darse's Reviews

The Fountain (2006)

10/10

16 May 2007

Warning: Spoilers

"The Fountain" is an intensely beautiful film, loved by many (and hated by some) for a variety reasons.

The strikingly original visuals, abstract story line, and indirect manner of revealing the story, makes it something of a Rorschach inkblot of a film. People see in it what they want to see. This is uncomfortable for some people, who are accustomed to simplistic movies that treat them like mindless little children. They may not see anything.

It is not an easy film, but there *is* a simple interpretation that makes perfect sense. The confusion has been exacerbated by bad marketing that is completely misleading. Darren Aronofski has produced a work of genius that the majority of viewers are unwilling or unable to understand. Hopefully this brilliant film will be increasingly appreciated as the years go by.

*** Spoiler ***

For those who want to understand the film better, pay particular attention to the book that Izzy is writing. It is called "The Fountain", and the name is not a coincidence. It is a story of three eras, based on the Mayan mythology of the Tree of Life. You are watching that book. To aid her beloved husband through his grieving, and to teach him what she now knows, she leaves the book incomplete and assigns him a task: finish it.

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Abe's Manhood (2000)

8/10

short, funny, and complete

9 December 2004

Abe doesn't feel like he's really an adult yet. He thinks it might be due to never having had a formal right of passage into manhood. He decides to devise his own ritual, involving three days of fasting and sleep deprivation, followed by a certain surgical procedure that will serve as a permanent indicator of his official graduation into adulthood...

This short is funny (quirky Canadian humour), and also succeeds in making the audience feel queasy. Most men will be squirming in their seat, even if they are laughing nervously on the outside. A friend (who isn't squeamish) joked that it was the most frightening horror film he'd ever seen!

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Spellbound (2002)

10/10

superb: s-u-p-e-r-b, superb.

8 March 2003

This was just screened at the Edmonton International Film Festival, and it was simply excellent.

It's natural to be a little skeptical of the premise, but the all of the young competitors and supporters featured in this documentary are genuine and interesting. The film is a refreshing blast of reality, which can be more entertaining and more satisfying than any amount of Hollywood schlock.

The audience gave the film four rounds of applause, including a spontaneous outburst the moment the credits began, lasting several minutes. Producer Sean Welch was on hand to answer questions, and did an outstanding job. Emily Stagg was a surprise guest, adding several insights into the competition, and a different view of the filming process. Highly recommended.

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Das Boot (1981)

8/10

avoid the dubbed version

22 October 2001

Avoid the dubbed version of "Das Boot". We watched 15 minutes of it before returning to the video store. They had the subtitled version, which was much better. We noted five significant differences in the first 15 minutes. The dubbed version got things wrong, and missed some important points! The sound was also worse (which is especially important for this film).

Besides, it makes a lot more sense to watch the German version with subtitles. The film depicts the war from a German perspective, and watching it in English could prevent you from becoming immersed in this fine film.

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Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

2/10

trite, jerky, annoying

18 June 2001

Since the next three showings of "Tomb Raider" were all sold out, we settled for this piece of drivel instead. "Atlantis" is the same kind of low-quality unintelligent money grab that Disney has become famous for in the Eisner era. I've been scammed out of $25, and I'm going to file a complaint.

The first distraction is the jerky movement of the characters, and poor animation throughout. In the classic Walt Disney features, like "Jungle Book", the characters flow in a smooth and natural manner, and as much effort and detail are put into the background as the foreground. Walt must be spinning in his grave over these cheap factory knock-offs.

But the lousy animation is nothing compared to the stultifyingly stupid writing. I understand that it is being written for a general audience, and that they aim for a four-year-old mentality. That doesn't mean you have to insult the audience's intelligence. Children respond better to thoughtful stories than stupid ones. Unfortunately, Disney has decided that it is too much bother to produce quality rather than crap, and that the consumer will gladly accept getting the shaft yet again.

