Synopsis: Ethan must go back in the field in a rescue mission. It's all about a black market peddler who is planning to sell a device to a Middle Eastern country.
Appraisal: It's an "Alias" episode, stretched and with more spectacular action sequences.
Rating: 40
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Synopsis: A cop witnesses his partner get killed when they are following a suspect. He subsequently waives his badge and gun. When said partner's journalist girlfriend is murdered, he decides to find the culprits by himself.
Appraisal: Derivative actioner; it takes some of the elements from Dirty Harry (1971) while reshaping the main character as a martial arts expert. When justice outside the law was the exclusive turf of superheroes it was harder for viewers to consider them as feasible models to follow. Thus, you wouldn't see people practicing flight for instance, whereas the martial arts gym business boomed after An Eye for an Eye. Anywhow, there is some amount of undemanding entertainment to be had from it; it is competently filmed, etc.
Rating: 34
Appraisal: Derivative actioner; it takes some of the elements from Dirty Harry (1971) while reshaping the main character as a martial arts expert. When justice outside the law was the exclusive turf of superheroes it was harder for viewers to consider them as feasible models to follow. Thus, you wouldn't see people practicing flight for instance, whereas the martial arts gym business boomed after An Eye for an Eye. Anywhow, there is some amount of undemanding entertainment to be had from it; it is competently filmed, etc.
Rating: 34
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Babe (1992)
Synopsis: Seven year old George is put in a catholic boarding school by his father, because of his unruly behavior. Already as a boy he displays enormous baseball skills. One day a baseball manager sees him play and offers to adopt him in exchange for his release from the boarding school. He almost instantly becomes America's most successful and famous baseball player. He meets an aspiring actress who seems to like him. He develops an infatuation for a waitress who is fond of animals; he proposes to her. His lifestyle is excessive and undisciplined, and that causes him a series of troubles.
Appraisal: This film belongs to two categories which rarely stand very high in my esteem: the biopic and the sports movie. When a film manages to escape the reverential tone of the former and the dullness of the latter, it has gone as far as it can for me in those genres; this film does both. It manages to build a believable character, to whom we are sympathetic and whose fortunes and misfortunes never get tedious. The real events on which it is based were previously dramatized in The Babe Ruth Story (1948), which I haven't seen.
Rating: 57
Appraisal: This film belongs to two categories which rarely stand very high in my esteem: the biopic and the sports movie. When a film manages to escape the reverential tone of the former and the dullness of the latter, it has gone as far as it can for me in those genres; this film does both. It manages to build a believable character, to whom we are sympathetic and whose fortunes and misfortunes never get tedious. The real events on which it is based were previously dramatized in The Babe Ruth Story (1948), which I haven't seen.
Rating: 57
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
Synopsis: An exploratory trip to Mars ends up with only one survivor. Another team is sent to rescue this man and send him to court-martial for the murder of the rest of his crew. He claims to be innocent and that some alien creature killed those persons. That creature enters the rescue ship and, during the trip back to Earth, continues its killing spree.
Appraisal: This is one of those films so demented that a certain surreal quality somehow transpires from them. To put it another way, the earnestness, conviction and energy with which its mechanical plot is conveyed gives it a certain amount of attractiveness despite its inherent silliness and the conspicuous poverty of its sets, costumes and effects. It was remade as Queen of Blood (1966), which I haven't seen; the concept of a monster in a spaceship was used again in Alien (1979).
Rating: 34
Appraisal: This is one of those films so demented that a certain surreal quality somehow transpires from them. To put it another way, the earnestness, conviction and energy with which its mechanical plot is conveyed gives it a certain amount of attractiveness despite its inherent silliness and the conspicuous poverty of its sets, costumes and effects. It was remade as Queen of Blood (1966), which I haven't seen; the concept of a monster in a spaceship was used again in Alien (1979).
Rating: 34
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Me Myself I (1999)
Synopsis: A frustrated and lonely woman is hit by a car and then transported to an alternate reality where she meets her other self, who took different decisions earlier in life. She and this other self then exchange their respective lives. She is thus placed in a situation where she is married to a guy she had rejected in her original life thread, a decision she regretted; she also has three children to look after, in her new reality.
Appraisal: Not completely unentertaining existential comedy which is however fairly predictable; it is a variation on the dramatically-oriented Giulia e Giulia (1987); it is also (apparently) a female version of Mr. Destiny (1990), which I haven't seen - by the way, The Family Man (2000) is another film which owes its main plot ideas to that 1990 film. Earlier works which deal in similar "what if" issues are Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). The "parallel lives" aspect was present also in La double vie de Véronique (1991), which is barely worth mentioning since it is so bad, and in a film I haven't seen, Passion of Mind (2000). And I have a vague notion of having also seen a TV show episode which had a resembling storyline; the show was perhaps "The Twilight Zone".
Rating: 38
Appraisal: Not completely unentertaining existential comedy which is however fairly predictable; it is a variation on the dramatically-oriented Giulia e Giulia (1987); it is also (apparently) a female version of Mr. Destiny (1990), which I haven't seen - by the way, The Family Man (2000) is another film which owes its main plot ideas to that 1990 film. Earlier works which deal in similar "what if" issues are Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). The "parallel lives" aspect was present also in La double vie de Véronique (1991), which is barely worth mentioning since it is so bad, and in a film I haven't seen, Passion of Mind (2000). And I have a vague notion of having also seen a TV show episode which had a resembling storyline; the show was perhaps "The Twilight Zone".
Rating: 38
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Synopsis: A live radio show has what is supposed to be its last performance before the new owners of the building tears it down.
Appraisal: Tame and uninspired musical drama. Some performances are good (note to self: watch anything Kline is in), others not quite (e.g. Tomlin); it is quite clear that there was no direction of actors in this movie (e.g. Lohan looks her ordinary, healthy self, not someone who writes poems about suicide). And about the Angel of Death - I guess they could come up with a less worn out cliché.
Rating: 43
Appraisal: Tame and uninspired musical drama. Some performances are good (note to self: watch anything Kline is in), others not quite (e.g. Tomlin); it is quite clear that there was no direction of actors in this movie (e.g. Lohan looks her ordinary, healthy self, not someone who writes poems about suicide). And about the Angel of Death - I guess they could come up with a less worn out cliché.
Rating: 43
Monday, October 08, 2007
A Glimpse of Hell (2001) (TV)
Synopsis: An explosion in an American battleship happens during an experimental shooting of the cannons. The Navy conducts an investigation during which it is attempted to produce a conclusion which is advantageous to the institution, regardless of the truth.
Appraisal: Unremarkable yet superficially competent dramatization of a real event occurred in 1989.
Rating: 38
Appraisal: Unremarkable yet superficially competent dramatization of a real event occurred in 1989.
Rating: 38
Duplex (2003)
Synopsis: A newlywed couple buys a house but cannot evict the upstairs tenant, an old woman. She makes their lives hell after they move in.
Appraisal: A variation on The Ladykillers (1955), to which it pays homage through its male and female young protagonists' last names. The first half of the movie is enjoyable at its best and tolerable at its worst. The second half is tolerable at its best and offensive at its worst. The director of this movie, although he hasn't written it or any of his previous ones, exhibits some thematic recurrences which are not hard to detect. Throw Momma from the Train (1987), like this one, had an old lady which was loathsome and hard to kill. The War of the Roses (1989) also had indoors belligerence. Matilda (1996) depicted another kind of tyranny of the older against the younger. And Death to Smoochy (2002) had, as here, one character's relentless efforts to destroy another. Hitchcock references seem to be recurring as well: "Duplex" references "The Birds" at one scene, "Throw Momma from the Train" is a loose remake of "Strangers on a Train".
Rating: 46
Appraisal: A variation on The Ladykillers (1955), to which it pays homage through its male and female young protagonists' last names. The first half of the movie is enjoyable at its best and tolerable at its worst. The second half is tolerable at its best and offensive at its worst. The director of this movie, although he hasn't written it or any of his previous ones, exhibits some thematic recurrences which are not hard to detect. Throw Momma from the Train (1987), like this one, had an old lady which was loathsome and hard to kill. The War of the Roses (1989) also had indoors belligerence. Matilda (1996) depicted another kind of tyranny of the older against the younger. And Death to Smoochy (2002) had, as here, one character's relentless efforts to destroy another. Hitchcock references seem to be recurring as well: "Duplex" references "The Birds" at one scene, "Throw Momma from the Train" is a loose remake of "Strangers on a Train".
Rating: 46
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Thank You for Smoking (2005)
Synopsis: A lobbyist for the tobacco industry is shown at his work and also in his interactions with his infant son. He starts a sexual relationship with a reporter who is making a story on him. Based on a novel by Christopher Buckley (1st ed. 1994).
Appraisal: Smart and witty, but somewhat lacking in really substantial contents; formally it is pedestrian, showing also a disturbing and unjustified penchant for extreme close-ups.
Rating: 58
Appraisal: Smart and witty, but somewhat lacking in really substantial contents; formally it is pedestrian, showing also a disturbing and unjustified penchant for extreme close-ups.
Rating: 58
Brick (2005)
Synopsis: A high school student's ex-girlfriend tells him she is in serious trouble but won't explain it except in the vaguest of terms. Some days later he finds her dead body. He sets up an investigation on his own.
Appraisal: A mimicry stunt which just does not have enough stamina to work on its own, without the heavy burden of cultural reference it carries. The dialogue is crisp to the point of affectation but the story plods along flatly. More or less similar things have been done before, as comedy though. Once, in the film Plain Clothes (1988), and I think the other one was a TV episode, but of which show? "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", probably.
Rating: 47
Appraisal: A mimicry stunt which just does not have enough stamina to work on its own, without the heavy burden of cultural reference it carries. The dialogue is crisp to the point of affectation but the story plods along flatly. More or less similar things have been done before, as comedy though. Once, in the film Plain Clothes (1988), and I think the other one was a TV episode, but of which show? "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", probably.
Rating: 47
Eros (2004)
Synopsis (mild spoilers): (1) The Dangerous Thread of Things. A man and a woman are facing a crisis in their relationship. One day, he sees a younger woman and feels attracted to her. He seeks her out. (2) Equilibrium. An advertising creator has recurring dreams about a woman whom he cannot identify. In a psychoanalysis sesssion, he tries to get to the bottom of it. (3) The Hand. A bond develops between a prostitute and her tailor whom she masturbates when they first meet.
Appraisal: Of segment (1), the less said the better; it is embarrassing for all involved. Segments (2) and (3) are both small pieces of great cinema. Segment (2) is a gem of ingeniousness and quirky humor, a circular construction about dreams, featuring the funniest shrink you ever saw in a movie. Only superficial minds will find it unrelated to the title theme. Segment (3) is a tale imbued of strong lyricism and melancholy, thematically related to, and more dramatically accomplished and emotionally effective than In the Mood for Love, by the same filmmaker.
Rating: (1) The Dangerous Thread of Things: 1
(2) Equilibrium: 80 [so far, 2004's best film I saw]
(3) The Hand: 80 [so far, 2004's second best film I saw]
Appraisal: Of segment (1), the less said the better; it is embarrassing for all involved. Segments (2) and (3) are both small pieces of great cinema. Segment (2) is a gem of ingeniousness and quirky humor, a circular construction about dreams, featuring the funniest shrink you ever saw in a movie. Only superficial minds will find it unrelated to the title theme. Segment (3) is a tale imbued of strong lyricism and melancholy, thematically related to, and more dramatically accomplished and emotionally effective than In the Mood for Love, by the same filmmaker.
Rating: (1) The Dangerous Thread of Things: 1
(2) Equilibrium: 80 [so far, 2004's best film I saw]
(3) The Hand: 80 [so far, 2004's second best film I saw]
Transamerica (2005)
Synopsis: A transexual on the brink of having his sex-change operation unexpectedly finds out about a son from a casual sex encounter with a now dead former college friend.
Appraisal (spoilers): Road drama which has little dramatic strength due mostly to poorly written characters who have little depth and at times behave unconvincingly (possible lowest point: the boy trying to have sex with Bree). Every cliché of recent films is in this movie - the car-stealing hiker, the sexually abusing stepfather, etc. Not completely unwatchable, yet a sad reminder of the lowering writing standards of modern films.
Rating: 30
Appraisal (spoilers): Road drama which has little dramatic strength due mostly to poorly written characters who have little depth and at times behave unconvincingly (possible lowest point: the boy trying to have sex with Bree). Every cliché of recent films is in this movie - the car-stealing hiker, the sexually abusing stepfather, etc. Not completely unwatchable, yet a sad reminder of the lowering writing standards of modern films.
Rating: 30
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Synopsis: A robot is sent from the future to kill a boy who will become a resistance leader; another robot is sent to protect him.
Appraisal: Moderately entertaining actioner; I don't understand all the adoration toward it. This was my second viewing, and I liked it better this time around, but it still hasn't quite struck a chord in me.
Rating: 42 (up from 30)
Appraisal: Moderately entertaining actioner; I don't understand all the adoration toward it. This was my second viewing, and I liked it better this time around, but it still hasn't quite struck a chord in me.
Rating: 42 (up from 30)
Monday, October 01, 2007
La mujer de mi hermano (2005)
Synopsis: Married woman is not sexually satisfied and begins an affair with her husband's brother.
Appraisal: It is absolutely amazing how honest the producers of this film were, by naming the production company 'Shallow Entertainment', because that is a very accurate description of this film. There is a curious coincidental element which is present in this film and also in Capturing the Friedmans (2003), which was released a year after the novel on which La mujer de mi hermano is based came out. There is, however, an apparent difference in the way things happen, and a very big difference in the further development of the characters' history after that event, in the films I mentioned.
