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Reviews
Palindromes (2004)
A trip to the dark side....
Todd Solondz takes us on a similar trip as on Happiness. Yet this is a much more cynical view of human nature even than Happiness. We find it difficult after a while to even have sympathy for Aviva - she becomes an empty shell of a character driven only by yearning for what is lost.
Many other reviewers have covered the storyline and the devices used, but a couple of references however which I picked up: To Night of the Hunter (Aviva's dreamlike journey downstream, ending at the house of comfort mirrors the children's escape from Preacher Harry Powell) although of course in true Todd style, this proves to be a veneer covering true evil.
The Swimmmer - the innocence of Aviva at the start, followed by the awful trip through life which leaves her thrown on life's refuse tip like the foetuses in the plastic bags Solondz' camera observes and makes no judgement, but leaves us writhing inside at the casual and unthinking cruelty of which we are capable. As Dylan says, 'every man's conscience is vile and depraved'.
However Palindromes makes us painfully aware that, just as the perverted trucker spots a defiled doll and says 'My god there's some wacko f*ckers about' we perceive that cruelty is in others only, rather than in ourselves.
They All Laughed (1981)
Irritating and smug
This film is supposed to be pure escapism, unfortunately it is merely irritating. Ben Gazzara wanders round as if we're meant to think he's the ultimate in cool, when in fact there's no conceivable reason I can see why every woman within a radius of 10 miles should be lusting after him.
In fact this is a problem with all the characters - John Ritter's geeky act is a pain in the butt after about the first 10 minutes, yet somehow the Stratten character fall for him. As does the annoying country & western singer.
And even Audrey looks as if she's going through the motions - painfully thin in looks as well.
And finally the script - it tries for that laconic sharp Woody Allen/Neil Simon style but falls miserable short of that quality.
Bring back Paper Moon!
21 Grams (2003)
Bit of a con really....
MILD SPOILERS
Very simple story this really - small time bad guy kills 3 people in a car accident, the heart of the dead man is given to another chap, who then tracks down and falls for the dead man's wife. When she finds out. all hell breaks loose.
I couldn't help feeling that all the jumble of time cutting and editing was really just gimmickry. Totally different from Memento where the the approach was genuinely clever and integral to the plot.
And a lot of padding in this film - no need at all for Sean Penn's relationship with the dark haired woman who wanted a child. This must have taken up about half an hour for no reason.
And Naomi suddenly changes from someone who didn't want to press charges against the hit 'n' runner to some mad woman demanding vengeance.
Altogether OK for the first 45 minutes then became a bit overwrought and melodramatic. Disappointing fare after Amores Perros.
The Dreamers (2003)
Disappointing
Nicely photographed, but ultimately failed for me. Not enough depth - to be frank the relationships of the 3 characters become boring after a short while - despite the quantities of flesh on view. In fact the characters become irritating - partly it's the wooden quality of the acting.
Sound track didn't work for me either, except the Dylan song.
All in all, the sort of film that gives arthouse a bad name.
American Splendor (2003)
A reliable disappointment
I thought this one was going to be excellent based on the first hour or so - good subversive humour and building nicely about an ordinary fellow's simmering resentment about normal life. I suppose we've all felt this way.
But I felt it lost its way after this - the cancer bit was too long and too serious. It sat uneasily with the rest of the film. And to be honest I couldn't warm to the real Harvey Pekar - compared with the actor one, he struck me as a bit of a pain in the proverbial....
Russkiy kovcheg (2002)
Restores your faith in cinema...
Having read the reviews, I was expecting to be impressed but ever so slightly bored by this one.
But within the first few minutes this cinematic marvel wove its spell and I was transfixed. In a small darkened cinema with hardly anyone else in, you can achieve the dreamlike quality Sokurov is after, combined with a heightened consciousness which makes tiny details and set piece images linger and grow.
The camera doesn't so much move as flow, and takes the viewer along with it. Certain images, the run through the snow, the ball room scene, the girls running along the corridor, the final ocean scene will leave their mark forever.
Of course there was no plot, but who needs it when you are drawn into a film in the way this one does....
And I bet after a couple of spliffs this film would look even better....
