Synopsis: An actress and her boyfriend suffer a car accident which leaves him in a coma and does nothing to her. Several people which she has contact with subsequently start dying.
Appraisal: The same comments I made for the previous Ju-on film apply here as well. Both are empty films, which provide some creepy imagery and some narrative formalism which are an end in themselves. The effect is less than powerful.
Rating: 40
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A paroled convict is employed as a store Santa Claus.
Appraisal: The tone is considerably lightened here, in the spirit of the holiday it evokes; every episode but one so far has a little surprise or twist; in this one, it consists of a witty remark at the end. Bad Santa (2003) has some similarities with it.
Appraisal: The tone is considerably lightened here, in the spirit of the holiday it evokes; every episode but one so far has a little surprise or twist; in this one, it consists of a witty remark at the end. Bad Santa (2003) has some similarities with it.
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
Synopsis: In an English high school, a new teacher is the focus of the attentions. She and a spinster who has secret lesbian inclinations toward her become close friends. The new teacher -- a married woman with two children -- is fucking one of her students; the spinster sees them doing it.
Appraisal: Entertaining, smartly written and correctly directed.
Rating: 64
Appraisal: Entertaining, smartly written and correctly directed.
Rating: 64
Monday, February 25, 2008
Timecop (1994)
Synopsis: In 2004, time travel is technologically feasible. A police section has been established to punish those who do it for personal gain thus -- according to the film's peculiar physics -- altering the course of history. One cop finds out that one senator is using it to improve his financial status so that he can back his own presidential campaign.
Appraisal: This one was way better than I expected. The plot is quite ingenious, as long as its scientifical improprieties - such as the elimination of the concept of multiplying time lines -- are taken as the film's raison d'être rather than an oversight.
Rating: 51
Appraisal: This one was way better than I expected. The plot is quite ingenious, as long as its scientifical improprieties - such as the elimination of the concept of multiplying time lines -- are taken as the film's raison d'être rather than an oversight.
Rating: 51
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Venus (2006/I)
Synopsis: A very old man gets infatuated with a young woman.
Appraisal: Oh, how boring this is.
Rating: 32
Appraisal: Oh, how boring this is.
Rating: 32
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Guilty Witness (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man and his wife are concerned about the disappearance of a neighbor after he had an argument with his wife.
Appraisal: Another of those entertaining but ultimately unsatisfactory concoctions. This one borrows from "Rear Window" -- unless it anticipates it, or is just a simultaneous idea.
Appraisal: Another of those entertaining but ultimately unsatisfactory concoctions. This one borrows from "Rear Window" -- unless it anticipates it, or is just a simultaneous idea.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Case of Mr. Pelham (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man begins to suspect of the existence of a double; he also ponders on the possibility of having gone mad.
Appraisal: This episode has an important difference from all the previous ones, which I won't tell here. Let's just say that they seemed to follow a formula, and this time they violated one of the rules of that formula. I can't say in all honesty that I liked it much; this whole series is watchable, but, let's face it, just barely so.
Appraisal: This episode has an important difference from all the previous ones, which I won't tell here. Let's just say that they seemed to follow a formula, and this time they violated one of the rules of that formula. I can't say in all honesty that I liked it much; this whole series is watchable, but, let's face it, just barely so.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Long Shot (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man who owes money to a bookie flees town as the chauffeur of an Englishman; he is also from England and his employer makes him talk a lot about the old country. Halfway into the journey, the chauffeur finds out that his employer is going to San Francisco to collect an inheritance, and that no one there knows what he looks like.
Appraisal: Another ingenious concoction with a twist at the ending.
Appraisal: Another ingenious concoction with a twist at the ending.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Our Cook's a Treasure (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man starts feeling bad in his stomach right after he hires a new cook. His wife shows some indisposition as well. All this happens while the newspapers report that a serial killer who employs herself as a housekeeper is on the loose.