Rating: 45
Appraisal: It is absolutely amazing how honest the producers of this film were, by naming the production company 'Shallow Entertainment', because that is a very accurate description of this film. There is a curious coincidental element which is present in this film and also in Capturing the Friedmans (2003), which was released a year after the novel on which La mujer de mi hermano is based came out. There is, however, an apparent difference in the way things happen, and a very big difference in the further development of the characters' history after that event, in the films I mentioned.
Rating: 45
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Synopsis: Neo heads to the City of the Machines; the Hammer returns to Zion, which meanwhile suffers a massive attack of Sentinels.
Appraisal: This is even more hopeless than the earlier installments; the plot does not make sense and the exhibition of complex computer-generated imagery seems to be the sole purpose of the film. If you cannot follow my earlier advice and ignore the whole series, stick to the first two films. The open-endedness will not be a big problem - you might even think of it as a philosophical requirement, somehow - and you will spare yourself witnessing the relinquishment of the last shred of dignity the series still possessed.
Rating: 28
Appraisal: This is even more hopeless than the earlier installments; the plot does not make sense and the exhibition of complex computer-generated imagery seems to be the sole purpose of the film. If you cannot follow my earlier advice and ignore the whole series, stick to the first two films. The open-endedness will not be a big problem - you might even think of it as a philosophical requirement, somehow - and you will spare yourself witnessing the relinquishment of the last shred of dignity the series still possessed.
Rating: 28
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Synopsis: Humans are controlled by computers, who plug them into an illusory reality. A bunch of rebels try to reach the system kernel hoping to undo this state of oppression. They fail, because there must be a third extremely lucrative entry in this saga.
Appraisal: Second viewing, no dozing off this time, of this solemn sci-fi soap-opera whose highlight is a highly elaborate car chase in its latter half. Dump this boring trilogy for the similarly themed and more enjoyable eXistenZ (1999).
Rating: 39
Appraisal: Second viewing, no dozing off this time, of this solemn sci-fi soap-opera whose highlight is a highly elaborate car chase in its latter half. Dump this boring trilogy for the similarly themed and more enjoyable eXistenZ (1999).
Rating: 39
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The Damned (1963)
Synopsis: A government project involving children is taking place on an English coastal town. A middle-aged American in the company of a young woman stray themselves into the project site while on the run from the gang led by the young woman's brother.
Appraisal: The sci-fi aspect of it is silly and dated, and a historical reminder of how scared the world was at that time (the film was completed in 1961 and shelved for two years); it is nevertheless a quite enjoyable spectacle for its use of landscape, adequate script and professional acting. It famously anticipates A Clockwork Orange (1971) in some early scenes and, perhaps not as famously, borrows a plot element from Scarface (1932).
Rating: 58
Appraisal: The sci-fi aspect of it is silly and dated, and a historical reminder of how scared the world was at that time (the film was completed in 1961 and shelved for two years); it is nevertheless a quite enjoyable spectacle for its use of landscape, adequate script and professional acting. It famously anticipates A Clockwork Orange (1971) in some early scenes and, perhaps not as famously, borrows a plot element from Scarface (1932).
Rating: 58
Thursday, September 27, 2007
I Capture the Castle (2003)
Based on a novel by Dodie Smith (1st ed, 1948).
Synopsis: Two sisters live in a castle with their father, who is a writer with a block, and their stepmother. They make the acquaintance of two American brothers who, it turns out, are the owners of the castle they live in. The older sister is desperate to get a rich husband.
Appraisal: While the text is somewhat banal, it has sufficiently well-defined characters to draw one's attention, and is well directed; also, the two leading ladies are quite lovely and play their parts well.
Rating: 48
Synopsis: Two sisters live in a castle with their father, who is a writer with a block, and their stepmother. They make the acquaintance of two American brothers who, it turns out, are the owners of the castle they live in. The older sister is desperate to get a rich husband.
Appraisal: While the text is somewhat banal, it has sufficiently well-defined characters to draw one's attention, and is well directed; also, the two leading ladies are quite lovely and play their parts well.
Rating: 48
Domino (2005)
Synopsis: A young woman with an upper middle class standing decides to be a bounty hunter. She and her team get involved in a scam involving the robbery of an armored car containing some Mafia money.
Appraisal: Adolescent trifle which abuses of camera gimmicks and image filters.
Rating: 39
Appraisal: Adolescent trifle which abuses of camera gimmicks and image filters.
Rating: 39
Monday, September 24, 2007
American Dreamz (2006)
Synopsis: An Iraqi music-loving terrorist goes to America to live with his relatives; he ends up participating in a TV talent contest show; his main rival is a greedy unprincipled singer whose ex-boyfriend enlisted in the Army after she broke up with him. The U.S. president himself is one of the show's jurors.
Appraisal: Nice to watch due to the eventful and ingenious plot, and also due to the competent staging and acting. However, it's less funny and smart than it was supposed to be.
Rating: 52
Appraisal: Nice to watch due to the eventful and ingenious plot, and also due to the competent staging and acting. However, it's less funny and smart than it was supposed to be.
Rating: 52
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Cautiva (2003)
English title: Captive.
Synopsis: In Argentina, an adolescent girl is told by a judge that blood tests indicate that she is really the daughter of a couple who was imprisoned during the dictatorship and then went missing. She was unrightfully given as a baby to the couple who raised her as a daughter. Now her biological grandmother requests her custody.
Appraisal: Exemplarily correct, extremely well directed, with a uniformly perfect cast, but, on the other hand, very predictable, and posing no challenge whatsoever for the viewer.
Rating: 52
Synopsis: In Argentina, an adolescent girl is told by a judge that blood tests indicate that she is really the daughter of a couple who was imprisoned during the dictatorship and then went missing. She was unrightfully given as a baby to the couple who raised her as a daughter. Now her biological grandmother requests her custody.
Appraisal: Exemplarily correct, extremely well directed, with a uniformly perfect cast, but, on the other hand, very predictable, and posing no challenge whatsoever for the viewer.
Rating: 52
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Break-Up (2006)
Synopsis: A couple separates but must go on sharing the same apartment for a period.
Appraisal: It has more elaboration than usual, with quirky secondary characters for example, but is ultimately contrived and predictable, with little to maintain the interest in the second half.
Rating: 41
Appraisal: It has more elaboration than usual, with quirky secondary characters for example, but is ultimately contrived and predictable, with little to maintain the interest in the second half.
Rating: 41
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Dirty Work (1998)
Synopsis (spoilers): Two friends start a company which provides revenge for a fee. They expect to make $50,000 which they intend to use for bribing a surgeon into moving a person to the top of the organ receiving queue. They get involved with a fraudulent real estate mogul who doesn't pay them for a job they did. It consisted of tearing down an apartment building. They team up with the former tenants in a plan to ruin said mogul. They finally receive the expected amount through blackmailing.
Appraisal: Apparently this film was met with some rejection which I suppose had to do with its somewhat immature sense of humor. Anyway, its script displays some amount of cleverness, and I actually found some of the stuff funny to some extent.
Note: The film's basic idea is obviously based on the lyrics to the song by Young/Young/Scott which is played in it and which was first released in 1976.
Rating: 44
Appraisal: Apparently this film was met with some rejection which I suppose had to do with its somewhat immature sense of humor. Anyway, its script displays some amount of cleverness, and I actually found some of the stuff funny to some extent.
Note: The film's basic idea is obviously based on the lyrics to the song by Young/Young/Scott which is played in it and which was first released in 1976.
Rating: 44
Monday, September 17, 2007
Je vous aime (1980)
English title: I Love You All.
Synopsis: A woman invites her past lovers to a country house, and remembers each relationship.
Appraisal: This film is like a long joke without a punchline. For those who relish watching famous French stars go through different emotional states this may be attractive.
Rating: 15
Synopsis: A woman invites her past lovers to a country house, and remembers each relationship.
Appraisal: This film is like a long joke without a punchline. For those who relish watching famous French stars go through different emotional states this may be attractive.
Rating: 15
Saturday, September 15, 2007
The Terminal (2004)
Synopsis: A man visiting the U.S. is confined to an airport because his country suffers a military coup and its new government is not recognized by the U.S.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing, but only partial this time; it was enough to ascertain that I had given it an excessively low grade. I still don't like it much but it has its moments.
Rating: 38 (up from 25)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Sphere (1998)
Synopsis: A group of scientists is summoned to investigate a strange ship found in the bottom of the ocean.
Appraisal (spoilers): The theme of wishes coming true in a secluded place has been tackled with in Lem's Solaris (and in two films from that novel). The approach here is different, this film is a thriller. But the result is very lame throughout, really painful to watch, totally unsatisfying from the science-fiction angle, and ridiculous from the dramatic one.
Note: I watched most of it with Portuguese dubbing.
Rating: 10
Note: I watched it again on September 14, 2018. Read the new review here.
Appraisal (spoilers): The theme of wishes coming true in a secluded place has been tackled with in Lem's Solaris (and in two films from that novel). The approach here is different, this film is a thriller. But the result is very lame throughout, really painful to watch, totally unsatisfying from the science-fiction angle, and ridiculous from the dramatic one.
Note: I watched most of it with Portuguese dubbing.
Rating: 10
Note: I watched it again on September 14, 2018. Read the new review here.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Chasers (1994)
Synopsis: A naval cadet is assigned to escort, with a grumpy officer, an attractive female prisoner to jail. She repeatedly tries to escape.
Appraisal: Strictly formulaic comedy which is not very sophisticated, yet provides some amount of entertainment.
Rating: 38
Appraisal: Strictly formulaic comedy which is not very sophisticated, yet provides some amount of entertainment.
Rating: 38
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Free Zone (2005)
Synopsis: An American woman breaks up with her fiancé while in Israel, and, not having anybody to be with her at that moment, asks her cab driver to allow her to accompany her on a trip to Jordan where she (the driver) intends to collect a debt.
Appraisal: Half-assed concoction about three characters who are circumstantially brought together, and each of whom is in some sort of personal crisis; the metaphorical aspect is undeniable, each character standing for their respective country, but not especially enlightening regarding the Palestinian conflict. One excellent performance (the actress who plays 'Hana') does not save a film which suffers from poor concept and poor execution.
Rating: 21
Appraisal: Half-assed concoction about three characters who are circumstantially brought together, and each of whom is in some sort of personal crisis; the metaphorical aspect is undeniable, each character standing for their respective country, but not especially enlightening regarding the Palestinian conflict. One excellent performance (the actress who plays 'Hana') does not save a film which suffers from poor concept and poor execution.
Rating: 21
Friday, September 07, 2007
Salinui chueok (2003)
English title: Memories of Murder.
Synopsis: In a small town, a serial killer and rapist is killing several women. A local detective tries to pin the murders on the village idiot, to no avail. A detective from the capital has come to help find the killer.
Appraisal: Derivative police drama, that is conducted with a certain amount of competence, but has not nearly enough qualities that would justify the buzz surrounding it.
Rating: 49
Synopsis: In a small town, a serial killer and rapist is killing several women. A local detective tries to pin the murders on the village idiot, to no avail. A detective from the capital has come to help find the killer.
Appraisal: Derivative police drama, that is conducted with a certain amount of competence, but has not nearly enough qualities that would justify the buzz surrounding it.
Rating: 49
Primo Basílio (2007)
Synopsis: A married woman has an affair with her cousin and is then blackmailed by her maid. Based on a novel by Eça de Queirós (1st ed. 1878).
Appraisal: Stiffly and tritely staged and frequently ridiculous. It distinctly goes for the softcore porn aesthetics, which is quite at odds with the subjacent drama but will undoubtedly garner a few - correction: a lot! - more bucks at the box office. The plot, which was originally set in the 19th century in the source novel, doesn't adapt entirely well to the early 1960's.
Rating: 15
Appraisal: Stiffly and tritely staged and frequently ridiculous. It distinctly goes for the softcore porn aesthetics, which is quite at odds with the subjacent drama but will undoubtedly garner a few - correction: a lot! - more bucks at the box office. The plot, which was originally set in the 19th century in the source novel, doesn't adapt entirely well to the early 1960's.
Rating: 15
La raison du plus faible (2006)
Synopsis: Some long-time friends meet an ex-convict and one of them proposes him to help them rob the money from a steel factory.
Appraisal: Mediocre heist movie which is predominantly dull.
Rating: 32
Appraisal: Mediocre heist movie which is predominantly dull.
Rating: 32
3 Strikes (2000)
Synopsis: A second-time felon is about to be released on parole. A third conviction would mean a minimum of 25 years in prison. He asks a friend to pick him up on his release day but said friend cannot make it so he sends a third person, who is driving a stolen car. The police orders them to pull over, but the driver shoots at the cops instead. The protagonist escapes the crime scene but is videotaped. The police looks for him all over.
Appraisal: The plot doesn't make much sense (1. the police has no grounds to incriminate him; 2. he has no reason not to turn himself in; and a not worth mentioning etc.). The development is unimaginative and so is the sense of humor; the result is just barely watchable. Note: I have seen a mutilated version; apparently some nudity and sex scenes have been cut off, and all the curses and fuck-related words have been silenced.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: The plot doesn't make much sense (1. the police has no grounds to incriminate him; 2. he has no reason not to turn himself in; and a not worth mentioning etc.). The development is unimaginative and so is the sense of humor; the result is just barely watchable. Note: I have seen a mutilated version; apparently some nudity and sex scenes have been cut off, and all the curses and fuck-related words have been silenced.
