Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Crisp Criticism - "Self/Less", "Mr Holmes", "The Gallows", "Ruben Guthrie"

by
Julien Faddoul














Self/Less

A dying real estate mogul transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body, but soon finds that neither the procedure nor the company that performed it are quite what they seem.
A surprising outcome from this director, who took a peculiarly tasteless, dreary approach to this sci-fi yarn. It’s stale from the word go.

d – Tarsem Singh
w – David Pastor, Alex Pastor
ph – Brendan Galvin
pd – Tom Foden
m – Dudu Aram, Antonio Pinto
ed – Robert Duffy
cos – Shay Cunliffe

p – Ram Bergman, Peter Schlessel, James D. Stern

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Natalie Martinez Matthew Goode, Michelle Dockery, Melora Hardin, Victor Garber, Sam Page, Derek Luke, Mariana Paola Vicente














Mr Holmes *

An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes looks back on his life, and grapples with an unsolved case involving a beautiful woman.
Telling two parallel stories in its main character’s life, that, despite a dedicated performance from its lead, is bankrupt by its director’s typically slack, pedestrian handling.

d – Bill Condon
w – Jeffrey Hatcher   (Based on the Novel by Mitch Cullin)
ph – Tobias A. Schliessler
pd – Martin Childs
m – Carter Burwell
ed – Virginia Katz
cos – Kaith Madden

p – Iain Canning, Anne Carey, Emile Sherman

Cast: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam














The Gallows

20 years after a horrific accident during a small town school play, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy.
Another lackluster horror film told from the first-person "found footage" perspective. Will this ever end?

wd – Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing
ph – Edd Lukas
pd – Stephanie Hass
m – Zach Lemmon
ed – Chris Lofing
cos – Jessica Peter, Nicki Stewart

p – Jason Blum, Benjamin Forkner, Dean Schnider, Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing

Cast: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos, Cassidy Gifford, Travis Cluff













Ruben Guthrie

A hard-partying Sydney ad man seeks to start a new chapter in his life.
An atrocious, revolting mess: Based on an Australian play by the writer/director, one is hard-pressed to find any point whatsoever for this existing as a piece of cinema, with everyone concerned being apparently totally illiterate to what a film is even suppose to be. Not even the community it depicts will recognize its intentions.

wd – Brendan Cowell   (Based on the Play by Brendan Cowell)
ph – Simon Harding
pd – Robert Cousins
m – Sarah Blasko
ed – Peter Crombie
cos – Xanthe Heubel

p – Kath Shelper

Cast: Patrick Brammall, Abby Lee, Alex Dimitriades, Jack Thompson, Robyn Nevin




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