redrobinfilmreviews

Hugo
Delightful Scorsese film about a boy who winds the clock in a train station in Paris and the characters he gets to know there. Very much a children’s story, but wonderfully done as a paean to the art and impact of filmmaking. Pretty enjoyable, if a little simple. **

The Rum Diary
Movie based on a Hunter Thompson novel about a writer who goes to Puerto Rico to work as a journalist. Can’t do anything about the corruption, so he sails off in a stolen boat. Acting was good enough, and the characters had a start on being interesting, but it all seemed too shallow here. Plot showed its age. Could have missed it. **

In Time
Stupid movie about a technologically advanced future where time-to-live has replaced money. Demonstrates only how bad an actor Justin Timberlake is. Complete waste of time, ha ha. *

The Whistleblower
Completely depressing movie about human trafficking in Eastern Europe based on actual events. Deeply troubling because it shows the way the most evil conduct is institutionalized by wealth and greed to the point that it is really impossible for any person to do anything about it. Pretty well acted by a good cast. **

London Boulevard
Pretty good adaptation of the Ken Bruen novel, though I never really like Colin Farrell. Ending had the bleakness of Bruen, but the rest of it was pretty shallow, especially what was supposed to be the developing love between Farrell and Knightley. David Thewlis was good as usual. Not a total waste of time, I guess. **