Film Reviews by AM

Sensitive, delicate and immersive acting - this film should never be classed as a lesbian/gay genre film. (No film should be classed lesbian/gay... any more than any film should be classed as straight/hetero!) It is a superb study of a life and the possibilities for re-emergence after a downfall leading to a triumph of the will. Swan Song slowly grows and tends its flower until it is in full bloom and we experience the re-creation of the glory of a life well lived. The characters are a delight and honest, with such understatement as to echo a documentary style production. Uno Keir produces an Oscar level performance and should be given one for this masterpiece.

High Fliers are consistently the worst distributor/studio - is it just to save them money? Yet again as with most films bearing their logo, NO SUBTITLES! There should be a law against this flagrant avoidance of a simple addition for disabled people - those whose hearing is impaired - in any other walk of life there is a mandate to cater for the disabled, why not in film? I have now stopped hiring or buying any film without subtitles, thank you Cinema Paradiso for indicating in "Available Formats" whether or not there are subtitles - Signature distributors/studio are also guilty sometimes but HIGH FLIERS NEVER HAVE SUBTITLES! All other studios appreciate their disabled audiences.

Another from the notoriously awful High Fliers...expect it to be cheap and nasty. (No Chris Hemsworth!) it's trading on the myth... Main reason for dissent...High Fliers can't even be bothered with subtitles...I boycott them and I hope others do too.

No subtitles listed so pointless hiring this one. Thanks Altitude - one of the cheapest distributors.

It should illegal to distribute films without subtitles...in any case companies like High Fliers should provide them without the need for legislation. It's cheap and inconsiderate to ignore disabled people.

Can't see this film...NO SUBTITLES! This should be illegal.  Most of society recognises the need to support the disabled. Not so Lightbulb Film Distribution it seems.

No subtiles - cheap distributors again. Bruces last couple of outings were appalling beyond the pale so I'm giving this a miss...but mostly because THERE ARE NO SUBTITLES!! How are the hard of hearing supposed to cope with this when the solution is readily available and cheap!

Can't see this film as there are no subtitles. This is criminal.  High Fliers is now one of the only companies too cheap to include subtitles.

Can't watch this film as it has no subtitles. This is a serious failing - a company which is too cheap to provide subtitles and  has no thought for the hard of hearing 

and deaf people should not be allowed to continue in business. 

High Fliers are a cheap bunch (the worst) who have no thought for deaf people.

I can't hire this because IT HAS NO SUBTITLES.

A poor copy of a French film: Untouchable which is superior in every way, but probably this is a reasonable alternative if you don't like subtitles.

The transposition of the characters from black to white seems crass and unnecessary. The premise is good but why remake an already superb film?

This seems to be the American way - to subsume a plot and a language to satisfy the home market.  At best the US versions are perhaps as good as the original Japanese, Korean, British, French or Czech but few make this grade...most are pale imitations of the originals and this is no exception. Enjoyable only if you've never seen Untouchable.

Having watched this for a second time it was more apparent that they are different stories with very different characters in a very similar situation. I feel I owe it to the film and the director and actors to revise my opinion...The acting is excellent, the direction and filming are excellent....the story is well told. I enjoyed it immensely the second time around.

My apologies for my knee jerk opinion previously. 

Apart from one or two inspired moments this film has the hallmarks of a poor student project (even students can be creative).

There's little back story and a narrative which is full of holes, unexplained causes and consequences.  Washed out colour looks like an attempt to add  grit and a range of camera styles and lighting confuses the atmosphere. No real story. Hitching a ride on the bandwagon of revenge movies - not coming close to tension or threat. Waste of time, waste of money. I will add that the actors have potential but not with this director.

Again no subtitles for those of us with hearing issues.  

Stephen King is the emperor in his new clothes - nobody says it - it’s thin. One unexplained idea done to death with no explanations for events. The only thing holding The Shining together was Nicholson and the rest of the cast and crew...brilliant film making whitewashing dull Stephen King narrative. This is the same. Excellent cast, crew and direction of a dull insubstantial plotless farrago  by King. King is full of malevolent entities never explained.

Great film, dishwater story.

Well paced, well acted and directed - ticks all the revenge movie boxes. It’s predictable - but then all revenge movies are pretty much the same - this is a good one. You can believe Becky is capable - an excellent performance from Lulu Wilson.

As first glance this is tame. But the excellent actors, intriguing story, excellent photography and editing bring this Agatha Christie style 'murder in a house' mystery to fruition. Craig as the Poirot style detective, (with a cajun /French bayou background) takes a little warming to - were used to seeing him as the Englishman or American...here he's from the Deep South - a sort of Sherlock wannabe, and there are little digs in the script about his accent and his propensity to see his sidekick protagonist as Watson. The twists and turns in the plot leave no holes unfilled as people cover their tracks and secondary plot lines re-emerge to throw Craig's "Benoit" off the scent. Good stuff - well above some of the fare on offer at the moment made by actors taking on scripts as their bank balances diminish.