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jartell
Reviews
Wild River (1960)
Please make a DVD of "Wild River" directed by Elia Kazan!!!
I just found this reference on IMDb to this powerful movie that I saw on TV when I was a child. Actually, for a strange reason, after seeing in the news the flooding taking place in the Midwest these days (March 27, 2009) I recalled the images on this movie so vividly. But of course, for a kid's imagination nothing could be more unforgettable than the beauty of Lee Remick. And I loved the chemistry taking place between her and Monty Cliff. Now, however, reading the comments in this page I realize that I had not paid enough attention to the performance of Jo Van Fleet as the matriarch who refuses to comply to the government's request to leave her land. And in addition to this, "Wild River" happens to be an Elia Kazan movie! I've been searching this film for years and I just realized that I couldn't find it simply because there is not a DVD available. Not even a VHS copy! That's outrageous! Please, everyone sensible to good movies should ask the same to the powers that be: We want a DVD of "Wild River"!
Beowulf (2007)
"Beowulf" is a Christmas present
I saw "Beowulf" in 3D and I think that anybody interested in this movie should do an effort to see it in that format. Near home it was showed in 35 mm and I had to drive about 50 miles to find a theater where they showed it on 3D... And I don't regret it at all! The 3D effect is fully enmeshed with the developing of the story, and the plot is so dynamic that you have little time to think things out, you just let yourself go and enjoy the wonderful images. Maybe the plot does not follow the original literature sources, maybe you'll find a little too many nude and sexy ingredients sown here and there to drag you into the film, OK, but... who cares? The important thing is that during the whole duration of the film the only thing that matters the viewer is not to lose any minute of this magic. I think that Robert Zemeckis has created a treat for the movie fan, a premature Christmas gift that I will always remember with gratefulness.
Pure (2002)
A great performance in a disappointing film
Maybe the name of Kira Knightley, after the world success of Pirates of the Caribbean was the main reason for this movie to be released as a DVD in the U.S. Even so, it's very interesting for whatever reason, to find this movie available and to have the chance to see an interesting British production. I said "interesting" but not really fully accomplished. The story is moving: an eleven year old kid who loves his young heroing addict mother and who fights for her recovery from drugs until he succeeds. Even so, the movie script makes nothing to make the characters sympathetic, especially in the case of Molly, the junkie mother. The kid, Harry Eden, is just a revelation (at least for me, though I have read that he is also exceptionally good in another movie called "Real Men") and delivers a realistic performing in every way, including his passionate and loving attachment to his mother. Unfortunately, the audience cannot see why is that mother so lovable and the fact that the kid gets "reunited" with her at the end seems awkward and off-putting instead of emotional.
Come on, the kid is just another example of the typical subservient relationship that addict or drunk parents develop with their kids. A relationship where the kids "wash, cook and clean" and in short take on themselves the obligation (instead of being the opposite way) to take care of their addicted parent. What are the assurances that this sick manner of relating to each other is not going to be perpetuated, especially when, during the movie, we have not seen any other kind of relationship being developed.
Besides that, the script fails miserably in the scene where the kid arranges the arrest of the drug dealer (David Wenham). Suddenly, without any explanation, we find out that the restaurant's owner is the big supplier of the drugs that have been used throughout the movie. Hey, that's just too easy and completely out of the blue. Besides that, the scene itself is just badly planned. Moreover, the final scene is just, to put it bluntly, stupid. Do you imagine social workers and relatives alike deciding by spontaneous voting if a "reformed junkie mother" should be reunited with her sons?
Even so, the good sections of this movie become a delightful experience because of Harry Eden's acting, which is always believable, always realistic. Especially remarkable are the scenes when he has his first sexual approaches with the character of Keira Kneightly and when he tries drugs for the first time in his life. Here we have the most convincing line of the whole movie, and which is the only natural development of what his mother has been doing to him: "Now I am like you, mom."
Ong-Bak (2003)
What a find! A great film experience.
I am afraid very few people in America know about this little wonder. I just got the DVD when I was out of the U.S. It's one of the best movie experiences I have had in a long time. The leading actor, who will be known as Tony Jaa after this film, is just amazing. His stunts are so unusual that leave you breathless asking for more. But besides that, I had no idea of how mature Thai films were. Definitely we are talking about a serious contender for the Hong Kong school. The music in the chasing scenes is dynamic and very modern. The plot about the theft of a sacred idol is not extremely original (Indiana Jones already dealt with the same issue) but who cares when you are watching a film that has nerve and soul and with scenes that have amazing resolutions, always surprising and always unexpected. What a discovery. I want more of the same!
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
An intimate, exotic and lovely film
The strangest thing about this movie is that, being so weird and original, it still strikes hard on your feelings. The characters have a life of their own that makes you think that you know them from before. And you love them for that. Bill Murray is just wonderful, though it's hard to realize if he is acting at all. That's the key of his greatness as an actor. I don't think he's ever accomplished that level of intimacy with a character since Groundhog's Day. It's the same with Owen who seems so sincere in his role that you believe him completely. And you feel like he's a forgotten friend from somewhere else. The music and the CGI images are so original, so modern and so anachronistic at the same time that make the perfect complement for this weird story that is, in fact, a work of fantasy about what could have the life of a maritime show celebrity as Jacques Cousteau. There were moments when I saw this film that I did not know if this was a dream or if it was an actual movie. Who are these people who have had the courage to go ahead and do this lovely film that touches you in so many ways with its melancholy and its hints at the meaning of friendship and fatherhood? I really don't know. I am not a fan of Wes Anderson per se. I just have not seen enough of his movies. But let me tell you, he is hit me hard with this one. God bless you man.