Xtra-vision (Ireland's main rental chain) have a new deal on: three new releases for three nights for €10. I thought I'd take advantage of that this week. I decided I might as well make it three hopefully good ones to make it fully worth the tenner.
Rental 1: Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011).
It's about a young woman trying to get back in tune with normal life after running away from a sadistic cult.
When I looked up the movie afterwards, I found I'd somewhat misjudged it. The movie constantly shifts between the present and her time with the cult with no apparent order. Apparently, the idea was that this girl's line between memory and reality is becoming blurred, and that certainly becomes clear towards the end, but for most of the movie, I just thought it was fragmented editing and random flashbacks.
I definitely understood that she was being tormented by paranoia and fear that the cult may be coming after her, though. And she had good reason to fear them! I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say it's a really fucked up clan!
It's Elizabeth Olsen's screen debut, and she's just fantastic.
It's a wonderfully psychological movie, but something about the tone and style of the whole thing sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I can definitely say I've never seen a movie like this before, though!
My rating: 70%.
Rental 2: Shadow Dancer (2012).
It's about Colette, a woman hired by MI5 to spy on her brothers, who are involved with the IRA, for the sake of her son's welfare.
The only phrase I can think of to describe this movie is, "What a load of bore!" Maybe it'd make more sense to someone who knows more about IRA bombings or whatever, but this movie barely even bothers to explain what the IRA's deal is. So any ignorant slob like me who doesn't know their history is going to be totally lost!
I didn't understand any of the characters' motivations; I didn't even know who some of them were supposed to be.
Andrea Riseborough gives a great central performance, though, especially compared to the same year's WE: she's splendidly vulnerable, and her Belfast accent is far better than her American accent.
Overall, it's not bad, but it just didn't do a thing for me personally.
My rating: 50%.
And now we come to the big one! :) Rental 3: Dredd (2012).
I never read any of the comics, but everyone says this is a far more faithful adaptation than the Stallone movie. It basically has the same philosophy as The Amazing Spider-Man: "Forget the previous movies; this is how the comics were always meant to be brought to the screen!"
In any case, there's no denying it's a much darker movie too! Not only is it insanely violent, but it conveys a really strong sense of what a crime-infested hellhole the city is – completely the opposite of the Stallone movie, which is ironic considering how much bigger a budget and scale that movie had! :)
Basically, while I still like the Stallone movie for the over-the-top self-aware action flick that it is, there's no denying that this is by far the superior film. It's a terrifically dark action movie with clever ideas and thrills aplenty. It's a shame I didn't get to see it in 2012 itself, because it definitely would have been somewhere on my top ten favourites list.
My rating: 85%.
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