I’ve been on a bit of a 90s thriller binge lately including a couple of Michael Douglas films, Basic Instinct and Disclosure, as well as Copycat with Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. Basic Instinct was really good, the two leads had great chemistry and it was very well made, although the conclusion was predictable. Disclosure and Copycat weren’t as enjoyable. Both suffered from bloated stories with too many things going on and underdeveloped antagonists, although I loved the 90s internet stuff which was very nostalgic.
I also watched Flowers of War, which is this strange Chinese film with Christian Bale in it. He feels very randomly cast at first - the first third is very typical Chinese drama with overacting, including from Bale, and Chinese war hero/nationalism stuff (it is set during the Rape of Nanjing). I was losing interest, but then it took a right turn and became a smaller scale personal drama that really started to develop its characters. It ended up being an enjoyable watch and a well made film, despite the slow start.
Finally, I watched The Mastermind (on MUBI, which I’ve recently started using). It’s an amateur heist/comedy of errors type film with an indie feel. It’s a bit slow but I think that’s sort of the point, it really labours on the weight of the main character’s poor decisions and the ending is very fitting.
I’ve been on a bit of a 90s thriller binge lately including a couple of Michael Douglas films, Basic Instinct and Disclosure, as well as Copycat with Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. Basic Instinct was really good, the two leads had great chemistry and it was very well made, although the conclusion was predictable. Disclosure and Copycat weren’t as enjoyable. Both suffered from bloated stories with too many things going on and underdeveloped antagonists, although I loved the 90s internet stuff which was very nostalgic.
I also watched Flowers of War, which is this strange Chinese film with Christian Bale in it. He feels very randomly cast at first - the first third is very typical Chinese drama with overacting, including from Bale, and Chinese war hero/nationalism stuff (it is set during the Rape of Nanjing). I was losing interest, but then it took a right turn and became a smaller scale personal drama that really started to develop its characters. It ended up being an enjoyable watch and a well made film, despite the slow start.
Finally, I watched The Mastermind (on MUBI, which I’ve recently started using). It’s an amateur heist/comedy of errors type film with an indie feel. It’s a bit slow but I think that’s sort of the point, it really labours on the weight of the main character’s poor decisions and the ending is very fitting.