Ratings
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Reviews
The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
Utter trash
The summary sums it up and wasting too many words on this trashy series would be giving it too much honour. Production and acting is OK, but the story and the way the viewer is manipulated is unworthy of a 12 year old. Characters are mere stereotypes and the depiction of the Dung Ages consists of a heaping together everything the popular imagination always associated it with it and spreading it out out more or less evenly across 8 episodes, whether it makes sense or not (witches and witchcraft; evil churchmen, evil knights, you name it) while introducing new elements that make no sense at all (like the way everyone is able to talk to each other whether they are of Norman or Saxon descent). Don't waste your time on this.
Tideland (2005)
Soulless
What a disappointment this film was. After the first half hour or so there is little to enjoy left, apart from perhaps the camera-work. Not that the acting is bad, it isn't, although I think the demands made of Jodelle Ferland playing Jeliza-Rose are sometime more than she can bear (Janet McTeer and Brendan Fletcher shine). The problem, however, lies elsewhere and is one that I have encountered before in some Gilliam films like Baron of Munchausen, Fear and Loathing and even Time Bandits, and that is the story, which is just too thin to keep the attention for long. The idea of a girl living in a fantasy-land because the real world has little to offer her is fine, but one then expects this fantasy world to be used to reflect and comment on reality, to show perhaps how Jeliza develops to the extent that she might be able to cope with reality later on, or it might be used as a running commentary on the self-centered and callous world in which the film is set ... anything might have worked for me. But nothing of the sort happens. At the end of the film Jeliza is still the same girl she was at the beginning and we are none the wiser why Gilliam bothered to share her life with us. This makes the vaguely fairy-tale ending even harder to bear. The subplot of Dickens and Dell adds a few narrative complications, but they too are imposed upon the main character and ultimately leaves this viewer at least just as dissatisfied. This lack of substance (be it social, psychological, or philosophical) becomes even more obvious if one compares the film to others in which the fantasy world of children plays a prominent role, such as Guillermo del Toro's harrowing Faun's Labyrinth (2006) or Victor Erice's brilliant allegory, Spirit of the Beehive (Spain, 1973). These films had powerful stories to tell and the comparison with Tideland just goes to show how hollow and soulless the last one is. What a pity.
In the Bedroom (2001)
No clear direction
I had great expectations of this film and was very impressed with the first half. Almost imperceptibly a brooding atmosphere was introduced which leads the viewer into the plot. The acting is first rate and the camera work is good. Yet, once the plot started to become clearer disappointment set in. Not only did the film become somewhat predictable, it also lost its direction. It is almost as if the director could not make up his mind whether to direct a psychological drama or a thriller. The first half suggests the first approach, the second half veers towards the second. The revenge ending does not fit in with what came before and ultimately is a cheap and very unsatisfactory way to achieve closure. This is a missed opportunity both for the director and the actors. For those who want to see how the first approach could have worked, I suggest the Italian film by Nanni Moretti, La stanza del figlio (2001), which deals with a very similar theme (death of a son, this time as a result of an accident).
Sideways (2004)
Much ado about nothing
What a waste of talent on an otherwise vacuous story. It is almost impossible to come up with a spoiler since their is nothing to spoil. The setting and the wonderful jazz background music are the real stars; there is no story to speak of and what little characterisation there is is juvenile, with one guy just obsessing about sex, the other about his ex-wife, and neither of their obsessions carry any weight. Had there been more contents, the fact that the plot is completely predictable would have mattered less than it does now. In view of this it will hardly come as a surprise that the two women in the film are mere mere props who develop even less than the men do. What a waste.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
What a bummer!
How superficial can a film get? This one certainly does its level best to outdo its predecessors. I was mildly amused when I watched the film, but just as sometimes films become better after reflecting on them, others deteriorate, and I am afraid this film falls into the latter group. Not one of the characters has any depth, they are all stereotypes, from the heroin abusing grandfather, to the vaguely Christian mother, the mad-at-the-world 15 year old, the loser father ... do I need to go on? None of the characters say or do anything worth remembering after the film is over. The plot is paper thin, and the actual shooting, scenery, props, insipid to the extreme. In short, I fail to see why this film ever got made.
