September 15, 2008
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This = Boredom SquaredSporting a great cast and a somewhat muddled script, famed Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia's uneven 2008 suspense yarn The Oxford Murders is the first truly indigestible feature this energetic director has ever delivered. How can a movie which contains solid performances from Elijah Wood, John Hurt, and Julie Cox effectively bore you to tears, you ask? It's simple: In his quest to deliver a brainy, twisty, off-beat murder mystery, Iglesia has forgotten to make things interesting, choosing instead to focus on ill-conceived love triangles, a murderously slow pace, and, unfortunately, Pythagoras' Theorem, the latter of which means absolutely nothing to me. Is this simply a case where the miserably undereducated reviewer is too stupid for the material he's presented with? Perhaps. However, that wouldn't explain why nothing snaps on-screen, from Iglesia's wooden dialogue to the exceedingly boring nature in which his characters interact. As it stands, The Oxford Murders is yet another desperately overlong teleplay masquerading as a full-length motion picture. Which is a genuine shame, really, considering Iglesia is one of my favorite directors working today. Sadly, I cannot recommend it. For math nerds only.
Recipe For Disaster: Sluggish Pacing + One Moribund Script + No Energy Makes Iglesia A Dull Boy
Red Herring Overload: Too many fish can spoil the soup.
Which is why I never attend feminist meetings.
4 Spasms:
I'm a math nerd, and with this review, I suppose I'd better be off watching The Beyond for the nth time.
This = Boredom squared. He hee, how appropriate.
Hi, my name's Momel. I have this blog where I write horror movie reviews and a whole truck of gay things. How about a link exchange, at least for the horror of it all?
Cheers!
Consider it done. Thanks for stopping by!
How do you find these movies?
I respect watching under-the-radar flicks but I could have told you this one was gonna be bad.
Also, I wrote about The Film Fiend this week over at He Shot Cyrus. Great work.
I generally love Iglesia's work, but this one almost put me to sleep. Even Elijah Wood and John Hurt couldn't massage this tumor.
Thanks for the plug on your website! I'm honored and humbled that you think so highly of the site.
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