She works as a waitress, is married to a prick, is pregnant, and begins to have an affair with her doctor. Meanwhile, one of her co-workers meets a guy whom she thinks is too ugly but he is so insistent that she finally gives in; and another of her co-workers is having an affair with their boss.
A cliché movie, exclusively. Griffith's performance as the elderly customer is very good.
Rating: 33
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Auto Focus (2002)
Biopic on a TV actor highlighting his obsession with (self) voyeurism fueled by his friendship with a video expert.
A real downer, and none the less dull for it. Leibman's performance as the agent did impress me, though.
Rating: 44
A real downer, and none the less dull for it. Leibman's performance as the agent did impress me, though.
Rating: 44
Fido (2006)
Zombies can be controlled through a special collar which removes their desire for human flesh. They are used as servants. A family buys his first zombie and the son becomes attached to him.
Interesting comedic investigation of the social consequences of the zombie mythology as first laid out in Night of the Living Dead and subsequently explored in dozens of spin-offs.
Rating: 58
Interesting comedic investigation of the social consequences of the zombie mythology as first laid out in Night of the Living Dead and subsequently explored in dozens of spin-offs.
Rating: 58
Get Smart: Supersonic Boom (1967) (TV)
KAOS can send "sonic booms" over a distance. They threaten to destroy New York City unless they are paid a huge amount of money. Their hideout is at a car wash. The funniest sequence is when they simulate a plane trip with blindfolded Max and 99 so that the two will think the evil machine is being moved to Argentina.
Visitors (2003)
A woman making a solo trip around the world on a sailboat starts having visions.
Not really good (the 90 minute version I saw anyway, IMDb says there is a longer one); it throws in too many disparate elements (pirates, sea spiders, her dead relatives) without much justification. There are interesting elements in it, which aren't duly explored.
Rating: 38
Not really good (the 90 minute version I saw anyway, IMDb says there is a longer one); it throws in too many disparate elements (pirates, sea spiders, her dead relatives) without much justification. There are interesting elements in it, which aren't duly explored.
Rating: 38
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Blades of Glory (2007)
Two figure skaters, both male, are banned from competition for life. As the banishment is valid only within the singles category, they decide to team up as a pair.
The style of humor is blunt and unsophisticated, yet the general flow of the film is not unpleasant.
Rating: 41
The style of humor is blunt and unsophisticated, yet the general flow of the film is not unpleasant.
Rating: 41
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man fights a villain who turns into sand and an evil rubber-like substance from space which gives power to those wearing it.
Entertaining at times, more so at its humorous moments.
Rating: 43
Entertaining at times, more so at its humorous moments.
Rating: 43
Ash Wednesday (2002)
A man saves his brother's life by killing his would-be assassins, and then is forced to skip town. Three years later he comes back, putting his own life and his brother's in jeopardy.
Weak in more than one respect.
Rating: 34
Weak in more than one respect.
Rating: 34
Planet Terror (2007)
A toxic gas leaks and turns people into flesh-eating zombies; their condition is highly contagious. A few uncontaminated people take refuge at a barbecue restaurant.
This is a kind of parody of exploitation films, yet not a standard parody because instead of looking down on the genres it mimics it enthusiastically embraces them and exacerbates its characteristics. It also metacinematically reproduces the personal viewing experience of those bygone days with all the imperfections of projection and celluloid (even a missing reel is simulated). Despite the jovial spirit and some interesting ideas, however, the film is just not that good, feeding as it does on hyper-overused situations, in a frequently tiresome and repetitive way.
Rating: 42
This is a kind of parody of exploitation films, yet not a standard parody because instead of looking down on the genres it mimics it enthusiastically embraces them and exacerbates its characteristics. It also metacinematically reproduces the personal viewing experience of those bygone days with all the imperfections of projection and celluloid (even a missing reel is simulated). Despite the jovial spirit and some interesting ideas, however, the film is just not that good, feeding as it does on hyper-overused situations, in a frequently tiresome and repetitive way.
Rating: 42
Death of a President (2006)
Account of the fictional assassination of the current U.S. president.
