English title (apparently): Cop au Vin.
Based on the novel "Une mort en trop" (tr. One Death Too Many) by Dominique Roulet (1st ed. 1982).
In a small town, the postman and his crippled mother are pressured to sell their house to some guys who want to build a project there. A series of deaths and disappearances occur and Inspector Lavardin is called in to solve them.
Weak policier. The crimes don't make much sense, the main character is slightly ridiculous (he tries to drown one of the suspects in a sink!), flaunting a constant and irritating smirk, the young postman's mother is a stereotypical shrew.
Rating: 16
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Based on a novella by Philip K. Dick (completed in 1973, 1st ed. 1977).
In the near future, a powerful drug is frying people's brains. An undercover agent infiltrates a house of addicts.
The tone shifts between comedy, existential drama and conspiration/police story. All that in rotoscopy animation, and with fine performances. The result is thoroughly entertaining, although my impression was that the mental problems of the protagonist should be better characterized. There were some plot points that were difficult to understand, and explaining them simply as an effect of the character's perception disorder feels to me like bad writing.
Rating: 68
In the near future, a powerful drug is frying people's brains. An undercover agent infiltrates a house of addicts.
The tone shifts between comedy, existential drama and conspiration/police story. All that in rotoscopy animation, and with fine performances. The result is thoroughly entertaining, although my impression was that the mental problems of the protagonist should be better characterized. There were some plot points that were difficult to understand, and explaining them simply as an effect of the character's perception disorder feels to me like bad writing.
Rating: 68
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis (1st ed. 1950).
Spoilers ahead.
Some kids find a magic land inside a wardrobe. An evil witch is trying to overthrow the lion king.
This is possibly the kitschiest fantasy I have seen. Elements from totally different cultural sources are put together without much criterion. Basically we have a lion as Jesus. A boy is Judas Iscariotes, his betrayal is forgiven, his brother says he had been too harsh on him. The witch doesn't care for prisoners.
Rating: 36
Spoilers ahead.
Some kids find a magic land inside a wardrobe. An evil witch is trying to overthrow the lion king.
This is possibly the kitschiest fantasy I have seen. Elements from totally different cultural sources are put together without much criterion. Basically we have a lion as Jesus. A boy is Judas Iscariotes, his betrayal is forgiven, his brother says he had been too harsh on him. The witch doesn't care for prisoners.
Rating: 36
Quanto vale ou é por quilo? (2005)
English title: What Is It Worth?
Based on the chronicles of slavery collected from the National Archives by Nireu Cavalcanti; also loosely inspired by the short story "Pai contra mãe" (tr. Father against Mother), by Machado de Assis (included in the collection Relíquias de casa velha, 1st ed. 1906).
A few stories from the time of slavery in Brazil are intercut with a present-day story about corruption in charity organizations.
The stories set in colonial times are interesting. As expected, the analogies with modern days are contrived and artificial. The problem of corruption in NGOs is real in Brazil, but of course I wouldn't know if the particular situations depicted in the film are plausible. The film is very fragmentary and preachy, very much like a panel, but its exposé angle is weakened by the excessive fictional liberty with which it approaches its subject. It would be better to make a documentary, but of course in that case the filmmaker's responsibility would considerably increase.
Rating: 40
Based on the chronicles of slavery collected from the National Archives by Nireu Cavalcanti; also loosely inspired by the short story "Pai contra mãe" (tr. Father against Mother), by Machado de Assis (included in the collection Relíquias de casa velha, 1st ed. 1906).
A few stories from the time of slavery in Brazil are intercut with a present-day story about corruption in charity organizations.
The stories set in colonial times are interesting. As expected, the analogies with modern days are contrived and artificial. The problem of corruption in NGOs is real in Brazil, but of course I wouldn't know if the particular situations depicted in the film are plausible. The film is very fragmentary and preachy, very much like a panel, but its exposé angle is weakened by the excessive fictional liberty with which it approaches its subject. It would be better to make a documentary, but of course in that case the filmmaker's responsibility would considerably increase.
Rating: 40
Friday, June 27, 2008
O segredo da múmia (1982)
English title: The Secret of the Mummy.
A scientist invents the elixir of life; he then goes to Egypt where he finds the long lost mummy of a pharaoh who was a murderer of women. The scientist revives the pharaoh.
Its use of eroticism as a comic element in conjunction with old horror clichés gives it a sort of uniqueness. It's my second viewing (I missed the beginning 5 or 10 minutes this time.)
Rating: 31 (up from 25)
A scientist invents the elixir of life; he then goes to Egypt where he finds the long lost mummy of a pharaoh who was a murderer of women. The scientist revives the pharaoh.
Its use of eroticism as a comic element in conjunction with old horror clichés gives it a sort of uniqueness. It's my second viewing (I missed the beginning 5 or 10 minutes this time.)
Rating: 31 (up from 25)
Innocence (2004)
Based on the novella Mine-Haha: The Corporal Education of Young Girls (1st ed. 1888), by Frank Wedekind.
Life at a slightly surrealistic boarding school for little girls. Girls arrive inside a coffin, practice ballet, and when they get older (after the first mestruation) they are sent away.
This film is an attempt to poetically capture the childhood of girls. Although intellectually I acknowledge that it conveys something of the blend of insouciance and fear of the unknown that people children's minds, I was more than a little bored by its excessive repetitiveness.
Curiously, there is another film version of Wedekind's novella called The Fine Art of Love: Mine-Haha (2005).
Rating: 47
Life at a slightly surrealistic boarding school for little girls. Girls arrive inside a coffin, practice ballet, and when they get older (after the first mestruation) they are sent away.
This film is an attempt to poetically capture the childhood of girls. Although intellectually I acknowledge that it conveys something of the blend of insouciance and fear of the unknown that people children's minds, I was more than a little bored by its excessive repetitiveness.
Curiously, there is another film version of Wedekind's novella called The Fine Art of Love: Mine-Haha (2005).
Rating: 47
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
28 Weeks Later (2007)
After the plague which took over England vanishes, they find one survivor who seems to be immune to the disease but still carries it and may infect others.
It borrows from classics such as The Omega Man (recently remade as I Am Legend) and Night of the Living Dead. I liked it better than 28 Days Later, of which it is a sequel. Although its premise is certainly limiting, I think it made good use of it and delivered thrills in generous doses.
Rating: 60
It borrows from classics such as The Omega Man (recently remade as I Am Legend) and Night of the Living Dead. I liked it better than 28 Days Later, of which it is a sequel. Although its premise is certainly limiting, I think it made good use of it and delivered thrills in generous doses.
Rating: 60
Notre musique (2004)
English title: Our Music.
Frankly there is no way to review this film. The initial montage is not bad for a student movie; for a veteran it is insufficient. The rest of the movie is inexistent. For me there are two Godards, one which made beautiful movies and argute observations about movies and lasted approximately until (and including) the film Sauve qui peut (la vie), and another which lived after that movie, and is a complete ass, both as a filmmaker and in his statements. I can't explain the reason for this division, maybe it was burn-out, and if this is the case I understand the reason behind the théorie des auteurs: it was their pension plan.
Rating: 11
Frankly there is no way to review this film. The initial montage is not bad for a student movie; for a veteran it is insufficient. The rest of the movie is inexistent. For me there are two Godards, one which made beautiful movies and argute observations about movies and lasted approximately until (and including) the film Sauve qui peut (la vie), and another which lived after that movie, and is a complete ass, both as a filmmaker and in his statements. I can't explain the reason for this division, maybe it was burn-out, and if this is the case I understand the reason behind the théorie des auteurs: it was their pension plan.
Rating: 11
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Crimen ferpecto (2004)
(Moronic) English title: El Crimen Perfecto (The Perfect Crime).
(Mild spoilers) In the women's section of a department store, the womanizing manager accidentally kills his boss; the only witness is the only woman he never payed attention at, and who has long been in love with him.
I have a certain resistance against the easy cinema of de la Iglesia; his straightforward style never shies away from vulgarity and that marks him as inferior to me. That being said, with films such as The Day of the Beast, Common Wealth, and now Ferpect Crime, which is perhaps the best of them, he shows that, though he lacks subtlety altogether, he (and his usual co-screenwriter) knows exactly what he is doing and within his capabilities rarely missteps. In these dire days that is already something amazing. Truth be told, it is almost impossible not to be amused with Ferpect Crime: it is funny and ingenious and fast-paced.
Rating: 63
(Mild spoilers) In the women's section of a department store, the womanizing manager accidentally kills his boss; the only witness is the only woman he never payed attention at, and who has long been in love with him.
I have a certain resistance against the easy cinema of de la Iglesia; his straightforward style never shies away from vulgarity and that marks him as inferior to me. That being said, with films such as The Day of the Beast, Common Wealth, and now Ferpect Crime, which is perhaps the best of them, he shows that, though he lacks subtlety altogether, he (and his usual co-screenwriter) knows exactly what he is doing and within his capabilities rarely missteps. In these dire days that is already something amazing. Truth be told, it is almost impossible not to be amused with Ferpect Crime: it is funny and ingenious and fast-paced.
Rating: 63
Monday, June 23, 2008
Hard Candy (2005)
A photographer takes a 14-year-old girl to his place for a photo session; she knows more about him than he suspects, and not good things either.
This film uses its running length for stating the obvious: crimes against children and adolescents are abominable. And it does that in the most harrowing manner possible.
Rating: 8
This film uses its running length for stating the obvious: crimes against children and adolescents are abominable. And it does that in the most harrowing manner possible.
Rating: 8
Miss Potter (2006)
The life of a famous writer and illustrator of children's books, her conflicts with her parents, her loves, friendships, career.
I was not that thrilled by the story in itself. The case is that it is so well-made that it becomes endearing.