Before Sunset (2004)
Watching paint dry
The idea is good and so is the acting. What makes this film a supreme bore though, is the script. It is not that it is far-fetched and unrealistic, on the contrary, it is very realistic and many a viewer will immediately recognise the way the two protagonists, who may have lost sight of, but had not forgotten, one another, interact. From the tentative exploration of the emotional landscape in the Parisian café at the beginning of the film, to the more intimate open closing scene with its mixture of sexual tension and regret over missed opportunities and choices wrongly made, the script, filmed in apparent real time, stays very close to life. However, like some nineteenth-century realistic novels of which this film reminded me a little (e.g. George Gissing's New Grub Street), realism does not necessarily make for compelling viewing. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the film, not even in the acting, that lifts the everyday story to a higher plane so as to invest it with more meaning. It would seem that just like its protagonists, the director failed to make good use of an opportunity.
Shi mian mai fu (2004)
Half an hour too long
If Hero was gorgeous to look at, this film is even more so and that is also its main problem. It has everything Hero had: beautiful camera work both in the outdoor shots and in the composed ones, a romantic story, and some interesting action scenes (not my favourites I must add), but the surprise element is gone and almost to compensate for that the scenery and the love-scenes have been laid on a bit heavier, making it all a bit too much for my taste. The twists in the very flimsy plot are no longer a big surprise and are anticipated long before they occur, the love-scenes are way too long and sentimental and the action scenes are more fake than they ever were. If there was still a good balance between the private and the public interests of the characters in Hero, this has been completely sacrificed in the present production (the conflict between the House of Flying Daggers and the Emperor completely disappears from the picture towards the end of the film). Over-the-top-action scenes can be quite enjoyable as long as they are kept short (giving you little time for reflection) and are fresh, but here they have become predictable. In short, this is still an enjoyable film but it would have scored a higher if the director had been a little more courageous and would have cut it by half an hour.
Nell (1994)
Difficult subject to get right
Although Jodie Foster is as always a joy to look at the film disappoints in more ways than one. Granted, it is not an easy theme to turn into a visual narrative, but pretty pictures of the Smoky Mountains and good acting do not alone suffice to make a good film. What is sorely missing is a decent narrative that is able to keep one interested. Moreover, I can live with the cliché of the fanatic scholar who just looks upon human beings as objects and yet another notch on his academic record, but the heavily romanticised picture of Nell towards the end emerging as a "pure" woman who is able to heal the wounded souls around her is a little too much to bear.
The Tempest (1979)
What is it all about?
The Tempest has been interpreted in many different ways ranging from more or less traditional views as dealing with Art to more post-modern approaches that like to dissect the play along post-colonial, feminist, gender or deconstructionist lines. The reason why Jarman's version left me fairly cold is that I didn't have a clue what he was on about. What is the underlying vision/idea/concept behind this rendering of Shakespeare? The previous reviewers do not get much further than revenge tragedy, punk show, but surely there is more to it, isn't there? This is not to say that there is no vision here, just that I was hard put to discover it. Be that as it may, there are still things to enjoy. The punk flavour is refreshing and funny. Toyah Wilcox as Miranda and Jack Birkett as Caliban are wonderful. I did not much care about Williams as Prospero ... not enough magic I suppose. The switches between the old monastery/castle and the (very English) world outside can be a little unsettling at times, but I guess that is intentional. All in all, interesting but not quite the success I had hoped it might be (particularly after seeing Jarman's Caravaggio).
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Excellent acting, great suspense; pity about worn-down motifs
This is a very thrilling movie that kept me spellbound. The acting is first rate. Morgan Freeman is superb and so is Tim Robbins. The reason why in my opinion it only deserves 8 out of 10 rather than 9 is that the story is not that great. Anyone who has seen his or her share of prison films will have come across all the standard ingredients: brutality by the staff, abuse by fellow prisoners, corruption at the top, we have seen it all before (cf. for example Brubaker). Despite these reservations, the acting, music and direction makes up for it. An evening well spent!
