Reviews

Delivering his Oscar-speech Ron Howard said that his mother told him he would win an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind. But then again: that's what she has told him after every film he has made. So what was it that went through Howards (beautiful) mind when he made A Beautiful Mind: I HAVE TO MAKE A FILM THAT WILL DEFINITELY WIN AN OSCAR. So here is what he did: he closely studied a list with previous winners (for best actor): My Left Foot, Rain Man, Forrest Gump (I wont' go on and on, because it isn't that hard to see the connection). And it paid of. Congratulations.

So now that you've got your first Oscar, Ron, it's time to focus on another genre. I'll give you some help: Bravehaert, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, The English Patient. Think big, think epic.

Yes, you will deliver another lousy film, but mom will be proud, cause, guess what: OSCAR TIME.

Before going to this film, everybody seems anxious to warn you: there's a terrible rape-scene in it (that lasts nine minutes) and you get to see a persons face smashed to pieces. So, it's up to you if you want to waste your money on that. What a lot of people seem to forget is that Noé has chosen to tell a nightmare. And if you want to approach reality and make an audience feel the pain the main characters are going through, you can't leave out the nasty bits (at least if you want to be convincing). So forget about the hype and don't walk out until the end. Because Irreversible is a haunting story that leaves you shocked, but also challenges you to take a stand and have an own opinion. And yes, you will feel uncomfortable watching the explicit scenes. But then again: who said nightmares would be fun. 8/10

I guess I will never really appreciate films by De Palma. They always start promising, but then completely fall to pieces. 'Femme Fatale' was in a lot of ways a copy of 'Snake Eyes', one of his previous movies, starring Nicolas Cage. The opening sequences are amazing, breathtaking almost. So you get excited and want the rest to be as good as as the beginning. But De Palma couldn't make up his mind and had trouble really directing the story. Actually, the big plotturn (relax, I won't give it away) didn't make sense and wasn't justified towards the end. What a shame, because after fifteen minutes I thought I was in for a treat. 4/10

What you hope for is a lot of suspense, when you visit 'Signs'. What you get is an obscure story with no suspense whatsoever. And it blows out like a nightcandle. What a waste of time, what a terrible film. 1/10.

Starts promising, then takes a few wrong turns and finishes rather unsatisfying. 'Unfaithful' leaves you (I know this is a cliche) with more questions than answers. Besides: Gere and Lane seem to have a very strange marriage (11 years, mind you) in this film. Not telling the other person anything doesn't seem to bother them. And after they have lied to each other on numerous occasions, they can still look at each other like they are madly in love. Lie to me, please!!! Last remark: NYPD can't be too satisfied with this flick. Two major suspects in a homicide can say "just leave us alone" and they're homefree. Yeah, right. 3/10

This movie is so terrifyingly horrific that I don't know where to start. In that case maybe it's better to tell as little as possible. So: don't see it. You kind of feel sorry for Anthony Hopkins. Such a great career, so many brilliant performances and now this. His agent should simply refuse to give him screenplays like these. That way we can remember him by the sublime work he has delivered in the past.2/10

Great film, good acting, superb plot, beautiful cinematography: what more can you ask for. The story is vivid and has a somewhat obscure side to it. Besides, it's always great to see a new, young director come up with something amazing that you've never witnessed before in the cinema. To me Donnie Darko can be best described as a mix of the best elements from 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Jacobs Ladder'. 8/10

It very rarely happens that a movie, based on a successful novel, can live up to the expectations. And yet again this theory is proved. Because 'About a Boy' is just an ok, well made film that almost never excites as much as the book by Nick Hornby. Some moments are funny, others sad and in the end the makers did their job. But that isn't supposed to their main goal. They have to at least show us why they thought it was necessary to turn it into a film. And they never did in my opinion. So if you want to have an ok time, see the film. If you really want to enjoy yourself, read the book. Same goes for the other Hornby-novels-turned-into-films 'Fever Pitch' and 'High Fidelity'. 5/10

Good, solid drama/love story with two young actresses who are as natural as can be. The power of this movie is its simplicity. An introvert girl falls in love with schools most popular girl and goes through a lot of pain and agony before she can literally come out of the closet. 9/10

This film fully deserves its Oscar-nominations and let's hope the academy will reward it. Because it doesn't happen that often that you go see a drama in a movie-theatre, without having any second thoughts. This is just a brilliant piece of cinema with a great plot and wonderful acting. Spacek and Wilkinson stand out as the parents coping with a great loss and trying to handle their emotions. 'In the Bedroom' never gets overly sentimental. It just plainly registers the situation without taking sides. 9/10

This was supposed to be the funniest film of the year (well, at least that was what the poster said). I found it one of the most pathetic films of the year. The jokes, the cursing, the story, the characters. All have been great in 'Clerks' and from that point it went downhill with Smith. 'Mallrats', 'Chasing Amy' and 'Dogma' weren't as smart and funny as his first film. And 'Jay and Silent Bob strike back' is a very silly film, made with very little imagination. It's like he wants to say: isn't my gang great. We don't have to do anything to make a film, we just have to show up. It's about time that Smith stops wasting his talent, or has he run out? 3/10

Warning: not every dogma-film is worth seeing. Take, for instance, Italian for Beginners. It's a story without pace or any good moments. Characters are boring and have absolutely nothing to say. The film goes on and on and on, without getting better. Worse: it's predictable and annoying. Let's hope that Thomas Vinterberg (Festen) makes another movie soon. 3/10

Finally Nicholson is brilliant again as he was for a very long time during the 70's and 80's, but didn't come across a director in the 90's who really challenged him to make the best of his performance. Now Penn has succeeded in doing so. And Jack is at his best as a chief of police who has a 'hunch' that the case he closed just before he retired, wasn't properly solved. Great acting, superb cinematography and a veteran actor who proves we will be able to still enjoy his work for a very long time. 8/10