Rating: 31
Sunday, September 02, 2007
El bonaerense (2002)
Synopsis: A young locksmith is arrested for a robbery to which he unwittingly assisted. He is subsequently released under the condition that he moves to Buenos Aires and joins the police force.
Appraisal (spoilers): A lot of things doesn't make any sense to me in this film. The point of departure already raises serious doubts: a gang that calls a locksmith to open a safe for them? Never heard of this, aren't they afraid that the guy will tell on them? And then, the local police sends the guy to join the police in another town, but, again, what's the explanation for this? Later, when the guy complains that he isn't receiving any salary, his boss demands that he be patient; the boss subsequently talks to another employee and magically all is solved. What is going on? They didn't want to pay him or just forgot? And what about the scene where 'Polaco' is shot by 'Gallo' and 'Zapa' is wounded so that he will look like a hero? Is there a possible way of explaining it? Wouldn't you think that 'Gallo' would want the money for himself, being corrupt and all? He certainly wouldn't get the chance to do that after that whole set-up, as everyone would want to know where the money in the safe was. Anyway, am I the only one asking these questions? Apparently the kind of audience for this film is not the inquisitive one. On the plus side, the film has some competence in the merely directorial sense, with actors quite at ease in their roles and an atmosphere of corruption and doom being established with some success.
Rating: 35
Appraisal (spoilers): A lot of things doesn't make any sense to me in this film. The point of departure already raises serious doubts: a gang that calls a locksmith to open a safe for them? Never heard of this, aren't they afraid that the guy will tell on them? And then, the local police sends the guy to join the police in another town, but, again, what's the explanation for this? Later, when the guy complains that he isn't receiving any salary, his boss demands that he be patient; the boss subsequently talks to another employee and magically all is solved. What is going on? They didn't want to pay him or just forgot? And what about the scene where 'Polaco' is shot by 'Gallo' and 'Zapa' is wounded so that he will look like a hero? Is there a possible way of explaining it? Wouldn't you think that 'Gallo' would want the money for himself, being corrupt and all? He certainly wouldn't get the chance to do that after that whole set-up, as everyone would want to know where the money in the safe was. Anyway, am I the only one asking these questions? Apparently the kind of audience for this film is not the inquisitive one. On the plus side, the film has some competence in the merely directorial sense, with actors quite at ease in their roles and an atmosphere of corruption and doom being established with some success.
Rating: 35
Saturday, September 01, 2007
License to Wed (2007)
Synopsis: A man and a woman decide to get married but their minister demands that they go through a course to see if they are fit to wed.
Appraisal: Uninspired and more than occasionally annoying. Good acting.
Rating: 11
Appraisal: Uninspired and more than occasionally annoying. Good acting.
Rating: 11
Friday, August 31, 2007
Footloose (1984)
Synopsis: A boy comes to live in a small town where dancing is forbidden. He falls for the preacher's daughter. He will challenge local customs and try to promote a big prom ball.
Appraisal: This film suffers from the same problem of the town it creates: the dance numbers are few and far between. The screenplay is mediocre; the preacher's final change of stance comes too abruptly and implausibly. Nevertheless, there are some moments that make it moderately enjoyable (my choice for a highlight would be the highway scene where the girl stands with one foot on each car). The good acting also helps to make it watchable, but also creates a sense of bizarreness, as the actors take their roles so seriously you'd think you are watching a drama by Ingmar Bergman, instead of some silly teenage musical. Afterthought: the plot resembles those of ancient fairy tales (although I can't think of one exactly similar to it). An entire town suffers under the rule of a cruel tyrant who won't allow singing and dancing. The tyrant used to be nice but after a tragic loss became a cruel person. One day a young stranger comes and rebels against the tyrant's rules. He eventually frees the town, earns the love of the tyrant's beautiful daughter and even turns the tyrant into a nice person.
Rating: 41
Appraisal: This film suffers from the same problem of the town it creates: the dance numbers are few and far between. The screenplay is mediocre; the preacher's final change of stance comes too abruptly and implausibly. Nevertheless, there are some moments that make it moderately enjoyable (my choice for a highlight would be the highway scene where the girl stands with one foot on each car). The good acting also helps to make it watchable, but also creates a sense of bizarreness, as the actors take their roles so seriously you'd think you are watching a drama by Ingmar Bergman, instead of some silly teenage musical. Afterthought: the plot resembles those of ancient fairy tales (although I can't think of one exactly similar to it). An entire town suffers under the rule of a cruel tyrant who won't allow singing and dancing. The tyrant used to be nice but after a tragic loss became a cruel person. One day a young stranger comes and rebels against the tyrant's rules. He eventually frees the town, earns the love of the tyrant's beautiful daughter and even turns the tyrant into a nice person.
Rating: 41
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Familia rodante (2004)
English title: Rolling Family.
Synopsis: An entire family travels in a trailer to attend a wedding.
Appraisal: In the technical department, I don't see any problem with it, and I concede that there is a certain competence for engineering sequences with many characters. But when it comes down to it, I don't see that there is a film in this underwhelming succession of trivialities. This film's basic situation is similar to the later Little Miss Sunshine, which is a much more enjoyable film.
Rating: 15
Synopsis: An entire family travels in a trailer to attend a wedding.
Appraisal: In the technical department, I don't see any problem with it, and I concede that there is a certain competence for engineering sequences with many characters. But when it comes down to it, I don't see that there is a film in this underwhelming succession of trivialities. This film's basic situation is similar to the later Little Miss Sunshine, which is a much more enjoyable film.
Rating: 15
Heroes (1977)
Synopsis: A Vietnam War veteran is committed to a psychiatrical institution. He escapes. On his way to find some friends with whom he plans to start a business, he meets a young woman. The two get involved in several mishaps which, oddly, brings them together. They will help each other come to terms with some unresolved issues of their own.
Appraisal (mild spoiler): Apparently, this is an attempt at addressing the theme of combat-related post-traumatic stress via romance and adventure on the road. The approach seems contrived; there is slapstick, violence, a car race, but nothing - not even the revelation at the ending - is particularly memorable or inspired.
Rating: 23
Appraisal (mild spoiler): Apparently, this is an attempt at addressing the theme of combat-related post-traumatic stress via romance and adventure on the road. The approach seems contrived; there is slapstick, violence, a car race, but nothing - not even the revelation at the ending - is particularly memorable or inspired.
Rating: 23
Monday, August 27, 2007
The Last Sunset (1961)
Synopsis: A man employs himself as a gunman in charge of protecting a cow herd being moved from Mexico to Texas. Making the journey with him is another man who is a sheriff and has vowed to arrest him and hang him for murder. Both want the herd owner's wife.
Appraisal: The plot has several interesting points, but its development is mostly routine, with some painfully bad dialog interspersed here and there, especially when it tries to be "poetic".
Rating: 46
Appraisal: The plot has several interesting points, but its development is mostly routine, with some painfully bad dialog interspersed here and there, especially when it tries to be "poetic".
Rating: 46
John and Mary (1969)
Synopsis: John and Mary go to bed on the same night they meet each other at a bar. The next day they stay together getting to know each other. They develop feelings for each other.
Appraisal: Not a good film, but I suppose it is representative of a certain moment in history when values were changing (or, more likely, when movies began incorporating social changes which had happened earlier into the mainstream aesthetics). I thought the writing was uninspired - his sudden rejection of her seems contrived and coming out of nowhere, for instance.
Rating: 36
Appraisal: Not a good film, but I suppose it is representative of a certain moment in history when values were changing (or, more likely, when movies began incorporating social changes which had happened earlier into the mainstream aesthetics). I thought the writing was uninspired - his sudden rejection of her seems contrived and coming out of nowhere, for instance.
Rating: 36
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Almost Famous (2000)
Synopsis: An adolescent boy starts writing about rock-and-roll for magazines and gets an assignment to do a story on a not-so-famous band while going on tour with it. He falls in love with a groupie who is in love with the lead guitarist. The boy's mother is full of strict rules and calls him on the phone all the time while he is away.
Appraisal: At last, a filmmaker that creates an interesting story out of the lives of rock-and-roll musicians and those that gravitate around them... not! Arguably a lesson in mise-en-scene (and editing and camerawork) precision but alas, those qualities alone do not save the film, which has a rather poor and conventional screenplay and adopts a moralizing, or romanticizing, tone every so often. It would probably get a higher grade if watched with the sound turned off.
Rating: 45
Note: I saw the longer version.
Appraisal: At last, a filmmaker that creates an interesting story out of the lives of rock-and-roll musicians and those that gravitate around them... not! Arguably a lesson in mise-en-scene (and editing and camerawork) precision but alas, those qualities alone do not save the film, which has a rather poor and conventional screenplay and adopts a moralizing, or romanticizing, tone every so often. It would probably get a higher grade if watched with the sound turned off.
Rating: 45
Note: I saw the longer version.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Oh! Soo-jung (2000)
English title: Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors.
Synopsis (spoilers): A man wants to have sex with his girlfriend, but she is a virgin and is afraid of it. They had met through a film director who seemed to have some interest in her too. The man is a rich gallery owner and the woman works for said director as, it appears, some sort of assistant (some sources say writer, but I don't agree). The film director is counting on the gallery owner to finance his movie but the latter backs away from it after the director doesn't return a camera he had borrowed and their friendship turns sour. There is a second woman who seems to be interested in the gallery owner, but I don't know what or who she is exactly. Possibly she is the one whose name he whispers in his girlfriend's ear? Whatever... The story is told twice, with slight variations both in contents and in viewpoint.
Appraisal (spoilers): The narrative has some formal elegance to it, and the characters, though moved by not always clear forces, have some internal consistence. Some interesting moments: the woman on the suspended car holds someone else's baby; the protagonist claims to have a good memory but repeatedly offers proof to the contrary (forgets his gloves on the bench, can't remember where he picked the chopsticks/napkins from); he describes how his brother met his wife when she was very young and jokes that "he raised a child and gobbled her up" (one of the women gets offended and leaves and his other friend tells him that she met his husband when she was in high school); he confesses his admiration for this same brother (whom he lives with). Everything is very understated and the connections between events is sometimes hard to figure out. I am not sure I like this filmmaker.
Rating: 50
Synopsis (spoilers): A man wants to have sex with his girlfriend, but she is a virgin and is afraid of it. They had met through a film director who seemed to have some interest in her too. The man is a rich gallery owner and the woman works for said director as, it appears, some sort of assistant (some sources say writer, but I don't agree). The film director is counting on the gallery owner to finance his movie but the latter backs away from it after the director doesn't return a camera he had borrowed and their friendship turns sour. There is a second woman who seems to be interested in the gallery owner, but I don't know what or who she is exactly. Possibly she is the one whose name he whispers in his girlfriend's ear? Whatever... The story is told twice, with slight variations both in contents and in viewpoint.
Appraisal (spoilers): The narrative has some formal elegance to it, and the characters, though moved by not always clear forces, have some internal consistence. Some interesting moments: the woman on the suspended car holds someone else's baby; the protagonist claims to have a good memory but repeatedly offers proof to the contrary (forgets his gloves on the bench, can't remember where he picked the chopsticks/napkins from); he describes how his brother met his wife when she was very young and jokes that "he raised a child and gobbled her up" (one of the women gets offended and leaves and his other friend tells him that she met his husband when she was in high school); he confesses his admiration for this same brother (whom he lives with). Everything is very understated and the connections between events is sometimes hard to figure out. I am not sure I like this filmmaker.
Rating: 50
Lost in Yonkers (1993)
Synopsis: Two kids must live with their grandmother while their father is away on business (their mother is dead). Besides the old woman - who is a tyrant - they meet their aunt - who is a daydreaming, good-hearted and slightly infantilized person - and their uncle - who is equally friendly and has connections with the underworld.
Appraisal: The text operates with somewhat predictable situations and conflicts, which are nevertheless fairly ably developed. The characters seem to have their roots in reality, albeit with strong simplifications which betray the text's theatrical origins.
Rating: 47
(Seen on August 23)
Appraisal: The text operates with somewhat predictable situations and conflicts, which are nevertheless fairly ably developed. The characters seem to have their roots in reality, albeit with strong simplifications which betray the text's theatrical origins.
Rating: 47
(Seen on August 23)
Kurtlar vadisi - Irak (2006)
English title: Valley of the Wolves: Iraq.
Synopsis (spoilers): In occupied Iraq, a Turkish detachment is humiliated by American soldiers under commanding officer Sam Marshall, and later one of its Turkish members threatens to blow up a hotel in case Marshall doesn't apologize. Concomitantly, a woman seeks revenge against Marshall because he ordered the interruption of her wedding by American soldiers, causing the death of several persons including a child in the process. One of the causes of conflict which is mentioned in the film is the evacuation of some hills the official reason for which is establishing a territory for the Kurds but the real reason being control of some oil reserves. The Iraqian government gives Saddam's piano as a gift to Marshall; the rebels rig it with bombs so it will explode and kill him.
Appraisal: It is basically a melodramatic personal vendetta story, marred by its stereotypes and one-sidedness, yet not totally worthless, since it exposes - albeit with obvious distortions - some aspects of the Iraqian geopolitics; in the very least it is endurable as a plain actioner.
Rating: 37
(Seen on August 21)
Synopsis (spoilers): In occupied Iraq, a Turkish detachment is humiliated by American soldiers under commanding officer Sam Marshall, and later one of its Turkish members threatens to blow up a hotel in case Marshall doesn't apologize. Concomitantly, a woman seeks revenge against Marshall because he ordered the interruption of her wedding by American soldiers, causing the death of several persons including a child in the process. One of the causes of conflict which is mentioned in the film is the evacuation of some hills the official reason for which is establishing a territory for the Kurds but the real reason being control of some oil reserves. The Iraqian government gives Saddam's piano as a gift to Marshall; the rebels rig it with bombs so it will explode and kill him.