Love Liza (2002)
makes you think a bit...
You could convince yourself that this is a prequel to Happiness...you can just see Wilson's character ending up as Allen in Happiness a few years later.
SPOILERS
Brilliant acting by Hoffman, who plays a man in a terminal tail spin after the suicide of his wife...the metaphor of the plane is repeated throughout the film in parallel with his disintegration.
Despite the harrowing themes of loss, loneliness and self-destruction, there are moments of pure joy in this film such as the boat racing scene. And I empathised with Wilson on his hell-bent trek to find meaning in a life which no longer has any.
The ending is enigmatic - has Wilson destroyed himself by losing everything, or has he finally cast off his old life and its excruciating memories and is striding, naked and new born, to a new one?
High quality film making, well acted and scripted.
Hable con ella (2002)
Disturbing but not convincing....
Beautiful photography, especially the bullfight scene, and some beautiful musical moments. But I failed to empathise with the characters in this film.
SPOILERS
For me, Benigno wasn't convincing - was he meant to be a sensitive, caring man (as Almodovar would have us believe) or a callous and ruthless rapist? His actions (if you think about what he actually did) don't fit into the idea of 'love' as we would envisage it - and yet that's what Almodovar is trying to make us believe.
In fact, my overriding impression is that Almodovar doesn't actually like women. There's a disturbing cruelty in this film, exemplified for me by the scene where the two men engage in conversation while accompanied by their comatose 'lovers'.
And when you think about it, what was the point of having Lydia in the film at all? Merely a device to bring the two male leads together...
All in all,a disappointment despite being beautifully made...
Adaptation. (2002)
Smart ass film making...
Not a fan of Being John Malkovich, I therefore had reservations about this one, well founded as it turned out.
Nic Cage is one of those actors (Kevin Spacey is another) who can only act in one dimension. So if he's meant to be insecure, lacking in confidence? That's what you get in spades.
And Meryll Streep can do the uptight New Yorker in her sleep, straight from The Hours, and it showed.
SPOILERS
But the film meandered along pleasantly enough for the first hour or so without really developing. After they moved to Miami, however it became farcical - Meryll waving guns around and swearing like a trooper, guys being eaten by crocodiles, car crashes. Ludicrous and almost unwatchable....
I realise it was meant to be clever clever, Nic's brother taking over the script and so on, but the characters have to be believable.
Seeing his brother killed in a car crash would have destroyed Nic 1, not acted as the trigger for a happy ending, script completed, gets the girl everybody's happy...
And the final shot with Nic 1 driving away with a voice over is self congratulatory film making in the extreme....
La pianiste (2001)
Harrowing but worthwhile
I had no prior knowledge of this film and it was something of a shock to the system.
The first half hour or so suggest it's going to be a cosy romantic drama the repressed attractive piano teacher finally falling in love with the young idealistic student who lets her see there's more to life etc etc.
SPOILERS AHEAD
However from the point where we see Erika at the sex shop, it's a harrowing journey which strips away the layers from both Erika and Walter and leaves both characters' inner selves exposed.
It is a tribute to Isabelle Huppert's acting that we retain sympathy for her throughout despite her actions (her intentional disfigurement of her student could even be interpreted as an attempt to save her from the same fate as Erika). We wish and hope that Erika could be saved or cured by Walter, but it is no surprise at the end where Erika accepts that there is no hope or future for her.
Similarly when Walter reveals his ruthlessness and callousness, we couldn't altogether condemn him rather we feel an inner sadness at the baseness of human beings and their capability to inflict suffering despite having what starts out as the best of motives.
Altogether a disturbing film and not for the faint-hearted with some nice directorial touches particularly the way Erika and Walter seem to change their appearances throughout which keeps the audience's attention and interest.
Having watched La Vie de Jesus just a couple of nights ago and now this, perhaps time for something a little more light hearted!
The Others (2001)
genuinely unsettling and scary
A beautifully-paced, slow-burner of ghost story, which is genuinely disturbing. And Nicole Kidman shows she can actually act.
I suppose for most of us these days gorged on a diet of gory, in your face horror films we're unused to this throw back to early mood pictures like The Haunting. Everything is suggested rather than seen, understated rather that overstated - just the way is should be, and the basis of real terror.
