Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

I'm not really into this genre so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this film didn't do much for me, despite it being directed by Francis Ford Coppola. On the plus side it is a visually stunning experience, due not just to the cinematography but also to the overall production design and the costumes. I liked the idea of making this a kind of love story, between Dracula and Mina, Jonathan Harker's fiancée, who reminds him of his wife Elizabeth back in the day when he was a prince defending Christendom.  It was Elizabeth's suicide that drove him to become what he now is. Unfortunately whilst Gary Oldman gives a towering performance which carries the entire film, there's not much chemistry between him and Winona Ryder as Mina.   Perhaps the fact that she fell out with him during filming contributed to this, but I can't help feeling that she is miscast - she has her strengths as an actress but maybe she's incapable of providing the erotic energy needed f...

This is the second of the rebooted series, featuring Andy Serkis as Caesar the leader of the evolved apes, being the sequel to ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’. (I hate to be a nit-picker but surely dawn comes before the sunrise, not after?) We quickly learn that the pandemic that ends the first film has wiped out most humans. Meanwhile Caesar has established a peaceful home for the apes in the woods outside San Francisco. But once the surviving humans from the city make accidental contact with the apes the only question is whether war between the two species can be averted. Despite the best efforts of Caesar and one of the humans, Malcolm, the answer inevitably is ‘no’, which could make for a downbeat viewing experience were it not for the skilful way the story unfolds, always keeping the viewer interested.   The credit for this lies in part with the quality of the writing and the outstanding visual effects.  But essentially it is Serkis who carries the film. In contrast...

Do I know who killed JFK? No. Do I care who killed JFK? Not really. Did this 3-hour potential snooze fest hold my attention?  Hell, yeah! Specifically I was intrigued by the extraordinary story of Jim Garrison. He was just a DA, in New Orleans, but he took it upon himself and his team to try to get to the bottom of what really happened in Dallas on 22 November 1963. On the way we meet an array of curious characters brought to life by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci (crazy guy, crazy hairpiece), Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald. Holding it all together is Kevin Costner in a towering performance as Garrison.  I'm not sure how he didn’t get an Oscar nomination whilst Tommy Lee Jones (sporting the most ridiculous hair) did. His lengthy summing up to the jury at the conclusion of the film is a tour-de-force which I would like to believe is close to the actual summing-up. Which does raise the nagging question t...