Apparently storytellers from all media are backing off from the novellistic paradigm for the narrative of fiction and, as of In Cold Blood, even non-fiction as well. Now even fiction must be told in a documentary form. I don't like this trend at all. As for this film's story, it doesn't hold its own; some wild assumptions are made which don't stick (military men from a long lineage of soldiers do not face death (and war) the way this film depicts; a president's schedule sheet doesn't simply leak to protesters like that) and are obviously contrivances to give the liberal-minded plot its thrust.
Rating: 39
Apparently storytellers from all media are backing off from the novellistic paradigm for the narrative of fiction and, as of In Cold Blood, even non-fiction as well. Now even fiction must be told in a documentary form. I don't like this trend at all. As for this film's story, it doesn't hold its own; some wild assumptions are made which don't stick (military men from a long lineage of soldiers do not face death (and war) the way this film depicts; a president's schedule sheet doesn't simply leak to protesters like that) and are obviously contrivances to give the liberal-minded plot its thrust.
Rating: 39
Hollywoodland (2006)
Based on a real event, the death of a minor actor in 1959 by gunshot, the film shows an investigation and some hypotheses.
Entertaining and informative about the film and TV world of the 50's, but way too long and unfocused -- why all the subplots about the fictional detective if he should be just a plot device to allow the film to show all the possibilities without committing to just one? Note: there is no evidence (and all the people involved denied the event) that any of Reeves' footage in From Here to Eternity was cut, as is depicted here.
Rating: 57
Entertaining and informative about the film and TV world of the 50's, but way too long and unfocused -- why all the subplots about the fictional detective if he should be just a plot device to allow the film to show all the possibilities without committing to just one? Note: there is no evidence (and all the people involved denied the event) that any of Reeves' footage in From Here to Eternity was cut, as is depicted here.
Rating: 57
Requiem (2006)
About the ordeal which befell a real German girl named Anneliese Michel who reportedly had a gamut of neurological/psychiatric disorders which she eventually came to believe were due to supernatural influences.
A correct film. The crux of the drama lies at the mother, a character so heinous that the suggestion of her being the cause of her daughter's psychological imbalance seems immediately reasonable. She is probably a speculative character (I haven't been able to find any account confirming that the real-life mother was in fact like this), but I think this is a better theory for what happened than anything that involves demons. There was another film based on the same incident, The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), which tried to be "fair" to both sides, but you can't be fair to murderers and charlatans unless you call them exactly that.
Rating: 67
A correct film. The crux of the drama lies at the mother, a character so heinous that the suggestion of her being the cause of her daughter's psychological imbalance seems immediately reasonable. She is probably a speculative character (I haven't been able to find any account confirming that the real-life mother was in fact like this), but I think this is a better theory for what happened than anything that involves demons. There was another film based on the same incident, The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), which tried to be "fair" to both sides, but you can't be fair to murderers and charlatans unless you call them exactly that.
Rating: 67
Footsteps (2003) (TV)
A woman novelist arrives home and finds someone broke in. A young man is inside who claims he is just a fan and the door was already open when he arrived. Subsequently another man appears claiming to be a cop.
It plays with the viewer's expectations in a mildly interesting way.
Rating: 36
It plays with the viewer's expectations in a mildly interesting way.
Rating: 36
The Goldbergs: Member of the Jury (1955) (TV)
Alternate episode title: The Jury.
Molly is summoned for jury duty.
Excellent episode. Having seen only two episodes of this show, I am already in love with it. Notice that this episode precedes 12 Angry Men by two years, and makes for an interesting comparison with that movie. A final note: there is one little detail about this show, however, which doesn't sit well with me: the children are so physically dissimilar from their parents that they seem to belong to a whole different family.
Molly is summoned for jury duty.
Excellent episode. Having seen only two episodes of this show, I am already in love with it. Notice that this episode precedes 12 Angry Men by two years, and makes for an interesting comparison with that movie. A final note: there is one little detail about this show, however, which doesn't sit well with me: the children are so physically dissimilar from their parents that they seem to belong to a whole different family.