Possible spoiler:
Did anyone else feel that The Others gives a reverential nod to the William Castle film "The House on Haunted Hill" when the scary old lady appears?
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Spectacular but unsatisfying
No-one could fault the sheer energy and spectacle of this film and the efforts made by all to make it a success. But for me, I left vaguely unsatisfied.
I'm not a great Ewan McGregor fan - I feel he doesn't have the range of acting talent to bring any depth to a performance and Nicole, nice-looking as she is doesn't have the charisma or presence to make this work.
I felt the modern songs sat rather uneasily in this old fashioned setting, especially Roxanne performed in such an over dramatic way. When the Police did it it was effective because of its controlled understatement which brought out the real desperation and emotion in the song. Also I felt Heroes was murdered hideously.
Why couldn't they write some original songs for this production - they've spent enough on everything else. Still, I did find myself at the end wondering what would happen next so the movie was a success in that respect.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The end of cinema?
Could this be the end of cinema? It could be the ultimate triumph of style over substance. There's no doubting Spielberg's lofty filmic ambitions and his ability to pull off the big setpiece scenes, but the emptiness and shallowness of this film leaves the viewer wondering what the point of it all is. Add to this A.I.'s ponderous sense of its own importance over 2.5 hours, and this film just about vanishes up its own backside.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The signs were not good right from the start as the deadly serious narrator intones "Many years from now once the polar icecaps have melted as a result of greenhouse gases ..." or somesuch - talk about heavy handed. Another example is in the final sequence where in all seriousness one of the thin androids (why is it that in films like this the extra terrestrials are always in humanoid form?)advises the robotic boy in the same serious movie-trailer voice that "It is possible for a space/time pathway to be occupied only once ..." Talk about making it up as you go along.
The problem with Spielberg is that he's always leading up to a big climactic scene - all very well, but he sacrifices everything - script, plot, character to get there. Take the final scene - contrived in every way so that we could get the robotic chap his mother's love and then lose it. And so we get some stuff about "we can recreate her but only for one day .." without any explanation. Also, if his mother didn't love him before, why should she love him in one day 2000 years after she's died. Frankly it's an insult to the viewer's intelligence.
Look at the difference in the way Hitchcock (who shared Spielberg's fondness for the big scene) builds up to the big final setpiece. The characters, story and tension develop gradually but inexorably; then the big climax and it's all worthwhile. With Spielberg it's all just a big letdown because the build up has no substance to it.
I couldn't see the point of the "robotic love machine" guy either- why was he in the film at all? And I have to say that the young boy tried as hard as he could but good grief did he overdo the "Love me mommy" bit. After a while it becomes like stating the bleedin' obvious. And when Spielberg applies the soft sugary stuff, you can hardly watch the screen for embarrassment - when 2000 year-old Teddy produces the lock of Mommy's hair from the recesses of his fur, the entire audience cringed.
The problem is Spielberg takes it all so seriously. I reckon he needs a co-director who can take Spielberg's genius for the big scene and apply some quality control and lightness of touch to the rest.
As a final thought a few days ago "Duel" was on. What a difference - taut storyline, no superfluous material, great acting from Dennis Weaver, brilliant tension, no sugary sentimentality,interpretation possible on a number of levels, and a great climax. What has happened to Spielberg since then?
Snatch (2000)
Can't agree with all these high scores...
Heartened by the high Imdb scores for this film, I finally caught up with this one on cable.
Managed to watch it all the way through, but with a growing sense of depression. It really is absolute garbage. All the old favourites were here, fourth-rate soap actors, the vicious Mr Big, the wide boy and his dumb mate, the dodgy diamond dealer, all played in one-dimension, all played in that uniquely self-congratulatory way which says: `This is a British gangster film and this is the way to act in a British gangster film', and with loads of smart-ass camera tricks and editing thrown in.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!
And of course Vinnie how this man gets away with it is a mystery to me
the scene where he keeps shooting the Russian bloke who refuses to die is possibly the crassest piece of film ever created.
