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Reviews
Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (2006)
Incredible
I just saw this film yesterday, and being a big fan of Zhang Yimou, I knew I had to expect something beautiful, overwhelming and grandiose. So I cannot say I was "unprepared" for what I was about to see. I was amazed by "Hero" and even more so by "House of the flying daggers", so I knew that Zhang Yimou was a master of epic cinema, but this...Once again I sat there in the cinema, in an euphoric frenzy looking at jaw-dropping scenes, grand battles and pure cinematographic beauty. This film is not only entertaining and beautiful to watch, it is also extremely accurate and authentic. Every single detail, every attribute is perfect. In that right, the film is an impressive history lesson: the life and intrigues at the Imperial palace, the decor, the scenery setting, the costumes, the garnishing, the ornaments...just to much. The scene were the black ninja's attack the fortress from the air, the silver and gold armies in a grandiose battle, this was all just to amazing to watch. The directing is so perfect that you feel like in the middle of the battle. This is a film you must see on a big screen, so don't wait till the DVD release. Every time I thought: "that's the last time Zhang Yimou can surprise me", but every time I appeared to be wrong. I read that Mister Zhang is going to direct the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, so it promises to be, well...like always...stunning.
Shichinin no samurai (1954)
A timeless classic
Well, you know how it is sometimes with "Classics"...you watch them and tell yourself "this must've been a revolution in it's time" or "this was way ahead of it's time", but deep inside us we think that, after all we've seen so far, it doesn't really impress us that much anymore. We look at it more as a historic artifact than as a movie. We admit the greatness of the film mostly because of the "foundation" it laid for future films and generations of directors. To be completely honest, this was what I thought before actually watching this film. But once the breathtaking 3h30-experience was over...I could only curse myself for this bias. This film, this experience is simply brilliant. You forget that this film is now more than 50years old, you forget in fact that this film has age...here we have a film that truly deserves the adjective "timeless"! It is incredible how, after all the other samuraï-films made so far since then, not a single one can match this one (besides maybe other Kurosawa films). The acting is truly superb and of a rare authenticity, the camera-work is smooth and keeps you focused on the screen for every second. The story is great and many times copied but never equalized. In fact, it's like discovering the original sketch of a famous painting. Really, this is an absolute must-see, a masterpiece, a pure piece of Cinema with a big "C".... In fact I was thinking: if we were about to launch a capsule into space containing all what humanity has created so far (in case some aliens find it), it should contain this film!
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
Not bad but...
First of all: I'm a big Wim Wenders admiror. For so far I've seen almost all of his movies and to me he is truly one of the BIG directors of his generation. Together with R.W.Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorf and Werner Herzog he shaped post-war German cinema and renewed it's status and quality it had lost since the early 20th century (Fritz Lang, Murnau,...). I will always remember Wenders as the director who gave me "Der Himmel über Berlin", "Der Amerikanische freund" and "Paris, Texas". These films are all included in my personal top20 and I count them among the best films of the second half of the 20th century. Unfortunately, Wenders left Europe to live his "American dream", which in my opinion gave him only less inspiration and authenticity. While his German productions were truly original, well directed pieces of visual art with stunning cinematography, I have not seen a single of his US-releases that left me in awe (I need to point out here that "Paris-Texas" was a German production). Although I liked "The end of violence", most of his US releases from the last years were bad. "The million dollar hotel" had a thin story, "Land of plenty" was just poor and so is this "Don't come knocking". Although the soundtrack is good (which is almost always the case in a Wenders film) the cinematography was rather disappointing, the dialogue unnatural, the acting rather bad and the story just to cheesy. The film s not bad in his own right, but having seen Wenders'other films, I can't help comparing. From the brilliance of his early black and white masterpieces (Im lauf der zeit!!!) to this rather melodramatic soap-opera, is a steep way down...I can only hope Wenders will see this for himself and take some time for reflection. Maybe coming back to Europe would help? I don't know, but what I do know is that Wenders can do better than that, and he has proved it many times...
Kammerflimmern (2004)
Surprising
I saw this movie yesterday on television, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. To be honest I did not expect very much of this film, at the very best I expected it to be some kind of pumped-up teenager movie with a max of "hyped" songs in the soundtrack, flashy videoclip imagery and a thin, unimportant storyline. It turned out quite differently! The acting was very good, the soundtrack was good (and not to intrusive), the cinematography was good (although it could've been a bit more experimental for this kind of film)and the story was credible. I could not help to compare this film to Martin Scorsese's "Bringing out the dead". This film also describes the hard, fast-paced life of two paramedics and their confrontations with pain, suffering and death. To my own surprise I found this film better than "Bringing out the dead" because it was more human, more realistic and more authentic. "BOTD" had this Hollywood-like glitter and glamour to it that made it incredible, over the top and to "cool" to be authentic. While this film is certainly not a masterpiece or some kind of "must-see", it is a decent, well-made and gripping piece of cinema that is worth the watch in every sense. Don't break your head finding it, but if you do, don't hesitate to view it. A pleasant surprise and well-done film!
Professione: reporter (1975)
Art, poetry, Antonioni...
