Rain Man (1988)

Second viewing; previously viewed on April 1, 1989.

An importer/salesman of cars (Charlie) learns about his father's passing and that he has left most of his money in trust to the mental institution where his hitherto unheard of brother (Raymond) is a patient. Charlie is in a desperate financial situation and decides to take Raymond with him without the permission from his guardian.

I previously disliked this film very much, but I can only speculate about the reasons for it. I probably focused too much on the lack of accuracy in the medical and psychological depiction of Raymond as an autistic person; perhaps I also objected to what I then perceived as misplaced sentimentality. Although I still don't find Rain Man exactly what I would call a good film, I think those points are not of such great importance. Ok, the film's plot and characters are made of clichés. Also, Charlie's decision to kidnap, so to speak, his brother is a completely irrational move which stresses believability somewhat. But I think the film succeeds, to a certain extent, at showing two kinds of self-centered people. One of them is superficially a normal one, but shows a very limited emotional attachment to everyone around him. The other has a psychological disorder, and can't respond to emotional stimuli in a normal way. The question the film poses, and perhaps avoids to answer in an explicit way is: what makes Charlie behave the way he does? The implicit answer seems to be that American society has some inner disorder in its values that conditions its normal members to act abnormally. And that disorder has a name: Capitalism.

Rating: 36 (up from 24)

Akira (1988)

Second viewing, sort of; previous viewing (in February 2, 2003) was somewhat compromised by stretches of sleep during the film; previous viewing was of a dubbed-in-Portuguese copy.

After a nuclear explosion destroys Tokyo, it is reconstructed. The government is conducting research on some individuals endowed with psychokinetic and extrasensory powers. One of them is kidnapped by an underground organization. During his recapture, the government agents take a teenager (Tetsuo) into custody and find out that he is also endowed with special powers. Apparently one such individual (Akira) had been responsible by the catastrophe which destroyed Tokyo. His remains are cryogenically kept at a secret location. Tetsuo escapes and threatens to provoke another catastrophe.

Specifically targeted at teenage audiences, this features lots of mayhem and shouting, and some impressive visuals. There is a bit of social and political comment seving as background to the main plot which suggests the existence of a dark underside of corruption, decay and unrest to Japan's apparently thriving society. Overall, it provides decent entertainment.

Rating: 50 (down from 66)

The Rookie (1990)

Second viewing; previously viewed in November 16, 1991.

A young policeman is assigned as partner to a veteran one, at the auto theft division. The older cop is obsessed with catching a notorious gangster responsible for a huge number of car thefts. They catch him at last (plus his girlfriend and accomplice), but the rookie makes a mistake and the bandits escape taking the veteran cop as hostage.

This has an extremely formulaic plot, but it keeps the viewer entertained; also, the action sequences are well done.

Rating: 38 (up from 24)

C'era una volta il West (1968)

English title: Once Upon a Time in the West.

Second viewing; previously viewed in February 15, 1987.

(165 min version, English dub) (Atypically for this webpage, this synopsis will be accompanied by comments.) A stranger with a harmonica arrives at a small Western town. He's set a date with a man (Frank) who doesn't show up, but sends three of his henchmen instead. The three men are there to kill Harmonica, but he possesses supernatural shooting speed and kills the three men. Frank's motive for wanting Harmonica dead is not known yet. In fact, it will never be known, since Frank doesn't even know Harmonica's identity at that point. I guess he just likes to have random people killed. The railroad owner (Morton) feels that one particular man (McBain) who owns a property near the prospective passage of the railroad needs a scare. This is one plot point you should not ask me about, because I do not understand it. Morton tells his henchman (who happens to be Frank) to do the job, but he overdoes it and kills McBain and his entire family. Again, don't ask me why. On that very day, McBain was meeting his new wife (Jill) who was coming on the train. When she arrives and sees everyone of her new family dead, she decides to live on the property. Why she decides to do that is not known, so don't ask me. She may be crazy in the head or something. One of the town's bad guys (Cheyenne) enters a bar wearing shackles, after gun shots are heard on the outside. How he managed to escape his captors single-handedly and shackled is something we will never know. The plot continues on, with many more obscure points. At a certain point, Harmonica turns Cheyenne in for the reward. The excellent synopsis on IMDB conjectures that this is a "scheme devised by both  men", which is probably correct, since they were on friendly terms before and would remain so afterwards. Cheyenne is sent to a maximum security prison, but some of his henchmen follow the detachment and, later, Cheyenne appears again, free. His henchmen must be very competent indeed. Anyway, the basics of the plot is that Frank and Morton are the "bad" guys and all the other characters are more or less on the "good" side.

