@synth_cinema: May 2015

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Review Roundup - Roman ruin

POMPEII (2014)

Mixing up the disaster movie genre with some classic swords and sandals action and adventure shouldn't be something that is difficult to get wrong, but Paul W.S. Anderson doesn't exactly have a lot of flair for genre movies outside the guilty pleasure that is Even Horizon. Giving him a little benefit of the doubt for what seemed to be an easy opportunity for some schlock and spectacle didn't bear much fruit unfortunately, in a movie chock full of passable effects sequences, half baked clichés and acting that ranges for complete ham to complete rubbish. The bits that work are entertaining enough and when things are moving at a fair pace it's easy enough to watch, but there is a whole lot of dead weight dragging it down well before the suffocating ash buries the principle cast.

Review Roundup - Burning chrome

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)

It's always a worry to see a director returning to their roots after so much time, whether the results are something passable like Drag Me To Hell, or embarrassing let downs like Land of the Dead or Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. People change over time, their attitudes change and as storytellers they mature - for better or worse. It can also be a problem trying to recapture the old magic if their reasons for going back are simply a lack of imagination during a time when they have more of a budget and less pressure. In the case of Mad Max this really shouldn't work, even without considering the third installment didn't turn out to be very good, George Miller has spent a long time in the decades since making family entertainment. But in the case of Fury Road all those years away from action cinema have actually worked out to be a blessing with a film that is brimming with detail, in both the world building and the action sequences.


Scorecard

APRIL

Blue Ruin ☆☆☆☆
Locke ☆☆☆☆
Mean Streets ☆☆☆☆
Miller's Crossing ☆☆☆☆
Django Unchained ☆☆☆☆
Cop Land ☆☆☆☆
The Wrestler ☆☆☆☆
Calvary ☆☆☆☆
Interstellar ☆☆☆☆
The Aviator ☆☆☆☆