Appraisal: Another nice concoction.
Appraisal: Another nice concoction.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Breakdown (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man suffers a car crash and survives but gets completely paralyzed except for one finger. Everyone thinks he is dead, and he is scared that he will be buried alive.
Appraisal: This is a very good story, possibly the best so far among the ones I have watched in this series. Strictly from a cinematic angle, though, it's arguably not the best episode; it is very static and depends heavily on the voice-over which expresses the protagonist's thoughts.
Appraisal: This is a very good story, possibly the best so far among the ones I have watched in this series. Strictly from a cinematic angle, though, it's arguably not the best episode; it is very static and depends heavily on the voice-over which expresses the protagonist's thoughts.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Salvage (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A woman faces up with the revenge urge of a man whose brother's death she ultimately caused.
Appraisal: Although its ending is predictable about halfway into it, this is remarkable in some aspects; the sheer precision and intensity of the direction, which features some stunning close-ups, is quite outstanding; the performances are also very good, particularly the leading actor's. While its plot is practically the telling of a joke, it is competently developed.
Appraisal: Although its ending is predictable about halfway into it, this is remarkable in some aspects; the sheer precision and intensity of the direction, which features some stunning close-ups, is quite outstanding; the performances are also very good, particularly the leading actor's. While its plot is practically the telling of a joke, it is competently developed.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Into Thin Air (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: Mother and daughter arrive in Paris for the Exposition in 1900. The mother feels bad and the doctor sends the daughter to fetch the medicine. When she returns to the hotel her mother has disappeared and no one seems to remember either of them.
Appraisal: Stories of disappearance enjoy a persistent popularity. It's interesting to observe that the solution, although implausible, is rather prosaic, unlike in recent film productions.
Appraisal: Stories of disappearance enjoy a persistent popularity. It's interesting to observe that the solution, although implausible, is rather prosaic, unlike in recent film productions.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Don't Come Back Alive (1955) (TV)
Synopsis: A man has his wife go to another town incognito for seven years so that he can claim her dead and thus collect her life insurance.
Appraisal: Entertaining.
Appraisal: Entertaining.
La folie des grandeurs (1971)
English title: Delusions of Grandeur.
Synopsis: In Spain of some centuries ago (I don't know exactly which century this is set in, probably the 16th), the Minister of Finance and Taxes is exonerated over a small incident; he then plots a scheme to have his job back while at the same time avenging himself at the Queen, who was responsible for his disgrace. The man who replaces him in his former job is his former valet, whom he plans to use in his evil schemes.
Appraisal: Predictably, this is another unattractive comedy by the same guy(s) who made Le Corniaud and La Grande Vadrouille. This one is even less attractive because it does not have Bourvil, who was probably the only interesting thing about the other two films.
Rating: 25
Synopsis: In Spain of some centuries ago (I don't know exactly which century this is set in, probably the 16th), the Minister of Finance and Taxes is exonerated over a small incident; he then plots a scheme to have his job back while at the same time avenging himself at the Queen, who was responsible for his disgrace. The man who replaces him in his former job is his former valet, whom he plans to use in his evil schemes.
Appraisal: Predictably, this is another unattractive comedy by the same guy(s) who made Le Corniaud and La Grande Vadrouille. This one is even less attractive because it does not have Bourvil, who was probably the only interesting thing about the other two films.
Rating: 25
Recreation (1914)
Synopsis: A park. A couple. A bum. Two police officers.
Appraisal: Awful short comedy.
Appraisal: Awful short comedy.
La grande vadrouille (1966)
English title: Don't Look Now - We're Being Shot at.
Synopsis: During World War II, some English airbombers are taken down while flying over occupied France, and their plane occupants jump with their parachutes. On French soil, they are chased by the Nazis. Two French men -- an orchestra conductor and a house painter -- help them to escape.
Appraisal: Another insipid French comedy by the same guy who made Le Corniaud.
