Adam, while looking for cattle rustlers, comes across a wounded man and helps him. He stays with his family for a few days and gets suspicious.
While some episodes have been undisputably brilliant, the bulk of this show must be taken with great reservations due to the disturbing ideology that pervades it. The episodes are structured in such a way as to make the Cartwrights a breed apart relatively to the rest of the world; everyone else is either made to look evil or made to look good only inasmuch as they conform to a standard which is set by the Cartwrights.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Bonanza: Gift of Water (1962) (TV)
The Cartwrights help a rancher find water in a period of drought.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Bonanza: The Ride (1962) (TV)
So-so episode where Adam witnesses a murder and recognizes the murderer, although he was wearing a hood. He then tries to prove it was him.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996)
In the first act, we see a series of vignettes depicting the everyday life of Palestinians living in Israel. This is followed by a very threadbare storyline of a misplaced walkie-talkie which is used to confound the Israeli police. More vignettes, some involving the police, some involving Palestinians, follow.
There is a likeable quality about this guy, a rigor of form combined with a spontaneity of discourse, which unfortunately are not enough to dispell the dullness which pervades his films (the two of them I have seen, that is).
Rating: 44
There is a likeable quality about this guy, a rigor of form combined with a spontaneity of discourse, which unfortunately are not enough to dispell the dullness which pervades his films (the two of them I have seen, that is).
Rating: 44
Friday, June 25, 2010
Big (1988)
A 13 year old kid wishes he were bigger, and then his body is transformed overnight into that of an adult.
The central attraction of this is, I suppose, the spectacle of an adult actor playing a child. To make this a "regular" fiction film, they have to fill it with additional aspects, such as the concept of a completely innocent man who is thought to be a big threat and a genius (more or less the same concept of Being There). The ideology of the film goes along the lines of kids = playing = industrial toys. As one sees, everything revolves around consuming, always. The key moment of the film is when 'Baskin' asks (about a toy which consists of a building which turns into a robot): "Why is this any fun?" This is key because it is where the film internalizes its spectator's reaction to most of it.
Rating: 41
The central attraction of this is, I suppose, the spectacle of an adult actor playing a child. To make this a "regular" fiction film, they have to fill it with additional aspects, such as the concept of a completely innocent man who is thought to be a big threat and a genius (more or less the same concept of Being There). The ideology of the film goes along the lines of kids = playing = industrial toys. As one sees, everything revolves around consuming, always. The key moment of the film is when 'Baskin' asks (about a toy which consists of a building which turns into a robot): "Why is this any fun?" This is key because it is where the film internalizes its spectator's reaction to most of it.
Rating: 41
Bonanza: The Storm (1962) (TV)
Torturing episode about a sick young woman who visits the Ponderosa with her father. She and Joe fall in love with each other.
Bonanza: The Auld Sod (1962) (TV)
Weak episode in which a woman comes from Ireland to visit her son. She thinks that he is the owner of the Ponderosa but in reality he is the town drunk.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Bonanza: The Tall Stranger (1962) (TV)
Weak episode in which Hoss wants to marry a woman who dumps him for another man who turns out to be a crook.
Flood (2007) (TV)
About a tidal wave that floods London.
Weak yet delivers a few of the basic thrills this kind of spectacle usually does.
Rating: 33
Weak yet delivers a few of the basic thrills this kind of spectacle usually does.
Rating: 33
Bonanza: The Lady from Baltimore (1962) (TV)
Weak episode in which a woman wants to set up a marriage between her daughter and Little Joe.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Women (1939)
A woman finds out that her husband is having an affair with a shopgirl and files for divorce. Her gossiping female friends are going through problems of their own.
In Borges' The Garden of Forking Paths, we read the following exchange:
_"In a riddle whose answer is chess, what is the only prohibited word?"
I thought a moment and replied, "The word chess."_
Now, not every work of fiction qualifies as an enigma, and for a simple reason: many are simply too straightforward in their intentions. But I think the reasoning of that character from Borges still applies in those cases. Take The Women, for example. By design, there is no male character in it. And yet, men are in the center of every deed and utterance displayed in it. This original concept is the film's strength, above its datedness (which is somewhat debatable, since it has been recently remade, I do not know how faithfully), and its classist (the villain is the proletarian) and sexist (the "good" wife's victory in the end means her taking her husband back) morals.
Rating: 57
In Borges' The Garden of Forking Paths, we read the following exchange:
_"In a riddle whose answer is chess, what is the only prohibited word?"
I thought a moment and replied, "The word chess."_
Now, not every work of fiction qualifies as an enigma, and for a simple reason: many are simply too straightforward in their intentions. But I think the reasoning of that character from Borges still applies in those cases. Take The Women, for example. By design, there is no male character in it. And yet, men are in the center of every deed and utterance displayed in it. This original concept is the film's strength, above its datedness (which is somewhat debatable, since it has been recently remade, I do not know how faithfully), and its classist (the villain is the proletarian) and sexist (the "good" wife's victory in the end means her taking her husband back) morals.
Rating: 57
Friday, June 18, 2010
Bonanza: The Frenchman (1961) (TV)
A French poet and his sister stay as guests at the Ponderosa. Bad episode.
