Roman Holiday (1953)

Second viewing; the first was on December 26, 1997.

A European princess visiting Rome decides to sneak out of her hotel and see the city. She encounters a reporter who takes her to his room in a boarding house. He discovers she is a princess and decides to write a story on her, without telling her about his profession or his intention.

Good film, with several memorable scenes, and a general pleasantness about it. Nevertheless it has at its core a characteristic which makes it decidedly minor in my scale of values: it is one of those stories where something is planned and executed during the whole film, only to be abandoned near the end. And you knew that it would, because this is all too common in Hollywood, and you are too familiar with Hollywood not to know it. No suspense, then, and, in the end, the feeling of having been somewhat taken in (and more so if you were naïve enough to have any doubts about the outcome). In real life, people do not change their minds in the last minute. I know that for a fact. I am in real life, so I ought to. On second thought, though...

Rating: 53 (up from 44)

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Second (or is it third?) viewing; previously seen on June 25, 1988.

A series of deaths challenge the Scotland Yard. The first victims are all doctors.

I guess my synopsis could be a little more revealing, but I decided against it. This is a comical horror film, which is also a detective story. Anyway, a reasonably amusing film, nicely filmed (lots of unusual camera angles, with striking effect), with a memorable protagonist, and not much more than that, I am afraid.

Rating: 52 (down from 64)

Jerichow (2008)

Germany. A recently discharged soldier gets a job working for a Turkish-born snack-bar chain owner, and gets involved with his wife.

Cold and unengaging drama, a variation, as many have noted, on The Postman Always Rings Twice. As fewer have noted (e.g. IMDB user hosasch), it is also (and perhaps more closely) a derivation from The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971).

Rating: 32

Green Lantern (2011)

A test pilot witnesses the crash landing of a spaceship and gets into the possession of some items which make an intergalactic superhero out of him.

I guess this is comic-bookish enough to please comic-book fans (I've read otherwise, though, go figure). In terms of structure, you could say it is sort of Top Gun meets the Elephant Man. As for its theme, you could pretty well sum it up by nicknaming it The Green Badge of Courage. Oh, and the Computer Generated Imagery is cool, I thought. But I do not watch many recent movies of this kind, so I don't really have much in the way of comparison.

Rating: 53

Dark Shadows (2012)

Based on the TV series which started in 1966 and ended in 1971.

An 18th-century man is, through a curse, made into a vampire. He awakens in 1972 and, amidst all his amazement at the modern world, tries to rebuild his family's business.

The point is how old horrors are ineffective in our age of pervasive banality. The first half-hour is reasonably amusing, then it goes downhill into utter dullness.

Rating: 34

Rock Star (2001)

The singer in a cover band is invited to replace the singer in the original band.

In a modest way, a study on personal identity. Also, a portrayal of the lifestyle of rockers.

Rating: 51

Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Some foreign guy is leading a terrorist operation in the U.S.A., promoting disorder and civil unrest. His group's aim is to invade America and take control of it. But a former agent (of CIA?) is summoned to restore peace.

Rigorously absurd, in its tiniest details. Its combination of illogical plot and spectacular display of explosions, shootings and a few car chases have a curiously oneiric quality to it.

Rating: 32

O Bandido da Luz Vermelha (1968)

Second viewing; the first was on June 20, 1989

English title: The Red Light Bandit

A house robber and rapist spreads terror amidst middle class homes.

Chaotic semi-narrative with a comic slant whose newslike narration is more fun than the images proper. The actors are a find also, embodying their characters with brilliance. As with most so-called avant-garde Brazilian movies, however, much of it is self-indulgent and lacks intelligibility.

Rating: 60 (down from 69)

Unconditional Love (2002)

A housewife who has been left by her husband travels to England for the funerals of a singer she adored. Over there she meets several people and learns a few things about her idol.

Occasionally interesting, but mostly embarrassingly unfunny and trite comedy. The excellent actors probably weren't getting many offers and had to take this, against their better judgement.

Rating: 38

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

California has decided to join the Union. De la Vega has a quarrel with his wife and she decides to leave him. She starts seeing a French count. De la Vega is jealous and suspects him of foul play.

In real life, Puerto Rico's population voted for annexation to the U.S.A., but Uncle Sam said no. Meanwhile, enjoy an entertaining action film, with an image-oriented, boredom-proof screenplay, and a direction which makes the most of it. Jones is especially good in it. Zorro, as a character, is here an empty grinning mannequin, perfectly bourgeoisified, and fully adapted to political correctness and postmodernity. And this is one of those films where the bad guys never shoot the good ones when they have the opportunity.

Seen dubbed in Portuguese.

Rating: 54

Padenie dinastii Romanovykh (1927)

English title: The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

Documentary consisting of documental footage depicting the years that preceded the Russian Revolution, starting in the early 1910s. Marxist-Leninist intertitles provide the filmmaker's interpretation of the images.

Absurd as it may be to illustrate the role of war manufacturers in World War I with shots of a camera-shy factory owner -- and this kind of thing happens repeatedly in this film -- it has obvious interest to people interested in History, or who simply want to watch very old footage.

Lay the Favorite (2012)

An ex-stripper goes to Las Vegas and gets a job as an assistant to a professional sports gambler.

Its storyline's interest seems to rest upon the empathy developed by the main character, which never happened in my case. In fact, that didn't happened with any of the characters. Although the facts in it seem plausible enough, the film as a whole somehow just does not ring true. Bottom line, it is not a rewarding film, or it wasn't for me anyway.

Rating: 35

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

On New Year's Eve, in a precinct that is scheduled to be deactivated, a highly dangerous criminal must be incarcerated for lack of a proper place. The problem is, he knows too much, and some people just do not like that.

Reasonably effective thriller, a remake which to be honest I prefer to the original 1976 film. As many have complained, the film is basically a bunch of clichés, but I don't think this is a big problem. Not everything in the plot is plausibly worked out, but that is not a big problem either. It is a modest film, but it works.

Rating: 50

The Mountain (1956)

Second viewing. The first was on August 15, 1990.

A plane crashes on a mountain area. Two brothers -- a humble shepherd and his ambitious younger brother -- climb the mountain in search of the plain wreckage, which the younger brother wants to pillage for the passengers' money and valuables.

Well-made film, with excellent climbing sequences. The two main characters are just stereotypes, but in spite of it the plot still manages to interest the viewer.

Rating: 66 (unchanged)

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)

The life of an amateur golf player who won many championships.

Sports are a metaphor for life, insofar as what the latter is about is action which provides a correct response to one's environment, and that is exactly what the former requires, only in a simplified form. Golf is basically about one's ability to measure one's own strength in response to perception of physical distance, not to mention of course finer details such as direction and particulars of the ground. The main character in this film seems to exemplify all that in an even broader way: his correction of movement in golf mirrors his correction as a human being. The film is so taken by this ideal aspect that its characters lose all aspect of reality, although they are based on real people and the plot seems to strive for some degree of verisimilitude. In spite of what I said, or perhaps precisely because of it, the film should please sports lovers, especially as it is very well made.

Rating: 53

Bad Company (1995)

A CIA agent infiltrates in a private company specializing in spying, blackmail, bribery, and the like. The plot revolves around a court case involving an industry accused of dumping pollutants in a lake, or something like that.

Espionage drama which, considering its laid-back pace, cannot properly be called a thriller. It is not boring, though; it has a reasonable script, is directed with style, and is very sexy.

Rating: 55