English title: No End.
In Poland, during the early nineteen-eighties, a widow is haunted by her late husband, a lawyer. The case of a former client of his, a political prisoner, is taken over by an experienced lawyer.
This is practically two films in one, a supernatural drama and a courtroom drama. Neither one is engaging. The haunting story is childish and ridiculous. The political story is unconvincing and its whole point is hard to detect. The direction is rigid in both. The only actor who manages to lend some personality into his character is Bardini, who plays the aging lawyer. A hard-to-sit-through film.
Rating: 16
Sunday, January 17, 2010
O rei da noite (1975)
English title: King of the Night.
The film follows the life trajectory of a man spanning the 1930's, 40's and 50's in Rio de Janeiro. He falls in love with a beautiful woman but she is declared gravely ill, and committed to a sanitarium. He then has affairs with a prostitute-singer, and three sisters from a middle-class house, one of whom he marries.
Curious little film, which occasionally shows a primitive vigor, but is frequently spoiled by the extremely amateurish direction (it's a debut), which nevertheless is incapable of preventing good performances from the more experienced actors in it.
Rating: 39
The film follows the life trajectory of a man spanning the 1930's, 40's and 50's in Rio de Janeiro. He falls in love with a beautiful woman but she is declared gravely ill, and committed to a sanitarium. He then has affairs with a prostitute-singer, and three sisters from a middle-class house, one of whom he marries.
Curious little film, which occasionally shows a primitive vigor, but is frequently spoiled by the extremely amateurish direction (it's a debut), which nevertheless is incapable of preventing good performances from the more experienced actors in it.
Rating: 39
Combat!: Encounter (1967) (TV)
With the help of an engineering officer, the squad is engaged in a mission to build a bridge over a river. The peace is upset with the arrival of a war correspondent who happens to be that officer's son.
Combat!: Anniversary (1967) (TV)
In a city which the allied and the Germans are fighting to gain control of, a lone lunatic starts killing men from both sides.
Laissez-passer (2002)
English title: Safe Conduct.
A series of episodes in the lives of a screenwriter and an assistant director, during Occupation in France.
An uneven film, to begin with. The first episode almost made me stop watching it, it is so ridiculously ("belle, belle, belle" - get out of here...) overdone. As a rule , the Devaivre parts are better than the Aurenche ones (by the way they are practically two separate films shown as one). A non-negligible amount of scenes is virtually incomprehensible for the non-initiated in the persons and situations being depicted. The director does not believe in subtlety: take the scene where Devaivre is riding his bicycle in the countryside, and a pungent aria is played in the soundtrack to make it clear that the scene is supposed to be lyrical. For those willing to withstand these annoyances, an interesting film.
Rating: 57
A series of episodes in the lives of a screenwriter and an assistant director, during Occupation in France.
An uneven film, to begin with. The first episode almost made me stop watching it, it is so ridiculously ("belle, belle, belle" - get out of here...) overdone. As a rule , the Devaivre parts are better than the Aurenche ones (by the way they are practically two separate films shown as one). A non-negligible amount of scenes is virtually incomprehensible for the non-initiated in the persons and situations being depicted. The director does not believe in subtlety: take the scene where Devaivre is riding his bicycle in the countryside, and a pungent aria is played in the soundtrack to make it clear that the scene is supposed to be lyrical. For those willing to withstand these annoyances, an interesting film.
Rating: 57
La cena per farli conoscere (2007)
English titles: A Dinner for Them to Meet; The Get Together Dinner.
An over-the-hill third-rate Italian actor is forced by circumstances to receive help from his estranged daughters.
Defined as a "sentimental comedy". Bad acting abounds in it, the most evident exception being the main actor. The film is watchable, but far from brilliant, the most embarrassing moments being provided by the protagonist's "quirky" son-in-law, who is obsessed with women's hair. Perhaps the film is intended as a joke, the punchline being the protagonist's hilarious filmography which is displayed in the end. I notice that the three last sentences in this review are similarly structured with the word "being".
Rating: 33
An over-the-hill third-rate Italian actor is forced by circumstances to receive help from his estranged daughters.
Defined as a "sentimental comedy". Bad acting abounds in it, the most evident exception being the main actor. The film is watchable, but far from brilliant, the most embarrassing moments being provided by the protagonist's "quirky" son-in-law, who is obsessed with women's hair. Perhaps the film is intended as a joke, the punchline being the protagonist's hilarious filmography which is displayed in the end. I notice that the three last sentences in this review are similarly structured with the word "being".
Rating: 33
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka (2005)
English title: I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed.
Based on the real events surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a Moroccan leader in the sixties. He was conned into taking part of a film promoting the cause of former colonies, whose producer was being paid by his political enemies, some of whom were linked to the French police. He traveled to France and police agents got him when he was heading to a rendezvous with the film producers. The more astounding facts were the (unwitting) involvement of artistic celebrities Georges Franju and Marguerite Duras.
Political thriller, well made, in the style of the early Gavras's films.
There has been an earlier film, L'attentat (1972), based on these incidents, but that was a much more loosely based version.
Rating: 51
Based on the real events surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a Moroccan leader in the sixties. He was conned into taking part of a film promoting the cause of former colonies, whose producer was being paid by his political enemies, some of whom were linked to the French police. He traveled to France and police agents got him when he was heading to a rendezvous with the film producers. The more astounding facts were the (unwitting) involvement of artistic celebrities Georges Franju and Marguerite Duras.
Political thriller, well made, in the style of the early Gavras's films.
There has been an earlier film, L'attentat (1972), based on these incidents, but that was a much more loosely based version.
Rating: 51
The Untouchables (1987)
This is about a team of law people which, in 1930's Chicago, was assembled in order to bring down Capone and his liquor business.
I decided to rewatch this because of the abnormally low grade which I assigned it upon first viewing. I arrive to the conclusion that back then I didn't understand the anti-realist style which characterizes this film. Now I do. And I still don't like it. But a little credit is due to the staging effort on some of the set-pieces.
Rating: 32 (up from 6)
I decided to rewatch this because of the abnormally low grade which I assigned it upon first viewing. I arrive to the conclusion that back then I didn't understand the anti-realist style which characterizes this film. Now I do. And I still don't like it. But a little credit is due to the staging effort on some of the set-pieces.
Rating: 32 (up from 6)
Combat!: The Bankroll (1966) (TV)
Kirby plays poker with money borrowed from fellow G.I. Jeetleman. The big winner up until then has been G.I. Farley. Kirby consistently wins until Farley, claiming to have run out of money, starts giving him I.O.U.s (or markers, as they call it in the episode). They have to stop playing because they are called into combat. They raid a nearby village which is infested with Germans. Farley tries to turn Kirby into his protector, since, he says, if he dies he won't be able to pay him what he owes.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Combat!: Gulliver (1966) (TV)
Littlejohn is given a day's leave, but is caught by a German air raid and wounded. A gang of French kids ties him up and takes him to a house, where they keep him hostage and plan to sell him to whoever is willing to pay.
This interesting episode belongs to a recurring streak in cinema and TV history featuring sinister children, where they reflect the adult evil that surrounds them, amplifying it.
This interesting episode belongs to a recurring streak in cinema and TV history featuring sinister children, where they reflect the adult evil that surrounds them, amplifying it.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
*spoilers follow*
Two brothers with different personalities receive the visit of a rich uncle, on whom they place their hopes of financial redemption. But the uncle has problems of his own.
The narrative exemplifies the trap: the first line is not so hard to cross, but once you've crossed it, you must cross a second, harder, one. If you think of the two brothers as the embodiment of two opposing tendencies within one individual, what the film exposes is how ethical concessions really break the human unity, thus destroying man. On another angle, it is a money power play, in which the rich gets richer and the poor get dead. They never had a chance, really. All performances are completely satisfactory, regardless of what you may have heard or read.
Rating: 62
Two brothers with different personalities receive the visit of a rich uncle, on whom they place their hopes of financial redemption. But the uncle has problems of his own.
The narrative exemplifies the trap: the first line is not so hard to cross, but once you've crossed it, you must cross a second, harder, one. If you think of the two brothers as the embodiment of two opposing tendencies within one individual, what the film exposes is how ethical concessions really break the human unity, thus destroying man. On another angle, it is a money power play, in which the rich gets richer and the poor get dead. They never had a chance, really. All performances are completely satisfactory, regardless of what you may have heard or read.
