david k frampton

The Criteria Movie Reviews is back!! Every 4 movies I review (that I’ve seen on the big screen) I bring pen to paper, or finger to typing board..and go TOTALLY emotive on the films I have witnessed/ worshipped/ despised and been horrified by.
Inception. Inception, Inception, Inception, hmmmm..what is it about Chris Nolan that appeals to me so much? He’s a pioneer of the ‘re-hook’ like Memento, Inception is so baffling that fans went back 3 or 4 times to work it out, he’s prolific, he employs spectacular lensmen, his stories are odd, quirky, but big scale, his sreen geography can be a bit ‘off’, but well..this all appeals to me. He feverishly works away at creating strange and beguling worlds that haunt or terrorise us, he isn’t perfect, no, but his in-perfection is somehow perfect. Inception is a strange beast boasting some great set pieces, staggering design and effects and some rather fun boy-hood fantasy action. It is a man’s film, it is made for men, by men. It’s MAN. Top fun, but not as face-dribbling as I wanted it to be. No doubt that 3 star will creep up to four on my 6th viewing (***). I then watched Toy Story 3. It is amazing. Could it be Pixar’s 1st horror movie? Scared me shitless, I can’t really say anything that insightful about it. It’s Pixar’s best since Up. (****) (when DO they drop the ball!?).
The Illusionist, this was everything that Toy Story wasn’t (in contrast), achingly slow, quiet, beautiful, slight, gentle. It was also cripplingly sad, gradually revealing the folly of magic, of a childhood dream, of an old trickster learning his trade is up, to be replaced by rock n’ roll..the onset of the late 1950s. The atmosphere created on screen was extraordinary, spellbinding and sombre. I love handdrawn animation and I think it’s underused..too much cgi these days. But then western oversaturation of that medium makes things like this all the more special (*****). Scott Pilgrim, what struck me about this film was despite costing in the region of 80million rather than Hotfuzz’s 5 mill, was how the laughs and general surreal fantastical humour had been kept in tact. This film was a sensory thrill ride that had been popping like pop over the wacky combat, ludicrous slapstick, and genuine emotional tug. It pulled all these things off managing at a very detailed and skillful level to keep the world it created in tact. This is a brilliant film, don’t hesitate to see it. (*****).