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

7/10

new musical soundtrack

16 February 2001

I've just watched _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari_ with live accompaniment, and it was a very interesting experience. This is a modern composition for the film by Dave Clarke, featuring synthesizers, a breathtaking vocal aria by Onalea Gilbertson, and a Theremin, which is an electronic musical instrument producing eerie warping tones, perfect for this setting. It is played by moving ones hands in the air between two antennae, controlling the pitch and volume. The device was invented by physicist Leonid Theremin in 1919 -- the same year the movie was filmed. A recording of Songs for Caligari, synchronized for the restored 1996 film, is available from the composer. Contact stancat@email.com, or check out the mp3 previews at http://i.am/generic.theatre .

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Meet the Parents (2000)

5/10

annoying

21 January 2001

I dislike movies where the main character gets into trouble by lying. Especially stupid, pointless lies that will obviously be found out eventually. There have been some bad offenders, but this movie takes it to ridiculous extremes. Ben Stiller's character is weak, stupid, dishonest, unsympathetic, and way beyond the threshold of believability. And even if those things don't bother you, the movie just isn't funny.

The people responsible for this dud should take some lessons from "There's Something About Mary". That had much riskier humour, which could have blown up in their face, but worked. One of the reasons was because under the gruff exterior, it had a good heart. It had *charm*. Under this contrived mess of insecurity and deception was nothing but a lump of coal. I felt the stupid Focker deserved every bad thing that happened, and more. The sappy Hollywood ending rang hollow as a result. Pheh.

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Magnolia (1999)

6/10

a film in desperate need of an editor

19 January 2000

Was it good? Well, yes and no. It started out great, but then slipped into pointless meandering for hours and hours and hours...

If the last two hours had been replaced with a decent 30-minute ending where all the characters come together in a surprising way, it would have been an *excellent* film. Breaking the movie into thirds (which felt about two hours each), I'd rate it 8-5-5, for a 6 overall.

In a word: exasperating. But if you see a lot of films, and place a premium on originality, then the good points probably make it worth putting up with the rest.

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Hard Core Logo (1996)

7/10

Canadian supervision advised

6 November 1999

If you are not a Western Canadian, you might miss a lot of the "inside humour" in this film. Knowledge of the music industry would also be an asset. The movie doesn't deserve some of the rave reviews its been getting, but it is worth watching. My favourite scenes were the views from the road (trees, mountains, prairie with hay bales, etc) which are completely authentic and something I've never seen on film before.

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Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

8/10

not fun, but insightful

15 May 1999

This movie isn't a lot of fun to watch, but it is an interesting study of personalities. It can teach you a lot about people. The acting is excellent, the characters are realistic, and the movie may stay with you, even years later.

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There's Something About Mary (1998)

9/10

charming, and extremely funny

30 August 1998

Easily the funniest movie of the year. I tried to remember the last time I laughed so hard at the theatre, but couldn't. The writers take some big risks and get big payoffs. At one point, everyone was laughing so hard that the entire audience missed about a minute of dialogue!

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BASEketball (1998)

2/10

Weak.

30 August 1998

This film was made soley for laughs, but fails dismally. Maybe one Zucker just can't do what two can do. "Airplane!" is one of my all time favourites, and I've seen every episode of South Park (despite not having a TV), so it isn't an issue of style. It just wasn't funny. There are a couple of guffaws, and Trey Parker appears to have some latent talent, but it tries too hard and usually misses the mark. The best moments may have been the unexpected cameos by Mr. Garri-san and Cartman, but there wasn't enough good stuff to even be worth the two bucks I paid for it.

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The Horse Whisperer (1998)

8/10

nice story, spectacular visuals (without special effects)

30 August 1998

Robert Redford is one of the safest bets in the film industry -- he may be incapable of making a bad movie. His integrity is demonstrated in refusing to cater to the short attention span of today's typical viewer. The audience must adjust to the tempo of this film, just as the main characters from New York must adjust to the slower pace of life on the ranch (and both are rewarded). But if you're in the mood for an action-adventure flick, this isn't the one to see.

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