Rating: 62
Monday, December 21, 2009
Combat!: The Outsider (1966) (TV)
This is about Culley, a replacement. He was a small farmer in West Virginia. He doesn't like to be a soldier and refuses to engage in social intercourse with the other members of his new platoon. In combat, he follows orders very strictly and does not go out of his way to help a fellow soldier. He is saving money to buy a tractor. His colleagues develop a strong aversion to him.
One of the sadder episodes, with a heavy tragicity about it.
One of the sadder episodes, with a heavy tragicity about it.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Combat!: Conflict (1966) (TV)
The squad is tired and the men are nervous; a bitter conflict arises between Caje and Littlejohn. They are all sent on a mission to make a prisoner.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Los abrazos rotos (2009)
*possible spoilers follow*
English title: Broken Embraces.
A filmmaker recalls the incidents of his life relating to his love affair with one of his actresses, the wife of a millionaire.
In this, a Barbara Stanwyck lookalike plays an Audrey Hepburn lookalike in a film produced by her Anthony Quinn lookalike husband. Los abrazos rotos's primary contribution to universal wisdom is that you shouldn't ignore someone who looks dead: he might be faking it just to see if you will ignore him. At a particular point in the film, I yearned for a truly awful car accident to happen, and my wish was promptly granted. Am I the psychic or is the filmmaker? I couldn't find other reasons for this film's existence.
Rating: 20
P.S.: I viewed it again in October, 2011. The rating was changed to 45
English title: Broken Embraces.
A filmmaker recalls the incidents of his life relating to his love affair with one of his actresses, the wife of a millionaire.
In this, a Barbara Stanwyck lookalike plays an Audrey Hepburn lookalike in a film produced by her Anthony Quinn lookalike husband. Los abrazos rotos's primary contribution to universal wisdom is that you shouldn't ignore someone who looks dead: he might be faking it just to see if you will ignore him. At a particular point in the film, I yearned for a truly awful car accident to happen, and my wish was promptly granted. Am I the psychic or is the filmmaker? I couldn't find other reasons for this film's existence.
Rating: 20
P.S.: I viewed it again in October, 2011. The rating was changed to 45
Wo shi shei (1998)
English title: Who Am I?
A CIA operative loses his memory after an operation involving a powerful mineral with explosive capabilities and is then hunted down.
The plot skeleton bears a resemblance with The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) and with the Jason Bourne novels. Here, the emphasis is on action and spectacle. Creatively choreographed fight sequences are the highlights. Chan has successfully marketed violence to kids all through his career.
Rating: 39
A CIA operative loses his memory after an operation involving a powerful mineral with explosive capabilities and is then hunted down.
The plot skeleton bears a resemblance with The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) and with the Jason Bourne novels. Here, the emphasis is on action and spectacle. Creatively choreographed fight sequences are the highlights. Chan has successfully marketed violence to kids all through his career.
Rating: 39
Combat!: Decision (1966) (TV)
The IMDB Plot Summary: "Saunders is uneasy about Charles Harris, a doctor turned demolitions expert."
Combat!: Headcount (1966) (TV)
The IMDB Plot Summary: "Ordered to escort an important group of German prisoners to the rear, Saunders faces heavy odds; the POWs outnumber the GIs 18 to 5."
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Combat!: The Letter (1966) (TV)
Saunders receives a letter from his younger brother saying he has enlisted. A new replacement looks like this brother, and this resemblance leads Saunders to assume a protective attitude towards him.
Mon colonel (2006)
English title: The Colonel.
English translation of the French title: My Colonel.
A young man volunteers to serve in Algeria, a French colony. His superior initiates him in the techniques of torture.
Mostly mediocre, directed in a mechanical style which reminded me of Truffaut. The subject is interesting.
Rating: 45
English translation of the French title: My Colonel.
A young man volunteers to serve in Algeria, a French colony. His superior initiates him in the techniques of torture.
Mostly mediocre, directed in a mechanical style which reminded me of Truffaut. The subject is interesting.
Rating: 45
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Combat!: A Child's Game (1966) (TV)
The IMDB Plot Summary: "Saunders' men are ordered to take a farmhouse that is defended by a determined group of teenage German soldiers."
Saturday, November 28, 2009
La graine et le mulet (2007)
English titles: The Secret of the Grain; Couscous.
English translation of the French title: The Grain and the Mullet.
An elderly worker of Arab ethnicity living in France is laid off from his job and decides to start a restaurant on an abandoned ship.
A collection of clichés, for the most part, albeit reasonable ones. That gives the film a deja vu quality, no doubt, but does not make it unwatchable. It is not well filmed, relying heavily on close-ups to no particular advantage (among other noticeable stylistic flaws).
Rating: 42
English translation of the French title: The Grain and the Mullet.
An elderly worker of Arab ethnicity living in France is laid off from his job and decides to start a restaurant on an abandoned ship.
A collection of clichés, for the most part, albeit reasonable ones. That gives the film a deja vu quality, no doubt, but does not make it unwatchable. It is not well filmed, relying heavily on close-ups to no particular advantage (among other noticeable stylistic flaws).
Rating: 42
Combat!: The Chapel at Able-Five (1966) (TV)
Saunders goes blind due to a grenade explosion, and is approached by a German chaplain who passes off as an ally one.
Interesting, albeit not very plausible at times.
Interesting, albeit not very plausible at times.
Tune In Tomorrow... (1990)
Based on the novel "La tÃa Julia y el escribidor", by Mario Vargas Llosa (1st ed. 1977).
A young aspiring writer has an affair with an older woman; he works in a radio station and befriends the author of its radio melodramas.
The comicity of the Carmichael subplot relieves the dullness of the romantic plot, but in the process renders either subplot superficial. That being said, no film, especially when it is this elegantly written and put together, may be readily dismissed. What one calls entertainment is actually something of some consequence.
Rating: 55
A young aspiring writer has an affair with an older woman; he works in a radio station and befriends the author of its radio melodramas.
The comicity of the Carmichael subplot relieves the dullness of the romantic plot, but in the process renders either subplot superficial. That being said, no film, especially when it is this elegantly written and put together, may be readily dismissed. What one calls entertainment is actually something of some consequence.
Rating: 55
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Edmond (2005)
Based on a 1982 play by David Mamet.
A man's life spirals down to catastrophe after he goes to a fortune teller. He leaves his wife and wanders in the underworld of New York City during one night, becoming increasingly disconnected with his former moral and philosophical frames of reference.
The clearly teleological structure reduces the film to the category of a joke which operates under the directing line of the sentence "one's fears are actually one's desires". The film has parallels of varying closeness in works such as Camus's L'étranger, Falling Down (1993), episode 1 of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), After Hours (1985), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Macy's acting style reminds me (here and elsewhere) of Lemmon's, although Macy strikes me as the better actor of the two.
Rating: 55
A man's life spirals down to catastrophe after he goes to a fortune teller. He leaves his wife and wanders in the underworld of New York City during one night, becoming increasingly disconnected with his former moral and philosophical frames of reference.
The clearly teleological structure reduces the film to the category of a joke which operates under the directing line of the sentence "one's fears are actually one's desires". The film has parallels of varying closeness in works such as Camus's L'étranger, Falling Down (1993), episode 1 of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), After Hours (1985), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Macy's acting style reminds me (here and elsewhere) of Lemmon's, although Macy strikes me as the better actor of the two.
Rating: 55
Combat!: The Brothers (1966) (TV)
*SPOILERS*
Two brothers: one is the leader of the maquis, the other is a coward. The brave one insists on taking the coward one along on a recon mission led by Lt. Hanley. They are captured; the French brothers are tortured. The brave one doesn't talk. The coward one resists torture but gives in when he is put before a firing squad. His brother won't allow his treason, he stabs him before he can reveal the details of their mission. Meanwhile Hanley and friends have dug a hole in the wall and escaped.
Classic, like practically any episode of this show.
Two brothers: one is the leader of the maquis, the other is a coward. The brave one insists on taking the coward one along on a recon mission led by Lt. Hanley. They are captured; the French brothers are tortured. The brave one doesn't talk. The coward one resists torture but gives in when he is put before a firing squad. His brother won't allow his treason, he stabs him before he can reveal the details of their mission. Meanwhile Hanley and friends have dug a hole in the wall and escaped.