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
A middle-aged movie star looks for his son, about whose existence he has just heard.
Characters don't seem to act in a realistic manner, perhaps because if they did there wouldn't be much conflict and that would deflate the movie.
Rating: 35
Characters don't seem to act in a realistic manner, perhaps because if they did there wouldn't be much conflict and that would deflate the movie.
Rating: 35
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) (TV)
The owner of the theater where the Muppets are about to perform their Christmas show threatens them with eviction.
Mostly consisting of spoofs of hyped film or TV productions. One or two funny bits, and that's all.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 32
Mostly consisting of spoofs of hyped film or TV productions. One or two funny bits, and that's all.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 32
Zodiac (2007/I)
A serial killer terrorizes the San Francisco area in the late 60's and early 70's.
Well made and engaging. The film bears a strong thematic resemblance to Salinui chueok (2003), aka Memories of Murder, but I for some reason found Zodiac more appealing.
Rating: 69
Well made and engaging. The film bears a strong thematic resemblance to Salinui chueok (2003), aka Memories of Murder, but I for some reason found Zodiac more appealing.
Rating: 69
Cord (2000)
Alternate title: Hide and Seek.
A sterile couple kidnaps a pregnant woman and fakes her death.
Basically one satirical character (done in a very over-the-top manner) surrounded by straightforward ones. Faintly interesting.
Rating: 31
A sterile couple kidnaps a pregnant woman and fakes her death.
Basically one satirical character (done in a very over-the-top manner) surrounded by straightforward ones. Faintly interesting.
Rating: 31
Lady in the Water (2006)
A creature comes out of a swimming pool.
The worst film ever. It bears some plot affinities with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Rating: 0
The worst film ever. It bears some plot affinities with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Rating: 0
Saw III (2006)
A dying man kidnaps a doctor and forces her to look after him while he submits a man whom he also kidnapped to a series of psychological tests.
Very bad.
Rating: 6
Very bad.
Rating: 6
Ratatouille (2007)
A rat wants to be a chef.
Beneath analysis. The graphical aspect is laudable.
Rating: 21
Beneath analysis. The graphical aspect is laudable.
Rating: 21
The Sopranos: The First Season (1999) (TV)
It is about a family of New Jersey mafiosi.
Watchable show.
Watchable show.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)
A widow produces a nude show in London in the 30's and 40's.
Very professionally done at all departments and has its amusing bits.
Rating: 53
Very professionally done at all departments and has its amusing bits.
Rating: 53
Ripley Under Ground (2005)
Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith (1st ed. 1970).
When a promising young painter dies in an accident, its only witnesses hide that fact and by using the painting skills of one member of the group continue to produce paintings as if they were made by the deceased.
Entertaining in a superficial manner. Implausible at times.
Rating: 42
When a promising young painter dies in an accident, its only witnesses hide that fact and by using the painting skills of one member of the group continue to produce paintings as if they were made by the deceased.
Entertaining in a superficial manner. Implausible at times.
Rating: 42
Bobby (2006)
Several characters living or working at a hotel at which a politician is about to be assassinated.
I suppose this is in the same line of Vicki Baum or Arthur Hailey, although I have not read their respective hotel novels. Parts of this are mildly interesting, and here I am thinking especially at all the bits involving the hotel kitchen employees; I haven't the slightest clue as to why on Earth we should be interested, e.g. in the adultery subplot, or in the lonely old chess player. They have nothing to do with politics or the 60's, and they're too unspecific to fit in with the rest of the film.
Rating: 42
I suppose this is in the same line of Vicki Baum or Arthur Hailey, although I have not read their respective hotel novels. Parts of this are mildly interesting, and here I am thinking especially at all the bits involving the hotel kitchen employees; I haven't the slightest clue as to why on Earth we should be interested, e.g. in the adultery subplot, or in the lonely old chess player. They have nothing to do with politics or the 60's, and they're too unspecific to fit in with the rest of the film.
Rating: 42
The Goldbergs: Social Butterfly (1955) (TV)
First aired on September 29, 1955.
