The Producers (2005)

Musical remake of a 1968 film.

A dishonest Broadway producer puts into practice a scam concocted by his accountant-turned-associate: to produce a bad play which would flop and then to pocket the excess money they had raised. Only the play turns out to be a hit.

This musical version didn't do it for me, although the lyrics are quite good and the cast is competent.

Rating: 48

Diggers (2006)

The lives of clam diggers in Long Island in 1975 when a big corporation threatens their way of life.

I guess this is not too bad, but I wouldn't call it exciting or original.

Rating: 43

Murderball (2005)

Documentary mostly about wheelchair rugby.

Watchable.

Rating: 45

Seinfeld: The Slicer (1997) (TV)

Probably a second viewing. This episode is one of the most intricately concocted pieces of writing I have seen in a TV show.

Constantine (2005)

Based on a comics series whose main character was created by Alan Moore in 1985.

Satan's son plans to rule the Earth; an exorcist tries to stop him.

Very poor in every sense. Consciously or not, it is a metaphor for the immigration policy of First World countries.

Rating: 18

No Country for Old Men (2007)

A man finds a suitcase full of money in the site of a drug deal gone bad. He is chased by several parties involved with it.

Melancholically devoid of coherence, it nevertheless bears locally enjoyable set-pieces and often marvelously written dialogue.

Rating: 50

Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004)

English title: A Very Long Engagement.

Based on the novel by Sébastien Japrisot (1st ed. 1991).

In 1920, a young woman whose fiancé doesn't return from war begins searching for him.

Dull and without any psychological truth; stylistically, it is an artificial, sterilized candy sculpture of a movie.

Rating: 25

Fear No Evil (1969) (TV)

A man buys an antique mirror and begins acting weird, much to his fiancée's dismay.

This belongs to the "mumbo-jumbo" genre (my denomination). Anyway, it gave me the desire to read "Moses and Monotheism".

Rating: 37

Seinfeld: The Junk Mail (1997) (TV)

Probably not the first time I see this. I like this show a lot.

Hostel (2005)

Some American tourists in Slovakia fall victim to a ring of sadists.

Not bad.

Rating: 53

End of Days (1999)

On the eve of the year 2000, the Devil would impregnate a certain woman. A certain religious organization plans to kill her, and thus prevent that event to happen. A private security guard gets mixed up in this affair and tries to save the girl from being killed and also from what he thinks is a bad sexual encounter.

A totally silly premise made into a hopelessly vacuous yet not badly directed film. It may be thought of as a demonstration piece for the case that the horror and action genres don't mix well, the latter being heavily reliant on rules (physical ones, mostly) and the former being based on situations where one or more rules cease to prevail.

Rating: 22

'R Xmas (2001)

isSome days in the life of a drug dealer and his family, near Christmas. He is kidnapped and his wife has to come up with the ransom money.

Bad stuff, and shot in cheap video to boot. Believe me, there is too little going on here, and some of it doesn't even make sense.

Rating: 19

Black Irish (2007)

A family of Irish ascent living in South Boston faces some problems. The film is told from the point of view of the youngest son.

It couldn't get more cliché than this, even though these are fairly realistic clichés, and the film can be said to stick to plausible situations throughout.

Rating: 37

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

This is my second viewing. Here you have the original review and a Post Scriptum where I reconsider some of my initial remarks.

Rating: 35 (up from 10)

Touch (1997)

Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard (1st ed. 1987).

A young man has the power to heal through his touch. He becomes the target of public attention and is coveted on the one side by some money-hungry people and on the other by a religious fanatic.

It has some marginal entertaining qualities and top-notch cinematography and camerawork, but it is not particularly funny; its points of satire are either painly obvious (people are greedy) or find no resonance in my personal concerns (there is no room for the sacred in contemporary society). What ruins the movie, though, is the bland, indecisive tone, an intermediary between caricature and earnest drama. Arnold's performance is pretty marvelous, in any case.

Rating: 35

Les égarés (2003)

English title: Strayed.

A widow and her two children flee Paris when the Germans invade it. On the road they meet a young man and decide to follow him into the woods. They find an abandoned house and begin living there.

Interesting drama which is nevertheless marred by some artificial character behavior and dialogue. The bombing scenes at the beginning are impressive.

Rating: 53

Spun (2002)

Some days in the life of some drug addicts.

The fast-cutting gets wearisome eventually; the film is funny, although the druggie genre was a bit saturated by then.

Rating: 50

La fe del volcán (2001)

English title: The Faith of the Volcano.

The film narrates, sort of, the friendship between an adolescent girl and a middle-aged man, both struggling for their lives in crisis-stricken Argentina.

This is a zero-budget film, shot in poor-quality video, without much emphasis on narrative focus -- it starts as a documentary about the filmmaker, then changes to the main storyline, described above.

Rating: 23

Mortel transfert (2001)

English title: Mortal Transfer.

A shrink falls asleep during a session and when he wakes up he finds that his patient, a woman with masochistic tendencies, is dead by strangling.

Uninspired.

Rating: 30

P.S.: Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.

P.S. (2004)

She lost her high school sweetheart to her best friend. Then he died tragically. Many years later she is head of admissions for the local University's Art Department, he reappears as one the applicants.

Silly premise, feeble dramaturgy.

Rating: 20