fairbrother’s Film Reviews

201 Films have been rated or reviewed by fairbrother.

Carnival of Souls (1962): A cheap B–quickie, for sure, but it tingles with such simple, eerie resonance you'll think you dreamed it. A must for any cult aficionado, who'll immediately spot the huge influence this has had over decades of subsequent genre flicks.
Halloween (1978): Laugh while you can at the B–grade script and acting, because the masterful camerawork, taut editing, and eerie music will eventually have you in a firm suspense–stranglehold despite yourself. One of the quintessential popcorn fright–flicks.
Honeymoon Killers, The (1970): Artless acting and a shoestring budget only enhance the nightmare authenticity of this gloriously lurid noir. Spiked with dark humor but driven by morbid desperation, it's the flipside to Bonnie & Clyde's sexed–up, studio–glossed myth–making.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016): If the women get short–shrift and the drama's on–the–nose at times – surprising from Ang Lee – this still resonates with an earnest, poignant compassion, and a welcome sideways look at the USA's compulsive hero–worship. Flawed but worthwhile.
Captain Phillips (2013): Hanks and Abdi make a great match. After an hour–plus of nail–biting suspense, the story loses a bit of steam, but it does ramp back up for a climactic reel with unexpected emotional kick. PS: "A Hijacking" maybe better (see below!).
Jaws (1975): Terror has seldom ever been so much fun. An inspired work of popcorn genius whose craft only gets more impressive with age. Ranks with Psycho as one of the great movie thrillers – essential viewing for any film fan.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013): A winning film about – gulp – failure. Great cast, evocative wintry cinematography, and indelible songs. The famously sharp Coen humor is here, but so is an aching, haunting sadness unprecedented in their work. Bittersweet perfection.
Raising Arizona (1985): The opening montage alone – ten head–spinning minutes of deadpan irony at a frantic, cartoonish pace – ranks among the best American cinema of the 1980's. Very funny and gloriously one–of–a–kind.
Gravity (2013): The dialogue and attempts at thematic depth are risible. But catch this on a big screen with surround sound and it's a stunning piece of cinema: the camerawork, sound, and editing truly immerse us in zero–G cosmic peril. Breath–taking.
Old Boy (Oldboy) (2004): Worth seeing for it's dazzlingly berserk first half: as frantic, funny, and exciting as anyone might tell you. But the rest rings ever hollower: a comic–book thriller with style and audacity but, for all its mad plot twists, no essential story.

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fairbrother’s Film Reviews