Synopsis from Classic TV Archive: "Molly finds the going rough when she attempts to make friends with her new neighbors in Haversville. [JB]"
Lovable sitcom episode, the only one I have seen of this show (I have listened to one radio episode (review on 2008-04), but my understanding of it was imperfect).
This episode can be watched on the archive.org website (or downloaded from it).
Synopsis from Classic TV Archive: "Molly finds the going rough when she attempts to make friends with her new neighbors in Haversville. [JB]"
Lovable sitcom episode, the only one I have seen of this show (I have listened to one radio episode (review on 2008-04), but my understanding of it was imperfect).
This episode can be watched on the archive.org website (or downloaded from it).
Rent (2005)
Based on the musical play by Jonathan Larson which opened in its final version in 1996; the play is based on the 1896 opera La Bohème, composed by Giacomo Puccini (music) and Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa (libretto), which in turn was based on the novel Scènes de la vie de bohème, by Henri Murger (1st ed. 1849).
A musical about a group of young artists living in the East Village, most of whom are HIV positive.
I can't complain too much about this film; I found it well staged (most of the cast is from the original stage production's), very well sung, and has some interesting songs. The script is not anything to write home about though.
Rating: 47
A musical about a group of young artists living in the East Village, most of whom are HIV positive.
I can't complain too much about this film; I found it well staged (most of the cast is from the original stage production's), very well sung, and has some interesting songs. The script is not anything to write home about though.
Rating: 47
Robocop 3 (1993)
A big American corporation is sold to a Japanese one who intends to build a gigantic project in Detroit and in order to achieve that goal has to evict people from their houses. The government has entirely sold out to corporate interests but a small underground resistance group fights back. Robocop ends up joining the latter.
Although the subject is a little worn out after two films with the same character, this is a watchable, and even mildly entertaining film.
Rating: 43
Although the subject is a little worn out after two films with the same character, this is a watchable, and even mildly entertaining film.
Rating: 43
Night and the City (1992)
A third-rate lawyer tries to make it as a boxing promoter.
The central performance is great and justifies the film, even though in terms of screenplay alone it is just the occasionally dull spectacle of a person's life going wrong in every possible way, not because reality is necessarily like that, or because this guy's personality attracts evil in some way (although this is somehow implied by the film, an unwarranted and overly pessimistical stance), but simply because the filmmakers chose to show a guy whose hopes are shattered. Knowing that this is based on a 1950 film, and even without having seen that film, I get the impression that that time frame is a much more believable one for this story and my comments might even not apply to it then.
Rating: 53
The central performance is great and justifies the film, even though in terms of screenplay alone it is just the occasionally dull spectacle of a person's life going wrong in every possible way, not because reality is necessarily like that, or because this guy's personality attracts evil in some way (although this is somehow implied by the film, an unwarranted and overly pessimistical stance), but simply because the filmmakers chose to show a guy whose hopes are shattered. Knowing that this is based on a 1950 film, and even without having seen that film, I get the impression that that time frame is a much more believable one for this story and my comments might even not apply to it then.
Rating: 53
Sunday, November 09, 2008
La tourneuse de pages (2006)
English title: The Page Turner.
A young woman employs herself as a governess for the woman whom she deems responsible for thwarting her career as a pianist.
Mean-spirited revenge yarn which oscillates between implausibility and predictability. It borrows some plot ideas from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
Rating: 23
A young woman employs herself as a governess for the woman whom she deems responsible for thwarting her career as a pianist.
Mean-spirited revenge yarn which oscillates between implausibility and predictability. It borrows some plot ideas from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
Rating: 23
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Deathwatch (2002)
In 1917, a group of British soldiers takes a German trench and one by one they fall victim to an evil force which haunts the place.
Just awful.
SPOILER BELOW
This film is a variation of Una pura formalità (1994).
Rating: 6
Just awful.
SPOILER BELOW
This film is a variation of Una pura formalità (1994).
Rating: 6
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Whodunit (1956) (TV)
A mystery novelist dies and goes to heaven. The angel tells him he was murdered.
Another delightful story. At this point of my viewing it is safe to state that this is one of the greatest TV shows ever.