Rating: 51
I was not that thrilled by the story in itself. The case is that it is so well-made that it becomes endearing.
Rating: 51
Dongchun de rizi (1993)
English title: The Days.
The life of a young couple, he a painter and she an Art School graduate. As their financial situation deteriorates, so does their marriage. As the husband becomes increasingly detached from immediate reality, the woman starts to make concrete plans.
Another despondent look at Asian life. The filmmaker has a poetic sensibility which I appreciate, but somehow he lacked the means (either financial or technical) to take into account all the details (direction of actors, a script which would show things happening instead of using voiceover, a bit of clarity regarding such events in the narrative as what happens to an upcoming child) which film as a final product usually requires. I saw the 75 minute version, which may account for some of the problems I pointed above; subtitling may have played a part too.
Rating: 50
The life of a young couple, he a painter and she an Art School graduate. As their financial situation deteriorates, so does their marriage. As the husband becomes increasingly detached from immediate reality, the woman starts to make concrete plans.
Another despondent look at Asian life. The filmmaker has a poetic sensibility which I appreciate, but somehow he lacked the means (either financial or technical) to take into account all the details (direction of actors, a script which would show things happening instead of using voiceover, a bit of clarity regarding such events in the narrative as what happens to an upcoming child) which film as a final product usually requires. I saw the 75 minute version, which may account for some of the problems I pointed above; subtitling may have played a part too.
Rating: 50
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Before Sunset (2004)
Ten years later, a couple who had spent one night together meet again.
This has obvious roots in Love Affair (1939) and its remake An Affair to Remember (1957) (I didn't see the third version which came out in 1994, the same year as Before Sunrise, of which this is the sequel), and of course Casablanca (1942); it is also quite similar to Conte d'hiver (1992) (tr. A Tale of Winter). While those were all good films, Before Sunset is just moronic, and I was going to say it's not even comic, but then there is that one bit about the New York cop who advises the young lady to buy a gun ("This is America, not France.") -- now this is comic -- or offensive, if you are a New York cop and get offended by moronic films. Anyway, after four years this film has already been torn to pieces by people smarter than me, so I won't bother.
Rating: 15
This has obvious roots in Love Affair (1939) and its remake An Affair to Remember (1957) (I didn't see the third version which came out in 1994, the same year as Before Sunrise, of which this is the sequel), and of course Casablanca (1942); it is also quite similar to Conte d'hiver (1992) (tr. A Tale of Winter). While those were all good films, Before Sunset is just moronic, and I was going to say it's not even comic, but then there is that one bit about the New York cop who advises the young lady to buy a gun ("This is America, not France.") -- now this is comic -- or offensive, if you are a New York cop and get offended by moronic films. Anyway, after four years this film has already been torn to pieces by people smarter than me, so I won't bother.
Rating: 15
The Interpreter (2005)
It's my second viewing. My former post went like that:
- begin quote -
Synopsis: A United Nations interpreter overhears a conversation that might signal that a certain African leader is in danger.
Appraisal: The one interesting thing about this film is the set-up of the premise of the film as a metaphor for a political dilemma. The metaphor concerns the question 'can you identify a whispering voice?' which comes about as the protagonist overhears a conversation and is requested to identify its authors. The clarification of the metaphor is done very near the ending, and is contained in the dedicatory of a book. This curious angle aside, this film is mostly an excruciating series of improbabilities, be they political, emotional, or of a simpler kind, such as leaving a threatened politician alone in a room or discussing sensitive political stuff inside a crowded bus.
Rating: 20
- end quote -
Athough I still don't exactly like it, this time I found it far from 'excruciating'. It's too conventional in structure yet sort of fun to watch. Just don't think of it as a realistic picture and it will go down easier, exception made to when it gets down to the characters' more personal bits, which are definitely corny ('list of favorite words'? give me a break...).
The new rating is 40.
- begin quote -
Synopsis: A United Nations interpreter overhears a conversation that might signal that a certain African leader is in danger.
Appraisal: The one interesting thing about this film is the set-up of the premise of the film as a metaphor for a political dilemma. The metaphor concerns the question 'can you identify a whispering voice?' which comes about as the protagonist overhears a conversation and is requested to identify its authors. The clarification of the metaphor is done very near the ending, and is contained in the dedicatory of a book. This curious angle aside, this film is mostly an excruciating series of improbabilities, be they political, emotional, or of a simpler kind, such as leaving a threatened politician alone in a room or discussing sensitive political stuff inside a crowded bus.
Rating: 20
- end quote -
Athough I still don't exactly like it, this time I found it far from 'excruciating'. It's too conventional in structure yet sort of fun to watch. Just don't think of it as a realistic picture and it will go down easier, exception made to when it gets down to the characters' more personal bits, which are definitely corny ('list of favorite words'? give me a break...).
The new rating is 40.
Shattered Image (1998)
A woman oscillates between two existences, without knowing which is real and which is dream: in one of them she is an assassin, in the other she is a wife on her honeymoon.
Spoilers ahead.
Another entry in the wife-in-distress genre, very popular since the forties I think (Suspicion; Sleep, My Love; the list is probably longer), the main point being: is he trying to kill her or not? Here we have the additional element of two realities, but the screenplay is problematic in this regard: the assassin existence hasn't much bearing on the the newlywed existence; things don't wrap up satisfactorily in the end. And the basic plot of evil husband taking advantage of unbalanced wife is worn-out.
Rating: 30
Spoilers ahead.
Another entry in the wife-in-distress genre, very popular since the forties I think (Suspicion; Sleep, My Love; the list is probably longer), the main point being: is he trying to kill her or not? Here we have the additional element of two realities, but the screenplay is problematic in this regard: the assassin existence hasn't much bearing on the the newlywed existence; things don't wrap up satisfactorily in the end. And the basic plot of evil husband taking advantage of unbalanced wife is worn-out.
Rating: 30
52 Pick-Up (1986)
A married man is blackmailed with a video of him and his lover. Since his wife is running for councilwoman, he doesn't want to contact the police.
The plot is full of implausibilities, but the film is not so bad; the villains are memorable, for one thing. It's my second viewing, and it gets upgraded a little.
Rating: 35 (up from 26)
The plot is full of implausibilities, but the film is not so bad; the villains are memorable, for one thing. It's my second viewing, and it gets upgraded a little.
Rating: 35 (up from 26)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Surviving Picasso (1996)
The film follows the relationship between Françoise, a struggling painter, and Pablo, a renowned one, beginning in 1943 in Paris and lasting 10 years.
The big problem with this film is excessive banality; films like The Ebony Tower (1984) and Raise the Red Lantern (1991) have intersecting points with it, but are much better because they either have better stories (the latter) or have philosophical insight (the former).
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 44
The big problem with this film is excessive banality; films like The Ebony Tower (1984) and Raise the Red Lantern (1991) have intersecting points with it, but are much better because they either have better stories (the latter) or have philosophical insight (the former).
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 44
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Devil's Angels (1967)
A gang of bikers gets into trouble in a small town.
Well made, and with a strong leading performance.
Rating: 52
Well made, and with a strong leading performance.
Rating: 52
Come Early Morning (2006)
"Lucy is a working woman who has a love life based solely on casual, superficial relationships. One day she meets Cal, who's new in town and will awaken in Lucy the wish for a more serious relationship." (translated from MONET, a Brazilian magazine)
Correct drama, well acted.
Rating: 57
Correct drama, well acted.
Rating: 57
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
The film is centered on a family and in particular on one of the five sons, who early on shows some gender-role-defying peculiarities which are frowned upon by his father and by the bigotted society he lives in (Quebec in the 70s); he forgoes his homosexual propensities until he can no longer.
The conflicts and characters are schematic, and the building of a suffocating environment around the main character is done at the cost of verisimilitude; the weird superstitions indulged at by the hero's mother, for instance, don't seem compatible with believable adult behavior.
Rating: 43
The conflicts and characters are schematic, and the building of a suffocating environment around the main character is done at the cost of verisimilitude; the weird superstitions indulged at by the hero's mother, for instance, don't seem compatible with believable adult behavior.
Rating: 43
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii (2006)
English titles: How I Celebrated the End of the World; The Way I Spent the End of the World.
Chronicle of a family in Rumania during the last months of the Ceausescu dictatorship. The main character is an adolescent girl who is expelled from school due to her behavior after an incident in school involving her and her boyfriend. She is sent to another school where she befriends another boy; he wants to flee Rumania.
Fairly sincere depiction. The final result is perhaps a little unpolished and the story seems a little truncated at times.
Rating: 55
Chronicle of a family in Rumania during the last months of the Ceausescu dictatorship. The main character is an adolescent girl who is expelled from school due to her behavior after an incident in school involving her and her boyfriend. She is sent to another school where she befriends another boy; he wants to flee Rumania.
Fairly sincere depiction. The final result is perhaps a little unpolished and the story seems a little truncated at times.
Rating: 55
Closer (2004/I)
Spoilers ahead.
Guy 1 meets Girl 1 - relationship ensues. Guy 1 meets Girl 2. Girl 2 meets Guy 2 - relationship ensues. Guy 1 has an affair with Girl 2; both leave their partners to be together. Girl 2 leaves Guy 1 and comes back with Guy 2; Guy 1 tries to come back with Girl 1; she is willing at first but then changes her mind.
Worthless in a pretentious way. It seems from what I heard that the play makes a little more sense than the film, mainly due to a more candid characterization of the Jane character. I probably wouldn't like it either way.
Rating: 26
Guy 1 meets Girl 1 - relationship ensues. Guy 1 meets Girl 2. Girl 2 meets Guy 2 - relationship ensues. Guy 1 has an affair with Girl 2; both leave their partners to be together. Girl 2 leaves Guy 1 and comes back with Guy 2; Guy 1 tries to come back with Girl 1; she is willing at first but then changes her mind.
