Gilligan's Island: Pass the Vegetables, Please (1966) (TV)

Gilligan fishes a box with vegetable seeds. The islanders are all excited, not noticing a warning saying the seeds are radioactive.

Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

After her husband dies, a woman turns to his drug addict best friend for emotional support.

Even if one ignores the fact that this is not how people act in real life, there is no escaping the fact that this film is almost as dull as watching a dripping faucet.

Rating: 20

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Mink (1956) (TV)

A woman buys a mink stole at a bargain price. It turns out to be stolen.

Not bad, yet not among the show's best ones.

Gilligan's Island: Gilligan vs. Gilligan (1966) (TV)

A Russian spy is sent to the island to investigate the islanders' activities. He is a perfect Gilligan lookalike.

Very interesting episode. This show looks promising.

Gilligan's Island: Up at Bat (1966) (TV)

Internet Movie Database Plot Summary: "Gilligan is bitten in the neck by a bat and fears he will transform into a vampire as a result. Gilligan's troubled sleep is haunted by a dream that he is indeed a vampire living in a European castle in 1895 where unsuspecting travelers and a famous detective and his doctor assistant appear at his doorstep. Will they be invited to stay for -or as- dinner?"

Brilliant analysis of vampirism. This is, as far as I can remember, the first episode I see of this TV series.

Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

Here, the evil Queen tries to get rid of both Snow White and Prince Charming. The latter is saved and raised by the Stooges.

This musical version featuring ice-skating ballet is done with good taste and good production values, but the result is kind of anodyne.

Rating: 44

The Island (2005)

A facility in which humans are kept in a closely monitored condition is, they are told, a refuge from a contaminated outside world. A lottery is run where winners are promised with leaving the facility for a paradisiacal island.
SPOILERS AHEAD







In fact they are clones of wealthy individuals who will use their organs.
END of SPOILERS




Aside from obvious plot implausibilities, this film suffers from a lack of exciting or original ideas.

Rating: 40

Above the Law (1988)

A cop investigates a drug dealer and finds that he may be connected to corrupt government agents. A senator and a priest are potential targets of this criminal organization.

Dialogue and drama is very dumbed down and the action sequences are well staged. The concept of a maverick cop defying corruption is an extremely enduring filmic lineage which apparently developed without any real-life counterpart. In a very minimum sense, it is done with competence.

Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.

Rating: 33

The Fantasticks (1995)

Based on a 1960 musical play which was based on the 1894 play Les romanesques by Edmond Rostand.

Musical. Two youngsters who live next door to each other have a romance which they try to keep secret because their respective fathers are apparently enemies. Actually the latter have been putting up a pretended enmity in order to encourage their offspring's relationship through rebelliousness. Something goes awry when they hire a circus man to help them with their plans.

Agreeable in all senses; I don't feel exactly prone to an analysis of its precise shortcomings if any. I did feel however that this is the sort of work that calls for the immediacy of a stage for best enjoyment. Perhaps this is why I didn't have an even better time with it.

Rating: 58

Invincible (2006)

A 30-year-old man who never played football professionally competes for a position in the Philadelphia Eagles team. Based on a true story.

More of the same stuff about individualism and redemption, not too badly done.

Rating: 39

Sicko (2007)

Documentary about the private health care business in the U.S., and a tour through countries where public health care is available to everyone.

A truly miraculous film, not because it is perfect -- it is not -- or exhaustive -- far from it; but simply because it exists, and by existing reveals the really poignant situation of the richest country of the world. If you take out the interesting but slightly misrepresenting final section -- the Guantanamo and Cuba tours -- it becomes almost perfect, yet perhaps less entertaining. This film is not the final word on the subject but may the gods permit it becomes the first of many. Here are some suggestions for further inquiries -- by way of film, television, book, whatever: public financing of political campaigns, nationalization of banks, universal free access to university education, etc.

Rating: 75 (one of my favorite movies)

La stella che non c'è (2006)

English title: The Missing Star.