Appraisal: It is basically a melodramatic personal vendetta story, marred by its stereotypes and one-sidedness, yet not totally worthless, since it exposes - albeit with obvious distortions - some aspects of the Iraqian geopolitics; in the very least it is endurable as a plain actioner.
Rating: 37
(Seen on August 21)
Winning (1969)
Synopsis: A Formula One pilot starts a relationship with a divorced woman who has an adolescent son. He devotes more time to his car than to her.
Appraisal: Although it is well directed - the environment of a racing stadium is captured with liveliness and the race scenes are competently filmed - I couldn't connect on a more than superficial level with the characters. Important note: I watched it on a pan-and-scan version, which probably detracted a lot from the viewing experience.
Rating: 40
(Seen on August 20)
Appraisal: Although it is well directed - the environment of a racing stadium is captured with liveliness and the race scenes are competently filmed - I couldn't connect on a more than superficial level with the characters. Important note: I watched it on a pan-and-scan version, which probably detracted a lot from the viewing experience.
Rating: 40
(Seen on August 20)
Rio, 40 graus (1955)
English title: Rio 100 Degrees F.
Synopsis: One day in the life of several characters. Some boys who live in a shantytown and sell peanuts for a living; a young woman who lives in that shantytown and gets engaged to a co-worker, arousing jealous feelings from a violent guy whom she rejected; a soccer player who is about to make his debut in a big game replacing an older player; a couple of young lovers who must deal with pregnancy; a young woman who is courted by a young fortune seeker and is also used by her corrupt father to seduce an influent politician; etc.
Appraisal: The freshness derived from its location shooting is one of the major assets of this movie. The shiftings between stories are nicely timed; the transitions are cleverly edited; the multiplicity of parallel plots dilutes their dramatic appeal, but the film works well as a social mosaic.
Rating: 55
(Seen on August 19)
Synopsis: One day in the life of several characters. Some boys who live in a shantytown and sell peanuts for a living; a young woman who lives in that shantytown and gets engaged to a co-worker, arousing jealous feelings from a violent guy whom she rejected; a soccer player who is about to make his debut in a big game replacing an older player; a couple of young lovers who must deal with pregnancy; a young woman who is courted by a young fortune seeker and is also used by her corrupt father to seduce an influent politician; etc.
Appraisal: The freshness derived from its location shooting is one of the major assets of this movie. The shiftings between stories are nicely timed; the transitions are cleverly edited; the multiplicity of parallel plots dilutes their dramatic appeal, but the film works well as a social mosaic.
Rating: 55
(Seen on August 19)
Kangwon-do ui him (1998)
English title: The Power of Kangwon Province.
Synopsis (spoilers): Three young women go to a mountain area on a weekend vacation. There they befriend a policeman who gets into a relationship with one of them. In sequence, a story which happens simultaneously with the first is shown. In it, two guys go to that same place of the first story for a weekend vacation. During the time frame of both stories, a murder happens in the area: a man pushes a woman off a cliff. One of the two vacationing guys witnessed the murderer check in by himself at the airport, and deducted he killed the woman; he informs the police about it. In the last act, we learn that one of the three girls (the one who started a relationship with the policeman) had been the girlfriend of one of the two guys (the one who phoned the police).
Appraisal: I am sorry if the synopsis above gets some detail wrong; I just don't feel inclined to watch this film again only to straighten out some misperception or to catch some subtle nuance. Anyway, from what I gathered, the film shows how people are trapped inside their miserable lives, never achieving happiness in their relationships, cultivating superficial friendships (which invariably explode in accusations and envy from one or several of the parts), and - in a subplot the details of which we never get to know - even killing the loved one. Although mildly interesting, it refrains from any depth; the scant (or inexistent?) use of close-ups has us at times guessing who is the person we see on the screen. I don't see much point in those formal choices. The style is elliptic and mysterious with varying results (possible most enigmatic example being a goldfish which appears out of nowhere in the girls' path and which is presumably the same one which vanishes from the male protagonist's basin).
Rating: 50
(Seen on August 18)
Synopsis (spoilers): Three young women go to a mountain area on a weekend vacation. There they befriend a policeman who gets into a relationship with one of them. In sequence, a story which happens simultaneously with the first is shown. In it, two guys go to that same place of the first story for a weekend vacation. During the time frame of both stories, a murder happens in the area: a man pushes a woman off a cliff. One of the two vacationing guys witnessed the murderer check in by himself at the airport, and deducted he killed the woman; he informs the police about it. In the last act, we learn that one of the three girls (the one who started a relationship with the policeman) had been the girlfriend of one of the two guys (the one who phoned the police).
Appraisal: I am sorry if the synopsis above gets some detail wrong; I just don't feel inclined to watch this film again only to straighten out some misperception or to catch some subtle nuance. Anyway, from what I gathered, the film shows how people are trapped inside their miserable lives, never achieving happiness in their relationships, cultivating superficial friendships (which invariably explode in accusations and envy from one or several of the parts), and - in a subplot the details of which we never get to know - even killing the loved one. Although mildly interesting, it refrains from any depth; the scant (or inexistent?) use of close-ups has us at times guessing who is the person we see on the screen. I don't see much point in those formal choices. The style is elliptic and mysterious with varying results (possible most enigmatic example being a goldfish which appears out of nowhere in the girls' path and which is presumably the same one which vanishes from the male protagonist's basin).
Rating: 50
(Seen on August 18)
Daijiga umule pajinnal (1996)
English title: The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well.
Synopsis (spoilers): The film follows the lives of several men and women who are connected directly or indirectly. A writer has an affair with a married woman whose husband is a sales representative. Another woman who works as a cinema cashier and also as a voiceover person has a crush on said writer. The writer goes to a dinner with other writers and behaves obnoxiously, finally being arrested for brawling and threatening people witha broken bottle. The sales representative goes on a sales trip and has to spend the night there. He has sex with a prostitute and his condom bursts. He takes a medical exam and is observed by his wife while entering the laboratory. The cinema owner has a son who has a crush on the cashier. The married woman spots a photo of herself and her husband and their baby (who is presumedly dead, since he does not appear in the film) on a display window and demands to buy the photo; the shop attendant says he must talk to his boss but she takes the picture anyway and destroys it. The cinema owner's son murders the writer and the cashier out of jealousy.
Appraisal: Depiction of small lives in all their glorious banality; everyone is a prisoner (of their jobs, of their failed relationships, whatever), thence, I gather, the title (although Theo Panayides has a mildly more specific - and fascinating - explanation which refers to humans abandoning the countryside for the city and thus isolating themselves). Emblematic scene: our hero, playing with an insect, repeatedly poses his finger as a barrier to its path, making it turn around incessantly. Mildly interesting as narrative, but with characters duller than any real people I ever knew.
Rating: 50
(Seen on August 18)
Synopsis (spoilers): The film follows the lives of several men and women who are connected directly or indirectly. A writer has an affair with a married woman whose husband is a sales representative. Another woman who works as a cinema cashier and also as a voiceover person has a crush on said writer. The writer goes to a dinner with other writers and behaves obnoxiously, finally being arrested for brawling and threatening people witha broken bottle. The sales representative goes on a sales trip and has to spend the night there. He has sex with a prostitute and his condom bursts. He takes a medical exam and is observed by his wife while entering the laboratory. The cinema owner has a son who has a crush on the cashier. The married woman spots a photo of herself and her husband and their baby (who is presumedly dead, since he does not appear in the film) on a display window and demands to buy the photo; the shop attendant says he must talk to his boss but she takes the picture anyway and destroys it. The cinema owner's son murders the writer and the cashier out of jealousy.
Appraisal: Depiction of small lives in all their glorious banality; everyone is a prisoner (of their jobs, of their failed relationships, whatever), thence, I gather, the title (although Theo Panayides has a mildly more specific - and fascinating - explanation which refers to humans abandoning the countryside for the city and thus isolating themselves). Emblematic scene: our hero, playing with an insect, repeatedly poses his finger as a barrier to its path, making it turn around incessantly. Mildly interesting as narrative, but with characters duller than any real people I ever knew.
Rating: 50
(Seen on August 18)
Sour Grapes (1998)
Synopsis (spoilers): Two cousins, plus their wives, go together on a trip to Atlantic City. One of them tries his luck at the jackpot machine and, running out of coins, asks the other one for some. He hits the jackpot and the one who provided the coins thinks he deserves half the money. He is a doctor and as a revenge for the other's refusal in sharing the money he gives him a false cancer diagnosis. Upon receiving this sad news, the winning guy gives his mother's house keys to a bum, in the hope that she will die of a heart attack when she sees the man in her house (his ultimate purpose is to alleviate her suffering after he is gone as she would have no one to look after her). He later finds out the truth about his condition listening to a message his doctor friend left in his answering machine. Meanwhile, his mother, as predicted, has a shock to see the bum in her house and is taken to a hospital; she survives though. The doctor receives a phone call from his cousin right when he is about to begin a surgery for the removal of a testicle. Deeply disturbed, he inverts the patient's exam image and removes the wrong testicle. His nurse detects the inversion and warns him. He then proceeds to remove the second testicle, leaving the patient without both. The latter's voice acquires a shrillness which gets him fired from his acting role in a TV show; he vows to avenge himself on the doctor. A worth mentioning subplot refers to the rare ability of the guy who won the jackpot to fellate himself. At a certain point in the movie, he suffers a kind of muscular distension which takes that special ability from him, but later in the movie as he returns to the upright position after picking a dropped object he is magically cured, and promptly proceeds to performing that self-pleasing act.
Appraisal: Cerebral and quirky comedy with highs and, more often, lows.
Rating: 43
(Seen on August 17)
Appraisal: Cerebral and quirky comedy with highs and, more often, lows.
Rating: 43
(Seen on August 17)
Jeux d'enfants (2003)
English title: Love Me If You Dare.
Synopsis: A boy and a girl start playing a game of dare when they are kids and can't stop it even as they grow older.
Appraisal: This film is just stupid and annoying, but I kept asking myself whether a darker, harsher approach to this basic premise would lead to an intelligent one. I don't know the answer to that. What I know is that the way it is it just doesn't work for me.
Rating: 16
(Seen on August 15)
Synopsis: A boy and a girl start playing a game of dare when they are kids and can't stop it even as they grow older.
Appraisal: This film is just stupid and annoying, but I kept asking myself whether a darker, harsher approach to this basic premise would lead to an intelligent one. I don't know the answer to that. What I know is that the way it is it just doesn't work for me.
Rating: 16
(Seen on August 15)
L'homme blessé (1983)
English title: The Wounded Man.
Synopsis: A young man meets a pimp in a train station and is taken by an obsessive attraction toward him.
Appraisal: Energetic account of a doomed love; despite all the energy, the film is ultimately flawed in so many ways that it would be tedious to enumerate them. Too much vagueness, to begin with: it is hard to know what exactly each character has in mind that leads them to do what they do. Perhaps a little more backstory on some of them would help. Also, the sex scenes are borderline ridiculous - allow me not to dwell on that, though. The ending is disgusting.
Rating: 35
(Seen on August 14)
Synopsis: A young man meets a pimp in a train station and is taken by an obsessive attraction toward him.
Appraisal: Energetic account of a doomed love; despite all the energy, the film is ultimately flawed in so many ways that it would be tedious to enumerate them. Too much vagueness, to begin with: it is hard to know what exactly each character has in mind that leads them to do what they do. Perhaps a little more backstory on some of them would help. Also, the sex scenes are borderline ridiculous - allow me not to dwell on that, though. The ending is disgusting.
Rating: 35
(Seen on August 14)
Mes nuits sont plus belles que tes jours (1989)
English title: My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days.
Synopsis: A man with a terminal illness starts a relationship with a young woman who performs a devination act at nightclubs and casinos. They both witnessed traumatic incidents when they were children.
Appraisal: Aside from the intensity of its mise-en-scene, which relies on fine performances from its leading pair, there isn't much to this film. It is all openly silly and hysterical.
Rating: 37
(seen on August 13)
Synopsis: A man with a terminal illness starts a relationship with a young woman who performs a devination act at nightclubs and casinos. They both witnessed traumatic incidents when they were children.
Appraisal: Aside from the intensity of its mise-en-scene, which relies on fine performances from its leading pair, there isn't much to this film. It is all openly silly and hysterical.
Rating: 37
(seen on August 13)
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Synopsis: Elizabeth, a young woman from a modest family, meets Darcy, a proud young man of higher social standing. Her sister is courted by Darcy's best friend.
Appraisal: Jane Austen's novel (1st ed. 1813) is a series of contrivances which work well in the way of light entertainment; this film has a solid direction, especially competent in the orchestration of party scenes. A respectable film.
Rating: 69
(seen on August 13)
Appraisal: Jane Austen's novel (1st ed. 1813) is a series of contrivances which work well in the way of light entertainment; this film has a solid direction, especially competent in the orchestration of party scenes. A respectable film.
Rating: 69
(seen on August 13)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Gwoemul (2006)
English title: The Host.
Synopsis: A huge monster appears in a river and starts attacking people at the river banks.
Appraisal: Interesting mix of sci-fi thriller, comedy and drama, which boasts competent effects and good camerawork. It departs somewhat from the conventions of thrillers: the editing is not frenetic and the film proceeds at a gentler pace than others. Also, the humor is present is several situations, giving the film a distinct mark. The plot has some questionable elements, particularly in the latter half of the movie, which I will not reveal here. It seems like they just didn't spend enough time and effort on the screenplay. Anyway, the net result is positive and I mildly recommend it.