Another delightful story. At this point of my viewing it is safe to state that this is one of the greatest TV shows ever.
Joshua (2007)
An evil boy plots against his father and mother.
The person nicknamed "robsfilms", writing on the Internet Movie Database Message Board, summed it up magnificently: "terrible,horrible, stupid, and RIDICULOUS". I am not sure whether this film deserves further comments, but in any case, just for the record, some of its ideas have previously appeared in the South Park episode called The Wacky Molestation Adventure (2000) and in the movie Freddy Got Fingered (2001).
Rating: 6
The person nicknamed "robsfilms", writing on the Internet Movie Database Message Board, summed it up magnificently: "terrible,horrible, stupid, and RIDICULOUS". I am not sure whether this film deserves further comments, but in any case, just for the record, some of its ideas have previously appeared in the South Park episode called The Wacky Molestation Adventure (2000) and in the movie Freddy Got Fingered (2001).
Rating: 6
Ripley's Game (2002)
Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith (1st ed. 1974).
After having been insulted at a party by his terminally ill host, Ripley decides to play a game with him by suggesting his name to a friend who is in need of an assassin.
The snubbery which Americans notoriously get from Brits provides the point of departure for an interesting development; Ripley, an American living in Italy, intends to teach his offender a lesson through a "game". In what regards the more down-to-earth aspect of the plausibility of specific murder sequences the film falls a little short. Its main focus, however, is the psychological transformations which operate in the two main characters, which is a fascinating process but probably needs a literary medium to be properly fleshed out (I haven't read the novel in question, therefore cannot say whether it accomplishes this task satisfactorily).
Rating: 56
After having been insulted at a party by his terminally ill host, Ripley decides to play a game with him by suggesting his name to a friend who is in need of an assassin.
The snubbery which Americans notoriously get from Brits provides the point of departure for an interesting development; Ripley, an American living in Italy, intends to teach his offender a lesson through a "game". In what regards the more down-to-earth aspect of the plausibility of specific murder sequences the film falls a little short. Its main focus, however, is the psychological transformations which operate in the two main characters, which is a fascinating process but probably needs a literary medium to be properly fleshed out (I haven't read the novel in question, therefore cannot say whether it accomplishes this task satisfactorily).
Rating: 56
300 (2006)
The famous story of the 300 Spartans is freely fictionalized in this.
It makes points of style out of poor writing and cinematic lack of imagination .
Rating: 32
It makes points of style out of poor writing and cinematic lack of imagination .
Rating: 32
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
The owner of the casino they robbed locate them and demands that his money is returned to him, or else he will kill them. They have to do more robbings in order to raise the owed money. A French thief gets in their way and wants a duel of skills.
Negligible.
Rating: 23
Negligible.
Rating: 23
Sixty Six (2006)
A boy's bar mitzvah's date coincides with the soccer World Cup finals.
You can laugh a bit, I guess.
Rating: 46
You can laugh a bit, I guess.
Rating: 46
Rescue Dawn (2006)
A U.S. Navy pilot is shot down during a bombing mission in Laos in 1965. He is captured and made prisoner. Based on a real story.
This film derives most of its strength from verisimilitude. It is sacrificed only in the admitted downtoning of torture; the acting, on the other hand, is a strong asset.
Rating: 69
This film derives most of its strength from verisimilitude. It is sacrificed only in the admitted downtoning of torture; the acting, on the other hand, is a strong asset.
Rating: 69
Saving Face (2004)
A young lesbian must confront her mother who won't accept the former's sexual orientation; also, the latter is pregnant but won't reveal who the father is.
Slightly interesting.
Rating: 44
Slightly interesting.
Rating: 44
Backtrack (1990)
Alternate name: Catchfire.
A hit man falls in love with his target, a woman who witnessed a mob execution.
Well acted and moderately entertaining, but didn't really impress me, maybe - but not likely - because I saw the cut version.
Rating: 44
A hit man falls in love with his target, a woman who witnessed a mob execution.
Well acted and moderately entertaining, but didn't really impress me, maybe - but not likely - because I saw the cut version.
Rating: 44
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