Donkey film review rhetorical questions:

Everyone in it has far too much money, where does it all come from? What is the point of the inserted sections? Could Scarlett Johansson's character be more of a porn film cliche?


RATING: 1 Green Dress eeeuuuuchhhhh

Argo

SF: This was cinema at its best. Somehow they managed to inject a bit of humour into what is a fairly serious topic. Everything about it - production value, cast, script, directing was great. Ben Affleck you've surprised me again. If you know the history I don't think you'll be disappointed. From what I've read I think the account is fairly accurate as it can be with "based on a true story" type films. The political balancing act pulled off here is also worth noting - its a hard line to get right.  Well worth watching. 9/10

50 Eggs: A well made, exciting piece of edu-tainement. I was ignorant about much of the history concerning the Iran-USA relationship so I found this an enlightening film, and I suspect a few Americans will too. I really liked how balanced the film was - yes the Americans are the 'heroes', but it doesn't skip their flaws or paint the Iranians as purely evil. After the lively opening sequences I found the film flagged just a little in the middle, but it picks up again after that and the tense final scene will leave you holding your breath. 8.5/10

DonkeyB: Best film of the year so far. The direction is just brilliant. I loved the look of the film. Ben Affleck is difficult to pigeon hole: we now have to measure Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy, The Town and Argo against Gigli, Jersey Girl and Pearl Harbour. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that Argo is as good as Gigli was bad. It is also pretty clear that Ben is better when he has more control over a film- honestly his acting is nothing to write home about but for this film he has assembled a stellar cast, encouraged excellent performances from them and combined them into a film which shows real vision. 9/10

Overall: 8.83/10