Lola rennt (1998)

English title: Run, Lola, Run

Guy loses drug money in the amount of 100 thousand marks inside a train. The money has to be delivered to his boss, a drug kingpin, in 20 minutes. He calls his girlfriend and she tries to help him raise an equal amount. Three different outcomes from that premise are laid out.

Ingenious and stylish meditation on the power of chance, within a modern urban context which is prone to produce such chaotic outcomes as the ones imagined here.

Second viewing.

Rating: 68 (unchanged)

Guilty as Sin (1993)

A woman lawyer takes the defense of a man accused of murdering his wife. She finds out he is guilty and also a sociopath who may place her life in danger.

An implausible plot which is woven into entertaining drama. The films of Larry Cohen (meaning those which were written by him) explore, almost invariably, some kind of inversion in the function of a part in the social mechanism. A baby who is actually a murderous monster, an ambulance which kills instead of saving, a messiah who preaches hatred, a cop who is a homicidal maniac, and so on. In Guilty as Sin the most visible malfunctions are a man who emulates the parasitic behavior of women, and a defense lawyer who plots her client's conviction.

Rating: 50

Die Hard (1988)

A group of German robbers posing as terrorists takes a corporate building in Los Angeles on Christmas night and holds some party guests hostage. A NYPD officer whose wife works for the company is at the premises and saves the day despite the LAPD and FBI's incompetence and the greed of the press.

Extremely well-made thriller with obviously exaggerated criticism of press and police, and the usual background drama of an estranged couple's reconciliation. This is my second viewing, and I cannot exactly account for my previous low rating.

Rating: 65 (up from 49)

Unstoppable (2010)

A runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals puts a town in danger.

Extremely well-made thriller. The screenplay puts us through the age-old ordeal of following the reconciliation of a disaffected couple ("Call her again, that is how it works", the older guy tells the younger one.).

Rating: 64

Mr. Magoo (1997)

A ruby is stolen from a museum and a purblind museum sponsor, with his assistant plus two government agents, go after the jewel.

The credits do not apparently place a mention to the character's creators (and nor does the IMDB), screenwriter Millard Kaufman and director John Hubley, in a 1949 cartoon. Magoo was without the shadow of a doubt the best and funniest cartoon ever produced (and ever to be in the future, no doubt at all about this). It is funny too to read that it was originally conceived (by the two pinkoes cited) as a reactionary. As usual, good art is unintentional, or, parodying a famous saying, heaven is full of bad intentions. As this is supposed to be a comment of the 1997 film, I am obliged to say that it is very well made but not very funny.

Rating: 41

Happy Here and Now (2002)

A girl goes missing after she chats on the internet with a guy. Her sister comes to New Orleans (where she lived) to look for her.

This has to do with internet avatars which can take on the visual aspect of someone other than the person who is speaking. It also has some New Orleans sightseeing. And excerpts from Pascal. And two very good-looking chicks. Lightheaded bizarreness.

Rating: 34