The main warning sign for me was when for no reason at all someone introduced a cute and lovable dog into the film
..imagine the surprise and hilarity when later on, with ideas running out and desperation setting in, the dog runs off with the diamond and swallows it! Surely someone involved in scriptwriting or directing could have said `Come on, we can come up with something better than this
..'
And what on earth is Brad Pitt doing in this doing his `Fight Club' bit of the booze-swilling, chain smoking guy who somehow has a perfect physique!
A few reviewers have compared Snatch favourably with Pulp Fiction I don't see it Pulp had Travolta at his coollest, Willis, Keitel, Jackson and Thurman on top form, as well as pace, style and a bit of thought put into it.
Still at least Snatch was better than Lock Stock and two smoking barrels.
Il commesso viaggiatore (2001)
Bleak but thought-provoking
I expected this film to be similar to O Lucky Man! However, where O Lucky Man! traces on one man's journey through life, the journey made by the Travelling Salesman is a psychological one. It concerns the gradual disintegration of a Salesman trying to balance long hours on the road with his home life - children he loves but rarely sees and possessions whose values he questions.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Dal Bosco's skill is in making the viewer identify closely with the Salesman (for example by long, hypnotic sequences of the road unwinding in front of him, shot from inside the car). It is significant that as the film goes on and the world closes in on the Salesman, the road sequences change from long, uninterrupted stretches of darkened but open road to cluttered, heavy traffic with no obvious sense of direction.
The film is one of contrasts. Black and white crystal-clear sequences contrast with sequences with the lyrical colour of the escapist sequences, the urbane and banal professionalism of the Salesman as he makes his pitch to various buyers with the exhausted shell of a man who conducts introspective and philosophical debate during a chance encounter with two mysterious salesmen in a bar. I believe this debate was conducted purely in the Salesman's mind with the young, abrasive character and the older, worldweary one representing different facets of his personality.
The contrast with the life he desires, and which is ultimately unobtainable, is displayed by some beautiful, dreamlike, colour sequences (the only colour used in the entire film) which successfully transport the Salesman and the viewer beyond the confines of the immediate environment.
One of the film's strengths is that the film does not resort to cynicism or bitterness. At his lowest point, the Salesman's acceptance of his situation and his realisation of how to resolve it is deeply moving.
However, at the film's bleakest point, Dal Bosco leaves us with a moment of hope - his wife is wakened suddenly, and walks through the silent house to find the Salesman poised gun in hand in the sleeping children's bedroom. The end credits roll before we find whether he fires the gun, and we are left wondering whether his mute appeal for help in the final scene is answered.
This film makes harrowing viewing, and is not for some tastes. (about 10% of the audience I was in walked out before the end). However, the film is ultimately a thoughtful exploration of desperation and the need to reconcile important things with those which are merely necessary. I recommend the film - its impact still lingers days afterwards.
American Beauty (1999)
The ending was appropriate ...
I agree with a number of other reviewers that the ideas in American Beauty weren't entirely original. However this was outweighed by the presentation of the film which put the message across beautifully. It certainly made me think - right from the point where the voiceover, with Lester slumped in the car on the way to work, says "I don't remember ever feeling so sedated"
MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD
A number of people have said there was no need for Lester to be shot by the guy next door. My theory is that what the film was saying was that we need to make the most of what we've got now - we never know what's round the corner and it could be very unexpected (as it was for Lester). Just a thought.
La ville est tranquille (2000)
A slice of life you can care about!
From the opening shot, a magnificent panoramic panning view of Marseilles, to the completely unexpected ending, I was captivated by this film.
In the majority of gritty realist dramas, I find myself after a while feeling not entirely sympathetic to the characters, but in this one, I really felt for their predicaments, especially Michele and the bar-owner.
The film recorded the characters' actions in a refreshingly non-judgemental way, even the self-inflicted pain they cause and the way the characters use each other for their own ends. It seemed to be saying that this is the way humans act, good and bad,and all of us, including the viewer, are capable of both.
Well-acted and thought-provoking throughout, although uncomfortable viewing at times. I loved the way that after particularly heavy scenes, the director returns us fleetingly to the panoramic view of Marseilles - it put everything in context for me.
Definitely recommended.