About Schmidt (2002)
What was this actually all about?
What can I say, except that I looked forward to seeing it after having heard it praised on numerous occasions, and was severely disappointed. This film just would not take off, however hard it tried. Perhaps it is just as well, one dreads to think where it might have been off to if it had gotten off the ground.
One reviewer described Louis Begley's book, on which the screenplay is based, as an intelligent, sympathetic portrait of an increasingly self-aware man in pursuit of unvarnished emotional truth'. If that is what the director aimed for, it was lost on me. Would an intelligent man celebrate' his new-found freedom from a nagging wife by peeing all over the bathroom? Would an intelligent assistant vice-president of a large insurance company buy so much fast food that his oversized camper bursts at the seams? Would a former company executive grab the first woman who shows some sympathy for his plight and force a kiss on her?
Let me turn this around, why does a director feel he has to resort to such cliches as a man neglecting his house and himself just to show us he has become unhinged by his retirement, the death of his wife and the realization that no one (except little Ngudu) needs him any more, not even the daughter he has neglected for so many years. Do we really need more than two hours of preparation for the unvarnished emotional truth' in the form of one of the schmaltziest endings I have seen in recent years? Why didn't the director aim a little higher? Why didn't he try to equal (or better) Bergman's Wild Strawberries? What a shame about all the missed opportunities.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Two and a half hours of sentimental drivel
The wisdom of minimum age ratings for films is debatable, but some films would be well advised to attach a maximum age rating. You guessed it, this is one of them. Kids might like it, but I would find it difficult to believe that anyone with an eye for good movies could find anything to praise in this over-long, sentimental story of a little robot-boy (ever so cute) with the obligatory bit for a dog (here in the shape of a mechanised teddy bear that walks and talks and never runs out of power, even after 2000 years ... those were some Duracells!) who was dumped in the woods by his loving mummy and spent the next two millennia searching for Pinocchio's Blue Faery and his adopted mother. The story sucks, and this is aggravated by the dreadful music; the camera work also fails to add lustre to this duller-than-dishwater "adventure". It goes without saying that advertised exploration of the thin boundaries between the human and the other is no more than that: advertising. The special effects are good.
Die Reise nach Kafiristan (2001)
Wonderful road movie
This film is probably not to everyone's taste. Yes, it is slow, yes, the plot is paper thin, but ... it is a film to day-dream about, it transports the willing viewer to far-away lands on a wonderful journey made by two women on the eve of WWII. The exteriors provide a nice backdrop to the inevitable journeys of self-discovery of the two protagonists. The fact that the tension between tends to stay below the surface is never fully expressed only adds rather than distracts from the interest. In fact, I would say the subtle way in which possible storylines are suggested rather than made explicit only enhances the movie, and this is reinforced by its lack of closure. Strongly recommended.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Musical like a video clip
What more is there to say? It is all too silly for words, but making that the message doesn't improve it. I should say that I hated the music (both in its origibnal form and in the movie), but what I disliked even more is the total mindless use of one-liners in the conversations. Sure it is a parody of the genre, but musical is one genre that doesn't require parody, it is parody. In short, I felt cheated.
Our Mutual Friend (1998)
Suspiciously beautiful
Although I enjoyed the first few installments, slowly but surely a slight feeling of discomfort came over me. With such sentimental authors like Dickens it is difficult to know when you are criticising the director and when the author, and I find it almost impossible to keep them apart in my evaluation of this mini. This comes out best at the very end when all the loose threads are finally resolved. What a bummer! Eventhough I enjoyed the previous installments I felt completely cheated in the last. This is partly Dickens' fault, but some blame is due to the director as well. Throughout the mini he has displayed a marked tendency to concentrate on what would look good rather than on what would work well dramatically. Now I am al for pretty pictures, but as I was approaching the end it just all became a bit too much: the predictable switches between high and low society, the over-the-top staged settings (Bella Wilfer in front of her cottage in the last installment), the stilted switches between scenes. The acting on the other hand was good.