Antonioni is without a doubt one of the greatest directors ever. His films were more than once milestones in the history of cinema: The metaphoric use of color in "Il deserto Rosso", the revolution in storytelling of "l'avventura", the montage of "Blow-up", the fantastic camera-work of "Zabriskie-point",...Of all these gems, this one is my favorite. And for different reasons: Jack Nicholson is terrific in the role of the frustrated and bored reporter with an identity-crisis, the story is most original and intense, the camera-work is brilliant and the depth, the philosophy behind all of it is simply genius...this is Cinema with a big "C". Antonioni takes the viewer on a journey both spiritual (The meaning of life and identity) and physical (From Africa through Europe).The state of mind of Locke (Jack Nicholson)is constantly mirrored in the film's settings and evolves through the changing landscapes until it reaches it's final destiny in a dusty hotel room. This is a film that will make you think, and will haunt you for days after. What it is exactly depicting is up to you to figure out. According to Antonioni himself :"This is a film about someone who is following his destiny, a man watching reality as reported, the same way that I was watching him, in the same way that you are pursuing me..." Responding to a journalist about the Passenger (Film Comment, July-August, 1975). I will not waste anymore of your time: get this film, watch it and be amazed.
Das Boot (1981)
Gets you by the throat
Forget about "Crimson tide", "The hunt for red October" or "U 571"! This is the mother of all submarine-movies, a compelling, claustrophobic and intense journey into the heart of madness! View this film on a big screen and with Dolby surround! The experience will be so intense that afterwards you keep hearing the Sonar for days...Never have I seen a film that depicted the life (and death) of those inside these iron coffins in such a realistic and gripping way. The acting is outstanding, the camera-work is good and the story captivating. But, the best about this film is undoubtedly the atmosphere: the sounds, the silences,...at some points during the film you find yourself in the inability to breathe. Great, simply Great!
Out of Rosenheim (1987)
Heartwarming tale, beautiful images
This is a rare gem. The first time I saw this film I was attracted by the beautifully shot images, the warm colors and the beautiful song that accompanied them. Then, when learning to know the characters better, the film really unfolds to you it's whole essence! This is a simple, straightforward story about friendship, pain, love and humanity. Every single character is very real and well acted, and the story evolves very naturally. This is a film that makes you love mankind, that makes you love it's characters and that gets deep under your skin. A film that with all it's simplicity and beauty catches you and never leaves you. An unpretentious and heartwarming gem. Brilliant!
Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)
A masterpiece
When judging a film, I use different criteria: The story, the acting, the soundtrack, the cinematography,... Only in exceptional cases I find films that score high on all criteria, and this is the case with this absolutely brilliant film. The story is most original and refreshing: the metaphysical tale of the angels is a great way of confronting the viewer with the universal aspirations and dreams of mankind in a way that it remains simple and direct. The acting by Bruno Ganz (Der Amerikanische freund, l'éternité et un jour, Der untergang) is as usual terrific, and the role of Peter Falk is most amusing. The last scene of the film, with Nick Cave singing in the back, is just awesome, especially the final monologue. The nice soundtrack accompanies images of a rare beauty. The black-and-white shots of Berlin keep hanging around in your mind for days, this is actually one of the films were the cinematography is so terrific that you could print posters of every single screen shot. What can I say more: Wim Wenders is a genius, and this is art in it's purest form! Philosophy, poetry and film blended together in a unique and ever-lasting masterpiece!
The Delta Force (1986)
To bad you can't give less than a 1/10
This is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen! Not only is it extremely unrealistic and stupid, it is blatantly racist. Never have I seen such a stereotyping, disgraceful and racist depiction of Arabs in a film. The story can be summarized as follows: "Ethical superior and righteous American heroes save peacefull and perpetual-victimized Israelis from totalitarian and terroristic Arabs". The dialogue in which an evil looking Arab terrorist argues that the Nazi's have not killed enough Jews is depressing, and it is surely one of the reasons why this film is cited in the book "Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people". It is imperative to mention that this film was directed by a die-hard Zionist and hardliner who undoubtedly uses this film to evaporate his deeply rooted hatred for Arabs. As such this action-flick is nothing more than a vehicle for Right-wing Zionist propaganda. The sad thing however is that whole generations of American and European kids have watched this film, and that it has in a way surely formed their views on "Arabs" in the early stages of their lives. It that way the film has maybe reached it's goal. Another real sad thing for me was to see Fassbinder's muse Hanna Schygulla (who starred in some of his masterpieces like "Die ehe der Maria Braun" and "Lili Marleen") in a minor role in this film. I can only hope she needed the money to pay the rent of her villa...
300 (2006)
Great SFX and CGI but Etnocentrist, racist and historically incorrect.
OK, this film has great battle scenes, SFX is good, CGI is terrific...but the story??? This film will appeal to lovers of computer games and flashy MTV clips, but not to people who want some content and depth in a movie. Speaking of content one can't possibly ignore the Etnocentrist and racist underpinnings of this Movie. 300 noble Greeks, members of "the great Western civilization" take on "barbaric, blood-thirsty Persians". By the way, can anyone ignore that the timing of the release is not innocent? While the Bush-administration is pushing for sanctions against Iran, making plans to bomb Iran... In 1939 Stalin ordered Sergeï Eisenstein to make "Alexander Nevsky", a film in which brave Russian troops defeated blood-thirsty Teuton (German) Knights...this film needed to straighten national identity and cultural cohesion in the wake of a possible German invasion of the USSR. Nonetheless "Alexander Nevsky" is a remarkable, great epic masterpiece, but one should call it what it is: a propaganda film. This is true to the same degree for "300" (although "Alexander Nevsky" is despite it's age far superior). 300 is a propaganda film, and it IS psychological warfare against Iran, please remind when watching and enjoy!