Classic, like practically any episode of this show.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Bug (2006)
Lonely woman meets a strange man and lodges him at her motel room.
Paranoia meets hysteria: l'amour fou, American style. The film operates in a crescendo which culminates in a sort of epiphany, the ecstasy of madness. I am not sure this is very mature. It's fun though. And the acting is magnificent.
Rating: 65
Paranoia meets hysteria: l'amour fou, American style. The film operates in a crescendo which culminates in a sort of epiphany, the ecstasy of madness. I am not sure this is very mature. It's fun though. And the acting is magnificent.
Rating: 65
Lan feng zheng (1993)
English title: The Blue Kite.
A woman raises a son through the upheavals in Chinese society.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Rectification of 1953, the Great Leap Forward of 1958, the Cultural Revolution of 1968. Her first husband went to the bathroom at the wrong moment; the report which sent him to a labor camp was written by the second husband. Widowed again, remarried again, her third one was lynched by the Red Guard for being a counter-revolutionary. She tried to stop them, they sent her to a camp. The child was left orphaned. Side stories: the army entertainer who didn't want to fuck her superiors (she went to prison); the brother who suffered from progressive blindness (avoid stress, the doctor said); the mother who eventually complains the revolution has been going on for 20 years, is there anything left to change? Her daughter chides her for being outspoken, she replies that she has one foot in the grave anyway.
The style is dry. Well written, well directed, well acted. But it does feel cursory.
Rating: 60
A woman raises a son through the upheavals in Chinese society.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Rectification of 1953, the Great Leap Forward of 1958, the Cultural Revolution of 1968. Her first husband went to the bathroom at the wrong moment; the report which sent him to a labor camp was written by the second husband. Widowed again, remarried again, her third one was lynched by the Red Guard for being a counter-revolutionary. She tried to stop them, they sent her to a camp. The child was left orphaned. Side stories: the army entertainer who didn't want to fuck her superiors (she went to prison); the brother who suffered from progressive blindness (avoid stress, the doctor said); the mother who eventually complains the revolution has been going on for 20 years, is there anything left to change? Her daughter chides her for being outspoken, she replies that she has one foot in the grave anyway.
The style is dry. Well written, well directed, well acted. But it does feel cursory.
Rating: 60
Combat!: Ollie Joe (1966) (TV)
Saunders and squad pick up two replacements, one of whom is a strange character.
Wow, creepy character.
Wow, creepy character.
An Englishman in New York (2009)
Back in England in the 30s, he was quite an event because of his outrageous attitude toward clothes and sex. His memoirs were inspirational to some individuals on the other side of the Atlantic. In the 80s, a writer and a wit, he is hired to do some one-man shows in New York. He is an instant hit, mixing humor and self-help philosophy. He establishes residence there, but falls in disgrace because of some silly remarks about AIDS. His life has ups and downs; he befriends a painter, and helps to give his work exposure. He writes film criticism. He ages. After a period of relative ostracism, he is invited to do a show with a young avant-garde theaterwoman. He should slow down, his friends say.
Arch-reactionary Quentin Crisp's later life. TV movie, apparently. Nothing much happens; a bit of sexual sociology here, some tepid drama there. The acting is uniformly good.
Rating: 45
Arch-reactionary Quentin Crisp's later life. TV movie, apparently. Nothing much happens; a bit of sexual sociology here, some tepid drama there. The acting is uniformly good.
Rating: 45
No habrá más penas ni olvido (1983)
English title: Funny Dirty Little War.
Based on a novel by Osvaldo Soriano (1st ed. 1978).
In a small city in Argentina, during the seventies, the mayor stands up for one of his employees who is being accused of being a communist. The conflict degenerates into a veritable war, with the mayor and his few allies bunkering inside City Hall.
Dark political satire, concerning which it would be excused to talk of surrealism, since it has firm roots in reality.
The first half is funnier, and could probably be described as the better part of the movie; the second half is darker, degenerating into very brutal violence.
The conflict has no real political meaning: both parties at war call themselves peronists.
The film is remarkably well directed; there isn't one actor who isn't pitch perfect.
Rating: 65
Based on a novel by Osvaldo Soriano (1st ed. 1978).
In a small city in Argentina, during the seventies, the mayor stands up for one of his employees who is being accused of being a communist. The conflict degenerates into a veritable war, with the mayor and his few allies bunkering inside City Hall.
Dark political satire, concerning which it would be excused to talk of surrealism, since it has firm roots in reality.
The first half is funnier, and could probably be described as the better part of the movie; the second half is darker, degenerating into very brutal violence.
The conflict has no real political meaning: both parties at war call themselves peronists.
The film is remarkably well directed; there isn't one actor who isn't pitch perfect.
Rating: 65
Combat!: The Losers (1966) (TV)
Saunders and Littlejohn are supposed to meet some replacements who would help them on a mission. No one shows up, and Saunders decides to use some soldiers who were destined for court-martial. They are: a sergeant who lost his stripes for indiscipline; his buddy who worships him; a thief and black-marketeer; a coward.
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
Sherlock Holmes suffers from cocaine addiction; Watson takes him to see Sigmund Freud in Vienna. They will join efforts in a kidnap investigation.
The detective plot is by-the-numbers, the tone is generally humorless; the sight of an addicted Holmes is not exactly a pleasant one. I am not sure this was a good idea. But it is pacy and there is a train chase.
Rating: 45
The detective plot is by-the-numbers, the tone is generally humorless; the sight of an addicted Holmes is not exactly a pleasant one. I am not sure this was a good idea. But it is pacy and there is a train chase.
Rating: 45
Monday, November 09, 2009
Combat!: Ask Me No Questions (1966) (TV)
Saunders and squad are held prisoners in a German compound. They share the facilities with Sgt. Mastin, who isn't really Sgt. Mastin but a German soldier who is after information.
Entertaining episode.
Entertaining episode.
Combat!: The Gun (1966) (TV)
After the squad wipes out a German post, they seize their cannon. Saunders wants to use it to aid Hanley and his men in the destruction of a German bunker. For that purpose, however, the heavy cannon must be transported over a great distance, without any vehicle to carry it.
A Sisyphean episode. Good as drama, good as action.
A Sisyphean episode. Good as drama, good as action.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Die Fälscher (2007)
English title: The Counterfeiters.
In World War II's Germany, the Nazis use the services of an imprisoned counterfeiter in carrying out their plan of flooding ally countries with counterfeit money, thereby destroying their economies.
Some interesting ethical issues are exposed here, such as, how should we guide our actions in times when there aren't really many options and our survival is at stake. Nothing really new here, but it is watchable (despite the zooming-handheld camera which has taken over all small-to-medium productions and isn't probably going away). The leading actor gives an excellent performance.
Rating: 52
In World War II's Germany, the Nazis use the services of an imprisoned counterfeiter in carrying out their plan of flooding ally countries with counterfeit money, thereby destroying their economies.
Some interesting ethical issues are exposed here, such as, how should we guide our actions in times when there aren't really many options and our survival is at stake. Nothing really new here, but it is watchable (despite the zooming-handheld camera which has taken over all small-to-medium productions and isn't probably going away). The leading actor gives an excellent performance.
Rating: 52
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Combat!: The Farmer (1965) (TV)
The squad is staying at a farm whose owners had to be evacuated. One of the replacements is fond of farming and cares so much about the farm that it jeopardizes the mission.
Apparently silly, but really about a serious issue, namely, that some rural people were not as motivationally connected with the war effort as urban ones were. Values differ, ways of life too. In a way, one could almost say that they were dragged into other people's war.
Apparently silly, but really about a serious issue, namely, that some rural people were not as motivationally connected with the war effort as urban ones were. Values differ, ways of life too. In a way, one could almost say that they were dragged into other people's war.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Zim and Co. (2005)
Three teenage boys in France, each with a different ethnicity, are friends to one another and face the typical problems of that age. The center of the film is the white character who faces a prison sentence in case he doesn't get a job; he finds one which requires a car, so his next problem is to get one.
A social comedy with a light approach, an all-round feel-good movie.