Worthless in a pretentious way. It seems from what I heard that the play makes a little more sense than the film, mainly due to a more candid characterization of the Jane character. I probably wouldn't like it either way.
Rating: 26
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Based on the "Basil of Baker Street" book series by Eve Titus (text) and Paul Galdone (illustrations) (1st ed. 1958).
A toy maker is kidnapped by a criminal who forces him to build a mechanical replica of Queen Victoria. He intends to eliminate the real queen and replace her by the robot, which in practice would give him royal powers. The toy maker's daughter meets a retired military who leads her to Basil, a famous detective. All these characters except for the Queen are mice.
Well made animation, with nice characters and visually elaborated sequences.
Rating: 53
A toy maker is kidnapped by a criminal who forces him to build a mechanical replica of Queen Victoria. He intends to eliminate the real queen and replace her by the robot, which in practice would give him royal powers. The toy maker's daughter meets a retired military who leads her to Basil, a famous detective. All these characters except for the Queen are mice.
Well made animation, with nice characters and visually elaborated sequences.
Rating: 53
Friday, June 13, 2008
Henry Fool (1997)
Synopsis: A garbage man with poor social skills is encouraged by his basement tenant -- a struggling writer himself -- to write poetry.
Appraisal: Although it doesn't sustain the brilliance of the first 20 minutes or so through the rest of the film (a characteristic which was present also in Simple Men), it is still pretty interesting.
Rating: 66
Appraisal: Although it doesn't sustain the brilliance of the first 20 minutes or so through the rest of the film (a characteristic which was present also in Simple Men), it is still pretty interesting.
Rating: 66
La Crise (1992)
English title: The Crisis.
Synopsis: A man is abandoned by his wife in the same day that he loses his job. He meets a stranger in a bar who starts following him everywhere.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing. It starts as a comedy with a theatrical penchant; the comicity just sets the ground for the simplistic moralism of the second act. I'm a little perplexed at my former positive evaluation.
Rating: 44 (down from 55)
Synopsis: A man is abandoned by his wife in the same day that he loses his job. He meets a stranger in a bar who starts following him everywhere.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing. It starts as a comedy with a theatrical penchant; the comicity just sets the ground for the simplistic moralism of the second act. I'm a little perplexed at my former positive evaluation.
Rating: 44 (down from 55)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Soy Cuba, o Mamute Siberiano (2005)
English title: I Am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth.
Documentary about the making of a Soviet propaganda film about the Cuban revolution which had a weak reception at its release, was shelved for three decades and then was rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece.
Appraisal: Too dull and poor in information for its length.
Rating: 20
Documentary about the making of a Soviet propaganda film about the Cuban revolution which had a weak reception at its release, was shelved for three decades and then was rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece.
Appraisal: Too dull and poor in information for its length.
Rating: 20
Um céu de estrelas (1996)
English title: A Starry Sky.
Synopsis: A guy visits his ex-fiancée allegedly in order to return some of her things; she broke up with him and is about to go on a trip. The tension between the two of them mounts into violence, triggered by the hostile attitude of the woman's mother.
Appraisal: I suppose this is intended as a slice of proletarian life, yet instead of that we see behavioral absurdities displayed in a quick succession, and poorly staged too. For fairness' sake, I must say that there is a well enacted sex scene in it.
Rating: 10
Synopsis: A guy visits his ex-fiancée allegedly in order to return some of her things; she broke up with him and is about to go on a trip. The tension between the two of them mounts into violence, triggered by the hostile attitude of the woman's mother.
Appraisal: I suppose this is intended as a slice of proletarian life, yet instead of that we see behavioral absurdities displayed in a quick succession, and poorly staged too. For fairness' sake, I must say that there is a well enacted sex scene in it.
Rating: 10
4:30 (2005)
Synopsis [spoilers]: A boy of 11 lives with a foreign 30-something man in an apartment. The man is a tenant of his mother's and practically a stranger to the boy; she is away on business in another country and the boy clings to the man as a sort of father figure, spying on him constantly, prying into his belongings and occasionally stealing. The man is a living wreck and seems to have his mind set on suicide. The boy isn't very healthy himself, having developed the dangerous habit of cough syrup, which causes him to pass out; aside from that, he seems especially fond of disrupting a tai chi chuan class in the park by turning off the music and then darting away. One day the tenant vanishes and the boy finds himself alone. He starts painting the window panes black.
Appraisal: Extremely slow-paced character study, bleak as hell and not really all that interesting.
Rating: 33
Appraisal: Extremely slow-paced character study, bleak as hell and not really all that interesting.
Rating: 33
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Synopsis: The Tucks, a family who discovered a fountain which gives eternal life (and no aging) to those who drink from it, is in danger of having their secret disclosed. A rich girl who is wandering in her house's neighboring woods meets the Tucks and falls in love with their youngest son; concurrently with that, a new man in town is asking around about them. Based on a novel by Natalie Babbitt (1st ed. 1975).
Appraisal: A shallow thing indeed, devoid of ideas. Some nice landscapes and nice interior design, that's all.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 14
Appraisal: A shallow thing indeed, devoid of ideas. Some nice landscapes and nice interior design, that's all.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 14
I Dream of Jeannie: I'll Never Forget What's Her Name (1966) (TV)
Synopsis: Tony is hit in the head by a vase and forgets all about Jeannie. He thinks she is his aunt Pauline's friend Miss Gordon, who is visiting Cocoa Beach. He falls in love with her and asks her to marry him.
The Pilgrim (1923)
This is a longer version (47 min) than the one I saw last (which had 39 min). I didn't notice any major difference between the two, so I guess who watches the smaller one won't be missing much. The differences I noticed are:
1) In the longer version the real parson is seen as he is sending the telegram warning the people in Dallas that he will not be coming on the previously scheduled day.
2) The scene at the station is edited differently; the train appears first than the people in one of the versions, and after them in the other.
3) The sequence where Charlie waves away his former cellmate is longer in the 47-minute-long version.
4) The sequence in the kitchen involving a paste roller is longer in the 47-minute-long version.
The Internet Movie Database says there is a 59-minute-long version; I don't know whether that would be a more complete version or this difference in length is due to different frame rates.
1) In the longer version the real parson is seen as he is sending the telegram warning the people in Dallas that he will not be coming on the previously scheduled day.
2) The scene at the station is edited differently; the train appears first than the people in one of the versions, and after them in the other.
3) The sequence where Charlie waves away his former cellmate is longer in the 47-minute-long version.
4) The sequence in the kitchen involving a paste roller is longer in the 47-minute-long version.
The Internet Movie Database says there is a 59-minute-long version; I don't know whether that would be a more complete version or this difference in length is due to different frame rates.
The Spikes Gang (1974)
Synopsis: Three youngsters hide a bank robber. Some days after he is gone, they decide to leave their houses and try their luck in the world. Chance will reunite them with the bandit they had saved.
Appraisal: Decent western. It's somewhat predictable, but is so well acted that it is hard not to enjoy it.
Rating: 52
Appraisal: Decent western. It's somewhat predictable, but is so well acted that it is hard not to enjoy it.
Rating: 52
Sunday, June 08, 2008
The Big Brawl (1980)
Alternate title: Battle Creek Brawl.
Synopsis: The son of a small store owner is forced to enter a wrestling duel when his brother's fiancée is kidnapped by an unscrupulous wrestling manager.
Appraisal: Pretty routine stuff here, although the fights are fairly well done. I can't give a very precise assessment of it because I saw it in a Chinese-dubbed version, with very poor subtitles. Also, I watched it on a full-screen video version where (if I understand the mechanism correctly) the pan-and-scan was absent; I say this based on the fact that there were many scenes where characters were out of the frame.
Rating: 30
Synopsis: The son of a small store owner is forced to enter a wrestling duel when his brother's fiancée is kidnapped by an unscrupulous wrestling manager.
Appraisal: Pretty routine stuff here, although the fights are fairly well done. I can't give a very precise assessment of it because I saw it in a Chinese-dubbed version, with very poor subtitles. Also, I watched it on a full-screen video version where (if I understand the mechanism correctly) the pan-and-scan was absent; I say this based on the fact that there were many scenes where characters were out of the frame.
Rating: 30
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Synopsis: Bean wins a trip to the South of France, along with a video camera. He asks a man in the station to film him and this causes that man to miss the train, which his kid has already boarded. Bean accompanies the kid down to Cannes, where the latter's father will be a Festival juror.
Appraisal: A little disappointing. It's a nice film, but not very funny or brilliant.
Rating: 48
Appraisal: A little disappointing. It's a nice film, but not very funny or brilliant.
Rating: 48
Je pense à vous (2006)
English title: Made in Paris.
English translation of the French title: I'm thinking of you.
Synopsis [spoilers]: Hermann is a publisher; he is married to Diane, who was earlier in a relationship with Worms, a writer published by Hermann. While leaving a funeral of another writer, Hermann meets Anne, with whom he had a relationship; she still has feelings for him. Worms is nearby and sees them; he photographs them with his cellphone-camera while Hermann is writing his phone number on Anne's arm; he sends the picture to Diane's cellphone. Diane is unsettled by the photo; it happens that Diane is suing Worms over some passages of his new book which reveal details of their married life. Later, in a meeting between them which will try to settle the matter, Worms proposes a bet: if Hermann tells Diane about his encounter with Anne, he will eliminate all the passages she requires. Herman doesn't say a word, and Diane withdraws the lawsuit. She is very upset and says she will spend the night with a friend. She sends the photo to Antoine, the psychiatrist who treated Anne; she comes to his clinic to see him, and he tells her he is married to Anne now. He feels attracted to Diane, and kisses her. Meanwhile, Anne goes to Hermann's apartment and he offers her a drink; she feels ill and throws up. Diane returns and finds her sleeping naked in her bed. Anne wakes up and, after some explanations, leaves; she takes Diane's overcoat (and cellphone) by mistake. Hermann goes after her. He calls Anne on Diane's phone and, when Anne picks it up she notices a message from Antoine to Diane asking to see her. After a few other incidents which ensue from the previous set-up, Anne enters Hermann's apartment while Diane is alone in it taking a bath, and attempts to drown her in the tub. Hermann arrives and stops her. Diane and Anne stand a moment by themselves in the bathroom and end up kissing each other; Hermann enters and joins them; the three go to bed together. The next morning Diane is still asleep and Hermann tells Anne that she should leave. Anne heads straight to the subway and throws herself on the tracks, being killed by a train (her act is not shown in the film, it is only implied).