This film's strong point is doubtlessly its visual side. The framing of each shot, and how they are edited, is superb, particularly so in the opening credits sequence. The coupling of the visual narrative with the musical score is also artfully constructed, though some have objected, perhaps with reason, to a certain repetitiveness and intrusiveness of the score (this is a characteristic of all films by this director, however). The plot has its problems, as I somewhat outlined in the above synopsis, and the film really does not seem to make an effort in that direction: plotless moments are played out at the most leisurely pace imaginable, and key plot points are simply not played out at all, having to be presumed by the viewer. The performances are adequate for the most part; Ferzetti probably deserves some special accolades. My previous rating probably reflected some of the film's problematic aspects, but also that probably the copy I saw then was pan-and-scan and had a poor Portuguese dubbing.

Rating: 61 (up from 30)

El secreto de sus ojos (2009)

English title: The Secret in Their Eyes.

A justice agent is put in charge of a case of rape and murder. He befriends the victim's husband and promises to catch the killer. The agent feels a certain attraction to his boss, a woman. Also, his assistant is a drunk. The case continues to affect his life even after the killer is caught.

This is a horrible movie, and just as horrible is the realization that I am almost alone in this assessment. It won awards, and is currently at the 143º position on IMDB's list of top rated films. I will not bother to write my considerations about it (watching it has been trouble enough), but Metala84's review points out some important deficiencies in the plot (warning: spoilers ahead):

*begin quote*
The plot of the movie is horrible. Even TV series have more believable "investigations". Finding a killer after watching a few pictures in an old family album? Seriously? Hey what's wrong and so suspicious in admiring a beautiful girl you know from your childhood that makes you a murder suspect? Okay lets put this aside. So our murder suspect writes barely understandable coded letters to his mothers, containing the names of his favorite football players. Who does that? And a few drunks in a bar decode them and here the main characters catch the suspect right away at the next football game on a stadium with thousands of people. Just like that - as soon as they arrive there. Then, how do you get a confession from him? Easy. Get your boss, a beautiful woman, to tell him that his penis is small. There you go, he puts off his pants and shows her she's wrong and also confesses the murder. Piece of cake.
*end quote*

The rest of his/her review raises a few other points which made me think, but I am not so sure I agree exactly with him/her on them. Regardless of that, the fact remains that this is a lousy film.

Rating: 20

Le amiche (1955)

English title: The Girlfriends.

A woman is supervising the opening of a fashion shop in another town and befriends some of the local women in connection with a suicide attempt next door to her hotel room. She also gets romantically involved with the assistant to the architect who is responsible for the shop's premises.

This is very similar in style to soap operas made two  or three decades later (I'm thinking of the Brazilian ones, but I suppose they don't differ much from one country to another). All the same, it is quite entertaining if one does not demand great thrills or complexities.

Rating: 51

Jaws III (1983)

An aquatic park which is opening a new underwater tunnel for visitors has some trouble with a big shark.

While not as unwatchable as some reviews lead one to believe, this is really short on thrills. It was originally exhibited in 3-D, and I presume that watching it in two dimensions, as I have done, makes it even duller.

Rating: 31

Les faux-monnayeurs (2010)

Based on the novel by André Gide, first published in 1925.