Impressive. I can't find another word to rate this film that leaves you stunned after the final credits. In this story about a Maori-family, living in the slums of New Zealand, every character has its own depth that makes them real. It doesn't happen that often that a director comes up with a film that's hard, powerful and often terrifying but sensitive and loving as well. This is, without a doubt, one of the most memorable films I've ever seen. Watch it. 10/10

Annoying, predictable: what a drag. Regular moviegoers must have the feeling they've seen this a couple of times before and that about says it all. The characters try so hard to be real, they are simply not. If you don't want to walk out of this halfway (like I did), just don't go. 2/10

Beautiful images, teasing music by french-group 'Air' and a more than promising debut for Sofia Coppola as a director. Woods has the best bit-part as the absent-minded father. The only negative thing I can mention about this film is the failure of uncovering the mistery behind the suicides. That's somewhat unsatisfying after seeing such a pleasant film. Dunst must have been very pleased with the way she was photographed, she looks stunning. (7/10)

One of the most intense films I've seen in a very long time. Hupperts performance stands out and is in my opinion, together with Charlotte Rampling''s performance in 'Sous le Sable', one of the year's best by a female.

In this very subtle satire 'losers' get a glance at stardom. And it's the way director Deruddere portrays them, that they stay authentic and win your sympathy, rather than empathy. Father (De Pauw), your average hard-working factory man, is so obsessed with the singing career of his not so talented daughter (named after Marva, a famous Belgian singing icon) that, after he's been put out of his job, he decides to kidnap a famous Belgian singer to get the attention of her manager. He wants fame, she wants it too, but doesn't know what she's in for. After the kidnapping has taken place a great satire unfolds that stays entertaining till the end, without getting absurd (well just a little). A very enjoyable little film that deserves a bigger audience than it got.

It's very hard to understand why this movie is considered THE love story of the sixties. Of course it has great quality: the charm and the simplicity of the story, the true emotions and two great actors, who manage to keep their performances sober as well as intense. But the switching between black-and white and color images don't make sense, because they are randomly used. And then there's the music by Francis Lay that is way overrated and even gets a little bit annoying towards the end. The racing-images aren't that interesting and take too much time and some of the flashbacks are a bit ludicrous (especially the one of Aimee's former husband singing a Samba (?) song). But the strength of the script is still there and THAT really is the main quality of this film.

This fabulous comedy by the Coen-brothers only keeps getting better and better the more times you see it. Bridges is perfectly cast as 'The Dude', the easy-going, laid-back kind of guy who spends his time bowling, smoking weed and listening to his Creedance-tapes. Goodman as Vietnam-veteran Walter who sees a conspiracy in almost everything and doesn't want to be bothered on "his" Jewish holidays comes up with another great performance as well as Buscemi, Moore, Seymour Hoffman and Turturro (in a very small, but entertaining role as bowling-king Jesus). And then there is Elliott as The Stranger who says he hasn't heard of a story as stupifying as this one. I couldn't agree more. Great writing, superb acting and a terrifying marmot!!!

Very pleasant love-story that wouldn't have been this good without the great performances by Pacino and Pfeiffer. Pacino is the cook with the romantic heart who just got out of jail (of course he wasn't a real criminal) starts working in a Greek restaurant and falls in love with Pfeiffer, the waitress, who just wants to watch videos and eat pizza after a few bad love-experiences. Pacino has to do a lot (read Romeo & Juliet, dance like a madman, chop vegetables and be very patient) to win her love and is finally helped by the sound of Debussy's 'Claire de Lune'.

How do you kill, what could have been a fantastic movie, with ten final minutes of moralistic nonsense. That's the question that stuck in my mind after seeing this almost perfect film by Soderbergh, who is in my opinion one of the great American directors. His vision on the 'war on drugs' is worked out well, executed well by a terrific cast (Del Toro, Cheadle and Guzman stand out)and, in the end, absolutely destroyed with shamefully moralistic scenes. It seems to me a producer got a big hand in the end, which obviously had to send out a positive message. So after being entertained for a long time, you leave the cinema disappointed with such a terrible finish. And finally you don't worry about the victims of drug-abuse, but how Soderberghs career will carry on. Will this little mistake be his only one, or has he fallen for the mainstream cinema that has to have a 'good heart' instead of a real objective vision.

This is without a doubt the most overlooked movie of the decade. All the talk, all the excitement, all that buzz. But for what. Just a very simple story, with a very thin line, that has (I have to agree) a truly great twist at the end, which makes you remember it. But having said that: one great twist can't make up for this boring story with very bad acting performances. So let someone tell you the story, fast forward the movie and then watch the end. That way you have a very satisfying ten minutes and you don't have to sit through the rest.

This debut for Jaoui (playing the role of Manie) as a director is a great comedy. Hilarious, but not over the top. 'Le Goût des Autres' has some very sharp dialogues filled with subtle jokes and delivered by a perfect cast. It was no surprise to learn afterwards that the same screenwriters wrote the script for 'Un Air de Famille' by Cedric Klapisch, another French comedy at its best. But this one is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable movies of the year. A well deserved Oscar-nominee for 'best foreign language film'.

I don't know how they do it, but every year the academy seems to give a handful of Oscar-nominations to these fantastically boring pictures that go on and on and have nothing to say. Besides that it's a terrible disappointment to see director Hallström go from well structured stories like 'My life as a dog' and 'What's eating Gilbert Grape' to films like 'The Cider House Rules' and 'Chocolat', another terribly overrated movie. So go and rent one of his early movies, because this one (and his latest as well) are too cheesy, too Hollywood. Somebody ought to tell him that.