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The Oxford Murders [2008]


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"Excruciating" and "codswallop" they said
Review date: 2008-12-05 Rating: 2 out of 10

I'll be honest - as a bloke I had a fair idea this wouldn't be my cup of tea when I bought it (as a gift). But even I was surprised when after just fifteen minutes of teeth itching, toe curling embarrassment, I had to leave its domestic premier. But what should really matter to prospective purchasers is that my wife and my mother (both of whom thrive on a diet of Morsesummer murder mysteries and Dan Brown) also threw in the towel about thirty minutes later. I only hope they'll forgive me in time for Christmas.

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Reviews


Dull. So very, very dull
Review date: 2008-11-16 Rating: 6 out of 10

The book this film was adapted from is excellent. It's taut, philosophical, thrilling, intelligent and manages to be sexy in a slightly fustymusty high-brow sort of way.

Elijah Wood (of The Lord of the Rings fame) plays Martin, an American mathematical genius who is in Oxford doing his thesis. John Hurt (why was he in this?!) plays Arthur Seldom, his thesis professor. Guillermo Martinez (the author) is a mathematician, and his passion for numbers and puzzles is glaringly obvious... that part has transitioned well, and there's nowt wrong whatsoever with discussing the philosophy of maths. I just don't know if it's a medium suitable for the big screen. You see, there is *lots* of philosophising about, for example, the (possibly) absolute truth of maths... in fact, the bulk of the film consists of the characters debating mathematical and philosophical concepts.

They discuss the Vesica Piscis (which plays a larger role in the film than you'd expect), Gödel's Theorem, logical series (in relation to Fibonacci sequences), the tetraktys, Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty, the concept of "the perfect crime", "Fermat"'s Last Theorem, the Taniyama conjecture, the Pythagoreans... you get the idea. They discuss and debate that stuff seemingly endlessly at times, so if this paragraph has you wanting to stick a fork in your thigh, the film itself will make you want to end your life. I love me some maths, but this was far too much, and it quickly crossed a line into dull.

The rest of it is made up of a murder mystery side-story, which is grand, but it isn't really involving enough to make up for the soporific soliloquies. Equally, the story line involving Martin's girlfriend Lorna (mysterious nurse) is dreadfully done. The twists and turns aren't terribly interesting, where in the book you actually do give a damn, and want to find out what on earth she's playing at.

On the plus side, Oxford looks absolutely stunning. I mean, seriously, it looks gorgeous, and so quintessentially British. It's the 4th major character of the film, and the university and countryside are filmed to almost hyper-real perfection.

So, there's the good with the bad - your views on maths will determine your level of interest. However, the one thing *no-one* will be able to stomach is Frodo (who still looks about 15, by the way) splattering spaghetti bolognese onto Lorna's norks and licking it off. It is, without a doubt, the singularly least sexy thing I have ever seen and, bless him, even Frodo seems reluctant to have a go. Most depressing love scene ever committed to celluloid, and if sex was really like that, none of us would ever have any of it ever again. Ever.

3 stars for the intrigue, originality and cinematography... minus eleventy billion stars for incorect usage of pasta.

Not as good as it could have been, but still entertaining.
Review date: 2008-10-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

The Oxford Murders is not as bad as people say it is. Okay, so it was straight to DVD and there is an over-acted Eastern European in it. But that doesnt stop it being a good film.
The characters are interesting and the maths behind it is easy to follow. The plot makes sense and the muders all different.
The thing is, the film was entertaining and it kept me interested all the way through. John Hurt does acts his role of Arthur Seldom well and Elijah Wood gives a decent performance. He did well and it annoys me that people keep relating him with Frodo. He is an actor and is supposed to play different roles, to keep him held down with one character is not fair on the guy.
All in all, a very enjoyable film to watch and I would recommened it to any one who enjoys the Thriller Genre.
8/10.



Disappointing
Review date: 2008-10-10 Rating: 4 out of 10

I thought this was a pretty awful film. The plot did not hang together well and it was intellectually pretentious without any real substance. Quite frankly, Waking the Dead or even Midsomer Murders are more entertaining alternatives and cost a lot less to make and indeed, to watch.
C.H.Innes

What is everyone complaining about?
Review date: 2008-10-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

I watched this film dreading it was going to turn out just like the reviews said so. I watched the first ten minutes and was interested in the idea of numbers having meaning etc etc already. I waited for the storyline to turn into a load of rubbish but it never happened.

I found the whole plot enticing and was always looking forward for the next piece of evidence to be revealed and the next mystery to be solved. It is like an elaborate crime thriller and I can see how it was compared to the Da Vinci code the whole feel of the film is very similar.

There were of course some negaitve points as there are with any film such as the somewhat unneccessary dubbing and perhaps the film could have stayed on the main storyline and not got as sidetracked. But other than that there are no other major problems.

I can't really tell you much about the storyline itself without giving away important pieces of the film. But the basic plot is that there is a series of murders happening in or around Oxford with Mathmatical symbols left at each one. A proffesor and a determined student of Maths try to uncover the mystery in order to prevent anyone else dying. Everyone could be a suspect and the whole idea of Trust no-one comes into play.

Overall I rate this film quite highly it is not a huge blockbuster but it does appeal to those interested in Philosophy, Maths and most importantly crime solving storylines. My advice is don't listen to all the people who lost interest after 5 minutes so decided to write an entire review on the whole movie based on the opening credits. Give it a try.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
John Hurt
Elijah Wood
Leonor Watling

Creators:
Elijah Wood (Primary Contributor)
John Hurt (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Contender Home Entertainment Group
Manufacturer: Contender Home Entertainment Group
EAN: 5030305512057
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-09-01
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2008
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Original Language)

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