Geoffrey Wiseman

Three Movies

Over the past week or two, I've seen three new films:

The Grey

I like Liam Neeson and Dallas Roberts, and the rest of the cast is pretty solid. It's man-vs-nature, man-vs-wolf, and it's pretty well done on the whole, but ultimately not memorable for me. I wouldn't recommend it or warn you away.

China Heavyweight

I enjoyed this documentary, focusing on the story of western-style boxing in China and a small cast of people whose lives have been shaped by it. I enjoy documentaries that are filmed without an explicit editorial voice (although obviously there's an implicit voice in the editing process in terms of what's filmed and how it's cut). It's slow moving in places, but mostly in a good way.

The Hunter

Probably my favorite of the three. Willem Dafoe is almost always very good, and is here as well. I'm somewhat indifferent to Sam Neil most of the time, but he's not bad here. Frances O'Connor, Finn Woodlock and especially Morgana Davies are charming, and really help to ground Willem's protagonist. Finn's character is sullen and talks very little, but he carries it.

Willem's character is charged with locating and killing what might be the last Tasmanian Tiger. Complications ensue. The setting and plot are fine, but the acting is what makes this a good film. I'd recommend this.