Saturday 30 January 2016

Awakenings ( 1990 ) and The Hole ( 2009 )









                   A doctor discovers a drug to wake up catatonic patients.








Starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.


Written by Oliver Sacks ( Novel) and Steven Zaillian ( Screenplay )



Directed by Penny Marshall.








This is superb!





It ticks all of the boxes as to what a movie should be. To be honest I've had it on my Sky box for a few weeks and never really fancied watching it for some reason. But it really is worthy of as many accolades as it's been given.


The story sucks you in right from the beginning and two two main actors are brilliant. I've seen a few De Niro films now and this is the best I've seen him by far. His portrayal of the first catatonic patient to wake up is worthy of an Oscar. I knew he was a great actor but this performance is top drawer. Robin Williams is brilliantly understated and together they are perfect castings.




Awakenings is tearjerker and the plot won't have you on the edge of your seat, it will have you reaching for the tissues. It's an incredibly moving film. Well acted, well directed and with a great soundtrack. Brilliant!






This could be an early favourite to be my favourite movie watched this year.







10/10













    


               Two brothers discover a mysterious hole in their basement.








Starring Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett and Nathan Gamble.


Written by Mark L Smith.




Directed by Joe Dante.







I remember watching Gremlins in the cinema as a teenager and hating it. Everybody else in the place was laughing their heads off but I just didn't get it. This is directed by the same guy and I didn't really get this either.



It's not terrible, just very average. Average acting, an average premise ( that's been done many times before on TV and in the movies) and average cinematography. There are a few positives. Haley Bennett in a swimming costume being one of them ( she was 21 when this was made so don't shoot me!) and there were some fun, creepy moments. But this is a movie that tries to be Beetlejuice but ends up coming across as a low budget TV version.




A few fun moments but not that great.






6/10











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