Rating: 56
Synopsis: A huge monster appears in a river and starts attacking people at the river banks.
Appraisal: Interesting mix of sci-fi thriller, comedy and drama, which boasts competent effects and good camerawork. It departs somewhat from the conventions of thrillers: the editing is not frenetic and the film proceeds at a gentler pace than others. Also, the humor is present is several situations, giving the film a distinct mark. The plot has some questionable elements, particularly in the latter half of the movie, which I will not reveal here. It seems like they just didn't spend enough time and effort on the screenplay. Anyway, the net result is positive and I mildly recommend it.
Rating: 56
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Return to Paradise (1953)
Synopsis: An American adventurer named Morgan arrives at a South Seas island and challenges the tyranny of a white preacher. The local population wants to make Morgan into a leader, but he is not keen on becoming one. He begins a relationship with a local woman.
Appraisal: Quite undistinguished drama that suffers from severe blandness. The violence is so toned down that it is practically incomprehensible how Morgan prevails over the local wardens (he has a gun but never really uses it against people). Nudity and sex are never displayed, although they are mentioned in the voiceover as important elements in the narrative; this makes the film quite hypocritical. Putting these flaws aside, it is possible to enjoy the narrative on a very superficial level. Note: I saw the shorter (88 min) version.
Rating: 33
Appraisal: Quite undistinguished drama that suffers from severe blandness. The violence is so toned down that it is practically incomprehensible how Morgan prevails over the local wardens (he has a gun but never really uses it against people). Nudity and sex are never displayed, although they are mentioned in the voiceover as important elements in the narrative; this makes the film quite hypocritical. Putting these flaws aside, it is possible to enjoy the narrative on a very superficial level. Note: I saw the shorter (88 min) version.
Rating: 33
Friday, August 10, 2007
Salmer fra kjøkkenet (2003)
English title: Kitchen Stories.
Synopsis: A scientific research is conducted aiming at assessing the efficiences of different kitchen configurations at bachelors' houses. One human observer is placed inside each subject's kitchen and must write down the activities of the house dweller. The story centers around the friendship that develops between one of these observers and his subject.
Appraisal: The greatest flaw of this film is that the eccentric premise is not good enough for one hour and a half of film. Thus, the interest dwindles by the middle of the movie, to be rekindled only near the end. Although quite tedious at some points, the film illustrates the lonely life of men living in remote regions with a certain affection and stylishness.
Rating: 36
Synopsis: A scientific research is conducted aiming at assessing the efficiences of different kitchen configurations at bachelors' houses. One human observer is placed inside each subject's kitchen and must write down the activities of the house dweller. The story centers around the friendship that develops between one of these observers and his subject.
Appraisal: The greatest flaw of this film is that the eccentric premise is not good enough for one hour and a half of film. Thus, the interest dwindles by the middle of the movie, to be rekindled only near the end. Although quite tedious at some points, the film illustrates the lonely life of men living in remote regions with a certain affection and stylishness.
Rating: 36
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Les poupées russes (2005)
English title: Russian Dolls.
Synopsis: Sequel to "L'auberge espagnole". Now Xavier is without a steady girlfriend, and writes all sorts of vile stuff (biographies as a ghost writer, TV movies, newspaper articles about assorted banalities) while his dream of becoming a novelist is forever postponed. He accepts a job of adapting a screenplay of his for the English language, teaming up with Wendy, whom he knew from Barcelona.
Appraisal: Almost insufferably insubstantial and insignificant for most of its duration. It improves a bit near the ending.
Rating: 29
Synopsis: Sequel to "L'auberge espagnole". Now Xavier is without a steady girlfriend, and writes all sorts of vile stuff (biographies as a ghost writer, TV movies, newspaper articles about assorted banalities) while his dream of becoming a novelist is forever postponed. He accepts a job of adapting a screenplay of his for the English language, teaming up with Wendy, whom he knew from Barcelona.
Appraisal: Almost insufferably insubstantial and insignificant for most of its duration. It improves a bit near the ending.
Rating: 29
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The United States of Leland (2003)
Synopsis: The film retraces the events prior to the murder of a mentally deficient boy by his sister's ex-boyfriend.
Appraisal: Wow. This one has left me speechless, gazing into the void.
Rating: 5
Appraisal: Wow. This one has left me speechless, gazing into the void.
Rating: 5
Battle Hymn (1957)
Synopsis: A World War II veteran working as a religious minister has qualms of conscience due to having accidentally bombed an orphanage. He decides to reenlist as a trainer of pilots in the Korean War.
Appraisal: This film is very much the equivalent of a moral treatise, and probably deserves some praise for it. The way it demonstrates its views is quite elaborate and arguably inspirational (to some), and, I suppose, not excessively dull to those who are looking for a more down-to-earth (oops) war story.
Rating: 53
Appraisal: This film is very much the equivalent of a moral treatise, and probably deserves some praise for it. The way it demonstrates its views is quite elaborate and arguably inspirational (to some), and, I suppose, not excessively dull to those who are looking for a more down-to-earth (oops) war story.
Rating: 53
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Padre padrone (1977)
English title: Father and Master.
Synopsis: In rural Sardinia, a young boy is forced to abandon school and work as a shepherd for his brutal father.
Appraisal: Second viewing, and it seemed even less good than on my first one. Although the plot is interesting by itself, filmically it is somewhat unpolished and humdrum.
Rating: 55 (down from 62)
Synopsis: In rural Sardinia, a young boy is forced to abandon school and work as a shepherd for his brutal father.
Appraisal: Second viewing, and it seemed even less good than on my first one. Although the plot is interesting by itself, filmically it is somewhat unpolished and humdrum.
Rating: 55 (down from 62)
Trooper Hook (1957)
Synopsis: After a battle against some rebellious Native Americans, the latter are subjugated and it is discovered that their chief was living with a white woman whom he had kidnapped. They had a son together, and a U.S. soldier is placed in charge of taking her and the kid to meet her white husband.
Appraisal: Low-budget western with a very predictable ending. Watchable.
Rating: 39
Appraisal: Low-budget western with a very predictable ending. Watchable.
Rating: 39
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Georgia Rule (2007)
Synopsis: Rachel, a rebellious 17 year old, is sent by her mother to stay for a few weeks with her (Rachel's) grandmother who has strict rules of discipline. Rachel draws the attention of the small town at which her grandmother lives due to her liberal behavior. Things get really complex when she tells a local veterinarian that she suffered sexual abuse from her stepfather.
Appraisal: This film has almost no effect as a comedy, and is poorly conceived as a drama about sexual abuse. It's ineffective both as entertainment and as serious social or psychological discussion. Although I wouldn't go as far as saying it's offensive, it's certainly a poor way of spending two hours of your life. To give just an example of what I am talking about: why is it justified for Georgia to assume that Rachel's stepfather is really a sexual abuser? Is she implying that all swearers are moral degenerates? Or is she psychic? Maybe she is actually supposed to be a dimwit, but shoudn't the film stress that more clearly instead of making us sympathize with her?
Rating: 27
Appraisal: This film has almost no effect as a comedy, and is poorly conceived as a drama about sexual abuse. It's ineffective both as entertainment and as serious social or psychological discussion. Although I wouldn't go as far as saying it's offensive, it's certainly a poor way of spending two hours of your life. To give just an example of what I am talking about: why is it justified for Georgia to assume that Rachel's stepfather is really a sexual abuser? Is she implying that all swearers are moral degenerates? Or is she psychic? Maybe she is actually supposed to be a dimwit, but shoudn't the film stress that more clearly instead of making us sympathize with her?
Rating: 27
Le silencieux (1973)
English title: The Silent One.
Synopsis: A French scientist is kidnapped to the USSR and forced to work for the Soviets. The French (or is it the English?) kidnap him back during his visit to London and force him to reveal the names of British agents who are working for the USSR. After that he is chased by the KGB.
Appraisal: Espionage drama which contains some dull parts and others not so dull, and which is rather implausible at times.
Rating: 37
Synopsis: A French scientist is kidnapped to the USSR and forced to work for the Soviets. The French (or is it the English?) kidnap him back during his visit to London and force him to reveal the names of British agents who are working for the USSR. After that he is chased by the KGB.
Appraisal: Espionage drama which contains some dull parts and others not so dull, and which is rather implausible at times.
Rating: 37
Saturday, August 04, 2007
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Synopsis: Two friends, both cops. The sweetheart of one of them. A struggling actress's grisly murder. A millionaire's daughter who knew the victim. Her wacky family. Based on a novel by James Ellroy (1st ed. 1987).
Appraisal: An intricately plotted melodrama, filmed with the director's usual visual mastery. To be sure, it's all form and no soul, although it is pretty impressive at specific points (the boxing match, the dinner at the Linscotts', the set-up at the Olympic).
Rating: 53
Appraisal: An intricately plotted melodrama, filmed with the director's usual visual mastery. To be sure, it's all form and no soul, although it is pretty impressive at specific points (the boxing match, the dinner at the Linscotts', the set-up at the Olympic).
Rating: 53
Thursday, August 02, 2007
The Ice Harvest (2005)
Synopsis: On Christmas Eve, a lawyer and his friend steal money from a strip club owner. The sexy manager of the club wants in on it.
Appraisal: Although the plot is vague on some details (e.g., how they stole the money), and the film doesn't really have any major plot element that hasn't been explored hundreds of times before, it is done in such an elegant way - and is so beautifully acted (all over, but if I had to choose one performance it would be Platt's) - that the final result comes off as a fresh addition to the noir genre.
Rating: 64
Appraisal: Although the plot is vague on some details (e.g., how they stole the money), and the film doesn't really have any major plot element that hasn't been explored hundreds of times before, it is done in such an elegant way - and is so beautifully acted (all over, but if I had to choose one performance it would be Platt's) - that the final result comes off as a fresh addition to the noir genre.
Rating: 64
Monday, July 30, 2007
Lance maior (1968)
Synopsis: Mário is a young law student who works at a bank. He starts a relationship with a humble yet attractive shopgirl. He then starts a concomitant relationship with a rich girl.
Appraisal: Urban drama whose grim candor in character depiction and economic narrative style make for an interesting portrait of how the Brazilian upper and lower middle classes of the late sixties behaved and interacted. Although it abides by a realistic worldview, it has a certain theatricality to its dialogue and mise-en-scene that betrays some roughness in the overall execution; in spite of that, it is a worthy film, probably one of its director's better ones.
Rating: 57
Appraisal: Urban drama whose grim candor in character depiction and economic narrative style make for an interesting portrait of how the Brazilian upper and lower middle classes of the late sixties behaved and interacted. Although it abides by a realistic worldview, it has a certain theatricality to its dialogue and mise-en-scene that betrays some roughness in the overall execution; in spite of that, it is a worthy film, probably one of its director's better ones.
Rating: 57
Blindfold (1965)
Synopsis: A pychotherapist is requested by a government agent to treat a physicist who suffered a nervous breakdown and is being sought by a gang who wants to trade him to a foreign country. The therapist is to be taken to a secret location where the scientist is being held captive by the government agent.
Appraisal: This is an attempt at mixing light comedy and espionage thriller. The violence is toned down, and the romance angle is explored. The plot has some clever turns, but is basically naive and not very exciting.
Rating: 41
Appraisal: This is an attempt at mixing light comedy and espionage thriller. The violence is toned down, and the romance angle is explored. The plot has some clever turns, but is basically naive and not very exciting.
Rating: 41
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Synopsis: A shark chases the family of the man who killed his -- father? friend? whatever... Meanwhile, in the human family, the mother is romanced by a small-plane pilot, and her son does research on marine zoology.
Appraisal: Lame plot and lame effects, and yet the film is not unwatchable, on a scene-by-scene basis.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Lame plot and lame effects, and yet the film is not unwatchable, on a scene-by-scene basis.
Rating: 31
Friday, July 27, 2007
Colour Me Kubrick (2005)
Synopsis: A con man impersonates a famous filmmaker in order to get free food and (especially) drinks.
Appraisal: Entertaining story based on real events. It's mostly a one-man-show of its star, who gives a delightful performance. The story itself is well narrated and, as I said, entertaining, even though it consists of fairly predictable variations of a single situation.
Rating: 54
Appraisal: Entertaining story based on real events. It's mostly a one-man-show of its star, who gives a delightful performance. The story itself is well narrated and, as I said, entertaining, even though it consists of fairly predictable variations of a single situation.
Rating: 54
Crusoe (1989)
Synopsis: A slave trader is shipwrecked and cast away in an uninhabited island. Loosely based on Daniel Defoe's novel (1st ed. 1719).
Appraisal: Not very exciting or original, yet watchable.
Rating: 51
Appraisal: Not very exciting or original, yet watchable.
Rating: 51
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Paradise Now (2005)
Synopsis: Two Palestinian friends are summoned by a clandestine group of anti-Israel action to be suicide bombers.
Appraisal (SPOILERS): I would gladly file this film under "mediocre yet with a hot and little explored theme" but unfortunately its incoherences make even this description a bit generous. There are major plot points which are questionable at best: (1) why didn't Said join his friends after the failed attack? (2) why did the two men concomitantly change their respective opinions and dispositions about the attack? I know that many interpretations have probably been issued about those questions, but, although I haven't read any, I don't think any of them would make this script sufficiently convincing let alone engaging for me.
Rating: 35
Appraisal (SPOILERS): I would gladly file this film under "mediocre yet with a hot and little explored theme" but unfortunately its incoherences make even this description a bit generous. There are major plot points which are questionable at best: (1) why didn't Said join his friends after the failed attack? (2) why did the two men concomitantly change their respective opinions and dispositions about the attack? I know that many interpretations have probably been issued about those questions, but, although I haven't read any, I don't think any of them would make this script sufficiently convincing let alone engaging for me.
