Saturday night, i watched a couple of films here at home. Was going to go see 'Friends with Benefits', but we decided to just stay in. First up was a film we'd meant to see at the cinemas, but didn't get around to - 'Water for Elephants'.
I have to say, i enjoyed the movie. There is nothing overly spectacular about the story or the film, but it's decently acted and produced. Robert Pattinson does well as the good hearted veterinarian, and Reese Witherspoon is fine. I don't love her or her movies, but can watch them. Christoph Waltz is well cast - he really knows how to play bad guys.
Briefly, the film is about a guy that falls in with a touring circus, and falls in love. He just so happens to fall in love with the Ringmasters wife though. Robert Pattinsons love for animals, and in particular his relationship with the Elephant is quite well done. It's funny, because i don't particularly like animals much, but i can enjoy films that show great relationships between people and the animals in their lives.
Robert Pattinson seems like a decent actor so far. Sure, the 'Twilight' films don't offer much in the way of range, but I've seen him in 'Remember Me' (pretty good film by the way) and i thought he played that role on the mark as well. It will be interesting to see what he does in the future, once the 'Twilight' series finishes up.
This film is directed by Francis Lawrence. His previous feature efforts are 'Constantine' (Keanu Reeves) and 'I Am Legend' (Will Smith). Now, i enjoyed both those films, but didn't find them fantastic. He continues to give me that same feel with this film. This could be partly the screenplay he's been getting to work with, but a truly great director can usually bring something great to the screen, even if the screenplay is not totally there...(i could have opened a can of worms with that statement..hehe.) I'll have to do a page or post on some directors i love to watch films of.
Second film watched that night was 'A Prophet', a french film. This film won the 2009 Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and was also nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars in 2010. Wow, what a movie. It is a tour de force of story telling about life in prison. The story involves the rise of a nobody type prisoner, being used as a puppet by mafia kingpins inside, to a kingpin himself. It's a thoroughly engaging screenplay, with some tense moments of 'what the fuck!'...hehe. It's very different to other great prison films (Shawshank Redemption is one of the best). This film is bleak, and suffocates the audience in how shitty it can be for you in prison. God forbid ever having to serve time in a place like this.
It's a long film (155 mins), but it is never boring. If you enjoy epic story telling, then you'll love this. Don't watch it if you're tired, because reading subtitles for a film this long could be tough if you are.
Ratings:
Water for Elephants - 3.5 out of 5.
A Prophet - 4 out of 5.
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