World War II. German invasion of France. A movie actress. Her ex-lover, a writer, takes the blame for her crime. A scientist trying to smuggle heavy water out of France. His female assistant. A cellmate of the screenwriter. A cabinet minister who is the actress's present lover. A reporter who is a German spy. They all meet in Bordeaux (or a nearby town, I am not sure).
Cinematic comic-book. Watchable, barely.
Rating: 39
Friday, June 18, 2010
Bonanza: Day of the Dragon (1961) (TV)
Chinese slave. Discussions about freedom. Mild complexity of plot. Mild suspense. OK episode.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sale comme un ange (1991)
English title: Dirty Like an Angel.
A cop covets his partner's wife. He assigns the partner a surveillance job so he can have free access to the woman.
The romance between a semi-brutish policeman and his partner's semi-moronic wife. Pointless, dull sexual drama with a stereotypical view of the police and of gender psychology.
Rating: 30
A cop covets his partner's wife. He assigns the partner a surveillance job so he can have free access to the woman.
The romance between a semi-brutish policeman and his partner's semi-moronic wife. Pointless, dull sexual drama with a stereotypical view of the police and of gender psychology.
Rating: 30
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Bonanza: The Honor of Cochise (1961) (TV)
Abysmally disagreeable episode. The kind of thing a guilty conscience would produce.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Shopgirl (2005)
Second viewing. I like it now. I didn't on my first viewing.
Here's what I wrote then (on April 28, 2007):
"Synopsis: A shop attendant at a department store begins a relationship with a
young man, who then follows a rock band on a tour. Meanwhile she meets a middle
aged rich man who wants her for fucking, and gives her expensive gifts.
Appraisal: Poorly written, often ridiculous drama that has an above average
leading duo of young performers and a delightful supporting performance (her
bimbo friend).
Rating: 12"
The synopsis is OK, but I can only guess why I thought it was "poorly written, often ridiculous" and why I thought it was a "drama" (well, that part is controversial, perhaps). The remarks about the performances were correct, though. The only explanation I can find for my negative comments (other than deeply encroached neuroses or plain stupidity) is that a fine screenplay badly directed is not so easy to distinguish from a bad screenplay well directed.
New Rating: 55
Observation: I saw it dubbed this time (but checked out some of the dialogue on paper.)
Here's what I wrote then (on April 28, 2007):
"Synopsis: A shop attendant at a department store begins a relationship with a
young man, who then follows a rock band on a tour. Meanwhile she meets a middle
aged rich man who wants her for fucking, and gives her expensive gifts.
Appraisal: Poorly written, often ridiculous drama that has an above average
leading duo of young performers and a delightful supporting performance (her
bimbo friend).
Rating: 12"
The synopsis is OK, but I can only guess why I thought it was "poorly written, often ridiculous" and why I thought it was a "drama" (well, that part is controversial, perhaps). The remarks about the performances were correct, though. The only explanation I can find for my negative comments (other than deeply encroached neuroses or plain stupidity) is that a fine screenplay badly directed is not so easy to distinguish from a bad screenplay well directed.
New Rating: 55
Observation: I saw it dubbed this time (but checked out some of the dialogue on paper.)
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Tigerland (2000)
A bunch of guys undergoing training for the Vietnam war. They are sent to a place called Tigerland where they simulate real combat and its environment. The main character is a rebellious type who "just wants to stay alive" and does not want to be sent to Vietnam.
Clearly one of the most implausible military-themed movies ever made, and possibly a little unsound too, if you believe that fiction can only go so far in ignoring the basic limitations of an individual inside an organization (as well as the limits of said organization). Why don't they make a film about the guys who went to prison for refusing to comply to draft? I think that would be a lot more interesting than this.
Rating: 45
Clearly one of the most implausible military-themed movies ever made, and possibly a little unsound too, if you believe that fiction can only go so far in ignoring the basic limitations of an individual inside an organization (as well as the limits of said organization). Why don't they make a film about the guys who went to prison for refusing to comply to draft? I think that would be a lot more interesting than this.
Rating: 45
Bonanza: Broken Ballad (1961) (TV)
This show's worse episodes have an interesting kitschy (or campy) side to them.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Aro Tolbukhin: en la mente del asesino (2002)
English title: Aro Tolbukhin: in the mind of a killer.
Some documentary makers investigate the past life of a serial killer in Guatemala.
Even though it employs the trendy (and dull) narrative technique of mixing straightforward dramatization and pseudocumentary, it cannot hide its silly melodramatic essence.
Rating: 25
Some documentary makers investigate the past life of a serial killer in Guatemala.
Even though it employs the trendy (and dull) narrative technique of mixing straightforward dramatization and pseudocumentary, it cannot hide its silly melodramatic essence.
Rating: 25
Bonanza: Land Grab (1961) (TV)
Trespassers on the Ponderosa. A swindler sold them false deeds. Ben eventually manages everything well. The folks with the MST probably don't care much for these Bonanza reruns. I'd better watch all I can before they take over the country and ban them.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Bonanza: The Burma Rarity (1961) (TV)
An emerald, two swindlers, a widow who is interested in Ben. Enough for another comedy of errors.
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers - T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' (1988) (TV)
Some pretty good actors reciting the poem (a bad one, if you ask me), some images that they found fitting, and some other speakers whose contributions range from insightful to parroting.
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