Rating: 35
Monday, July 23, 2007
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Synopsis: Napoleon is a teenage boy with limited social skills who lives with his grandmother and his older brother who spends his days chatting on the Internet. He befriends a Mexican-American kid who decides to run for Class President.
Appraisal: Again, not much to say (I am glad I am not a professional critic, or I'd be in serious trouble) about this except that I found it mostly funny and intelligent, and well acted and well directed. However, something happens with these comedies of late - and maybe this is just me being jaded and impossible to please but anyway - that they seem to wear out at their second half, run out of tricks or something. This one went well almost all the way through, though, and the fact that I began watching it very tired and finished watching it without a trace of sleepiness speaks for itself.
Rating: 66
Appraisal: Again, not much to say (I am glad I am not a professional critic, or I'd be in serious trouble) about this except that I found it mostly funny and intelligent, and well acted and well directed. However, something happens with these comedies of late - and maybe this is just me being jaded and impossible to please but anyway - that they seem to wear out at their second half, run out of tricks or something. This one went well almost all the way through, though, and the fact that I began watching it very tired and finished watching it without a trace of sleepiness speaks for itself.
Rating: 66
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Synopsis: A family on a vacation trip through the desert is trapped and chased by a gang of deformed demented murderers.
Appraisal: Remake of the 1977 film. I didn't like the first one much, and this one is perhaps even less good. I can't find anything intelligent to say about it. With a bag of popcorn, it goes down easier.
Rating: 39
Appraisal: Remake of the 1977 film. I didn't like the first one much, and this one is perhaps even less good. I can't find anything intelligent to say about it. With a bag of popcorn, it goes down easier.
Rating: 39
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Peau d'âne (1970)
English title: Donkey Skin.
Synopsis (SPOILERS): A widower king wants to wed with his own daughter. She stalls him with complex demandings and eventually flees donning a donkey skin, which she keeps on at all times (why?). She employs herself as a maid at a witch's house.
Appraisal: Musical version of a lesser known fable by Perrault, first published in 1696 and probably based on earlier oral tradition. While in Cinderella there was a glass slipper, here there is a ring. In both, the heroine is a lowly servant who eventually marries the prince. Here, however, she has noble blood. I guess the film should please girls under 16.
Rating: 40
Synopsis (SPOILERS): A widower king wants to wed with his own daughter. She stalls him with complex demandings and eventually flees donning a donkey skin, which she keeps on at all times (why?). She employs herself as a maid at a witch's house.
Appraisal: Musical version of a lesser known fable by Perrault, first published in 1696 and probably based on earlier oral tradition. While in Cinderella there was a glass slipper, here there is a ring. In both, the heroine is a lowly servant who eventually marries the prince. Here, however, she has noble blood. I guess the film should please girls under 16.
Rating: 40
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Chaplin (1992)
Synopsis: Charles Chaplin was an English vaudeville actor who emigrated to the United States in 1914 and made a career in film. The FBI persecuted him and eventually expelled him from the country.
Appraisal: After Saint Gandhi, meet Saint Chaplin. "I am not a communist. I am a humanist", our hero declares to a (fictitious) friend in his old age days in Switzerland. Hell no, the guy was just a movie maker with no intellectual aspirations; well, his films were about humans, not cats or dogs (well, there were some dogs too), so perhaps he was a humanist in that sense, but saying more than that is just reverential image-making. Anyway, this is the general tone of the movie. It has good production values, and good acting, and does inform us, at a superficial level, of Chaplin's life. But no, it is not a good movie; and it gets duller and duller as it advances towards Chaplin's old age. Note: the copy I saw lacked the scene containing the following exchange: "-You know what? I've alway had that gift. After a man makes love to me, he just goes wild from happiness. -I am happy. -Then I don't want to be around when you're sad."
Rating: 44
Appraisal: After Saint Gandhi, meet Saint Chaplin. "I am not a communist. I am a humanist", our hero declares to a (fictitious) friend in his old age days in Switzerland. Hell no, the guy was just a movie maker with no intellectual aspirations; well, his films were about humans, not cats or dogs (well, there were some dogs too), so perhaps he was a humanist in that sense, but saying more than that is just reverential image-making. Anyway, this is the general tone of the movie. It has good production values, and good acting, and does inform us, at a superficial level, of Chaplin's life. But no, it is not a good movie; and it gets duller and duller as it advances towards Chaplin's old age. Note: the copy I saw lacked the scene containing the following exchange: "-You know what? I've alway had that gift. After a man makes love to me, he just goes wild from happiness. -I am happy. -Then I don't want to be around when you're sad."
Rating: 44
Algie, the Miner (1912)
Synopsis: An effeminate man is refused as his beloved's husband, unless he proves himself a man by traveling West, claiming a mine he owns, and returning with some rocks.
Appraisal: Enjoyable early short (10 minutes) comedy, with some funny moments, enhanced by the main actor's performance.
Appraisal: Enjoyable early short (10 minutes) comedy, with some funny moments, enhanced by the main actor's performance.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Cat in the Hat (2003)
Synopsis: A woman is assigned by her boss to host a company party at her house, and her kids, instigated by a mischievous giant cat, trash the place before that event. Will they be able to undo the wrecking in time?
Appraisal: Imaginative and pretty funny on occasion, with a relentless pace, a stunning visual design, and good performances by the whole cast. Although certainly not a masterpiece - the material just doesn't lend itself to great things - and uneven on the verbal jokes department, this is a generally enjoyable film which I do not regret having seen.
Rating: 62
Appraisal: Imaginative and pretty funny on occasion, with a relentless pace, a stunning visual design, and good performances by the whole cast. Although certainly not a masterpiece - the material just doesn't lend itself to great things - and uneven on the verbal jokes department, this is a generally enjoyable film which I do not regret having seen.
Rating: 62
Monday, July 16, 2007
Pretty Persuasion (2005)
Synopsis: Three high school girls accuse their teacher of sexual harassment.
Appraisal: Unfunny satire of American schools, homes and TV, with a primitive notion of humor and an inane plot which seems to be an attempt to summarize all high school comedies ever made while futilely going for an "edge" - a concept equally valued (and understood in the same terms) by the film's writer and by the main character herself - by inserting every supposedly controversial topic at hand.
Rating: 15
Appraisal: Unfunny satire of American schools, homes and TV, with a primitive notion of humor and an inane plot which seems to be an attempt to summarize all high school comedies ever made while futilely going for an "edge" - a concept equally valued (and understood in the same terms) by the film's writer and by the main character herself - by inserting every supposedly controversial topic at hand.
Rating: 15
Kicking & Screaming (2005)
Synopsis: A guy who has a problematic relationship with his father due to the latter's competitive attitude decides to coach a soccer team of inept children, amongst whom is his own son. His father is coaching the rival team.
Appraisal: Rustic humor, in a film which borrows several plot elements from The Bad News Bears (1976).
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Rustic humor, in a film which borrows several plot elements from The Bad News Bears (1976).
Rating: 31
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Painted Veil (2006)
Synopsis: An English bacteriologist lives in Shanghai with his wife, who starts an affair with the English consul. The husband finds out and (after a few events which I will not describe here) they move to a remote region in China, where he will be in charge of putting an end to a cholera epidemic.
Appraisal: I am acquainted with the works of Somerset Maugham mostly through film adaptations. I usually like him, but, based on this film alone, I suppose his 1925 novel on which it is based is probably one of the less exciting stories coming from his pen. It is rather antiquated, even by Maugham's standards, and I can't explain its being remade into a film unless the average viewer's mind is actually also a little antiquated by my standards. Any modern woman will probably scoff at the situation faced by the film's heroine. Anyway, it is quite competently (albeit also conventionally) done, and is not a bad way of spending two hours.
Rating: 57
Appraisal: I am acquainted with the works of Somerset Maugham mostly through film adaptations. I usually like him, but, based on this film alone, I suppose his 1925 novel on which it is based is probably one of the less exciting stories coming from his pen. It is rather antiquated, even by Maugham's standards, and I can't explain its being remade into a film unless the average viewer's mind is actually also a little antiquated by my standards. Any modern woman will probably scoff at the situation faced by the film's heroine. Anyway, it is quite competently (albeit also conventionally) done, and is not a bad way of spending two hours.
Rating: 57
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Synopsis: An Austrian girl is sent to France to marry the French prince.
Appraisal: Quite poor of ideas, looking like a music video much of the time; the kind of material affluence evoked by the modern songs is a fruit of modern democratic capitalism, not of absolute monarchy, which makes their use here quite misguided. In its own limited way, the film manages to convey some of the complex feelings a young woman goes through while trying to adapt to a foreign milieu.
Rating: 48
Appraisal: Quite poor of ideas, looking like a music video much of the time; the kind of material affluence evoked by the modern songs is a fruit of modern democratic capitalism, not of absolute monarchy, which makes their use here quite misguided. In its own limited way, the film manages to convey some of the complex feelings a young woman goes through while trying to adapt to a foreign milieu.
Rating: 48
Munich (2005)
Synopsis: Members of a Palestinian organization kill the Israeli athletes in Munich during the 1972 Olympics. The Israeli government assemble a team of assassins with the mission of tracking the killers down and killing them.
Appraisal: Not very exciting as an action movie; as a psychological and political drama, it rarely departs from commonplace qualms of conscience and similarly tired stuff. I was amazed at what a retarded bunch this is: the bomb maker is a complete amateur; the other guy falls into the "honey trap" even after he has been explicitly warned about it; their source is absolutely unreliable (by the way, why were they lodged in the same house with Palestinians? was it a trap set up by Louis? to what purpose?). The astoundingly pointless and senseless sequence near the end, wherein our hero has sex with his wife while he imagines the athletes' murder, has a secured place among cinema's very worst.
Rating: 36
Appraisal: Not very exciting as an action movie; as a psychological and political drama, it rarely departs from commonplace qualms of conscience and similarly tired stuff. I was amazed at what a retarded bunch this is: the bomb maker is a complete amateur; the other guy falls into the "honey trap" even after he has been explicitly warned about it; their source is absolutely unreliable (by the way, why were they lodged in the same house with Palestinians? was it a trap set up by Louis? to what purpose?). The astoundingly pointless and senseless sequence near the end, wherein our hero has sex with his wife while he imagines the athletes' murder, has a secured place among cinema's very worst.
Rating: 36
Friday, July 13, 2007
Inside Man (2006)
Synopsis: The Manhattan Trust Bank is invaded by robbers; they take everyone in there hostage. Their modus operandi baffles the police. The contents of one safety deposit box holds a secret which, if revealed, will expose a very important person.
Appraisal (SPOILERS): Laborious plot; the writer tried to think of everything but apparently couldn't. I took the following text from the IMDb Message Board:
*start of quote*
Can someone reasonably explain this?
by dcobbimdb (Wed Jun 6 2007 18:23:03)
Ignore this User Report Abuse
There's a couple timing issues I have, and they may just be oversights that they figured the viewer wouldn't catch onto or maybe I'm 2 bottles short of a 6 pack, lets find out :) 1. The crime happened, Dalton was hiding for a week in that little room they built. So a week later Frazier goes to the bank to unlock that lock box. You would think that the bank owner Case within that time would have checked out the lock box himself to see if it was touched or whatnot. So that means that the ring stayed in that box for a week until Frazier went there with a court order to get it out??? Doesn't add up why Case wouldn't have gone through it prior... 2. Along the same lines, it shows at the very end of the movie that Frazier finally gets together with his girlfriend... So you mean to tell me that his girlfriend is just laying in bed for a week waiting for him to get done with and wrap up the case? That's at least how they portrayed it in my eyes. 3. Possibly an editing error. When they first storm the bank and throw out the smoke bombs, one of the robbers throws two smoke bombs. One hits the top step and goes backwards. The next scene it shows from his perspective where you see two smoke bombs roll out onto the floor. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie and have seen it multiple times (mainly cause I wanted to figure out exactly who the bad guys were and watch there interactions earlier on in the movie when they blended in with the hosteges.
*end of quote*
I actually think that the whole plan is very flimsy and could fail by a number of reasons. Someone might have thought of checking for people inside after the evacuation, for one thing. Aren't there instruments (heat detectors, whatever) for finding people hiding in a place?
As for the whole Nazi connection, it is absurd to think that the guy would store incriminating evidence against him instead of destroying it. If he was stupid enough to do it, there are dozens who weren't, so what's the big deal? Anyway, these are weak spots of a movie which is otherwise watchable.
Rating: 43
Appraisal (SPOILERS): Laborious plot; the writer tried to think of everything but apparently couldn't. I took the following text from the IMDb Message Board:
*start of quote*
Can someone reasonably explain this?
by dcobbimdb (Wed Jun 6 2007 18:23:03)
Ignore this User Report Abuse
There's a couple timing issues I have, and they may just be oversights that they figured the viewer wouldn't catch onto or maybe I'm 2 bottles short of a 6 pack, lets find out :) 1. The crime happened, Dalton was hiding for a week in that little room they built. So a week later Frazier goes to the bank to unlock that lock box. You would think that the bank owner Case within that time would have checked out the lock box himself to see if it was touched or whatnot. So that means that the ring stayed in that box for a week until Frazier went there with a court order to get it out??? Doesn't add up why Case wouldn't have gone through it prior... 2. Along the same lines, it shows at the very end of the movie that Frazier finally gets together with his girlfriend... So you mean to tell me that his girlfriend is just laying in bed for a week waiting for him to get done with and wrap up the case? That's at least how they portrayed it in my eyes. 3. Possibly an editing error. When they first storm the bank and throw out the smoke bombs, one of the robbers throws two smoke bombs. One hits the top step and goes backwards. The next scene it shows from his perspective where you see two smoke bombs roll out onto the floor. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie and have seen it multiple times (mainly cause I wanted to figure out exactly who the bad guys were and watch there interactions earlier on in the movie when they blended in with the hosteges.
