Netflicker #2 - An actual start starring :Princess Bride , The Devils Double and O Brother Where Art Thou

1.The Devils Double- Action, Drama , Subtitled

The premise :A solider in Iraq, Latif, is drafted to become the body double for Uday Hussein , Saddam Hussein's son.The film is based off Latif's biography which he wrote after the downfall of Hussein.

From the first time I saw a trailer for this film I was excited for it I thought the premise was great and really unusual and I love clean cut modern cinema and the style of this film is exactly what I like , That being said most people saw it as over done, over dramatic and just a violent film which I thought it might be and the trailer hints at that.It is a violent film and their are some very intense scenes but its far more understated then I was expecting , and the film deals with its topic really well and the pace is fast and I think really draws the audience into the sheer mania of having total power and no restraints. 

O Brother Where Art Thou ? Comedy , Adventure

Premise : Based in Mississippi during the great depression three chain gang convicts (including the lovely George Clooney) break out in an effort to find the treasure Clooneys character has hidden from before his arrest.

From the outset its clear this film is just a charming and funny film , its got some great one liners and carries really good jokes throughout the film. The humor in the film works on both subtle and blatant levels and is just really good fun to watch but also manages to touch on serious subjects without dwelling on them , making it much more then your usual one note comedies. Also just a side note the music of the film is amazingly good , very country and of the time so not for everyone but I really enjoyed it.

Sylvia  Romance, Drama

Premise : The film follows the life of the poet Sylvia Plath and looks at her stuggles with depression and her relationship with Ted Hughes.

I enjoyed this film though I suspect part of why I liked it was that I am a fan of Plath's work and that familiarity does help. Regardless of this it is a good film and really examines what two people in love are to each other and how destructive people can be .Its very subtle slow sort of film but if your in the humor that style and pace its really a very well done film .

Netflicker #1 - An introduction

So this is an idea I wanted to run with and is just recommended films to watch 

but the rule is I will be running them only based off what Netflix shows ( i dont own lovefilm , sorry) because I think Netflix does a surprisingly broad range and I liked the idea of finding films as apposed to just telling you films I liked  im going to try expand the genres and by this limitation I have to try new things instead of sticking to what I know or being lazy and naming anything that comes to mind.

It comes with three simple Guidelines/Rules

1.It will be Bi-monthly , probably Saturdays ...yes my lifes that exciting ... and will be in opposite to "the archs" which is project 2

2.I have to include at least one recent addition to netflix 

3. The three films must have notable differences (so theirs one for everyone in the audience)

Final note , I will be running off the UK Netflix which to my understanding has less american films and more european ones so sorry states 

xxxx

Dreaming Child

Liberal Arts

A film written , directed and starred in by a mildly successful TV actor ..no way anything can go badly with this scenario surely?

I do admit i was skeptical about this film when I heard it , 30 something goes back to college to see a beloved professor while in the middle of a midlife dilemma about the futility of it all blah blah blah . I have seen that film before and I really had no interest in seeing it again , particularly not one which considered itself "profound "and also the idea of him and his friendship with the young college student seemed a little creepy

Yet despite my really negative view towards this film I really enjoyed it . The pace of the film was good and it rarely dragged and a credit to Josh Radnor this movie is pretentious but is aware it is being so which is really a difficult accomplishment. Most of the comedy is left for the audiences decision their isnt that awkward pause for a punch line or even just having jokes at the end of sentences it is very much up to the audience in a way that most films do not allow and I think this is itself makes LA worth seeing .

Their is a fair amount of credit due to Elizabeth Olsen who i thought did just a fabulous job in this , her character was a real person and I think really held the film together as Radnor's character on the whole was similar to How I Met Your Mother and other TV characters, believable to a point and beyond that they are purely TV characters , which is fine normally but when surrounded by better actors it becomes increasing noticeable.

The real credit lies with the supporting cast in this film however , these were where the wonderful and a round of applause (and believe I'm surprised to say it too) to Zac Efron who had the funniest and most surreal and bizarre character. Also the characters of The school professor ( Richard Jenkins ) and the troubled college kid (relative newcomer John Magaro) I was particularly impressed with Marago and probably would have improved this film with more of him in it as he is just very believable and relatable , i'd say watch out for him.

The most noticeable fault I would have to say with the film was in scripting (sorry Radnor but when you do all 3 your bound to fall down) I found the two main characters Radnor was so determined to make them three dimensional that he would invent traits and quirks and then they would be ignored and new ones created which was just to cut and chopped and made the flatness of the character very high lighted and the flip side the supporting character were given this one trait and was never altered or expanded making them somewhat flat though

Final Word:

This isnt as artsy and out their as the film is trying to claim but it is a funny , charming film and handles what is a potentially a creepy awkward problem really well and if you don't hope for deeper look into the film then it really is worth a viewing 

6.5/10