Request for help: I did not understand a couple of lines of dialog, so if anyone with a knowledge of French could enlighten me, I would appreciate it. In the particular context of this film, what is the meaning of the word 'cabile'? I do not remember the exact context in which it appears, but one of the occurrences is a line like this, roughly translated: (girl of Arab ethnicity talking to white boy) "I will date you as long as you are not cabile." A Web search seems to indicate that 'cabile' stands for "Algerian". Is the girl of a different ethnicity? I thought she might be Tunisian as she worked in a Tunisian restaurant. Would she rather go out with a non-Arab?
Rating: 51
A social comedy with a light approach, an all-round feel-good movie.
Request for help: I did not understand a couple of lines of dialog, so if anyone with a knowledge of French could enlighten me, I would appreciate it. In the particular context of this film, what is the meaning of the word 'cabile'? I do not remember the exact context in which it appears, but one of the occurrences is a line like this, roughly translated: (girl of Arab ethnicity talking to white boy) "I will date you as long as you are not cabile." A Web search seems to indicate that 'cabile' stands for "Algerian". Is the girl of a different ethnicity? I thought she might be Tunisian as she worked in a Tunisian restaurant. Would she rather go out with a non-Arab?
Rating: 51
Combat!: S.I.W. (1965) (TV)
The Internet Movie Database has provided a succinct synopsis: "An already-controversial replacement adds to his reputation for cowardice by turning up with an apparent Self-Inflicted Wound."
Combat!: The First Day (1965) (TV)
The Internet Movie Database has provided a succinct synopsis: "Saunders and the squad break in four teenage replacements."
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Chambre 666 (1982) (TV)
Several film directors answer the question "What is the future of cinema?"
Watching this today, when there seems to be hardly any watchable cinema (or TV, for that matter) being made, is kind of depressing. A bunch of clueless people, that is all: TV is better because there are characters in it; the differences in size of TV and cinema screens, that is the crux of the matter; the studios want fast and sure return to their investments (I am citing only the most interesting ones!). Anyway, asking directors about this is a waste of time. Talent is talent, and if you've got it, you've got it.
So we live in a time of scarce talent, so what?
Watching this today, when there seems to be hardly any watchable cinema (or TV, for that matter) being made, is kind of depressing. A bunch of clueless people, that is all: TV is better because there are characters in it; the differences in size of TV and cinema screens, that is the crux of the matter; the studios want fast and sure return to their investments (I am citing only the most interesting ones!). Anyway, asking directors about this is a waste of time. Talent is talent, and if you've got it, you've got it.
So we live in a time of scarce talent, so what?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Combat!: Heritage (1965) (TV)
Hanley, Kirby and a demolitions expert must destroy a German observation point. This will entail the destruction of some works of art which are stored in the same building.
Weak episode.
Weak episode.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Zwartboek (2006)
English title: Black Book.
Netherlands, 1944. A Jewish woman is hiding at a Christian home, but all of a sudden is thrown into the dangerous world of espionage for the Dutch Resistance.
There is nothing is this melodrama which transcends what one would expect from a 16-year-old boy's mind. Its only possible claim to anything resembling relevance would be precisely that, I guess: to expose what would excite 16-year-old boys (or a segment of that population anyway). This universe comprises intrigue, treachery, sex, shallow psychology, vulgarity, shock, and the implicit awe at a beautiful woman's infinite endurance.
Rating: 36
Netherlands, 1944. A Jewish woman is hiding at a Christian home, but all of a sudden is thrown into the dangerous world of espionage for the Dutch Resistance.
There is nothing is this melodrama which transcends what one would expect from a 16-year-old boy's mind. Its only possible claim to anything resembling relevance would be precisely that, I guess: to expose what would excite 16-year-old boys (or a segment of that population anyway). This universe comprises intrigue, treachery, sex, shallow psychology, vulgarity, shock, and the implicit awe at a beautiful woman's infinite endurance.
Rating: 36
Sunday, October 11, 2009
No Room for the Groom (1952)
A soldier gets married while on leave and cannot consummate his marriage due to contracting chickenpox on his wedding night. Several months later he gets another one-week leave and returns to his house only to find it occupied by his wife's hostile mother and her many relatives.
A considerable part of this comedy is a variation on the theme of A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919). It gets complicated here by the additional theme of capitalism vs. traditional values as embodied by the rivalry between the hero and the owner of a cement factory. An entertaining film.
Rating: 52
A considerable part of this comedy is a variation on the theme of A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919). It gets complicated here by the additional theme of capitalism vs. traditional values as embodied by the rivalry between the hero and the owner of a cement factory. An entertaining film.
Rating: 52
Combat!: The Long Wait (1965) (TV)
Saunders and his men are riding in a truck with some wounded soldiers and a load of ammunitions. They meet with a German machine-gun nest on the road, and must wait for a tank before they may proceed. Meanwhile a soldier who is riding along with them keeps pushing Saunders into doing something other than waiting.
It clearly disregards psychological verisimilitude in favor of dynamics coupled with simplistic discussions. I am not very fond of this episode.
It clearly disregards psychological verisimilitude in favor of dynamics coupled with simplistic discussions. I am not very fond of this episode.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Combat!: Losers Cry Deal (1965) (TV)
[spoilers] Two squads from Lt. Hanley's platoon join forces to take over a Nazi-occupied building; after their success, one of the squads (not Sgt. Saunders') is without a leader. Jackson, a soldier with a repulsive character, considers himself fit to occupy the leadership position until a new sergeant is sent in, but Saunders', whom Lt. Hanley has put in charge, chooses Caje instead. A two-man patrol on the German-occupied vicinities is to be sent out; Caje is assigned to go, and he chooses Jackson to go with him; Jackson, however, holds a mysterious power over Tommy, another private, and has him volunteer in his place.
A great performance by Mike Kellin and a great direction by Vic Morrow perfectly succeed in shaping cinematically the good script by Shirl Hendryx. In case anyone is wondering - and at least one wrong guess is to be found on the Web - Hendryx is male, despite his misleading first name. He was rejected as a WWII combat soldier because of a perforated eardrum, and later enlisted successfully as an ambulance driver. A review of his autobiographical theater play may be read here.
A great performance by Mike Kellin and a great direction by Vic Morrow perfectly succeed in shaping cinematically the good script by Shirl Hendryx. In case anyone is wondering - and at least one wrong guess is to be found on the Web - Hendryx is male, despite his misleading first name. He was rejected as a WWII combat soldier because of a perforated eardrum, and later enlisted successfully as an ambulance driver. A review of his autobiographical theater play may be read here.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Combat!: The Enemy (1965) (TV)
Hanley takes a German officer as a prisoner in a deserted town and forces him to disarm all the mines and booby traps which were laid there; he must do it before that town's inhabitants return.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Tom Horn (1980)
Beginning of the twentieth century: Tom Horn is a man with a large experience as a tracker. He comes to a small town where a series of cattle thefts is happening, and accepts a job as a "stock detective", that is, he is to hunt and kill the cattle thieves.
Lyrical - elegiacal to be exact - Western. Perhaps an imperfect film - e.g. the relationship between Horn and his girlfriend is rather sketchy and certain parts of it are unconvincing, e.g. her leaving him - but the center of the film - a man who is only half-aware of his self-destructive character, eventually meeting his demise - is as poetic as a film can be. The other side of the coin, also well handled, is the sacrificial subtheme of society expelling the very instruments it uses for its advancement. All in all, a film worth seeing.
Rating: 60
Lyrical - elegiacal to be exact - Western. Perhaps an imperfect film - e.g. the relationship between Horn and his girlfriend is rather sketchy and certain parts of it are unconvincing, e.g. her leaving him - but the center of the film - a man who is only half-aware of his self-destructive character, eventually meeting his demise - is as poetic as a film can be. The other side of the coin, also well handled, is the sacrificial subtheme of society expelling the very instruments it uses for its advancement. All in all, a film worth seeing.
Rating: 60
Combat!: the Hard Way Back (1964) (TV)
During a German attack, Saunders gets pinned down under a beam that collapses inside a house. The private who witnesses this flees, and lies to the rest of the squad, telling them that Saunders died. He laters goes back and saves the sergeant.
So-so episode, not among the best ones.