Appraisal: It is a little hard to accept it as a comedy of errors with a suicidal character in it; also, the tone shifts in the second half. Maybe I am wrong about these things, I don't know.
Rating: 52
English translation of the French title: I'm thinking of you.
Synopsis [spoilers]: Hermann is a publisher; he is married to Diane, who was earlier in a relationship with Worms, a writer published by Hermann. While leaving a funeral of another writer, Hermann meets Anne, with whom he had a relationship; she still has feelings for him. Worms is nearby and sees them; he photographs them with his cellphone-camera while Hermann is writing his phone number on Anne's arm; he sends the picture to Diane's cellphone. Diane is unsettled by the photo; it happens that Diane is suing Worms over some passages of his new book which reveal details of their married life. Later, in a meeting between them which will try to settle the matter, Worms proposes a bet: if Hermann tells Diane about his encounter with Anne, he will eliminate all the passages she requires. Herman doesn't say a word, and Diane withdraws the lawsuit. She is very upset and says she will spend the night with a friend. She sends the photo to Antoine, the psychiatrist who treated Anne; she comes to his clinic to see him, and he tells her he is married to Anne now. He feels attracted to Diane, and kisses her. Meanwhile, Anne goes to Hermann's apartment and he offers her a drink; she feels ill and throws up. Diane returns and finds her sleeping naked in her bed. Anne wakes up and, after some explanations, leaves; she takes Diane's overcoat (and cellphone) by mistake. Hermann goes after her. He calls Anne on Diane's phone and, when Anne picks it up she notices a message from Antoine to Diane asking to see her. After a few other incidents which ensue from the previous set-up, Anne enters Hermann's apartment while Diane is alone in it taking a bath, and attempts to drown her in the tub. Hermann arrives and stops her. Diane and Anne stand a moment by themselves in the bathroom and end up kissing each other; Hermann enters and joins them; the three go to bed together. The next morning Diane is still asleep and Hermann tells Anne that she should leave. Anne heads straight to the subway and throws herself on the tracks, being killed by a train (her act is not shown in the film, it is only implied).
Appraisal: It is a little hard to accept it as a comedy of errors with a suicidal character in it; also, the tone shifts in the second half. Maybe I am wrong about these things, I don't know.
Rating: 52
Mannequin (1987)
Synopsis: A guy who builds mannequins for a living witnesses one of his creations come to life; they fall in love and at the same time save the store from bankruptcy with their dazzling window designs.
Appraisal: If all movies, even the sillier ones, are a reflex of their times, one could deduce from Mannequin that by the late eighties women became so cold and unloving that even mannequins had more warmth and appeal than them. At any rate, this is a light, upbeat movie that doesn't have much in the way of elaboration. It's a poor entertainment, actually.
Rating: 33
Appraisal: If all movies, even the sillier ones, are a reflex of their times, one could deduce from Mannequin that by the late eighties women became so cold and unloving that even mannequins had more warmth and appeal than them. At any rate, this is a light, upbeat movie that doesn't have much in the way of elaboration. It's a poor entertainment, actually.
Rating: 33
Friday, June 06, 2008
The Holcroft Covenant (1985)
Synopsis: A fortune is left in a Swiss bank by three Nazi officers who diverted money which was supposed to go to the State; they committed suicide at the end of the war. Their alleged purpose was to constitute a fund which would make up for all the evil which the Nazi regime caused. Four decades after the end of the war, an American architect named Holcroft, the son of one of the suicidal officers, is approached by the banker entrusted with the money. Holcroft must now find the heirs to the remaining officers and start the Foundation.
Appraisal: Second viewing. It's a weak premise and plot, in my view, but it is stylishly done, and the result is not without entertaining value. My appreciation of this film is considerably greater now than it was upon my first viewing.
Rating: 40 (up from 19)
Appraisal: Second viewing. It's a weak premise and plot, in my view, but it is stylishly done, and the result is not without entertaining value. My appreciation of this film is considerably greater now than it was upon my first viewing.
Rating: 40 (up from 19)
Weekend Warriors (1986)
Alternate title: Hollywood Air Force.
Synopsis: In 1961, military service was obligatory in the U.S.A.; in Hollywood, several men linked to the movie business serve in the Air Force during weekends. A congressman is determined to send them into active duty; he is scheduling an inspection which will determine their future. They decide to bring in some film actors to help them put on a show which will deceive the congressman. Things get even more delicate when the Rumanian ambassador decides to pay them a visit.
Appraisal: Weak comedy, poor on original ideas; the overall level of execution is competent and therefore the whole thing is watchable, barely.
Rating: 31
Synopsis: In 1961, military service was obligatory in the U.S.A.; in Hollywood, several men linked to the movie business serve in the Air Force during weekends. A congressman is determined to send them into active duty; he is scheduling an inspection which will determine their future. They decide to bring in some film actors to help them put on a show which will deceive the congressman. Things get even more delicate when the Rumanian ambassador decides to pay them a visit.
Appraisal: Weak comedy, poor on original ideas; the overall level of execution is competent and therefore the whole thing is watchable, barely.
Rating: 31
I Dream of Jeannie: My Master the Magician (1966) (TV)
Comments: The Internet Movie Database synopsis goes like this: "When Doctor Bellows finds Tony floating in midair, he insists that he perform that same trick at the NASA talent show." This episode makes absolutely no sense; of course this whole show doesn't make much sense, but this episode is specially nonsensical. As a side note, it is curious that the episodes written by the series creator are the worst ones.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
The Funeral (1996)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Young Johnny has been murdered. He was a communist and opposed to the deals his brothers Ray and Chez, who controlled the union, made with Caspare in favor of a factory owner. His brother Ray orders his goons to bring him Caspare, whose wife had an affair with the deceased. After an interrogation, Ray concludes Caspare didn't do it; he orders his assassination anyway. The real culprit is brought to Ray, and claims Johnny raped his girlfriend; Ray takes him to a deserted place, where the young man confesses the rape was a lie, and he really killed Johnny because the latter beat him up in front of his friends. Ray executes him. Later at home, Ray's brother Chez, who suffers from "insanity", shoots Ray and another guy dead, then shoots Johnny's corpse, then shoots himself.
Appraisal: Second viewing, didn't remember a thing. I remember having liked it the first time I saw it in the same measure I liked it now. The ending is probably not defensible.
Rating: 65
Appraisal: Second viewing, didn't remember a thing. I remember having liked it the first time I saw it in the same measure I liked it now. The ending is probably not defensible.
Rating: 65
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The Shooter (1995)
Synopsis: An American marshal flows to Prague in order to arrest a woman who is suspected of having killed a Cuban ambassador in New York, in connection with the negotiations for the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S.A. He doesn't think the woman did it.
Appraisal: Very implausible action thriller, which relies on old clichés for most of its duration. There is only one sequence which rises above the general poorness: the car chase, and in particular the scene where the hero rides between two trams, then makes an about-turn and loses his persecutor.
Rating: 24
Appraisal: Very implausible action thriller, which relies on old clichés for most of its duration. There is only one sequence which rises above the general poorness: the car chase, and in particular the scene where the hero rides between two trams, then makes an about-turn and loses his persecutor.
Rating: 24
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Crossing the Line (1989)
Synopsis: Ricky and his friend Josh are riding their motorcycles one afternoon and the latter suffers an accident; Ricky does not witness it and after he loses sight of Josh he doesn't come back to look for him. Later he gets word that his buddy is in a coma in the hospital. Josh's brother Zack wants to get back at Ricky for having left Josh on the road. Ricky enters a motocross race where he will compete with Zack for the title.
Appraisal: Lame drama, pretty tedious and badly written.
Rating: 13
Appraisal: Lame drama, pretty tedious and badly written.
Rating: 13
La collana della suocera (?)
It is comprised of four different parts taken from unidentified Larry Semon (1889-1928?) films, spliced together. The first segment takes place in a cabaret named The Blue Squirrel Cafe; Larry's girl is a dancer apparently held there against her will, and so Larry invades the place and rescues her. In the second segment Larry and his girlfriend (which looks very different from the girl in the first segment) arrive at a farm and Larry is expelled by the girl's father who starts shooting at him and hits his car's gasoline tank; the third segment features Larry against some jewel thieves; Larry is on the rooftop of a house shooting at the bad guys; the cops then arrive and start chasing both Larry and the thieves, apparently; in the fourth and last segment Larry is a prison inmate in his cell; there is a girl with a chimpanzee and some puppies; Larry kisses her and then, inadvertently, the chimp.
I Dream of Jeannie: Never Try to Outsmart a Jeannie (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Tony is being sent on a trip to the International Air Show in Rome. Jeannie wants to go but he won't take her with him. She insists and he finally agrees but she doesn't want to go inside the bottle, so he says she must get a passport; for that she must present a witness who knows her for more than two years, but she doesn't know anyone in the U.S.A. for more than six months. She overhears an elderly lady describe how her life was saved in 1931 in Chicago by a woman who made her duck before she was hit by some gangsters' bullets. Jeannie travels back in time and takes the place of the elderly lady's savior -- or induces a false memory in her, perhaps. It doesn't stick, though -- according to Jeannie's application she wasn't even born in 1931. So she decides to travel in the bottle.