*end of quote*
I actually think that the whole plan is very flimsy and could fail by a number of reasons. Someone might have thought of checking for people inside after the evacuation, for one thing. Aren't there instruments (heat detectors, whatever) for finding people hiding in a place?
As for the whole Nazi connection, it is absurd to think that the guy would store incriminating evidence against him instead of destroying it. If he was stupid enough to do it, there are dozens who weren't, so what's the big deal? Anyway, these are weak spots of a movie which is otherwise watchable.
Rating: 43
Polissons et galipettes (2002)
English title: The Good Old Naughty Days.
Compilation of early pornography. The films which are shown - most of them, it seems, in their full length - are:
Coiffeuse, La (1905)
Devoirs de vacances (1920)
Mousquetaire au restaurant (1920)
Atelier faiminette, L' (1921)
Voyeuse, La (1924)
Abbé Bitt au couvent, L' (1925)
Agénor fait un levage (1925)
Fessée à l'école, La (1925)
Heure du thé, L' (1925)
Miss Butterfly (1925)
Eveready Harton in Buried Treasure (1929)
Massages (1930)
It goes without saying that all this is interesting, but the one thing that strikes modern viewers as especially remarkable is the depiction of male homosexuality, which is taboo in modern pornography, except of course in that kind which depicts only it. I have read some comments from amateurs and reviews from professionals, and they all seem to attribute this fact to a more liberal view of male homosexuality in those early times. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I tend to disagree with those comments, in the same way I disagree with the widespread notion that in ancient Greece homosexuality was considered normal. In my opinion, there was, at any period in history, a significant fraction of the population who disapproved of homosexuality. In the specific case of these movies, one has to bear in mind some important facts: they were not sold in stores, like the ones made today; they were shown in brothels only. This means that no great concern for the audience's preferences were necessary. While it must be true that among the makers of these films homosexuality was tolerated (and probably even enjoyed), this was probably less so among the viewers; and if it was enjoyed by some of them, remember that we are talking exclusively of people who went to brothels, some of them on a regular basis. The modern viewers of pornography are a much more varied population, impossible to define. Now, a word about female homosexuality. It is very common, both in old porn and in new. Why the difference? The answer is simple: female viewers are in a minority among viewers of pornography; what most heterosexual people don't want to see is their own gender's homosexuality.
Compilation of early pornography. The films which are shown - most of them, it seems, in their full length - are:
Coiffeuse, La (1905)
Devoirs de vacances (1920)
Mousquetaire au restaurant (1920)
Atelier faiminette, L' (1921)
Voyeuse, La (1924)
Abbé Bitt au couvent, L' (1925)
Agénor fait un levage (1925)
Fessée à l'école, La (1925)
Heure du thé, L' (1925)
Miss Butterfly (1925)
Eveready Harton in Buried Treasure (1929)
Massages (1930)
It goes without saying that all this is interesting, but the one thing that strikes modern viewers as especially remarkable is the depiction of male homosexuality, which is taboo in modern pornography, except of course in that kind which depicts only it. I have read some comments from amateurs and reviews from professionals, and they all seem to attribute this fact to a more liberal view of male homosexuality in those early times. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I tend to disagree with those comments, in the same way I disagree with the widespread notion that in ancient Greece homosexuality was considered normal. In my opinion, there was, at any period in history, a significant fraction of the population who disapproved of homosexuality. In the specific case of these movies, one has to bear in mind some important facts: they were not sold in stores, like the ones made today; they were shown in brothels only. This means that no great concern for the audience's preferences were necessary. While it must be true that among the makers of these films homosexuality was tolerated (and probably even enjoyed), this was probably less so among the viewers; and if it was enjoyed by some of them, remember that we are talking exclusively of people who went to brothels, some of them on a regular basis. The modern viewers of pornography are a much more varied population, impossible to define. Now, a word about female homosexuality. It is very common, both in old porn and in new. Why the difference? The answer is simple: female viewers are in a minority among viewers of pornography; what most heterosexual people don't want to see is their own gender's homosexuality.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
L'enfant (2005)
English title: The Child.
Synopsis (SPOILER): A street thief whose girlfriend has just had his baby sells it without her consent.
Appraisal: It is the second film I see by the Brothers, and I still can't understand what the fuss is all about. OK, they make films connected with reality, specifically Belgian reality. They are excellent directors of actors. Their stories are not hard to follow, and have their share of emotion. So far, so good. The camerawork in The Child is not as sickness-inducing as in The Son, which is another plus. So, it's about forgiveness. And it sheds some light at Belgium's social problems, which, for a Brazilian like me, seem rather minor. I don't know, it's just that I found it all so pedestrian. So, the protagonist made a big mistake. What is it supposed to tell us? That child trafficking is a social problem in Belgium? That there are lines to be drawn, even in a life of crimes? Or rather, that a life of crimes leads to the blurring of those lines? I just didn't find it all that interesting. One thing, though, did strike me as odd: it seems that in Belgium people prefer to chase thieves by themselves, and call the police only in extreme cases, or after the thief is caught.
Rating: 48
Synopsis (SPOILER): A street thief whose girlfriend has just had his baby sells it without her consent.
Appraisal: It is the second film I see by the Brothers, and I still can't understand what the fuss is all about. OK, they make films connected with reality, specifically Belgian reality. They are excellent directors of actors. Their stories are not hard to follow, and have their share of emotion. So far, so good. The camerawork in The Child is not as sickness-inducing as in The Son, which is another plus. So, it's about forgiveness. And it sheds some light at Belgium's social problems, which, for a Brazilian like me, seem rather minor. I don't know, it's just that I found it all so pedestrian. So, the protagonist made a big mistake. What is it supposed to tell us? That child trafficking is a social problem in Belgium? That there are lines to be drawn, even in a life of crimes? Or rather, that a life of crimes leads to the blurring of those lines? I just didn't find it all that interesting. One thing, though, did strike me as odd: it seems that in Belgium people prefer to chase thieves by themselves, and call the police only in extreme cases, or after the thief is caught.
Rating: 48
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
La boîte noire (2005)
English title: Black Box.
Synopsis: A man suffers a car accident and enters a coma, during which he mumbles incoherent stuff which may provide clues to some mysteries in his past.
Appraisal (SPOILERS): I watched it twice in order to sort out some obscure points, but some things remain obscure: (1) the phrase "Finoil buys the AC group" is discussed at some point and a company named Comeco is mentioned which apparently rings a bell in the protagonist's mind but, as far as I can remember, it is the only mention to it in the film; (2) do all those murders in the first "awakening" mean anything? (3) in the last scene, why do we see him back in the hospital bed? is it just a recollection or is the second awakening also false? was he in the hospital due to a car accident or was he murdered while investigating at the site of his brother's death? (it is never explained what he was doing in Cherbourg after all, and I am not even sure it is ever stated that Cherbourg is also where he spent his childhood). Anway, aren't people getting sick of watching variations of the same story over and over? Note: this film is loosely based on a novella by Tonino Benacquista; I have read the comic book adaptation by the author himself, and it is a very different, and much more coherent, story. (In fact, I don't know which came first, the novella or the comic book, and whether they are similarly plotted.)
Rating: 18
Synopsis: A man suffers a car accident and enters a coma, during which he mumbles incoherent stuff which may provide clues to some mysteries in his past.
Appraisal (SPOILERS): I watched it twice in order to sort out some obscure points, but some things remain obscure: (1) the phrase "Finoil buys the AC group" is discussed at some point and a company named Comeco is mentioned which apparently rings a bell in the protagonist's mind but, as far as I can remember, it is the only mention to it in the film; (2) do all those murders in the first "awakening" mean anything? (3) in the last scene, why do we see him back in the hospital bed? is it just a recollection or is the second awakening also false? was he in the hospital due to a car accident or was he murdered while investigating at the site of his brother's death? (it is never explained what he was doing in Cherbourg after all, and I am not even sure it is ever stated that Cherbourg is also where he spent his childhood). Anway, aren't people getting sick of watching variations of the same story over and over? Note: this film is loosely based on a novella by Tonino Benacquista; I have read the comic book adaptation by the author himself, and it is a very different, and much more coherent, story. (In fact, I don't know which came first, the novella or the comic book, and whether they are similarly plotted.)
Rating: 18
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Brødre (2004)
English title: Brothers.
Synopsis: Two brothers, one a married man, quite responsible and respected, the other a misfit who just got out of prison where he did time for armed robbery. The former goes away to Afghanistan as a soldier...
Appraisal (SPOILERS): It stretches credibility too often, both in its characters' flat psychology, and in more down-to-earth details like the prisoner camp's clichéd (and as far as I know unsupported by factual evidence) savageries (the writer-director must have seen Bullet in the Head). The dramatic resolution of the proposed conflicts is not satisfying at all; younger brother simply vanishes without a trace and all is declared well. A dud.
Rating: 35
Synopsis: Two brothers, one a married man, quite responsible and respected, the other a misfit who just got out of prison where he did time for armed robbery. The former goes away to Afghanistan as a soldier...
Appraisal (SPOILERS): It stretches credibility too often, both in its characters' flat psychology, and in more down-to-earth details like the prisoner camp's clichéd (and as far as I know unsupported by factual evidence) savageries (the writer-director must have seen Bullet in the Head). The dramatic resolution of the proposed conflicts is not satisfying at all; younger brother simply vanishes without a trace and all is declared well. A dud.
Rating: 35
Match Point (2005)
Synopsis: In London, a tennis instructor starts to socialize with one of his rich pupils, and date his sister, and flirt with his fiancée.
Appraisal: It has a nicely flowing first hour (or a little more than that, I think), then gets a little repetitive, with Nola acting naggingly and naively beyond belief, and surreal, with Chris constantly talking on his cell phone without a reasonable explanation and no one suspecting anything. The story is clearly a variation on the widely known novel "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser, first published in 1925; it is also a reworking of the director's own "Crimes and Misdemeanors". The movie develops the theme of luck as related to an object in motion which must pass a given barrier; four physical instances are analyzed: a tennis ball must go beyond a net; a wedding ring must fly over the rail of a bridge; Chris's spermatozoid must reach Nola's egg; and Chris's spermatozoid must reach Chloe's egg. Some of these events are considered good luck, others bad. They are all metaphors for social ascension, in a way; also, for the director's career, from stand-up acts to gag-oriented comedy to philosophical melodrama as in here. Some say it was bad luck for us that he made it through; others, quite the opposite.
Rating: 60
Appraisal: It has a nicely flowing first hour (or a little more than that, I think), then gets a little repetitive, with Nola acting naggingly and naively beyond belief, and surreal, with Chris constantly talking on his cell phone without a reasonable explanation and no one suspecting anything. The story is clearly a variation on the widely known novel "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser, first published in 1925; it is also a reworking of the director's own "Crimes and Misdemeanors". The movie develops the theme of luck as related to an object in motion which must pass a given barrier; four physical instances are analyzed: a tennis ball must go beyond a net; a wedding ring must fly over the rail of a bridge; Chris's spermatozoid must reach Nola's egg; and Chris's spermatozoid must reach Chloe's egg. Some of these events are considered good luck, others bad. They are all metaphors for social ascension, in a way; also, for the director's career, from stand-up acts to gag-oriented comedy to philosophical melodrama as in here. Some say it was bad luck for us that he made it through; others, quite the opposite.
Rating: 60
Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (1964)
English titles: Panic in Bangkok; Shadow of Evil.
Synopsis: The agent OSS 117 goes to Thailand to investigate a mysterious vaccine company which apparently caused a plague in India. He meets a mysterious doctor and his beautiful sister.
Appraisal: Bad espionage thriller, a very poor Bond imitation. The musical score is nice, though.
Rating: 17
Synopsis: The agent OSS 117 goes to Thailand to investigate a mysterious vaccine company which apparently caused a plague in India. He meets a mysterious doctor and his beautiful sister.
Appraisal: Bad espionage thriller, a very poor Bond imitation. The musical score is nice, though.
Rating: 17
Monday, July 09, 2007
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
Synopsis: In Texas, a Mexican immigrant is killed and his boss and best friend takes his body to bury it in Mexico. He takes the killer along.
Appraisal: Half-baked story of redemption. Its qualities lie more in the sense of humor contained in small details (a fat woman giving her dog a lush kiss, a cell phone call during a chase, and so on...) than in the big picture it draws, which is somewhat manicheistic and cliché-ridden. And about the ranger's wife, give me a break: she hasn't been in town long enough that her boredom has reached a point where she will jump - without a trace of reluctance or awkwardness - into a afternoon escapade with an illegal immigrant she has never met before.
Rating: 40
Appraisal: Half-baked story of redemption. Its qualities lie more in the sense of humor contained in small details (a fat woman giving her dog a lush kiss, a cell phone call during a chase, and so on...) than in the big picture it draws, which is somewhat manicheistic and cliché-ridden. And about the ranger's wife, give me a break: she hasn't been in town long enough that her boredom has reached a point where she will jump - without a trace of reluctance or awkwardness - into a afternoon escapade with an illegal immigrant she has never met before.