So-so episode, not among the best ones.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Combat!: Silver Service (1964) (TV)
[spoilers] Caje and Kirby are taken to a lodging place (I am very sorry for not being able to specify more precisely what that place was, and what they were doing there; I just do not know it) by a garrulous truck driver. Caje leaves to some unspecified destination, whereas Kirby stays. The truck driver plays a loaded dice with some of the soldiers stationed there, and cleans them out of big money. He suspects Kirby knows about his cheating, and leaves in a hurry, not knowing that the fellows over there had taken most of the fuel out of his truck for water heating purposes. The place is attacked by Germans during the night; Kirby manages to escape and while on the road he runs into the driver, stuck for lack of fuel. They walk out of there together, and end up asking for shelter at a house where a young woman lives with her father. They have to leave the house because the Germans are coming and the woman's father is a former resistance member. Throughout the episode the truck driver carries a heavy load with him, which seems to be of high value to him.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Combat!: The Duel (1964) (TV)
[spoilers] Saunders hitches a ride with a trucker who is transporting weapons and ammunition to Lorraine, where it seems that Saunders' men are in great danger from the Germans. They hear a German tank coming their way exactly when a tire goes flat. They have the option of running for their lives, thus leaving the men in Lorraine in a tough spot, but Saunders won't have that: he tells the truck driver to change the tire while he goes to the adjacent hills and tries to stall the tank for as long as he can. He starts shooting at it, then sneaks near it and climbs on it. The tank operators eventually shake him off, but then Saunders inserts an object (a log, I think) inside the traction system, making its motion impossible. This only works for so long, but it gives time to Saunders to go back near the truck. The support system collapses while the driver is under the truck and it falls on him, trapping him there. Saunders changes the tire, but moving the truck would kill the guy under it. Noticing the tank has resumed its motion, Saunders goes back near it and places a flask with gasoline on it; then he shoots it, causing it to go into flames. Now he can go back and free his friend from under the truck.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
His Girl Friday (1940)
Second viewing.
A woman journalist is quitting the profession and getting married. She pays a visit to her ex-husband and ex-boss in the newspaper office where she worked, and he plots to make her reverse her decisions by using a man about to be executed as a bait.
Smart and funny, flawlessly directed. I wish I had more time and energy to review this as it deserves.
Rating: 73 (up from 70) (moved to my list of bests of 1940, in the 8th position.)
A woman journalist is quitting the profession and getting married. She pays a visit to her ex-husband and ex-boss in the newspaper office where she worked, and he plots to make her reverse her decisions by using a man about to be executed as a bait.
Smart and funny, flawlessly directed. I wish I had more time and energy to review this as it deserves.
Rating: 73 (up from 70) (moved to my list of bests of 1940, in the 8th position.)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Combat!: Mountain Man (1964) (TV)
Saunders, Kirby and Caje request a mountain man to guide them through the mountains, so that they may later guide the whole company through that area. The guy is reluctant at first, but then accedes, conditioned to a reward. They are captured by the Germans.
Quite scenic episode, with impressive skiing sequences.
Quite scenic episode, with impressive skiing sequences.
Combat!: Vendetta (1964) (TV)
Hanley's squad meets a Greek colonel who saves their lives. He is a polemic fellow who doesn't much care for wounded soldiers and pulls rank on Hanley so that he and his troops will lead him to a German depot which he plans to destroy, against Hanley's advice.
I don't know where the vendetta is in this. Just as I didn't know where the glory among men was in the previous one.
I don't know where the vendetta is in this. Just as I didn't know where the glory among men was in the previous one.
Top Hat (1935)
Second viewing.
A dancer meets a woman and falls in love with her. She mistakenly takes him for his married producer friend. She has a dressmaker friend who wants to "settle the score".
This seemed better on second viewing. It has a well polished script which works fine as a comedy, and has well integrated dance-and-song sequences, which are of very good taste.
Rating: 61 (up from 55)
A dancer meets a woman and falls in love with her. She mistakenly takes him for his married producer friend. She has a dressmaker friend who wants to "settle the score".
This seemed better on second viewing. It has a well polished script which works fine as a comedy, and has well integrated dance-and-song sequences, which are of very good taste.
Rating: 61 (up from 55)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Superman gets rid of all the nuclear weapons. Luthor escapes from jail and builds an evil clone of Superman.
Weak sequel. There isn't much to be said about it that hasn't already been.
Rating: 32
Weak sequel. There isn't much to be said about it that hasn't already been.
Rating: 32
Combat!: The Glory Among Men (1964) (TV)
Scratch head: what was this one about again? Oh yes, it is about a soldier whom nobody likes because he cheats at the dice game and is a coward in combat. During a confrontation with the Germans he gets caught between the allies and the enemy, without a possibility of being rescued without great danger.
Direct Action (2004)
A police officer has denounced his corrupt colleagues and is threatened by the new corrupt captain. His (I mean the honest cop's) gorgeous female partner becomes his new ally.
Very run-of-the-mill thriller.
Rating: 32
Very run-of-the-mill thriller.
Rating: 32
Combat!: The Short Day of Private Putman (1964) (TV)
Let me see if I can remember anything at all of this show, 11 days after I saw it. Private Putnam is, oh yes, now I remember it, he is a 15-year-old boy who lied about his age at enlistment. Now he feigns self-sufficiency before his new army comrades. The waitress at the local bar is the only one in the know, and she is hesitant to tell Lt. Hanley about it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Band Wagon (1953)
Second viewing.
An aging dancer, going through a down phase in his career, is invited to do a new musical show under the direction of a prestigious director of classic dramas. A renowned ballerina is invited to be the leading lady.
Almost ininterruptedly enjoyable until the opening night of the flop show. After the performance there is a get-together of the artists, which is kind of a perplexing sequence because, being so well done in mise-en-scene terms, is so poorly provided musically (the slightly ridiculous and thematically unrelated to the rest of the film I Love Louisa). Shortly after that point there are two numbers (Triplets and Louisiana Hay Ride) which contrast even more with the refinement of everything that went before and are among the most grotesque I have ever seen; furthermore, they do not seem to connect between themselves at all. I wonder what they really mean, if anything. Was that break in style on purpose? Was it meant to convey the vulgarity of the new show, in opposition to the stiff elitism of the original one? The third number of the reworked show, the splendid parody of hard-boiled novels/films, seems to be a more explicit commentary on low culture; this time around, however, the artistry which is displayed puts a distance between what we see and that low culture, thus leveling the film and the show within it. To wrap everything around, we have an ending which seems to establish a connection with the original Oedipus Rex thematic thread, approaching the question which must come to the mind of every reader/watcher of that classic play: doesn't it bother Oedipus in the least that Jocasta is so much older than him? The genders are reversed in the film (in relation to the myth), which is probably significative. In truth, this subtheme of age difference is not unrelated to the "main" one, of high-brow/low-brow opposition, with a mean twist: here the older person is associated with the lower end of the cultural spectrum, and the younger one, with its higher end.
Rating: 67
P.S.: after picking up some information on the web about this film, some of its problems were explained to me. The songs were all taken from a 1931 Broadway musical, but the screenplay has, apparently, nothing to do with that show. From which we see that the film is actually, in a way, about itself: it shows how when you join too many incompatible elements in the same work, problems arise.
An aging dancer, going through a down phase in his career, is invited to do a new musical show under the direction of a prestigious director of classic dramas. A renowned ballerina is invited to be the leading lady.
Almost ininterruptedly enjoyable until the opening night of the flop show. After the performance there is a get-together of the artists, which is kind of a perplexing sequence because, being so well done in mise-en-scene terms, is so poorly provided musically (the slightly ridiculous and thematically unrelated to the rest of the film I Love Louisa). Shortly after that point there are two numbers (Triplets and Louisiana Hay Ride) which contrast even more with the refinement of everything that went before and are among the most grotesque I have ever seen; furthermore, they do not seem to connect between themselves at all. I wonder what they really mean, if anything. Was that break in style on purpose? Was it meant to convey the vulgarity of the new show, in opposition to the stiff elitism of the original one? The third number of the reworked show, the splendid parody of hard-boiled novels/films, seems to be a more explicit commentary on low culture; this time around, however, the artistry which is displayed puts a distance between what we see and that low culture, thus leveling the film and the show within it. To wrap everything around, we have an ending which seems to establish a connection with the original Oedipus Rex thematic thread, approaching the question which must come to the mind of every reader/watcher of that classic play: doesn't it bother Oedipus in the least that Jocasta is so much older than him? The genders are reversed in the film (in relation to the myth), which is probably significative. In truth, this subtheme of age difference is not unrelated to the "main" one, of high-brow/low-brow opposition, with a mean twist: here the older person is associated with the lower end of the cultural spectrum, and the younger one, with its higher end.