Monday, June 02, 2008
The Wild Life (1984)
Synopsis: Several characters in adolescence or leaving it are shown: a guy who broke up with his girlfriend and is leaving his parents' home to live on his own; his girlfriend, who is now fucking a cop; her friend who works at a clothes' shop; the latter's ex-boyfriend who is trying to get her to go back with him; a younger fellow who is obsessed with guns and befriended a Vietnam veteran.
Appraisal: Run-of-the-mill dramatic comedy which shows a little of the youth's lifestyle in the eighties.
Rating: 39
Appraisal: Run-of-the-mill dramatic comedy which shows a little of the youth's lifestyle in the eighties.
Rating: 39
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Apocalypto (2006)
Synopsis: In pre-columbian America, a small tribe is attacked by a bigger one which is looking for sacrificial victims.
Appraisal: As long as it is not taken as a serious historical reenactment, this is a fun ride; the imagery impressed me tremendously, and the flow of the narrative is exciting. The opening epigraph is meant to give the film an air of importance which it simply doesn't have; this is not cinema of ideas, but of action.
Rating: 66
Appraisal: As long as it is not taken as a serious historical reenactment, this is a fun ride; the imagery impressed me tremendously, and the flow of the narrative is exciting. The opening epigraph is meant to give the film an air of importance which it simply doesn't have; this is not cinema of ideas, but of action.
Rating: 66
Dead Again (1991)
Synopsis: An amnesic woman is looked after by a missing persons investigator. As no one appears to claim her, he decides to resort to hypnosis as a means to recovering her memory. During her sessions she recalls incidents related to a notorious murder which occurred before both were born.
Appraisal: It's my second viewing, and again on my initial appraisal I was too harsh on it. I still think it is a lackluster film, but not as bad as I had perceived it.
Rating: 30 (up from 8)
Appraisal: It's my second viewing, and again on my initial appraisal I was too harsh on it. I still think it is a lackluster film, but not as bad as I had perceived it.
Rating: 30 (up from 8)
Being Julia (2004)
Synopsis: A middle-aged actress falls in love with a younger man. Based on the novella "Theatre" by W. Somerset Maugham (1st ed. 1947).
Appraisal: This is another of my embarrassing past mistakes, now hopefully corrected. At the time of my first viewing I panned it so completely as to state that it was one of the worst films I had seen in a good while. Well, aside from my stupidity, I owe that misjudgement probably to the constant giggling of the main character (what's with all that, I still ask), and to what I found then to be a silly ending (but in fact isn't all that silly, just a little implausible); add to that the fact that there isn't a single lovable major character in the entire movie and my confusion is partially explained. It's a perfectly enjoyable film actually, and the key to appreciating it is perhaps in the title itself, as the film is centered on the psychology of the central character; a secondary key to it is of course the opening lesson from her late teacher, which is rebuked at the film's closing -- actors don't dissociate themselves from the surrounding world, but rather incorporate it in various ways.
Rating: 57 (up from 18)
Appraisal: This is another of my embarrassing past mistakes, now hopefully corrected. At the time of my first viewing I panned it so completely as to state that it was one of the worst films I had seen in a good while. Well, aside from my stupidity, I owe that misjudgement probably to the constant giggling of the main character (what's with all that, I still ask), and to what I found then to be a silly ending (but in fact isn't all that silly, just a little implausible); add to that the fact that there isn't a single lovable major character in the entire movie and my confusion is partially explained. It's a perfectly enjoyable film actually, and the key to appreciating it is perhaps in the title itself, as the film is centered on the psychology of the central character; a secondary key to it is of course the opening lesson from her late teacher, which is rebuked at the film's closing -- actors don't dissociate themselves from the surrounding world, but rather incorporate it in various ways.
Rating: 57 (up from 18)
Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004)
English title: Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War.
Synopsis: In 1950 Korea, two brothers, one a bit rude and the other more sensitive, are recruited as soldiers against the communist North Korean invasion.
Appraisal: Exasperatingly melodramatic, yet competent at the basic task of telling a little bit of History and depicting battle scenes.
Rating: 39
Synopsis: In 1950 Korea, two brothers, one a bit rude and the other more sensitive, are recruited as soldiers against the communist North Korean invasion.
Appraisal: Exasperatingly melodramatic, yet competent at the basic task of telling a little bit of History and depicting battle scenes.
Rating: 39
The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
Synopsis: An American agent is assigned a case of counterfeit; the gang responsible for it killed his girlfriend. He goes to London where he and a Scotland Yard agent infiltrate the gang.
Appraisal: Remake of T-Men (1947). I never saw that film, but this one is a naive, antiquated and conventional policier, verging on the self-parody.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Remake of T-Men (1947). I never saw that film, but this one is a naive, antiquated and conventional policier, verging on the self-parody.
Rating: 31
The Munsters: Prehistoric Munster (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Eddie wants Herman's photo so that he can put him in the Father of the Year contest; Marilyn does a sculpture of Herman's face for a class in school. When Marilyn's teacher sees the sculpture he thinks Herman is some kind of prehistoric missing link. He and the Anthropology teacher think they can get rich with the discovery and summon Herman at school. Herman thinks it's about the contest.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
The Girl from Monday (2005)
Synopsis: In the future, sex will be monitored and encouraged through a system of points assigned to persons who practice it. A resistance movement appears. In a parallel subplot, an entity from a distant planet comes to Earth and takes the form of a woman; she is looking for another person from the same planet who came to Earth long before.
Appraisal: It's kind of watchable, but I honestly do not see the point of it. The plot has a lot of elements which were only barely sketched, and do not relate well to the rest of the film. It looks like it was conceived and executed in a hurry. Either that, or this is a new kind of spoof where you have the clichés of sci-fi dried out and mechanically concatenated in such a way that you wonder whether what you are seeing is the work of a professional or rather that of a 14-year-old with a video equipment and some actors at his disposal.
Rating: 30
Appraisal: It's kind of watchable, but I honestly do not see the point of it. The plot has a lot of elements which were only barely sketched, and do not relate well to the rest of the film. It looks like it was conceived and executed in a hurry. Either that, or this is a new kind of spoof where you have the clichés of sci-fi dried out and mechanically concatenated in such a way that you wonder whether what you are seeing is the work of a professional or rather that of a 14-year-old with a video equipment and some actors at his disposal.
Rating: 30
Friday, May 30, 2008
Good Burger (1997)
Synopsis: Dex wrecks his mother's car as well as his teacher's and takes a summer job to raise the money to pay for both repairs. He starts at Mondo Burger but is fired and then is offered a job at its smaller rival Good Burger. There he befriends Ed, who has a very low I.Q.
Appraisal: This film manages a smart combination of the awesome and the awful; it somehow works.
Rating: 50
Appraisal: This film manages a smart combination of the awesome and the awful; it somehow works.
Rating: 50
The Namesake (2006)
Synopsis: An Indian couple emigrates to the U.S.A.
Appraisal: A real stinker. No further comments.
Rating: 8
Appraisal: A real stinker. No further comments.
Rating: 8
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Munsters: Eddie's Brother (1966) (TV)
Internet Movie Database Synopsis: "When Eddie asks his parents for a baby brother, Grandpa decides to build a mechanical one, 'Boris' in the basement. Eddie soon begins to think that his new playmate is better loved by the family than he is, and runs away in his pajamas."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Munsters: The Fregosi Emerald (1966) (TV)
Synopsis: I missed most of the pre-credits sequence, so I am guessing it's Marilyn's birthday, and people are giving her presents. Eddie found a ring in a chest in the attic and gives it to Marilyn. Grandpa tells them that the ring is cursed and brings bad luck to the person wearing it.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
The Munsters: Cyrano de Munster (1966) (TV)
Internet Movie Database synopsis: "Herman starts writing poems for Clyde, a colleague, so Clyde can impress a girl he's met on the bus."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
'A' gai waak (1983)
English title: Project A.
Synopsis: In XIX-century Hong Kong, the problem of piracy begins to affect the local economy; there is a conflict between the city police and the navy about who gets government money. A series of attacks destroys the naval fleet, and their crew is reassigned to the city police. One pirate corrupts several people in the force so he can obtain rifles.
Appraisal: Relentless, hysterical, childishly convoluted, brilliant at times, entertaining throughout.
Rating: 60
Synopsis: In XIX-century Hong Kong, the problem of piracy begins to affect the local economy; there is a conflict between the city police and the navy about who gets government money. A series of attacks destroys the naval fleet, and their crew is reassigned to the city police. One pirate corrupts several people in the force so he can obtain rifles.
Appraisal: Relentless, hysterical, childishly convoluted, brilliant at times, entertaining throughout.
Rating: 60
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Beyond Borders (2003)
Synopsis: Rich woman decides to take part in an NGO which provides help for refugees, and falls in love with a fellow activist.
Appraisal: This is a bad screenplay in every possible aspect, and I don't think I can add anything to the previously existing reviews.
Rating: 15
Appraisal: This is a bad screenplay in every possible aspect, and I don't think I can add anything to the previously existing reviews.
Rating: 15
Monday, May 26, 2008
As feras (1995)
Synopsis [spoilers]: A woman starts working on a production of Wedekind's Lulu play or plays for the stage; her boyfriend (named Paulo) gets jealous; the director is a woman; she has a relationship with another actress in the play; Paulo has had a traumatic experience in his youth: he was in love with his cousin but she had a relationship with an older woman who treated him badly; while waiting for the rehearsal to end one day, Paulo has a long talk with the actor who will play Jack the Ripper, who tells him about how his former girlfriend left him for another woman.
