Tonester

Member since 5/25/2007, last signed in awhile ago.

"I'm Getting All Emotional"

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Personal statement:

Long time fan of Filmspotting from the Cinecast days onwards. Enjoy an eclectic mixture of stuff and saddened by the death of narrative cinema.

Other interests include music, conversation, sailing and skiing.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Children's/Family, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Crime, Epic, Film, TV & Radio, History, Horror, Music, Science & Technology, Sports & Recreation, Theater, Thriller, Visual Arts, War

Tonester's movie tags

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Re: Top 5 Character Introductions
By Tonester in Filmspotting
"If I may borrow from your most recent Top 5 Sea Movies, Robert Shaw as Quint in "Jaws", fingers scraping down the blackboard. Classic. " [More]

Das Boot

Re: Top 5 Sea/Water Movies
By Tonester in Filmspotting
"Agreed on Dead Calm, strip away those 80's cues (Billy Zane's Walkman for one) and this film holds up very well. Phillip Noyce is an underrated director - I have heard that his Rabbit Proof Fence is very good, but haven't seen it.I'd heard that Orson Welles had just about completed a very similar film to Dead Calm based on the same source material in the sixties, but so like so many of his projects he ran out of money before he could edit it. Welles himself was in the Sam Neill role, with Laurence Harvey playing the bad guy.Harvey is brilliantly cold in the original version of The Manchurian Candidate, this sounds like it could have been a lost gem.By the way, I still don't understand why Das Boot didn't get a mention. Somewhat ironically, it's much beloved here in the UK and frequently referenced in comedy and the like. I think this is because the mini series version shown on the BBC in the early 80's was probably the first foreign language movie I ... " [More]

The Professional

What's The French For Action Mo ...
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"Probably Leon - as this film is far better titled just about everywhere outside the States.Although it's a favourite of mine, it's always hard to watch Leon without feeling a little sad. Not at the film itself, which although touching has never raised a tear, but at the sorry state of Luc Bessons career following this.But we are not here to talk about Joan of Arc, we're here to talk about a man with a plant for a friend who just happens to be a hitman. Can you imagine pitching that to a Hollywood exec?But Besson and his team carry it off, with style and panache. The New York the film portrays is bathed in golden light, contrasting with the dark underbelly of Oldman's corrupt cop. A cartoon of a villain, he somehow gets away with it, his standout "dance of death" a balletic tour-de-force.Reno is fantastic - especially in his moments of stillness - and Portman too impresses considering her age and lack of acting experience. This is a dark role indeed for a d ... " [More]

L'Appartement

Mesmerising
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"With more more than a nod to Hitchcock's Vertigo, this is a terrific flick that deserves more exposure. It did garner a Hollywood remake (Wicker Park) directed by my fellow Scotsman Paul McGuigan, which isn't terrible, but isn't French either.Cassel is wonderfully enigmatic, Belluci is achingly beautiful, and Bohringer pretty but sad. It sounds heavy going, but Ecoffey is fine as the comic relief (a job given to Shaggy from "Scooby Doo" in the remake). " [More]

Millions

Visually Stunning With A Great ...
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"Or - the one Adam and Sam got soooo wrong!Danny Boyle makes a kids flick? It's this apparent paradox that movie snobs can't seem to get their heads around. With the exception of the genuinely weak "Life Less Ordinary", I've seen every one of Boyle's films in the cinema.I caught this at the London Film Festival back in 2004, and found it so enthralling that I raved about it to anyone who would listen. It seemed inexplicable that it didn't get a wide release here in the UK... and then the distributors finally brought it out against "Revenge of the Sith"...It's a very simple story, granted, but it's so beautifully shot and wonderfully acted - particularly by the two young leads - that it deserves to be more widely seen.Like "Shawshank", I have hopes that word of mouth will rescue this film from obscurity. Like "Shawshank", it makes me blub like a baby, and could seriously be considered an "It's A Wonderful Li ... " [More]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There Are Two Kinds Of People I ...
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"... those who have seen "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", and those who should!Shamefully I was in the latter category for all too long. I'd seen Leone's masterpiece - "Once Upon A Time In The West", but none of the more flippant fun of the Dollars Trilogy. Then I caught "Fistful" on TV here in the UK, and was utterly mesmerised.This one, though, is just a great great movie - combining art and entertainment into a cinematic masterpiece. And in its newly restored DVD, age has not withered it.I'd still love to catch it on the big screen though. " [More]

Hot Fuzz

Cornetto....
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"For many of us, the most amusing moments in life happen with our friends. We have an innate understanding of each others foibles and can get away with saying things that would earn a broken nose in the company of strangers.So imagine three people - Pegg, Frost and director Wright who've managed to capture their friendship onscreen. First in the genius TV show "Spaced", and latterly in "Shaun of the Dead". With "Hot Fuzz", the magic shows no sign of disappearing any time soon.All too many comedies have the best gags ruined in the trailer, but here, the little moments are amongst the funniest... and I'm thinking of the police station swearbox.It's not perfect - there are more endings than "Return of the King" and a Peter Jackson cameo, but if you "get it" you will be gasping for breath most of the way through. " [More]

28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later
By Tonester in Tonester Blog
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"I caught 28 Weeks Later at the excellent new cinema in Didcot, a mere twenty minutes away at only mildly illegal speeds.There's nothing mild about 28WL, though. If you like your horror full on you are unlikely to be disappointed, and as well as ticking the genre boxes there is depth to Fresnadillo's rage infested follow-up. Best seen cold, I'll spare the plot details, other than to say that this is not as rabidly anti-American as some may believe.Fine performances all around, with Carlyle on his best method form - although to my trained Scottish ear his accent was slightly inconsistent. Rose Byrne, as in many of her roles, evokes a poignant inner sadness. But the standout must be Imogen Poots who, if there's any justice in the world, will be stealing Keira Knightley's roles in a couple of years. She's already a considerably more able actress.If you can stomach the gore, very highly recommended. " [More]

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