English title: The Counterfeiters

A writer returns to Paris after a stay in London, and reconnects with his relatives. He becomes close to his teenage nephew, who has literary ambitions. Other subplots include another teenage boy who abandons his family after discovering that the man who raised him is not his biological father; a woman who is about to marry and discovers she is pregnant from another man; an old school teacher who wants to meet his grandson; another writer who leads a life of debauchery; etc.

Although I haven't read the novel, it feels like they oversummarized it and one has to build an understanding by connecting the dots made of mildly implied events and words; Wikipedia also helps. Les faux-monnayeurs revolves around ephebophilia, which is defined as "the primary sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19". In the case of this novel (and film) we are talking specifically of homosexual ephebophilia. With a little help from those readings, it becomes apparent that the thesis of the film is that there are "good" ephebophiles, exemplified by the protagonist, and "bad" ones, exemplified by Passavant. The film is neither convincing nor engaging, though it has a sufficiently polished narrative so as to be watchable.

Rating: 34

Tropic Thunder (2008)

The director of a war movie, under the advice of the source book's author, decides to turn it into a cinéma vérité experiment without telling the actors about it. As a result, they get involved in dangerous situations.

This is a satire of much of the Hollywood filmography of the 1980s and 1990s. The humor is occasionally of a predictable kind, but spot-on nevertheless. As has been remarked, the opening faux commercial and trailers are the funniest part of the movie. All the actors do an excellent job, and have been very smartly chosen for their parts. Overall, entertaining enough.

Note: If I haven't made any calculation mistake (I had to time the commercials and subtract them), the version I watched was 113 minutes long. Oddly, it doesn't match in length either of the versions which IMDB lists.

Rating: 59

The Hangover (2009)

100 min version.

Doug is getting married; Phil, Stu and Alan take him to Las Vegas for a stag night. The next morning Doug is missing, and the others have no recollection of the previous night.

Lightly amusing comedy. While not exactly funny, it has an imaginative script and good performances. Precedents have been detected in Dude, Where's My Car? and Very Bad Things.

Rating: 58

La Pointe-Courte (1955)

Man and wife discuss their relationship while sojourning at his place of birth, a fishing village. Parallel subplots concern the day-to-day life of villagers: the conflict between fishermen and health inspectors, the death of a child, a young man who wants permission to court a 16-year-old woman, a water joust, a dancing ball, etc.

Somewhat underdeveloped mix of ethnographic semi-documentary and intimate drama. I wonder whether the remarkable similarity in style between the dramatic portions of this film and the work by a few other famous directors made after it are just a coincidence; by the way, a shot from this film (two faces in close-up, one in front view and another in profile) is identical to a shot in Persona. These French villagers, all of which apparently have Italian surnames and faces to match, acquire a nearly mythical aura through the filmmaker's lens; this is an example of how a privileged cinematic point-of-view influences the opinion of viewers. While probably constrained by a survival imperative to break the law, they are obviously harming their customers by selling them infected shellfish; in reviews, however, they are never criticized ( "poor but proud people", says Wikipedia); the Law, on the other hand, is implicitly placed under suspicion ("a small lagoon they have been forbidden to use because of an alleged problem with bacteria" (Wikipedia, my italics).

Rating: 40

Scream Blacula Scream (1973)

Blacula is resurrected in a voodoo ceremony by an aggrieved voodoo priest. The latter's rival as a voodoo master is a woman who, at Blacula's request, performs a voodoo ritual in the attempt to devampirize the accursed African prince. Meanwhile, an ex-cop helps the police solve the wave of fang-assaults which seem to be vampirizing the population of Los Angeles.

As thinly plotted as its predecessor, this seems to be just a collection of set-pieces with little thrilling value. Also like its predecessor, the whole thing is well acted and eventful enough as to let itself be watched. One thing that escaped me while viewing the first movie, and which is present in this one also, is the physical transformation gone through by the titular character; he gains some extra facial hair and some physical strength, making him a sort of hybrid of werewolf and vampire.