Rating: 67
P.S.: after picking up some information on the web about this film, some of its problems were explained to me. The songs were all taken from a 1931 Broadway musical, but the screenplay has, apparently, nothing to do with that show. From which we see that the film is actually, in a way, about itself: it shows how when you join too many incompatible elements in the same work, problems arise.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Combat!: Mail Call (1964) (TV)
A new soldier coming from another outfit joins Saunders' squad. Saunders gets a letter that upsets him deeply; he becomes cold and distant towards his soldiers. At the same time, he gets very suspicious of the new guy, who seems to be dodging combat.
Interesting episode.
Interesting episode.
Combat!: Weep No More (1964) (TV)
A woman has lost her speech after a traumatizing incident. She is placed in a safe house but escapes and is then captured by the Germans. Hanley goes after her.
One of the weirdest episodes; there are very subtle nuances to it. Those looking for standard combat action will probably not get it.
One of the weirdest episodes; there are very subtle nuances to it. Those looking for standard combat action will probably not get it.
Combat!: The Wounded Don't Cry (1963) (TV)
Saunders' squad takes over a group of Germans from a dismantled squad. A German officer requests permission to go and fetch plasma from a German ambulance which suffered an accident and was abandoned.
Interesting episode, centering on difficult war decisions.
Interesting episode, centering on difficult war decisions.
Combat!: The Pillbox (1964) (TV)
Hanley and a wounded soldier take refuge at a German pillbox; a group of German soldiers enter the pillbox, and are forced to submit to them.
Interesting episode, centering on difficult war decisions.
Interesting episode, centering on difficult war decisions.
Con Air (1997)
A released convict is caught on the same plane where a prisoner riot takes place.
Reasonably entertaining at parts; the beginning is the better part; the excitement drops a little in the second half.
Rating: 45
Reasonably entertaining at parts; the beginning is the better part; the excitement drops a little in the second half.
Rating: 45
Festival in Cannes (2001)
Several characters with more or less interrelating stories during a film festival.
An interesting cross-section of one aspect of the film industry, from the personal, dramatic angle. The film has a consistent screenplay and, overall, is well directed. The cast is more or less uniformly good, but a word must go for Scacchi, outstanding.
Rating: 53
An interesting cross-section of one aspect of the film industry, from the personal, dramatic angle. The film has a consistent screenplay and, overall, is well directed. The cast is more or less uniformly good, but a word must go for Scacchi, outstanding.
Rating: 53
Trapped Ashes (2006)
Four segments: "The Girl with Golden Breasts" (woman gets a breast enhancement with ghastly consequences) , "Jigoku" (couple on vacation in Japan, she falls for a guy who then dies and...), "Stanley's Girlfriend" (a director and a screenwriter, plus the former's girlfriend, are a threesome of sorts, with a supernatural element), and "My Twin, the Worm" (a pregnant woman is infected with a tape worm and must let it grow because the treatment would hurt the fetus).
Mostly derivative horror. The set-up is practically the same as Tales from the Crypt (1972); The Girl with Golden Breasts is a close variation on Rabid (1977); Jigoku is based on the Tristan and Isolde medieval narrative; Stanley's Girlfriend is so stupid that it couldn't be based on anything else; My Twin, the Worm has an interesting and, as far as I know, original premise, but is probably the least well directed of them all.
Rating: 32
Mostly derivative horror. The set-up is practically the same as Tales from the Crypt (1972); The Girl with Golden Breasts is a close variation on Rabid (1977); Jigoku is based on the Tristan and Isolde medieval narrative; Stanley's Girlfriend is so stupid that it couldn't be based on anything else; My Twin, the Worm has an interesting and, as far as I know, original premise, but is probably the least well directed of them all.
Rating: 32
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Second viewing.
Paleontologist meets rich woman who will go to any lengths to divert him from marrying his uptight bossy fiancée and get him for herself.
A very cerebral comedy, with one of the greatest performances ever (Hepburn).
Rating: 80 (unchanged, holds its position as number 3 in 1938's favorites)
Paleontologist meets rich woman who will go to any lengths to divert him from marrying his uptight bossy fiancée and get him for herself.
A very cerebral comedy, with one of the greatest performances ever (Hepburn).
Rating: 80 (unchanged, holds its position as number 3 in 1938's favorites)
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Combat!: Anatomy of a Patrol (1963) (TV)
An allied plane containing important aerial film footage crashes. Both an allied and a German squads try to reach it.
A fabulously entertaining episode.
A fabulously entertaining episode.
A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919)
A bridegroom gets separated from his bride right after the wedding (note: I probably should call them husband and wife, since it is after the wedding; I am not very assured with English writing). The film depicts his efforts to join her.
An above-average slapstick comedy, the most attractive feature of which is the stupendous Lloyd, of course.
Rating: 60
An above-average slapstick comedy, the most attractive feature of which is the stupendous Lloyd, of course.
Rating: 60
Paranoid Park (2007)
A teenager gets involved in the death of a railway security guard. As an investigation is under way, he leads a normal teenage life skateboarding, having sex, and hanging out with his buddies.
For me this was an exceedingly unsatisfactory film, with some choices that seemed inconceivable coming from an experienced filmmaker like this. Just as an example, the choice of keeping the main event of the film a mystery until halfway to it -- why? Also, there is so little actually going on in the entire movie, that it feels almost like a short. Sometimes the filmmaker doesn't seem to care much about the actual rooting of the film's themes in images - e.g. I do not remember a single scene featuring the lead character skating. All this is not to say that it is a worthless film: there is a distinct sense of poesy which permeates some of its scenes (the protagonist falling asleep in the lab; the very weird scene where his two female friends talk to him while he is reading the newspaper; etc).
Rating: 45
For me this was an exceedingly unsatisfactory film, with some choices that seemed inconceivable coming from an experienced filmmaker like this. Just as an example, the choice of keeping the main event of the film a mystery until halfway to it -- why? Also, there is so little actually going on in the entire movie, that it feels almost like a short. Sometimes the filmmaker doesn't seem to care much about the actual rooting of the film's themes in images - e.g. I do not remember a single scene featuring the lead character skating. All this is not to say that it is a worthless film: there is a distinct sense of poesy which permeates some of its scenes (the protagonist falling asleep in the lab; the very weird scene where his two female friends talk to him while he is reading the newspaper; etc).
Rating: 45
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Lady Chatterley (2006)
Based on the novel "John Thomas and Lady Jane", by D.H. Lawrence, written in 1927. This novel was not published during the author's life; it was rewritten and published as "Lady Chatterley's Lover" in 1928.
A woman whose husband is paralyzed has an affair with the gamekeeper.
Well done, but to be honest I found it too beautiful. On the one hand, it raises interesting questions about the class system in 1920's England; on the other, I am not so sure about the verisimilitude of these characters and situations. And I was a little bored.
Rating: 67
A woman whose husband is paralyzed has an affair with the gamekeeper.
Well done, but to be honest I found it too beautiful. On the one hand, it raises interesting questions about the class system in 1920's England; on the other, I am not so sure about the verisimilitude of these characters and situations. And I was a little bored.
Rating: 67
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Combat!: The Bridge at Chalons (1963) (TV)
Saunders' assignment is to lead a squad escorting a demolition man to a bridge he will blow up. The man is an obnoxiously unfriendly type.
Excellent episode.
Excellent episode.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Combat!: Masquerade (1963) (TV)
Two soldiers carrying a German prisoner in a jeep pass by Saunders and his squad. The three are actually Germans in disguise who want to get to the American battalion.
OK episode. This is the one where we almost get to know Saunders' first name.
OK episode. This is the one where we almost get to know Saunders' first name.
Judge Dredd (1995)
In the future, the justice system works by way of so-called "judges", who are police, jury and executioner in one person. One of these judges is framed in a crime he hasn't committed. Parallel to that, a conspiracy to reactivate a secret genetic engineering project is under way.
