steven-112 Reviews

Urbania (2000)

Affecting

[9/10 · 9 April 2003]

What starts out as an art house experiment turns into an affecting morality tale that draws genuine concern for the principal players dilemma. Will the prey become the hunter.

Futterman is great but the fantasy sequences get a little incoherent near the end but it wraps it up nicely.

Dream with the Fishes (1997)

Bizarrely Affecting Movie with Dreamy Music

[8/10 · 9 April 2003]

A bizarre little jejune movie with seemingly detestable characters somehow works as it draws you into caring for the principal players deficiencies. Like peeling an onion, both sweet and sour.

Arquette is on top form in a more serious role for once. Excellent performances from the entire cast but what really impressed was the wonderful soundtrack, one of the most offbeat and eclectic ever compiled and now a favourite of mine.

The Boyfriend School (1990)

Funny Face

[7/10 · 9 April 2003]

Absolutely charming, an old school romance that would never see the light of day in the noughties.

Full of genuinely funny moments, particularly from Shelley Long chastising her infant on the dangers of sticking fingers in sockets or eating oil covered bolts in a non-chalont manner. Leads look great and have the timing for comedy. Jamie Gertz never fails to charm.

Funny, romantic, inspiring and beautiful, says this soppy old romantic.

Apartment Zero (1988)

A Rare Breed

[10/10 · 6 February 2001]

Apartment Zero is a rare breed of film that manages to hit all the right buttons with apparent ease. It is highly erotic, violent, sad, hilarious, scary and fun without going to extremes. Not a single kiss or touch is made in flirtation, not a single act of violence graphically shown. It is these subtleties that make it all so effective, so seductive and so frightening.

As Hitchcock said, "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." It is Donovan's superb script and direction coupled with the exemplary performances not only from the two leads but the supporting cast that makes it all come together as a highly engaging piece.

Two versions of the film exist and it is Donovan's re-edit for video that is the more effective of the two with some of the more overtly Homo-erotic and violent scenes cut to add more ambiguity and mystery to the characters. An absolutely fantastic soundtrack fits the locations and changes of pace perfectly.

A frustrated housewife, bi-sexual hunk, transvestite longing for a hero, hilariously tragic alcoholic sisters and misanthropic ex-pat all think their prayers are answers when Jack (or is it?) comes to live at Apartment Zero. Little do they know what evil lurks in the hearts of men!

A lot more fun could have been had with the plot giving even more suspense by playing on the theories of the apartment tenants over the identity of the murderous tenant. But as stands, probably my all time favourite film.

Maschenka (1987)

Nabokov would be proud!

[10/10 · 6 February 2001]

A totally engaging screen adaptation of the Nabokov novel of the same name (subsequently re-named "Mary"), Maschenka is all about the beauty of memories.

Cary Elwes gives one of the best performances of his career (before he sold out to Hollywood) as the young Ganin, a Russian émigré coming to terms with his new life in Berlin.

Our young friend's drab existence is transformed when he learns that his first love is moving into his apartment block and sets him off on a trip down memory lane. But was it all as magical as he remembers, or is it his memory comforting him with images of better days of yore?

An outstanding cast also includes one of the greatest British character actors in the form of Freddie Jones as a washed up old poet desperate to join family in France. A colourful group of tenants in the building are played to perfection by a largely European cast.

A highly emotional film that tugs at the heart as much as it tickles the funny bone, Maschenka is truly faithful to its source material. Directed with skill and an understanding of the text, Maschenka features stunning a blend of stunning summer locations and grim industrial modernism. Accompanied by a soundtrack so effective that you wouldn't know it was there.

If you liked the recent adaptation of The Luzhin Defense, you'll LOVE Maschenka.