Appraisal: The theme (as it is plainly obvious from the synopsis above) is the mix of fear and fascination which some men feel regarding homosexuality in women. This is rarely dealt with in films, I think (the closest things that come to mind are some films by Ferreri and the whole subgenre of female vampires); it's not a good film, it'd better be said, it's repetitive and not at all remarkable on the mise-en-scene aspect. But it's consistent with Khouri's oeuvre, which is devoted to the dissection of the male psyche. It was originally conceived as an episode in a film called As Primas which was completed around 1994 and remained unreleased; Khouri used the material he filmed turning it into a feature-length film which apparently was not released until 2001.
Rating: 32
Appraisal: The theme (as it is plainly obvious from the synopsis above) is the mix of fear and fascination which some men feel regarding homosexuality in women. This is rarely dealt with in films, I think (the closest things that come to mind are some films by Ferreri and the whole subgenre of female vampires); it's not a good film, it'd better be said, it's repetitive and not at all remarkable on the mise-en-scene aspect. But it's consistent with Khouri's oeuvre, which is devoted to the dissection of the male psyche. It was originally conceived as an episode in a film called As Primas which was completed around 1994 and remained unreleased; Khouri used the material he filmed turning it into a feature-length film which apparently was not released until 2001.
Rating: 32
Clockwatchers (1997)
Synopsis: Iris gets a job as a temporary secretary at a big corporation. She makes three new friends: Margaret, who is outspoken and a little rebellious, Jane, who is about to get married, and Paula, who aspires to be an actress. When a series of thefts starts happening in the office, suspicion seeps in among them.
Appraisal: A perceptive and refined look at office life, which starts out funny and gets progressively sadder as it goes on.
Rating: 61
Appraisal: A perceptive and refined look at office life, which starts out funny and gets progressively sadder as it goes on.
Rating: 61
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Les chansons d'amour (2007)
Synopsis [spoilers]: A guy lives with two women in a ménage à trois. One of them dies suddenly, the one with whom he apparently had the stronger bond. He then becomes involved in a homosexual relationship.
Appraisal: I really was expecting to hate this film, but obviously my fears were largely unfounded. While not what I consider a great film (too trivial perhaps?), this is a bullshit-free account of modern relationships, which uses the device of song interludes to expand on characters' feelings and states of mind. Nothing new here, this is what songs are classically used for in musicals, except that the music here is just mediocre and the singing pedestrian.
Rating: 55
Appraisal: I really was expecting to hate this film, but obviously my fears were largely unfounded. While not what I consider a great film (too trivial perhaps?), this is a bullshit-free account of modern relationships, which uses the device of song interludes to expand on characters' feelings and states of mind. Nothing new here, this is what songs are classically used for in musicals, except that the music here is just mediocre and the singing pedestrian.
Rating: 55
Las Hurdes (1933)
English title: Land Without Bread.
Documentary about an extremely poor region in Spain. The term "documentary" is used here loosely, since several scenes are staged; all the same, it's an interesting film.
Documentary about an extremely poor region in Spain. The term "documentary" is used here loosely, since several scenes are staged; all the same, it's an interesting film.
The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965)
Synopsis: Moll Flanders, raised by gypsies, then sent to an orphanage, marries a fool and then becomes a widow at a young age. She employs herself as maid to a couple of impoverished aristocrats. She meets a thief who thinks she is a lady; he passes off as a ship captain.
Appraisal: Fairly entertaining comedy of customs; it distinguishes itself by precise and elegant editing and camerawork. Much of this film's plot (which comes from a 1722 novel by Daniel Defoe) may be recognized in the inferior Montecarlo (1957).
Rating: 55
Appraisal: Fairly entertaining comedy of customs; it distinguishes itself by precise and elegant editing and camerawork. Much of this film's plot (which comes from a 1722 novel by Daniel Defoe) may be recognized in the inferior Montecarlo (1957).
Rating: 55
The Munsters: Big Heap Herman (1966) (TV)
Internet Movie Database Synopsis: "While on a family vacation, Herman gets lost in the desert and wanders into an Indian village, where he is mistaken for a legendary ancient spirit."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Munsters: Just Another Pretty Face (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Herman plays with Grandpa's laboratory equipment and is struck by an electrical arc; as a result his face becomes identical to Fred Gwynne's without the make-up; everyone is disgusted at his "horrible" new appearance. Grandpa tries a new experiment to give him back his old face and succeeds but with a terrible side effect: Herman is turned into a woman! She goes out of the house and it starts to rain; she is struck by lightning and as a result goes back to being a man.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)
English titles: Shoot the Pianist; Shoot the Piano Player.
Synopsis: A piano player who plays at a bar is involved in his brother's criminal life.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing of this film, and I was hoping to give it a better grade this time around. Alas, it didn't happen. The film is simply digressive and unmemorable; the shootout scenes near the end are pathetic -- are they supposed to be modern? Anyway, I may sound a little harsher than I intend: it is not devoid of superficial entertaining value.
Rating: 45 (unchanged)
Synopsis: A piano player who plays at a bar is involved in his brother's criminal life.
Appraisal: This is my second viewing of this film, and I was hoping to give it a better grade this time around. Alas, it didn't happen. The film is simply digressive and unmemorable; the shootout scenes near the end are pathetic -- are they supposed to be modern? Anyway, I may sound a little harsher than I intend: it is not devoid of superficial entertaining value.
Rating: 45 (unchanged)
Asylum (2005)
Synopsis: The wife of the director of a mental hospital starts an affair with an inmate who killed his own wife.
Appraisal: Having read the book a few years ago (a rare event indeed!), I must say that the characters, situations and environments were very much like I imagined; for this, and for the general competence of the project, the filmmakers must be praised. There is one difference, though, and here I may be misremembering, or perhaps I just didn't read the book with the necessary attention: I don't recall the character of 'Cleave' as being homosexual or homosexually inclined or even just perceived as such by other characters; the film also seems to make him cold and calculating, a characteristic that either is absent in the novel or completely escaped me. In general, and again this may be due simply to my poor reading skills, I think the film improved upon the book.
Rating: 59
Appraisal: Having read the book a few years ago (a rare event indeed!), I must say that the characters, situations and environments were very much like I imagined; for this, and for the general competence of the project, the filmmakers must be praised. There is one difference, though, and here I may be misremembering, or perhaps I just didn't read the book with the necessary attention: I don't recall the character of 'Cleave' as being homosexual or homosexually inclined or even just perceived as such by other characters; the film also seems to make him cold and calculating, a characteristic that either is absent in the novel or completely escaped me. In general, and again this may be due simply to my poor reading skills, I think the film improved upon the book.
Rating: 59
The Munsters: Grandpa's Lost Wife (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Herman finds an ad on Shocking Detective Stories magazine offering a reward for the whereabouts of a man; to his astonishment, the man in the photo in none other than Grandpa. Herman decides to write a letter to the person who posted the ad and thus collect the reward, but Lily talks him out of the idea. Through an anonymous phone call, Herman finds out that the person looking for Grandpa is his alleged wife in Sioux City, Iowa. They talk to Grandpa about it, but he denies having an abandoned wife in that city. To complicate things further, Eddie sees the letter that Herman wrote and mails it. Soon they receive the visit of the lady from Sioux City, but Grandpa stays hidden in his laboratory. Later on, he decides to pay his alleged wife a visit at the hotel. She recalls moments of their common life, but Grandpa remembers none of them; he gets interested, though, since she seems to be rich. He signs a paper admitting he is her husband and goes home to fetch his things and move in with her. When he comes back to the hotel he is shocked to learn that it was all a fraud: the woman had to prove she was married in order to collect an inheritance (oh dear) and chose Grandpa from an old photo of his magician's days in a magazine; she though it was very likely that he would be dead, so she placed the ad in the hope that no one would answer it; she had to do it in order to convince she really was married (oh dear). Grandpa returns to the Munsters' house but Herman refuses to take him back because he was greedy and abandoned his family; Lily convinces Herman to forgive Grandpa; then Grandpa asks Herman for a loan and Herman expels him again; Grandpa begs to be let in (he even fabricates snow), and finally succeeds.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
In God We Tru$t (1980)
Synopsis: A monk who has never been outside the monastery walls is sent on a fund-raising mission in Los Angeles. He meets a hooker and falls in love with her.
Appraisal: The film has good moments of slapstick and musical, and some witty dialogue too; but then there is the rest of the film...
Rating: 37
Appraisal: The film has good moments of slapstick and musical, and some witty dialogue too; but then there is the rest of the film...
Rating: 37
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Munsters: Underground Munster (1965) (TV)
Internet Movie Database Synopsis: "Munster pet Spot runs away from home after Herman scolds it for leaving mud prints all over the kitchen. When Spot is sighted in the sewer system Herman goes down to fetch him, but gets lost himself. Soon local newspaper men have branded Spot a giant lizard monster, and Herman it's 'mate'. The mayor, who is facing reelection, decides to bomb the sewers in order to get rid of the creatures once and for all."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Robbers' Roost (1955)
Synopsis: A wheelchair-bound rancher with a beautiful daughter hires two known cattle thieves as foremen; his theory is that they will prevent each other from stealing his cattle. A mysterious stranger is hired by one of the gangs as a cowboy. Based on a novel by Zane Grey (1st ed. 1932).
Appraisal: Below average western; it's watchable all the same.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Below average western; it's watchable all the same.