Rating: 40
Delirious (1991)
Synopsis: A soap opera writer is in love with the star of his soap opera. He suffers an accident and wakes up as a character in it. The plot revolves around a formula which was concocted by a scientist, and the fierce competition to get it.
Appraisal (mild SPOILERS): Moderately entertaining exercise in metanarrative. It has some complicated concepts (the writer, as a character, may determine the course of events by writing them on his typewriter; as those events unfold, the letters erase themselves), and is not especially funny, but has some interesting moments.
Rating: 40
Appraisal (mild SPOILERS): Moderately entertaining exercise in metanarrative. It has some complicated concepts (the writer, as a character, may determine the course of events by writing them on his typewriter; as those events unfold, the letters erase themselves), and is not especially funny, but has some interesting moments.
Rating: 40
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Les amants réguliers (2005)
English title: Regular Lovers.
Synopsis: François is a student in Paris in 1968. He takes part in the revolt of May. He is a poet, and he and his group of friends gravitate around Antoine, a rich friend who provides them drugs and lodging (and lounging too). François meets a beautiful aspiring sculptress and the two start a relationship.
Appraisal: Quite absorbing as a chronicle of a certain period; it is also a melancholically poetical love story. The black and white cinematography is stunning, and lends the film a compelling physicality. I don't know how true the film is to the real events, but, judging from it, May 1968 was a predominantly male event. Notice how, when these people get together, the guys are always having lively discussions about politics, while the girls sit passively, apart from the guys; when they talk, it is mostly about boyfriends and such. Shame about the subtitles, though: they are white and vanish on white scenes; I caught up with some of the missed dialogue after the film, by reading it on a subtitles file.
Rating: 67
Synopsis: François is a student in Paris in 1968. He takes part in the revolt of May. He is a poet, and he and his group of friends gravitate around Antoine, a rich friend who provides them drugs and lodging (and lounging too). François meets a beautiful aspiring sculptress and the two start a relationship.
Appraisal: Quite absorbing as a chronicle of a certain period; it is also a melancholically poetical love story. The black and white cinematography is stunning, and lends the film a compelling physicality. I don't know how true the film is to the real events, but, judging from it, May 1968 was a predominantly male event. Notice how, when these people get together, the guys are always having lively discussions about politics, while the girls sit passively, apart from the guys; when they talk, it is mostly about boyfriends and such. Shame about the subtitles, though: they are white and vanish on white scenes; I caught up with some of the missed dialogue after the film, by reading it on a subtitles file.
Rating: 67
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Caché (2005)
English title: Hidden.
Synopsis: Someone is leaving VHS tapes at the Laurents' doorstep. And with them, ugly drawings of people bleeding and such. Who is torturing this happy family? Is it some crazed fan of M. Laurent, the host of a literary TV show? Or is it someone from his guilty past? (Don't worry, the film never shows who's done it.)
Appraisal: First, an advice for young filmmakers: if you must make a thriller, you must never (and I mean never!) solve it. Preferrably, make up a story which couldn't possibly be solved. Anyway, the important thing is, end it abruptly, leaving a feeling of emptiness in the audience. Otherwise you will never be taken seriously as an Artist (notice the capital letter). Caché might have had an epilogue in which it is revealed that the culprit is a deranged janitor, or a jealous co-worker of M. Laurent's, or Mme. Laurent's best friend Pierre, who lends her a shoulder when she is sad and, it would turn out, is secretly in love with her, having lost all vestige of sanity on account of it, or (why not) Pierrot's swimming instructor, and the list could go on. In that case, Caché would be positively identified as an American TV movie, the sorts of which, until a few years ago, were shown on a regular basis on Open TV on Saturday nights, after the soap opera in Brazil. But, if you don't want that to happen, and you want your film to be a French arthouse film instead, you don't have to change but two things: (1) as I said, cut the ending; yeah, simply throw it away, or rather, don't shoot it at all; (2) don't hire American TV second rate actors, but French first rate ones. Voilà, there's your Art film. Apparently most "refined" viewers never posed themselves a very simple question: how will a story that is blatantly implausible - which is obviously the reason it is left unsolved - cause any fear on the audience? We fear what can happen, not what cannot.
Rating: 25
Synopsis: Someone is leaving VHS tapes at the Laurents' doorstep. And with them, ugly drawings of people bleeding and such. Who is torturing this happy family? Is it some crazed fan of M. Laurent, the host of a literary TV show? Or is it someone from his guilty past? (Don't worry, the film never shows who's done it.)
Appraisal: First, an advice for young filmmakers: if you must make a thriller, you must never (and I mean never!) solve it. Preferrably, make up a story which couldn't possibly be solved. Anyway, the important thing is, end it abruptly, leaving a feeling of emptiness in the audience. Otherwise you will never be taken seriously as an Artist (notice the capital letter). Caché might have had an epilogue in which it is revealed that the culprit is a deranged janitor, or a jealous co-worker of M. Laurent's, or Mme. Laurent's best friend Pierre, who lends her a shoulder when she is sad and, it would turn out, is secretly in love with her, having lost all vestige of sanity on account of it, or (why not) Pierrot's swimming instructor, and the list could go on. In that case, Caché would be positively identified as an American TV movie, the sorts of which, until a few years ago, were shown on a regular basis on Open TV on Saturday nights, after the soap opera in Brazil. But, if you don't want that to happen, and you want your film to be a French arthouse film instead, you don't have to change but two things: (1) as I said, cut the ending; yeah, simply throw it away, or rather, don't shoot it at all; (2) don't hire American TV second rate actors, but French first rate ones. Voilà, there's your Art film. Apparently most "refined" viewers never posed themselves a very simple question: how will a story that is blatantly implausible - which is obviously the reason it is left unsolved - cause any fear on the audience? We fear what can happen, not what cannot.
Rating: 25
Buck Privates (1941)
Synopsis: There isn't much of a plot, really. The film focuses on an army training station for peacetime soldiers, and its various inhabitants. One of them is a rich playboy who expects to be released thanks to his influential father's intervention, which never happens; Abbott and Costello inadvertently sign up, and provide comical sketches throughout the movie; said rich guy competes with another, more righteous, guy for the love of a beautiful hostess; the Andrews Sisters do several musical numbers.
Appraisal: Probably (though I haven't seen many of them) one of the weaker Abbott & Costello films. Anyway, I think it's hard not to enjoy it at least a tiny bit: the Andrews Sisters sing well, the songs are not so bad, the duo's sketches are uneven but good enough for a few laughs, there are even some combat drill scenes which seem pretty impressive.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Probably (though I haven't seen many of them) one of the weaker Abbott & Costello films. Anyway, I think it's hard not to enjoy it at least a tiny bit: the Andrews Sisters sing well, the songs are not so bad, the duo's sketches are uneven but good enough for a few laughs, there are even some combat drill scenes which seem pretty impressive.
Rating: 31
Volver (2006/I)
English title: To Return.
Synopsis: Several incidents - deaths, an apparition, etc. - affect a group of women - two sisters, the daughter of one of them, a friend, an old aunt - and the husband of one of them. Several events which took place long before begin to resurface and secrets are revealed.
Appraisal (mild SPOILERS): Weak - and long! - melodrama. Now, an odd flight of fancy of mine. When the film crew member asks Raimunda if she could serve meals to the crew, she agrees to it. I was sure that she was planning to chop up and cook the dead body and serve it to the film crew. An interesting detail: in Brazil, Raimunda is a popular denomination for a woman with big buttocks (it is a rhyme for 'bunda', which is the word for 'buttocks' in Brazilian Portuguese). It is reported that the leading actress wore artificial buttock enlargers for this movie so she would fit the typical shape of the women of La Mancha, where the film is set.
Rating: 25
Synopsis: Several incidents - deaths, an apparition, etc. - affect a group of women - two sisters, the daughter of one of them, a friend, an old aunt - and the husband of one of them. Several events which took place long before begin to resurface and secrets are revealed.
Appraisal (mild SPOILERS): Weak - and long! - melodrama. Now, an odd flight of fancy of mine. When the film crew member asks Raimunda if she could serve meals to the crew, she agrees to it. I was sure that she was planning to chop up and cook the dead body and serve it to the film crew. An interesting detail: in Brazil, Raimunda is a popular denomination for a woman with big buttocks (it is a rhyme for 'bunda', which is the word for 'buttocks' in Brazilian Portuguese). It is reported that the leading actress wore artificial buttock enlargers for this movie so she would fit the typical shape of the women of La Mancha, where the film is set.
Rating: 25
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Everything Put Together (2000)
Synopsis: A woman loses her baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and then starts a process of denial, during which all her friends avoid her.
Appraisal: Quite interesting exercise in naturalism (1st part) and in atmosphere (2nd part). Although it is not always completely successful, one can sense the director's talented hand throughout the film. The acting is good, especially the leading lady.
Rating: 59
Appraisal: Quite interesting exercise in naturalism (1st part) and in atmosphere (2nd part). Although it is not always completely successful, one can sense the director's talented hand throughout the film. The acting is good, especially the leading lady.
Rating: 59
Stealth (2005)
Synopsis: Three Navy aircraft pilots are assigned to a secret project involving counterterrorism, and are to be joined by a fourth pilot, who turns out to be non-existent, or rather, a computer: the fourth plane is devised to fly unmanned, totally controlled by an artificial intelligence program who can learn and evolve. Needless to say, it runs out of control and its programmer is summoned to fix it.
Appraisal: A weak script is a major problem with this film, which nevertheless has good action sequences - one of them actually great, the girl being ejected from her plane and freefalling under the shower of debris - and a marvellous female star.
Rating: 40
Appraisal: A weak script is a major problem with this film, which nevertheless has good action sequences - one of them actually great, the girl being ejected from her plane and freefalling under the shower of debris - and a marvellous female star.
Rating: 40
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Houseboat (1958)
Synopsis: A man whose three estranged kids are suddenly left motherless decides to live with them. He hires a beautiful Italian woman to look after them.
Appraisal: Moderately fun for most of its duration, though it has some screenplay problems, of which the biggest one is possibly the fact that, by making Cinzia a rich woman, it renders all the "class discrimination" angle really stupid. Plus, the final section where the kids are suddenly against her is totally contrived and therefore annoying.
Rating: 46
Appraisal: Moderately fun for most of its duration, though it has some screenplay problems, of which the biggest one is possibly the fact that, by making Cinzia a rich woman, it renders all the "class discrimination" angle really stupid. Plus, the final section where the kids are suddenly against her is totally contrived and therefore annoying.
Rating: 46
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Estamira (2004)
Brief description: This is a documentary on a woman who lives in a garbage dump. She has a very particular system of mystical beliefs, and a way of expressing them that is equally unique. She has a son and two daughters who try to support her, yet have a limited range of action, due to Estamira's individuality and independence, and to the clash of her beliefs with those of the others. Through Estamira's ravings, and the accounts of her family members, we hear of her tragic past of violence and abuse, and begin to understand how she came to be what she is now.
Appraisal: There is no denying this is a truly heart-breaking story, no matter what one thinks of the film as a finished product. And the film in itself is bound to divide opinions. I for one was a little bothered by the "freak show" quality that affects some parts of the film, although I think it has more than enough merits to make it worth viewing. This guy can film, this I know for sure. There is no amateurism here, the intelligence of the shots is evident, and he knows how to create a sense of surreal outlandishness out of this grim landscape.
Rating: 58
Appraisal: There is no denying this is a truly heart-breaking story, no matter what one thinks of the film as a finished product. And the film in itself is bound to divide opinions. I for one was a little bothered by the "freak show" quality that affects some parts of the film, although I think it has more than enough merits to make it worth viewing. This guy can film, this I know for sure. There is no amateurism here, the intelligence of the shots is evident, and he knows how to create a sense of surreal outlandishness out of this grim landscape.
Rating: 58
Monday, July 02, 2007
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran (2003)
English title: Monsieur Ibrahim.
Synopsis: A Jewish boy living in Paris makes friends with a Muslim store-owner.
Appraisal: I have the feeling that tolerance for banality has become boundless in today's cinema. Otherwise there would be no explanation for this (and for many of the films released in the past 5 years which I have seen). Don't get me wrong, it is not an unbearable film; there is nothing offensive about it: it is warm-hearted, and even visually pleasing. Maybe this is all it takes to satisfy modern viewers?
Rating: 34
Synopsis: A Jewish boy living in Paris makes friends with a Muslim store-owner.
Appraisal: I have the feeling that tolerance for banality has become boundless in today's cinema. Otherwise there would be no explanation for this (and for many of the films released in the past 5 years which I have seen). Don't get me wrong, it is not an unbearable film; there is nothing offensive about it: it is warm-hearted, and even visually pleasing. Maybe this is all it takes to satisfy modern viewers?
Rating: 34
The Circle (2001/I)
Alternate title: Fraternity.
Synopsis: A secret society of college students steals the questions of an exam. A bright student who is not a society member knows the identity of the thieves, and is pressed into turning his colleagues in.
Appraisal: This is a frivolous yet watchable game of whodunit, displaying a succession of red herrings, and a few plot twists, all in a steady pace. It borrows some superficial elements from The Skulls (2000) but is otherwise a completely different film. I didn't see anything special about it and by tomorrow I will probably have forgotten its plot.
Rating: 37
Synopsis: A secret society of college students steals the questions of an exam. A bright student who is not a society member knows the identity of the thieves, and is pressed into turning his colleagues in.
Appraisal: This is a frivolous yet watchable game of whodunit, displaying a succession of red herrings, and a few plot twists, all in a steady pace. It borrows some superficial elements from The Skulls (2000) but is otherwise a completely different film. I didn't see anything special about it and by tomorrow I will probably have forgotten its plot.
Rating: 37
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