Rating: 26
Synopsis: During World War II, some English airbombers are taken down while flying over occupied France, and their plane occupants jump with their parachutes. On French soil, they are chased by the Nazis. Two French men -- an orchestra conductor and a house painter -- help them to escape.
Appraisal: Another insipid French comedy by the same guy who made Le Corniaud.
Rating: 26
Friday, February 15, 2008
Baby Boom (1987)
Synopsis: Female executive inherits a baby from a distant cousin.
Appraisal: Nice comedy, with an intelligent screenplay and an outstanding leading performance. My understanding of the dialogue was less than 100%.
Rating: 56
Appraisal: Nice comedy, with an intelligent screenplay and an outstanding leading performance. My understanding of the dialogue was less than 100%.
Rating: 56
Poison (1991)
Synopsis: 1. "Horror". A scientist discovers the substance responsible for the sex drive. He accidentally drinks it and as a result he turns into a maniac and horrible leperlike wounds appear in his skin, both conditions being contagious to the touch. 2. "Hero". Several persons are interviewed regarding a kid who killed his father and mysteriously disappeared. 3. "Homo". A man is sent first to a reformatory, later to prison, because of his thefts. The homosexual world of these microcosmos is depicted, with their own rules and power structures. This segment is based on Jean Genet; I don't know about the other two.
Appraisal: Three segments having apparently little in common; perhaps the underlying theme is the interplay of instinct and society, although the segment "Hero" doesn't fit so nicely in this description. In the black-and-white "Horror" the conventions of B-science-fiction films are adopted to explicitate the dichotomy between Eros and civilization, in a story which owes much to Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In "Homo", filled with pictorial and literary lyricism, environment shapes desire and identity, but there is still a division between group followers and individualists. "Hero", the most complex and ambiguous of the three stories, adopts an indirect approach where the only absent character is the protagonist himself. It's as if the main character is a perfect void, or a perfect mirror. It is a bit enigmatic, but there appears to be a thematic resemblance with the film La meilleure façon de marcher (1976).
Rating: 63
Appraisal: Three segments having apparently little in common; perhaps the underlying theme is the interplay of instinct and society, although the segment "Hero" doesn't fit so nicely in this description. In the black-and-white "Horror" the conventions of B-science-fiction films are adopted to explicitate the dichotomy between Eros and civilization, in a story which owes much to Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In "Homo", filled with pictorial and literary lyricism, environment shapes desire and identity, but there is still a division between group followers and individualists. "Hero", the most complex and ambiguous of the three stories, adopts an indirect approach where the only absent character is the protagonist himself. It's as if the main character is a perfect void, or a perfect mirror. It is a bit enigmatic, but there appears to be a thematic resemblance with the film La meilleure façon de marcher (1976).
Rating: 63
Waist Deep (2006)
Synopsis: A man's son is kidnapped and he must raise the ransom in a short amount of time.
Appraisal: Not very original and definitely not to be taken seriously, yet watchable all the same, if you are in a very undemanding mood.
Rating: 31
Appraisal: Not very original and definitely not to be taken seriously, yet watchable all the same, if you are in a very undemanding mood.
Rating: 31
Global Heresy (2002)
Alternative title: Rock My World.
Synopsis: An American rock band goes to a secluded mansion in England to rehearse; the mansion is being let by an impoverished couple of aristocrats who disguise themselves as the house servants for the occasion.
Appraisal: Although nothing very innovative or brilliant, this comedy with occasional bits of drama is well constructed and well put together and may be seen with some pleasure.
Rating: 50
Synopsis: An American rock band goes to a secluded mansion in England to rehearse; the mansion is being let by an impoverished couple of aristocrats who disguise themselves as the house servants for the occasion.
Appraisal: Although nothing very innovative or brilliant, this comedy with occasional bits of drama is well constructed and well put together and may be seen with some pleasure.
Rating: 50
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