fairbrother’s Film Reviews
201 Films have been rated or reviewed by fairbrother.
Hell or High Water (2016)
Exceptionally satisfying crime drama that delivers the requisite thrills with grit, wit, thematic depth, and emotional resonance. Bridges and Foster give especially fine performances. An unassuming bullseye.- DVD
$15$11.25, $29.95 | Blu-Ray $34.95 
Wind River (2017)
The script is bow–taut and arrow–sharp, the acting understated but forthright. As a hybrid western/thriller, it's compelling, satisfying genre entertainment; as an expose of systemic injustice, it's clear–eyed and stirring.
Hereditary (2018)- It's a genuinely scary occult tale but Hereditary's true power lies in its wrenching vision of that horror most horror films dare not touch: grief. Collette is astonishing – to say the rest of the cast hold their own is no small praise.
Peep Show (TV Series) (2003-2015)- Despicably cynical, shamefully relatable, and utterly hilarious. You'll feel bad for laughing so hard.
Signs (2002)
Gibson's presence maybe divisive, but Signs is so genuinely scary it feels like a new suspense classic... until the final five minutes, which collapse into such clumsy, insulting nonsense you wanna slap the screen. D'oh!
Drive (2011)- Refn's emphatic stylization channels Michael Mann, Walter Hill, and Brian De Palma: if Tarantino told stories with pictures instead of dialogue, they might be like this. The result's a formal wet–dream, but so doggedly "cool" it starts to ring hollow.
Extract (2009)- Televisual rather than cinematic, yes, but if you catch its droll wavelength it's very funny, sharply–acted (even Ben Affleck kills!), and (for a US sex comedy) refreshingly dry. Like Judge's other films, it gets funnier with repeat views.
Fight Club (1999)- The taunting nihilism is brash but true to its subject: dangerously misguided machismo. The fierce cynicism and manic social angst are perhaps even more pertinent 20 years later. A flawed but phenomenal horror–comedy.
A Quiet Place (2018)- An A–grade B–movie. Digital monsters notwithstanding, it's effectively old–fashioned, delivering suspense and chills with a cinematic confidence worthy of prime Spielberg. Well–acted, also, and not a second too long.
- DVD
$15$11.25 
Aliens (1986)- Like the original Alien, only hijacked by a Vietnam war flick. Cameron's nerve and verve pay off, fantastically: first half, all nervy build–up, second half, all thrills and spills. The pre–digital FX rock. A modern classic, surely?
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