Not bad action/futuristic thriller. I thought the dialogue rather uninspired though.
Rating: 50
Not bad action/futuristic thriller. I thought the dialogue rather uninspired though.
Rating: 50
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) (TV)
Biographical drama. The style is soap-operatic, with recurring references to gypsy prophecies and assorted superstitions. I find incidents in small boats (cf. Knife in the Water, Dead Calm) very interesting cinematic material, and that was reason enough for watching this. On the other hand, the rape depiction is weird: the pre-rape events in the rapist's apartment are not shown, for some mysterious reason. But then again, this is not an ordinary fiction work: it is more like a semi-documentary, with interviews with some of the real persons which inspired the film, interspersed with the narrative sections.
Rating: 35
Rating: 35
Fay Grim (2006)
A sequel to Henry Fool. Henry's Confessions become a valuable item when it is learned that it contains sensitive political information. The CIA uses Henry's wife Fay as an instrument to recover the Confessions. She travels to Europe, where she faces all sorts of danger.
A dry parody of espionage thrillers; occasionally funny, but overall it is rather boring and pointless.
Rating: 36
A dry parody of espionage thrillers; occasionally funny, but overall it is rather boring and pointless.
Rating: 36
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Atonement (2007)
An upper-class young woman is in love with her housekeeper's son. She has a younger sister who is disturbed by their behavior and ends up accusing the lad of a crime he hasn't committed.
To classify this simply as kitsch would in fact be complimentary, since I have seen other instances of kitsch with greater entertainment value and thematic consistency. The fact is that, even disregarding style, the film has structural problems: it feels choppy and condensed. And the greatest problem of all seems to come from the text itself: some of the individual episodes were interesting, but they didn't seem to add to a meaningful whole. And, as everyone else has already pointed out, the film's idea of atonement is ridiculous.
Rating: 39
To classify this simply as kitsch would in fact be complimentary, since I have seen other instances of kitsch with greater entertainment value and thematic consistency. The fact is that, even disregarding style, the film has structural problems: it feels choppy and condensed. And the greatest problem of all seems to come from the text itself: some of the individual episodes were interesting, but they didn't seem to add to a meaningful whole. And, as everyone else has already pointed out, the film's idea of atonement is ridiculous.
Rating: 39
Detention (2003)
A gang who plans a spectacular robbery uses a high school after the class period for its activities. The problem is that there are some students and a teacher (not to mention a security guard) still in the premises of the school.
Quite absurd at its most basic level, as many reviewers pointed out: the bandits have no reason to attack anyone, to begin with, since they could do their job out of everyone's sight; second, their plan (using a police car which they will repaint) is beyond ridiculous. In terms of action, the layout is simple: the bad guys are terrible shooters, which allows the good guys to survive in all but the most direct confrontations.
Rating: 25
Quite absurd at its most basic level, as many reviewers pointed out: the bandits have no reason to attack anyone, to begin with, since they could do their job out of everyone's sight; second, their plan (using a police car which they will repaint) is beyond ridiculous. In terms of action, the layout is simple: the bad guys are terrible shooters, which allows the good guys to survive in all but the most direct confrontations.
Rating: 25
Auf der anderen Seite (2007)
U.S. title: The Edge of Heaven.
Correctly translated title: On the other side.
Two interrelated stories: 1) a Turkish-born professor living in Germany, his father and the prostitute who lives with the latter; 2) a Turkish student involved in an activist organization, who is forced to flee to Germany, and a German student with whom she starts a homosexual relationship.
The film lacks conflict: it flows too easily, with the characters assuming all too often a position of "peace, love and understanding"; still, it has qualities and is consistently watchable throughout.
Rating: 61
Correctly translated title: On the other side.
Two interrelated stories: 1) a Turkish-born professor living in Germany, his father and the prostitute who lives with the latter; 2) a Turkish student involved in an activist organization, who is forced to flee to Germany, and a German student with whom she starts a homosexual relationship.
The film lacks conflict: it flows too easily, with the characters assuming all too often a position of "peace, love and understanding"; still, it has qualities and is consistently watchable throughout.
Rating: 61
Congorama (2006)
Two stories which are interrelated. A Belgian inventor comes to Québec with the purpose of finding out his biological parents' identities. A Québecois man tries to recover his father's project notes for an electric car.
Watchable, but its notion of aesthetics is that of a jigsaw puzzle, where little things must fit one another.
Rating: 37
Watchable, but its notion of aesthetics is that of a jigsaw puzzle, where little things must fit one another.
Rating: 37
Little Nikita (1988)
A guy finds out that his parents are "sleepers", i.e., Soviet spies who established themselves in the U.S. with fake identities of American citizens with the purpose of being "activated" in the future. A rogue Soviet agent is killing all the sleepers with the intent of extorting money from the U.R.S.S.
Implausible at times, but entertains mildly. Phoenix's performance is too bad.
Rating: 41
Implausible at times, but entertains mildly. Phoenix's performance is too bad.
Rating: 41
Monday, August 10, 2009
Cloverfield (2008)
A giant monster attacks Manhattan.
A curious idea - a faux amateur movie - reasonably well executed on the technical side. That's all this is.
Rating: 44
A curious idea - a faux amateur movie - reasonably well executed on the technical side. That's all this is.
Rating: 44
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Dark Matter (2007)
A Chinese physics graduation student at an American university gets into a conflict with his advisor.
Manipulative account of the experience of foreign students in the USA. For anyone who knows just a little about how the Academia works in the exact sciences area (my case, with emphasis on the "just a little" part) it will be clear that the details of the story fall strictly in the fiction category, notwithstanding its loose inspiration on a real event. And while it is probably true that university professors are prone to having an oversized ego problem my very small experience suggests that this is not as big an issue in the exact sciences area as the film seems to imply. Anyway, the really bothersome aspect of the film is its agenda of demonizing the USA through a deliberate construction of characters and situations which seem to justify the protagonist's insane deeds at the end. The use of the U.S. National Anthem to imply that freedom in the U.S. is illusory eschews the issue which should be discussed instead, namely, how excessive freedom (to buy guns, in this case) is sometimes the real problem.
Rating: 12
Manipulative account of the experience of foreign students in the USA. For anyone who knows just a little about how the Academia works in the exact sciences area (my case, with emphasis on the "just a little" part) it will be clear that the details of the story fall strictly in the fiction category, notwithstanding its loose inspiration on a real event. And while it is probably true that university professors are prone to having an oversized ego problem my very small experience suggests that this is not as big an issue in the exact sciences area as the film seems to imply. Anyway, the really bothersome aspect of the film is its agenda of demonizing the USA through a deliberate construction of characters and situations which seem to justify the protagonist's insane deeds at the end. The use of the U.S. National Anthem to imply that freedom in the U.S. is illusory eschews the issue which should be discussed instead, namely, how excessive freedom (to buy guns, in this case) is sometimes the real problem.
Rating: 12
Half Nelson (2006)
A high school teacher faces a personal crisis fueled by his drug addiction. One of his students who faces some dilemmas of her own becomes attached to him.
Probably some of the faults pointed out are true, chiefly among them the unrealism of the central situation; other accusations are simply too narrow-minded to be mentioned. I defend that one should, if not overlook, at least try to see beyond these alleged faults. I do not want to come off as arrogant but it seems that not a few people misunderstood this film badly. In my view, the axis of the film is the idea that the way one views the world conditions the way one lives. Specifically, to view the world dialectically leads to an embodiment of that worldview in the form of a personality that is constantly in conflict with itself (and with others, it goes without saying); drugs are just the lifestyle that naturally suits this state of self. The opposition to that is established in the form of the friendship of a 13-year old girl, which is not dialectic at all, and thus works as the antithesis to the teacher's worldview. This operates in an infinitely self-contradicting framework, since any opposition is dialectic by definition. The film refuses to offer the final synthesis, a stance which is more than adequate to its proposition. There are further layers to this, such as the discussion about the relative positions of drug user/drug dealer, a theme covered also in Tropa de Elite.
P.S.: all of the above but the synopsis is a JOKE (sorry, my very few readers, I am assaulted by a pranking spirit once in a blue moon). Now, my true opinion about HALF NELSON: another inane sundance-thing, posing as a heart-wrenching descent-to-hell-and-redemption tale.