Rating: 31

Blacula (1972)

An African prince is made into a vampire by Count Dracula; he is imprisoned in a coffin for two centuries, and then released in Los Angeles, where he makes some victims and encounters a lookalike for his dead wife.

Vampire movie with African American ambiance and characters. The titular character is portrayed in a less unfavorable light than is usual in older vampire films, but the film is otherwise dull. I, for one, have always found the basic moral premise of vampire movies a flawed one. Vampires are basically people who endow other people with a much longer life than they would otherwise have. I do not see how this would make vampires bad. There are some inconveniences in the process, such as having to avoid sunlight, but would anyone really consider the trade-off a disadvantageous one? The demonization of vampires is a typical manifestation of extreme reactionarism that one only sees in movies. In real life most people are obsessed with prolonging life indefinitely, and would certainly welcome a meeting with a vampire.

Rating: 31

Pony Express (1953)

In 1860, two guys want to start a new courier system from Utah to California using messengers on horses, replacing the old stagecoach system. They must face the opposition from the owner of the stagecoach company, and from some Californians who want their State to secede from the Union. Native Americans are used as a weapon by the bad guys.

The plot is convoluted, and rather obscure in some of its details. They put famous real-person names on the two protagonists, pretending these are events in their lives. There is a memorable sequence in and around a bathtub. Pony Express is action-filled but rather long. People have likened it to a B-Western, but the produtcion values are superior. On the whole, watchable.

Rating: 35

Le Havre (2011)

An elderly man gives shelter to an immigrant boy. Other characters are his gravely ill wife, a policeman, the woman who owns the bar, the woman who owns the bakery, a grocer, a boat owner, a Vietnamese immigrant, several bar patrons, a mysterious neighbor, a rock singer, a medical doctor, etc.

Those familiar with the films by this filmmaker are in for no surprise with this one. The same oversimplification of plot, and toning down of drama, the same naïve worldview. The people who entertain that worldview are vaguely socialist and strongly anti-authoritarian, as if socialism did not require strong State authority. They also are pro-working class and pro-immigration, and see no conflict there, much to the joy of Capitalists who can never get enough of new members in the reserve army of labor. Well, I will probably make no friends with these considerations, so let me stop here and say something nice. The film is watchable due to its (mostly bland) sense of humor and an easy flow of narrative.

Rating: 37

Máscara da Traição (1969)

*mild spoilers below*

César works as an accountant at an office in charge of managing the revenue of a big soccer stadium. He is constantly abused by his boss Carlos. César is an accomplished visual artist, but his artistic career was cut short by the need to earn a living. He starts an affair with his boss's wife Cristina, who comes up with the idea for a plan to steal the revenue of a soccer game and frame Carlos for it. César would use his artistic talents, and a cast from Carlos's face to be provided by Cristina, to manufacture a mask which would allow him to impersonate Carlos during the robbery.

This is the only instance I can remember of a Brazilian attempt at a film noir in its classical form. It's not exactly a good film. Its plot is quite predictable and derivative, even in its twists, especially by those who know the rules of this genre. The director has a tendency to overextend some non-narrative scenes, which make it a little tiresome. The acting is provided by some then very well known faces from TV, and is quite OK.  I guess it could be watched out of curiosity, and little else.

Caveat: if you watched it yesterday on Canal Brasil, or recorded that emission, watch out: they inverted the order of two segments at the latter part of the movie. At first, I though it was a flashback, but later judged it improbable; I confirmed my suspicion by watching that part at another copy which had those segments correctly ordered.

Rating: 35

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

Second viewing; previously viewed on September 8, 2008.

Two men meet, the older one a former bank robber. They meet with the latter's former partners in crime and fail in retrieving the loot from their former robbery, so they decide to do it again.

This is the typical product of a young mind. The script is sentimental in a masculine way and not devoid of inventiveness. I was particularly impressed, when first viewing it, with a sequence involving a car trunk. I couldn't remember the details except that it was one of the weirdest I had ever seen. That assessment still seemed correct upon this second viewing.

Rating: 58 (unchanged)