All in all, a bare 8- out 10 (for what is possible in the genre see the first rate mini _Wives and Daughters_ (1999) directed by Nicholas Renton. Then again, Elizabeth Gaskell agrees with me more than Dickens does).
Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha (1999)
Brutal, violent and predictable
The one line summary says it all: brutal, violent and predictable. If you want you can add perverse as well. Why a combination of these factors results in raving reviews beats me, and calling it new and fresh and genre-bending says more about the limited viewing experience of the reviewers than about the movie itself (all this had been done in animated movies long before and much better). This is just one movie cashing in on the present crave for extreme brutality and violence. Had it done so in a more subtle and innovative way (like for example Hana-bi) it would have justified itself. As it stands, it is one film we could have well done without. If you want to know more, the other reviews ought to quench your desire for blood and gore.
Je rentre à la maison (2001)
Proves realism can be a impediment
Although I quite enjoyed this movie and was pleasantly impressed by Michel Piccoli's quality acting, it was ultimately a bit of a disappointment and raises several questions. If the film wants to sing the praise of a great actor, it succeeds but at the same time it doesn't tell us anything we didn't know yet. If it tries to celebrate the theatre and acting at a less personal level, there are better ways of doing it. For one, concentrating on one actor, however good he may be, send the wrong signals to the audience. Second, using overly generous extracts from plays like The Tempest are only mildly interesting if you know you will not see the end of them. Moreover, although the tragedies that afflict Gilbert Valence in this film are real enough, they are depicted in such a realistic way that they fail to carry any ulterior message, in fact, any sense of real tragedy! What a pity.
Chocolat (2000)
Charming, but ...
I was quite prepared to love this movie, even if the idea of a meal softening up a village is hardly new (cf. the impressive Babettes gæstebud, Gabriel Axel,1987), but what could go wrong with such wonderful actresses as Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin and Judi Dench? Some terrible directorial choices is the answer:(1) chosing English for a film set in a French village. The film just does not sound right in English: the images one associates with the words call up English towns, English preachers, English landlords, English food and English customs. If you want to use English, why not locate the tale in say Catholic Ireland. (2) lack of originality: once Johnny Depp has introduced a parallel to the notion of a stranger upsetting the conservative patterns of a village, merely to provide a romantic backdrop for Juliette, everything not only becomes preachy but also quite predictable. The final scene with a whole village celebrating Easter together with vagabonds and gypsies is banal in the extreme and so is the priest's message of tolerance, however praiseworthy in itself. IMHO this would have been a much better film if the director had relocated the setting to an English speaking country (or even better used French) and had left out the gypsy episodes.
Gormenghast (2000)
Beautiful but no soul
Gormenghast was an interesting experience. It started off somewhat childish, very much in the British manner, with over the top sort of comedy which raised a smile every now and then, some excellent acting and quite a captivating story. Unfortunately, after about an installment and a half I found myself walking around, doing odd things while the program was still running. In short, it failed to keep me interested. I made an effort and watched the last two installments as well, and must conclude that Gormenghast is a missed opportunity. It looks quite good, the acting is over the top (fitting), but good, but the characters have no soul. You lose interest in them. Who cares what happens to them? The society they inhabit may well be weighed down by rules and regulations, but none of the characters rise above that, save perhaps Titus, but that has to wait for the final installment. They do not grow, now if they had been human to start with ... and that is where the over the top characterisation, which can be quite amusing, starts to work against them ... they can never be anything but quaint. What a pity.
One Fine Day (1996)
Don't waste your time on this
I love romantic comedies, but this one is neither romantic nor a comedy. The acting is at best mediocre, the parents are as empty headed as they come and the kids should have been drowned at birth. There is no plot to speak of, almost no shots worth watching to compensate for the insipid story, in short, this film sucks.