Rating: 31
The Munsters: The Treasure of Mockingbird Heights (1965) (TV)
Internet Movie Database Synopsis: "Herman and Grandpa stumble upon a secret compartment through the dungeon and find a clue that leads them to Henry Morgan's pirate treasure. Lily and Marilyn are touched to see the two men working together, but as soon as the treasure is found, their companionship turns to suspicion and rivalry."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Krajobraz po bitwie (1970)
English titles: Landscape After Battle; Landscape After the Battle.
Synopsis [spoilers]: In 1945, a German concentration camp is freed by the Americans and the inmates are sent to another concentration camp. The main character is a Polish poet. He meets a Jewish woman who fled Poland; the two escape the camp for a walk in the neighboring woods, and she proposes that she and he flee to France; he declines; they walk back to the camp, but it's unsafe to enter during the day; she decides to do it anyway and is shot dead.
Appraisal: Based on Tadeusz Borowski (1922-1951)'s autobiographical short stories, this is interesting for covering a period in history about which I knew little. The film is not good, though; the camerawork consists solely of a hand-held camera which operates at close-ups most of the time, causing a sense of fatigue, dizziness and claustrophobia throughout the film; I favor a broader technique. The main performance is good, for what it's worth.
Rating: 41
Synopsis [spoilers]: In 1945, a German concentration camp is freed by the Americans and the inmates are sent to another concentration camp. The main character is a Polish poet. He meets a Jewish woman who fled Poland; the two escape the camp for a walk in the neighboring woods, and she proposes that she and he flee to France; he declines; they walk back to the camp, but it's unsafe to enter during the day; she decides to do it anyway and is shot dead.
Appraisal: Based on Tadeusz Borowski (1922-1951)'s autobiographical short stories, this is interesting for covering a period in history about which I knew little. The film is not good, though; the camerawork consists solely of a hand-held camera which operates at close-ups most of the time, causing a sense of fatigue, dizziness and claustrophobia throughout the film; I favor a broader technique. The main performance is good, for what it's worth.
Rating: 41
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Holiday (2006)
Synopsis: Two women, both unsuccessful in their love lives, decide to take a home exchange vacation; one is English, the other American.
Appraisal: Fluff is now longer.
Rating: 16
Appraisal: Fluff is now longer.
Rating: 16
Santitos (1999)
English title: Little Saints.
Synopsis [spoilers]: A woman loses her daughter during a tonsil extraction, the doctor tells her it's a rare virus, they won't open the casket to avoid infection, some time later the woman sees a vision of St. Judas on her oven's glass, he tells her her daughter is still alive, she suspects she was kidnapped and sold to a whorehouse, she employs herself there but the girl isn't there, she returns home, the girl appears to her on the mirror, she moves with her new sweetheart, takes the mirror with her.
Appraisal: Weakly scripted and rather incompetently made.
Rating: 14
Synopsis [spoilers]: A woman loses her daughter during a tonsil extraction, the doctor tells her it's a rare virus, they won't open the casket to avoid infection, some time later the woman sees a vision of St. Judas on her oven's glass, he tells her her daughter is still alive, she suspects she was kidnapped and sold to a whorehouse, she employs herself there but the girl isn't there, she returns home, the girl appears to her on the mirror, she moves with her new sweetheart, takes the mirror with her.
Appraisal: Weakly scripted and rather incompetently made.
Rating: 14
War and Pieces (1964)
Too many sketches to remember, the ones that come to mind are: the coyote painting himself with invisible ink only to be run over by a car; crossing the earth's core to meet a Chinese relative of the roadrunner at the other side.
Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)
The tortoise telephones his friends who step in the race at strategic points, giving the rabbit (or hare, according to the title) the illusion that it's always the same person who inexplicably manages to be ahead of him all the time.
Life with Tom (1953)
Jerry writes a book called "Life with Tom" and it becomes a best-seller. Tom reads it and gets furious. The chapters he reads are snippets of Cat Fishin' (1947), The Little Orphan (1948), and Kitty Foiled (1948).
Neapolitan Mouse (1954)
Jerry and Tom travel as stowaways in a ship to Naples. The cartoon is basically a tour of all the famous spots of that city.
Mouse in Manhattan (1945)
Jerry gets tired of the country life and moves to New York. The cartoon is basically a tour of all the famous spots in that city.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Munsters: Herman Picks a Winner (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Eddie wins a coin on a bet and his parents scold him -- gambling is bad, they assure him. Herman states that Eddie will never gamble again and Eddie challenges him on that -- "Wanna bet?" -- Herman is willing to take it, to Lily's stark disapproval. [Credits...] Herman has decided to give Eddie a lesson: he steals Eddie's savings and places a bet on a probable loser on the horse track; Grandpa suggests Lily should be the one to choose the horse, since she is the one with the know-how of picking a loser -- after all, she married one. The betting place's front is a laundry house. Grandpa is determined to sabotage Herman's radical approach to education and psychically influences the race to make Herman's horse win. They repeat the experience the following day and score a new win. The folks at the laundry/gambling joint are amazed at Herman's successes and decide to use his ability for their own profit. With the assistance of a cute blonde with car troubles, they get Herman to drive to the bandits' house; he is persuaded to choose a horse and then is kept as a prisoner until the race finishes. The horse loses and Herman escapes through the window, but it's a high-story apartment and he prevents his fall by grabbing on a pole. The bad guys start shooting at him when Grandpa arrives as a bat; he gives Herman an anti-gravity pill and distracts the criminals until Herman has safely reached the ground.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Country of My Skull (2004)
Synopsis: A poet watches the Truth and Reconciliation hearings in South Africa and meets an American journalist covering the event. They become friends despite (or because of?) their initial differences of opinion.
Appraisal: In the background are the hearings -- people telling their stories, crying, pleading amnesty. This poet and this journalist and their relationship are in the foreground; then there is this subplot of the interviews with the perpetrator and his revelations. These elements eventually converge. The purpose of the film, as I see it, is to show a particular moment of a nation where a transition is occurring. It is not fully successful, I think; the choice of central characters is misguided, as they are not where the core of the nation's drama is. Basically, this film is about a rich white woman whose main problem is the "shock" of discovering the things she never looked at when they took place; although I wouldn't dream of passing judgement on her, it's hard to see her as an interesting character.
Note: I saw it on TV; the scenes with Langston in the U.S.A. (before he flies to Africa) were not present on the version I watched; also absent were all the "shits" and "fucks", a fact which ironically echoes a scene in the movie itself.
Rating: 44
Appraisal: In the background are the hearings -- people telling their stories, crying, pleading amnesty. This poet and this journalist and their relationship are in the foreground; then there is this subplot of the interviews with the perpetrator and his revelations. These elements eventually converge. The purpose of the film, as I see it, is to show a particular moment of a nation where a transition is occurring. It is not fully successful, I think; the choice of central characters is misguided, as they are not where the core of the nation's drama is. Basically, this film is about a rich white woman whose main problem is the "shock" of discovering the things she never looked at when they took place; although I wouldn't dream of passing judgement on her, it's hard to see her as an interesting character.
Note: I saw it on TV; the scenes with Langston in the U.S.A. (before he flies to Africa) were not present on the version I watched; also absent were all the "shits" and "fucks", a fact which ironically echoes a scene in the movie itself.
Rating: 44
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Munsters: Herman's Peace Offensive (1965) (TV)
IMDb Synopsis: "Eddie is being bullied at school by Jack McGinty, and Herman is continuously being tricked by practical joker Clyde Thornton at work. Herman advises his son to turn the other cheek, but when both come home with a blackened eye, they decide it's time to retaliate when provoked."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)
Synopsis [mild spoilers]: Willie inherits from his aunt and is persuaded by Harry to invest in a film studio. They are conned: the studio in the photo belongs to Edison. They hear that the crook moved to Hollywood, so there they go. They are hired as stuntmen in a movie directed by the very guy who swindled them.
Appraisal: Watchable comedy; the humor is formulaic yet provides a certain level of entertainment.
Rating: 36
Appraisal: Watchable comedy; the humor is formulaic yet provides a certain level of entertainment.
Rating: 36
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Blue Chips (1994)
Synopsis: A college basketball coach faces the dilemma of (1) breaking the rule of not offering any kind of financial compensation for recruited players or (2) not getting good enough players.
Appraisal: Its central issue is exposed in a clear, almost didactic way; the events unfold into a logical albeit predictable conclusion. In a nutshell, the film is set as a theorem concerning a certain rule in academic sports which forbids schools from providing athlete students with payments (except scholarships of course); the rule is bent in practice by most coaches, with all sorts of advantages given to them either in cash or in goods by some anonymous persons. The demonstration is done ad absurdo: a coach who can't win gives in to the money-and-gifts recruiting system only to find out he has no control over things afterwards.
Rating: 46
Appraisal: Its central issue is exposed in a clear, almost didactic way; the events unfold into a logical albeit predictable conclusion. In a nutshell, the film is set as a theorem concerning a certain rule in academic sports which forbids schools from providing athlete students with payments (except scholarships of course); the rule is bent in practice by most coaches, with all sorts of advantages given to them either in cash or in goods by some anonymous persons. The demonstration is done ad absurdo: a coach who can't win gives in to the money-and-gifts recruiting system only to find out he has no control over things afterwards.