Bon voyage (2003)
World War II. German invasion of France. A movie actress. Her ex-lover, a writer, takes the blame for her crime. A scientist trying to smuggle heavy water out of France. His female assistant. A cellmate of the screenwriter. A cabinet minister who is the actress's present lover. A reporter who is a German spy. They all meet in Bordeaux (or a nearby town, I am not sure).
Cinematic comic-book. Watchable, barely.
Rating: 39
Cinematic comic-book. Watchable, barely.
Rating: 39
Bonanza: Day of the Dragon (1961) (TV)
Chinese slave. Discussions about freedom. Mild complexity of plot. Mild suspense. OK episode.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sale comme un ange (1991)
English title: Dirty Like an Angel.
A cop covets his partner's wife. He assigns the partner a surveillance job so he can have free access to the woman.
The romance between a semi-brutish policeman and his partner's semi-moronic wife. Pointless, dull sexual drama with a stereotypical view of the police and of gender psychology.
Rating: 30
A cop covets his partner's wife. He assigns the partner a surveillance job so he can have free access to the woman.
The romance between a semi-brutish policeman and his partner's semi-moronic wife. Pointless, dull sexual drama with a stereotypical view of the police and of gender psychology.
Rating: 30
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Bonanza: The Honor of Cochise (1961) (TV)
Abysmally disagreeable episode. The kind of thing a guilty conscience would produce.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Shopgirl (2005)
Second viewing. I like it now. I didn't on my first viewing.
Here's what I wrote then (on April 28, 2007):
"Synopsis: A shop attendant at a department store begins a relationship with a
young man, who then follows a rock band on a tour. Meanwhile she meets a middle
aged rich man who wants her for fucking, and gives her expensive gifts.
Appraisal: Poorly written, often ridiculous drama that has an above average
leading duo of young performers and a delightful supporting performance (her
bimbo friend).
Rating: 12"
The synopsis is OK, but I can only guess why I thought it was "poorly written, often ridiculous" and why I thought it was a "drama" (well, that part is controversial, perhaps). The remarks about the performances were correct, though. The only explanation I can find for my negative comments (other than deeply encroached neuroses or plain stupidity) is that a fine screenplay badly directed is not so easy to distinguish from a bad screenplay well directed.
New Rating: 55
Observation: I saw it dubbed this time (but checked out some of the dialogue on paper.)
Here's what I wrote then (on April 28, 2007):
"Synopsis: A shop attendant at a department store begins a relationship with a
young man, who then follows a rock band on a tour. Meanwhile she meets a middle
aged rich man who wants her for fucking, and gives her expensive gifts.
Appraisal: Poorly written, often ridiculous drama that has an above average
leading duo of young performers and a delightful supporting performance (her
bimbo friend).
Rating: 12"
The synopsis is OK, but I can only guess why I thought it was "poorly written, often ridiculous" and why I thought it was a "drama" (well, that part is controversial, perhaps). The remarks about the performances were correct, though. The only explanation I can find for my negative comments (other than deeply encroached neuroses or plain stupidity) is that a fine screenplay badly directed is not so easy to distinguish from a bad screenplay well directed.
New Rating: 55
Observation: I saw it dubbed this time (but checked out some of the dialogue on paper.)
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Tigerland (2000)
A bunch of guys undergoing training for the Vietnam war. They are sent to a place called Tigerland where they simulate real combat and its environment. The main character is a rebellious type who "just wants to stay alive" and does not want to be sent to Vietnam.
Clearly one of the most implausible military-themed movies ever made, and possibly a little unsound too, if you believe that fiction can only go so far in ignoring the basic limitations of an individual inside an organization (as well as the limits of said organization). Why don't they make a film about the guys who went to prison for refusing to comply to draft? I think that would be a lot more interesting than this.
Rating: 45
Clearly one of the most implausible military-themed movies ever made, and possibly a little unsound too, if you believe that fiction can only go so far in ignoring the basic limitations of an individual inside an organization (as well as the limits of said organization). Why don't they make a film about the guys who went to prison for refusing to comply to draft? I think that would be a lot more interesting than this.
Rating: 45
Bonanza: Broken Ballad (1961) (TV)
This show's worse episodes have an interesting kitschy (or campy) side to them.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Aro Tolbukhin: en la mente del asesino (2002)
English title: Aro Tolbukhin: in the mind of a killer.
Some documentary makers investigate the past life of a serial killer in Guatemala.
Even though it employs the trendy (and dull) narrative technique of mixing straightforward dramatization and pseudocumentary, it cannot hide its silly melodramatic essence.
Rating: 25
Some documentary makers investigate the past life of a serial killer in Guatemala.
Even though it employs the trendy (and dull) narrative technique of mixing straightforward dramatization and pseudocumentary, it cannot hide its silly melodramatic essence.
Rating: 25
Bonanza: Land Grab (1961) (TV)
Trespassers on the Ponderosa. A swindler sold them false deeds. Ben eventually manages everything well. The folks with the MST probably don't care much for these Bonanza reruns. I'd better watch all I can before they take over the country and ban them.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Bonanza: The Burma Rarity (1961) (TV)
An emerald, two swindlers, a widow who is interested in Ben. Enough for another comedy of errors.
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers - T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' (1988) (TV)
Some pretty good actors reciting the poem (a bad one, if you ask me), some images that they found fitting, and some other speakers whose contributions range from insightful to parroting.
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