A technician who worked at a steel factory which has just been sold to a Chinese company travels to China to hand them a new part for one of the factory's ovens which needs it replaced. He is joined by a beautiful translator.

This is very bad and very devoid of point and significance. Also, it seems to take place in a parallel universe where people and organizations don't act or function in the way they do at ours. The only very flimsy connection to reality is some very superficial glimpses of the Chinese people's living conditions.

Rating: 2

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy (1956) (TV)

From the Internet Movie Database Plot Summary: "When a prince who is well known as a playboy takes a sudden romantic interest in a shy, plain housewife, everyone is baffled and fascinated."

This is in a style not unlike that of Maugham, which is a mild departure from the show's usual one. A good episode all the same.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl (1st ed. 1964).

A small group of boys and girls win the right to visit the famous Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. One of the children will be chosen for a special prize.

A truly artistic sensibility has been applied to a text which has its share of wit and intelligence, yet is not in my opinion (a grownup's, it's important to stress) greatly exciting. The result is still, obviously, more than watchable.

Rating: 60

Zorro, the Gay Blade (1981)

The son of Diego de la Vega returns to California and finds that the new ruler may have killed his father. He starts using the costumes and mask his father once wore and rises against the dictator. When he suffers an accident which injures his foot he resorts to his newly arrived brother to replace him.

Some basic situations which are funny and a few one-liners ensure the watchability of this comedy; the overall style however is infantile and especially one character's constant shouting becomes annoying pretty soon.

Rating: 36

This Is England (2006)

A boy who is mocked by his schoolmates finds a group of skinhead friends who protect him. The arrival of a man who was in prison and now aspires to be the new leader causes internal division. This new leader has a strongly rightwing position against immigrant workers.

Interesting drama with a fairly engaging first half but with some problems related to a climactic event which is not very satisfactory and leads to an abrupt ending. The insertion of a montage showing the ending of the Malvinas War is also not well though out and feels like an unnecessary filler.

Rating: 52

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A man's body -- with the exception of his brain -- is born old and suffers a rejuvenation process throughout his life.

Viewing the excruciating 2 hours and 40 minutes of this film was a real chore. There is no redeeming quality aside from production accessories such as make-up, sets, epoch reconstitution, etc. I haven't read Fitzgerald's story but from what people are saying there is a major difference in that in it the protagonist's brain is included in his "curse". This might be one of the reasons the film is so bad, but the fact is that it is no different from other recent Hollywood productions in both the cliché-ridden script and the TV-commercial directorial style, which are apparently meant to numb its audience into catatonia. The character's condition remains almost irrelevant through large portions of the film -- we watch his love affair in a Russian hotel in full detail, and said condition isn't brought to bear once. The common saying that "if one could get younger one could profit from both experience and physical capacity" doesn't enter into the film's equation once. It would probably take another 2 hours to include it without sacrificing the sappy love story.

Rating: 25

Lassie (2005)

A poor boy's father is obliged to sell their dog to a rich man, who gives it to his granddaughter. But the dog keeps returning to its original owners.

There are several things to like in this film: the actors do their job nicely, the locations are authentic, the story is engaging enough. Of course it is mostly aimed at a young public who won't mind a bit of manicheism -- e.g., the sadistic employee -- and some poorly justified notions -- e.g. the parallel between the dog's escape and the girl's -- where she was escaping to is a mystery to me.

Rating: 60

Dans Paris (2006)

English title: Inside Paris.

A man going through depression after a break-up is looked after by his father and his brother.

Some level of intelligence went into the development of these characters; some level of creativity went into the flow of the narrative. It is not the most engaging of films, and the female characters are invariably unpleasant or hard to figure out, but, within its focus range, it is an interesting film.

Rating: 52

Year of the Dog (2007)

A lonely woman who has a dog as her only companion faces some life changes when the latter dies.

An enjoyable film. It offers an intelligent analysis of "animal lovers" (or "mankind haters", if you will).

Rating: 62