![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Ghost Writer and Dexter
Aug. 22nd, 2011 11:35 pmJust finished watching the flick Ghost Writer - the film directed by Roman Polanski while he was under house arrest at his luxurious chalet in Switzerland. Not a bad film, but it is hard to watch without the information I know about Polanski lurking in the background. I can't help but wonder if I'd have experienced it differently if it were by another director? Also, maybe it is just me, but Polanski's films are less interesting now than they were in the 1960s-70s. His later work feels a bit paint-by-numbers, you have the chase scene, the dark claustrophobic rooms, the dreary landscape, the suspenseful music, the odd angle close-ups. I'm not sure he's done anything all that interesting since the films of his hey-day, Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant, Tess, and Chinatown.
The acting and writing are good. The direction is just a bit stale and lacklustre, disappointing even. It reminds me a great deal of that horrible adaptation he did of Arturu Reverte-Perez's The Club Dumas - a few years back, which starred Johnny Depp. Had the same atmospheric touches and conspiracy theorist feel.
Here the bad guys are the Americans - who are manipulating the Brits. And the main character, Lang, feels like a riff off of Tony Blair. Actually some of the story feels ripped from headlines a few years back. To say more, would most likely be spoilery. Interesting concept but I've seen it done better elsewhere. But it is a fun movie and it did hold my interest, which is more than I can say for Eureka, The Closer, or Alphas. It may well be a mood thing - I wanted a political thriller and I rather adore the cast of this one - Olivia Williams, Kim Cattral (who is unrecognizable), Pierce Bronsan, Tom Wilkinson, and Ewan McGregor in the lead. McGregor is quite a good actor, loved him since Trainspotting.
Overall...worth a rental.
Also finished watching the first half of Season 5 - Dexter. So far, it is compelling and enjoyable, but I find that I really don't have much to say about it. I've seen it all done before of course, so there's little to comment on. (I've watched the first two discs, have two more to go).
( spoilery comments on Dexter )
Enuf, off to bed.
The acting and writing are good. The direction is just a bit stale and lacklustre, disappointing even. It reminds me a great deal of that horrible adaptation he did of Arturu Reverte-Perez's The Club Dumas - a few years back, which starred Johnny Depp. Had the same atmospheric touches and conspiracy theorist feel.
Here the bad guys are the Americans - who are manipulating the Brits. And the main character, Lang, feels like a riff off of Tony Blair. Actually some of the story feels ripped from headlines a few years back. To say more, would most likely be spoilery. Interesting concept but I've seen it done better elsewhere. But it is a fun movie and it did hold my interest, which is more than I can say for Eureka, The Closer, or Alphas. It may well be a mood thing - I wanted a political thriller and I rather adore the cast of this one - Olivia Williams, Kim Cattral (who is unrecognizable), Pierce Bronsan, Tom Wilkinson, and Ewan McGregor in the lead. McGregor is quite a good actor, loved him since Trainspotting.
Overall...worth a rental.
Also finished watching the first half of Season 5 - Dexter. So far, it is compelling and enjoyable, but I find that I really don't have much to say about it. I've seen it all done before of course, so there's little to comment on. (I've watched the first two discs, have two more to go).
( spoilery comments on Dexter )
Enuf, off to bed.