Le mari de la coiffeuse (1990)
A small gem
I am a little at a loss of words to describe this small gem of a movie. It is very sensual, it is deeply moving, and it is very funny. As a small boy Antoine is asked by his father what he would like to be one day. He answers that he wants to marry a hairdresser ... and he does some fifty years later when he weds Mathilde. Their relationship is an ideal one: warm, affectionate, deeply loving. It brings out the very best in both of them. But Mathilde knows (fears?) that what goes up must come down...
The acting is superb. Very little is actually said but both Jean Rochefort and the Italian actress Anna Galiena speak with their bodies and above all with their faces, and their language surpasses that of words: their superb acting makes it appear easy for an audience to share their emotions and be elevated to similar heights and depths of feelings. If only all films would manipulate our emotions in such a subtle and gratifying way. First rate!
Beowulf (1999)
The pits
Every now and then a movie comes along and you wonder Why did they bother'? This film is so absurd and so god-awful that I would recommend everyone to stay away from it. Whatever you do, an hour and half can be spent better than watching this movie. It uses the barest of outlines from the Old English epic of the monster and dragon slayer Beowulf, moves it into a kind of never-never future and what you end up with is no story at all, guys wearing vaguely medieval harnesses, fighting with swords, yet smoking fags between rounds and advanced enough to live in a mechanical castle with gaslight and elevators. A few skimpily dressed females who cannot act are showing more than you want to see, and special effects that are so bad a rubbery Godzilla would be more entertaining. Did I mention a sprinkling of gratuitous violence? Brrr.
Le nozze di Figaro (1994)
The next best thing to having been there
Stephen Medcalf's production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro celebrates the reopening of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House after two years of closure, and what a celebration it turns out to be! Thanks to Gerald Finley as Figaro, Alison Hagley as Susanna, Renée Fleming as the Countess and Andreas Schmidt as the count, and the London Philharmonic conducted by Bernard Haitink, I sat spell-bound for just over three hours of fantastic singing and wonderful acting. The libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte turns the 1778 play by Beaumarchais into a typical silly comedy on the battle between the sexes very similar to some of Shakespeare's comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream. That means that we are presented with lots of confusion, mixed identities, a boy dressed up as a girl (Cherubino, very well done by Marie-Ange Todorovitch), hilarious dialogue with lots of double entendre and a very satisfying, humane, happy ending. As far as I am concerned the absolute star of this production is Alison Hagley whose fantastic acting (at least as good as her singing) moves the play along to its inevitable end.
The only points of criticism is the occasionally shrill quality of the recording and the at times unimaginative camera work and/or cutting which sometimes detracts from the drama as when we are offered a close-up when you can tell from the audience's reaction that a fullshot is required (they laugh at a joke not shown on screen), or the shots taken from such a height as to present the stage scenery in an unfavourable light (completely out of perspective). But these are minor points in an otherwise wonderful production.
Un dimanche à la campagne (1984)
A sun drenched stroll through the French countryside
Bernard Tavernier manages to turn the very simple plot of a son and a daughter visiting their aging painter-father in the countryside into a series of poetic reflections on life and art, youth and old age, the city and the country, potential and (partial) fulfilment. With the help of absolutely wonderful shots in pastel colours (achieved by means of skipping the 'bleaching' phase in the processing of the film) and very unobtrusive commentary Tavernier takes his viewers on a one day tour of the musings of a 70 year old impressionist painter who is looking back on his life and work. Many of the shots will remind an attentive audience of the paintings by Monet, Renoir and others, even if Tavernier argues they were largely inspired by the first colour pictures of the Lumière brothers.
The US release of this magnificent film has English subtitles. Even though one cannot blame the subtitlers for concentrating on essentials they have in my opinion needlessly erred on the side of sparsity.
O melissokomos (1986)
Hauntingly beautiful in its desolation
Wonderfully poetic movie, the images of which (gas stations, industrial grounds, and lots of rain) stick in one's mind. This film about a middle aged man searching for some meaning in his otherwise empty life is made the more poetic and unforgettable by the magnificently melancholic music of Eleni Karaindrou.