Rating (the real one): 27
Probably some of the faults pointed out are true, chiefly among them the unrealism of the central situation; other accusations are simply too narrow-minded to be mentioned. I defend that one should, if not overlook, at least try to see beyond these alleged faults. I do not want to come off as arrogant but it seems that not a few people misunderstood this film badly. In my view, the axis of the film is the idea that the way one views the world conditions the way one lives. Specifically, to view the world dialectically leads to an embodiment of that worldview in the form of a personality that is constantly in conflict with itself (and with others, it goes without saying); drugs are just the lifestyle that naturally suits this state of self. The opposition to that is established in the form of the friendship of a 13-year old girl, which is not dialectic at all, and thus works as the antithesis to the teacher's worldview. This operates in an infinitely self-contradicting framework, since any opposition is dialectic by definition. The film refuses to offer the final synthesis, a stance which is more than adequate to its proposition. There are further layers to this, such as the discussion about the relative positions of drug user/drug dealer, a theme covered also in Tropa de Elite.
P.S.: all of the above but the synopsis is a JOKE (sorry, my very few readers, I am assaulted by a pranking spirit once in a blue moon). Now, my true opinion about HALF NELSON: another inane sundance-thing, posing as a heart-wrenching descent-to-hell-and-redemption tale.
Rating (the real one): 27
Combat!: The Battle of the Roses (1963) (TV)
Saunders' squad is at a town being attacked by Germans. They must evacuate it but a young woman driven mad by recent events refuses to leave a garden where she sits listening to music in the company of her faithful servant.
Interesting.
Interesting.
Hanky Panky (1982)
A guy becomes involved in a plot involving the theft of important military secrets contained in a computer tape. He is accused of murder and is forced to flee, in the company of a woman who claims to want to help him.
Not bad as entertainment, but way too derivative to be really of interest.
Rating: 43
Not bad as entertainment, but way too derivative to be really of interest.
Rating: 43
Hard Times (1975)
A man employs himself as a street fighter in the U.S. of the Depression years.
The problem here is the lack of a solid plotline beyond the obvious situations that one might expect from this kind of premise. It is all done with competence but it is less a gritty realistic depiction of the Depression than a melodrama about a guy whom nobody can beat.
Rating: 43
The problem here is the lack of a solid plotline beyond the obvious situations that one might expect from this kind of premise. It is all done with competence but it is less a gritty realistic depiction of the Depression than a melodrama about a guy whom nobody can beat.
Rating: 43
Savage Grace (2007)
A socialite and her husband live in various places in Europe throughout the sixties and seventies; they have a son. The socialite comes from a lower class and behaves obnoxiously in social occasions, much to her husband's dismay. He eventually leaves her.
Although inspired by real characters and events relating to the Baekeland family, the film handles the factual and speculative material so incompetently that it becomes an incomprehensible mess. There is no causal arc between any of the characters' acts, and at times what they say and do is simply not believable.
Rating: 25
Although inspired by real characters and events relating to the Baekeland family, the film handles the factual and speculative material so incompetently that it becomes an incomprehensible mess. There is no causal arc between any of the characters' acts, and at times what they say and do is simply not believable.
Rating: 25
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Strange occurrences have been taking place at the Opera House. A masked man and his mad assistant, both living in an underground lair in the Opera House building are behind these events. The new singer becomes the masked man's protegee. The composer is a lecher after the singer's favors.
There isn't much logic in it, which is partly a consequence of the major changes made in regards to the original novel; also, the plot development is a little bit choppy (I couldn't find out whether the 84 minute version I saw was the complete one). But, changes and all, this version has had an enormous appeal on our collective imagination, and the film is an attention grabber for the most part of it, which is also due to its being masterfully filmed. Its influence was felt in several other films, most notably perhaps in the two Dr. Phibes films of the early seventies.
Rating: 50
There isn't much logic in it, which is partly a consequence of the major changes made in regards to the original novel; also, the plot development is a little bit choppy (I couldn't find out whether the 84 minute version I saw was the complete one). But, changes and all, this version has had an enormous appeal on our collective imagination, and the film is an attention grabber for the most part of it, which is also due to its being masterfully filmed. Its influence was felt in several other films, most notably perhaps in the two Dr. Phibes films of the early seventies.
Rating: 50
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Black Belt Jones (1974)
Some unscrupulous real estate entrepreneurs want the site of a martial arts school for the building of a condominium. In defense of the poor sports educators, call Black Belt Jones, an agent and karate expert.
A very poor screenplay is the major deficiency here. The highlight of absurdity is when the protagonist invites some beach girls to help him raid the enemy's house. (This and other pertinent observations were also made by the The Bad Movie Report reviewer, who nevertheless seemed to enjoy the movie more than I did).
Rating: 31
A very poor screenplay is the major deficiency here. The highlight of absurdity is when the protagonist invites some beach girls to help him raid the enemy's house. (This and other pertinent observations were also made by the The Bad Movie Report reviewer, who nevertheless seemed to enjoy the movie more than I did).
Rating: 31
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Shoot 'Em Up (2007)
A man is caught up in a web of murder as he assumes the role of protecting a baby from a gang of assassins. The gang's motives are related to a complex imbroglio involving the arms industry and a sick senator.
Deliriously cartoonish, unrelentlessly inventive and funny, flaunting its fundamental contradiction (guns are good/guns are bad) with a cynicism so blatant that it becomes its exact opposite, perhaps.
Rating: 69
Deliriously cartoonish, unrelentlessly inventive and funny, flaunting its fundamental contradiction (guns are good/guns are bad) with a cynicism so blatant that it becomes its exact opposite, perhaps.
Rating: 69
Monday, August 03, 2009
Picasso Trigger (1988)
I can't explain the plot of this film with any exactitude. Very loosely, it is about a group of agents against a criminal named Ortiz who seems to have killed his partner named Salazar. There is also a ring of sex slavery, whose connection to said criminals I did not get.
Very poor filmmaking, a very dull film.
Rating: 9
Very poor filmmaking, a very dull film.
Rating: 9
The Foreigner (2003)
A special agent is hired to deliver a package from France to Germany.
The plot does not make sense. The action set-pieces are mediocre.
Rating: 27
The plot does not make sense. The action set-pieces are mediocre.
Rating: 27
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Combat!: Survival (1963) (TV)
Hanley's squad is captured. They are released when the site they are in is bombed, but Saunders is left behind, tied up inside a room on fire.
One of the more imagetical episodes.
One of the more imagetical episodes.
Combat!: No Hallelujahs for Glory (1963) (TV)
A newspaper reporter with a penchant for getting into trouble wants to do a story on the war and Saunders has to keep an eye on her.
Quite interesting episode, with a good deal of complexity in it and a strong yet somewhat misguided critique of the press. The forgotten aspect is that newspaper coverage was in the best interest of the war effort inasmuch as it helped build a favorable public opinion, which translated into tax dollars.
Quite interesting episode, with a good deal of complexity in it and a strong yet somewhat misguided critique of the press. The forgotten aspect is that newspaper coverage was in the best interest of the war effort inasmuch as it helped build a favorable public opinion, which translated into tax dollars.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Lions for Lambs (2007)
Three situations evolve simultaneously: a professor tries to imbue a student with civic spirit, a senator tries to coopt a journalist into a military strategy devised by him, and two soldiers in Afghanistan are dropped in a region infested by enemies.
Or: 'Liberalism for Dummies'. To call this film preachy would be an understatement; as a matter of fact, I do not see any dramatic entanglement and disentanglement in it. The screenwriter practically speaks through the mouth of the 'professor' character (no wonder the director took this role for himself). The film's 'points' are hard to determine, given the lame way in which they are delivered. If you want the simple truth about the Iraq war, see No End in Sight (I have yet to see it in its entirety, but what I saw is staggering enough).
Rating: 12
Or: 'Liberalism for Dummies'. To call this film preachy would be an understatement; as a matter of fact, I do not see any dramatic entanglement and disentanglement in it. The screenwriter practically speaks through the mouth of the 'professor' character (no wonder the director took this role for himself). The film's 'points' are hard to determine, given the lame way in which they are delivered. If you want the simple truth about the Iraq war, see No End in Sight (I have yet to see it in its entirety, but what I saw is staggering enough).
Rating: 12
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