Rating: 46
The Munsters: The Most Beautiful Ghoul in the World (1966) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: The Munsters receive a package in the mail and it ticks; they think it's a bomb so they dip it in water (and it's supposed to disarm it, go figure). It's a letter from a relative in Transylvania leaving them an inheritance of $10,000. They decide to split the money fifty-fifty between Herman and Lily, so that each of them will invest it in his (her) own way. Herman invests his share on an invention by Grandpa which will transmit electricity wirelessly; Lily opens a beauty parlor. Lily's peculiar concept of beauty transforms her two first customers in horrible monsters, and Grandpa's first field test of his machine damages the public energy system. They are sued and constrained to pay an enormous sum unless they repair the damage they made. Lily says she will undo the customers' make-up, but when they are in the hair dryer Grandpa performs a test which sends an electrical signal to Lily's parlor and therefore also to her customers' heads. As a consequence they become totally bald. Now Lily is in deep trouble; at home she finds out that it was all Grandpa's fault. Suddenly, there's someone at the door: Lily answers it and it's her customers with their hair grown back and more beautiful; the shock waves worked as a hair treatment; they propose to set up a business together. Lily goes back in the house and is dismayed to learn that Grandpa has destroyed his machine.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Jackass Number Two (2006)
Description: A bunch of guys goes through all kinds of excruciating physical experiences.
Appraisal: Very poor as entertainment -- for us viewers; how it is for them actors you have to ask them.
Rating: 5
Appraisal: Very poor as entertainment -- for us viewers; how it is for them actors you have to ask them.
Rating: 5
The Munsters: John Doe Munster (1965) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Once more I will transcribe the Internet Movie Database synopsis: "Herman develops amnesia after a three hundred pound safe falls on his head (and bounces off). The police take him into protective custody and rename him 'John Doe'. The only way for Lily to bring her husband home is to legally adopt him. When 'John' still doesn't show any sign of recognition after ten days, Lily and Grandpa comes up with a plan to shock John back into Herman by having Grandpa disguise himself as Rock Hudson and pretend to woo Lily. He ends up looking more like Rudolph Valentino instead." -- and I will add that that plan was infrutiferous; only when Eddie is in danger after going on the roof to fly his kite is that Herman recovers his memory, triggered by his paternal instincts.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Iklimler (2006)
English titles: Climates; Seasons; The Climate.
Synopsis [heavy spoilers]: Isa, an architecture professor, is on vacation with his girlfriend Bahar. She is behaving strangely lately, very withdrawn; this appears to be related to his recent betrayal with Serap. He can't stand Bahar's behavior anymore and breaks up with her. He goes on an affair with Serap, even though she is already on a steady relationship with another man. Isa misses Bahar and travels east to where she is working (she is a TV art director). He wants her back but she says it is too late. Later, she looks him up at the hotel he is staying at, and spends the night with him without physical contact; his response to her is colder than she probably expected. In the morning he says he has to catch the plane back to Istanbul. It is definitely over between them.
Appraisal: Interesting psychological drama, with a very realistic proposition. I think the film succeeds partially -- the characters have a true feel to them, but not all scenes were fully well resolved filmically. At any rate, it's a valorous attempt.
Rating: 54
Synopsis [heavy spoilers]: Isa, an architecture professor, is on vacation with his girlfriend Bahar. She is behaving strangely lately, very withdrawn; this appears to be related to his recent betrayal with Serap. He can't stand Bahar's behavior anymore and breaks up with her. He goes on an affair with Serap, even though she is already on a steady relationship with another man. Isa misses Bahar and travels east to where she is working (she is a TV art director). He wants her back but she says it is too late. Later, she looks him up at the hotel he is staying at, and spends the night with him without physical contact; his response to her is colder than she probably expected. In the morning he says he has to catch the plane back to Istanbul. It is definitely over between them.
Appraisal: Interesting psychological drama, with a very realistic proposition. I think the film succeeds partially -- the characters have a true feel to them, but not all scenes were fully well resolved filmically. At any rate, it's a valorous attempt.
Rating: 54
Fletch Lives (1989)
Synopsis: Fletch, a reporter, inherits a Southern property. He quits his job and moves South. He is received by his attorney Amanda; he goes to bed with her and she is dead in the morning. He is arrested and then released, with the help of another attorney. He begins investigating Amanda's death. An evangelist who is planning to build a second theme park on the region is one of his suspects. A corporation who is dumping toxic waste in the neighborhood is another.
Appraisal: Enjoyable but uneven; interesting elements can be found both in the plot and in the individual sequences, if you can withstand the less funny bits.
Rating: 43
Appraisal: Enjoyable but uneven; interesting elements can be found both in the plot and in the individual sequences, if you can withstand the less funny bits.
Rating: 43
The Munsters: Herman's Driving Test (1965) (TV)
Synopsis [spoilers]: Herman is promoted to driver of the funeral car. He must renew his driver's license in order to get the job. He takes the tests but fails twice. Grandpa suggests he go to a small town where it is easier to obtain a license. They go to Groverville; the official who is responsible for the concession of licenses is very myopic and thinks Herman and Grandpa are a couple looking for
a marriage license; after he is corrected, he submits Herman to a very perfunctory succession of tests and then gives him the license. Herman is promoted, but is disappointed: initially he is given the horse carriage to drive.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
a marriage license; after he is corrected, he submits Herman to a very perfunctory succession of tests and then gives him the license. Herman is promoted, but is disappointed: initially he is given the horse carriage to drive.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Fatal Instinct (1993)
Synopsis: A police detective who is also a defense lawyer gets involved with a sexy client; his wife is cheating on him (with his mechanic) and plotting to kill him in order to collect the insurance; his secretary is in love with him.
Appraisal: Moderately enjoyable, with highs and lows. The breaking of the fourth wall is overdone (particularly regarding the soundtrack), and a few other jokes are unfunny, but there is a fair amount of interesting ideas.
Rating: 43
Appraisal: Moderately enjoyable, with highs and lows. The breaking of the fourth wall is overdone (particularly regarding the soundtrack), and a few other jokes are unfunny, but there is a fair amount of interesting ideas.
Rating: 43
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Troy (2004)
Synopsis: Trojan prince Paris takes Greek princess Helen to Troy. Menelaus, her husband, goes to his brother, king Agamemnon, asking him to join him in a war against Troy. Agamemnon uses the incident as an excuse for a war he has long wanted for his own political reasons. The Greek army has an enormous asset in Achilles, an extremely skilled fighter who nevertheless despises Agamemnon as a ruler. A possible match for Achilles on the Trojan side is Hector, Paris's brother.
This film was "inspired" by Homer's Iliad, a narrative poem dating from between the 9th and the 6th centuries B.C..
Appraisal: Ridiculous "epic" with the psychology and the dialogue style of a soap opera. With the sound turned off (and the occasional help of the fast forward button) this probably becomes acceptable as visual entertainment.
Rating: 31
This film was "inspired" by Homer's Iliad, a narrative poem dating from between the 9th and the 6th centuries B.C..
Appraisal: Ridiculous "epic" with the psychology and the dialogue style of a soap opera. With the sound turned off (and the occasional help of the fast forward button) this probably becomes acceptable as visual entertainment.
Rating: 31
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Munsters: Happy 100th Anniversary (1965) (TV)
The Internet Movie Database synopsis is admirably accurate: "Herman and Lily's 100th wedding anniversary is fast approaching. Thinking the other has completely forgotten about it, both of them withdraw $1,000 from their bank account, and both checks bounce. Still wanting to surprise the other with an amazing gift, Herman and Lily individually acquire part time jobs at the Cleaver Employment Agency. Working as welders at the Crosby Shipyards, but not recognizing each other on account of the heavy welder's masks, Herman and Lily start flirting with each other. Tensions rise as the couple simultaneously discover each other's 'secret' identity."
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Jade (1995)
Synopsis: A man is murdered; in his safe are found photos of the governor with a prostitute; one of the suspects is a woman with whom the detective in charge of the investigations had an affair.
Appraisal: Mildly entertaining crime drama; the car chase is the high point; on the whole, it is well filmed and the plot keeps the interest, even though it's hard to make sense of it at some points. I didn't see the director's cut, which contains 12 additional minutes.
Rating: 40
Appraisal: Mildly entertaining crime drama; the car chase is the high point; on the whole, it is well filmed and the plot keeps the interest, even though it's hard to make sense of it at some points. I didn't see the director's cut, which contains 12 additional minutes.
Rating: 40
The Munsters: A Man for Marilyn (1965) (TV)
Synopsis: The IMDb synopsis is good enough (and I am lazy today...): "Since none of Marylin [sic]'s suitors ever get passed the front door, Grandpa decides to turn a frog into her own personal prince. A nearsighted one at that, to compensate for her 'plain looks'. When the rest of the family is out to the drive-in, Marylin [sic] accidentally locks herself in her room. A young man passing by mistaking [sic] thinks she is being held prisoner. The rest of the family assume the young man is the frog, turned into a prince, and promptly tie him up in the basement while getting Marylin [sic]'s black wedding gown ready." I added the [sic] comment when there is a grammatical or spelling error.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
The Munsters: Herman's Child Psychology (1965) (TV)
Synopsis [mild spoilers]: Eddie is convinced by a friend to run away from home. Herman goes out to look for him; he enters a cave where a mother bear and her cub are spending the night after having escaped from a circus.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Der Große Verhau (1971)
English title: The Big Mess.
Synopsis: In the 21st century, the world is ruled by big corporations, and a civil war rages on; a couple of old pirates ("accumulators") attacks spaceships and then pillages them. An independent group of space travelers is trying to reach beyond the corporation-ruled territories.
Appraisal: Unbelievably bad; its satirical impact is practically null; all that is relevant is told in captions; the visual events are an amorphous succession of close-ups, endless self-indulgent nonsense such as people smearing themselves in pillow feathers and honey, etc.
Rating: 6
Synopsis: In the 21st century, the world is ruled by big corporations, and a civil war rages on; a couple of old pirates ("accumulators") attacks spaceships and then pillages them. An independent group of space travelers is trying to reach beyond the corporation-ruled territories.
Appraisal: Unbelievably bad; its satirical impact is practically null; all that is relevant is told in captions; the visual events are an amorphous succession of close-ups, endless self-indulgent nonsense such as people smearing themselves in pillow feathers and honey, etc.
Rating: 6
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