carbon14 Blog

I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch this or not.

On the one hand it's based on work by Isaac Asimov
On the other, it's got Robin Williams in it.

Let's be honest, his career so far has been a bit hit and miss. He's very very watchable in some films, and then completely mawkish in others. This film struck me as having the potential to be firmly in the latter category. But it wasn't that bad. In fact I think it was quite good.

It was billed as a comedy; I'm not sure it deserves that at all. It is gently amusing throughout, but it's not played for laughs and it is extremely sentimental. It never dissolves into mawkishness, nor does it tug too hard on the heartstrings. On the whole I think it finds a good place to sit and works well.

Williams plays the lead very well, a sustained performance that conveys the character and his hopes and dreams perfectly. He's ably supported by Sam Neill and Embeth Davidtz. In fact, all the roles, are well played. I can't find anything wrong with it except...

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I don't get to the cinema as often as I would like. I don't want to go on my own and my tastes in film don't often coincide with those of others.

I did get to see Hot Fuzz this week. And I have to say that I was mightily impressed.

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I had reasonably high hopes for this film. Another outing for Equilibrium writer / director Kurt Wimmer. Was I disappointed?

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In a world where emotion is chemically suppressed and feelings are forbidden, a cleric sworn to uphold this law fails to take his morning dose.

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