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Reviews
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Off we go to Hogwarts!
MY RATING- 6.3
The mov has just premiered here in Portugal, but I'm not of those maniacs who went in the first day. I simply waited quietly a week til the hyped calmed down.
I heard the cast and Chris Columbus saying this one was better than the first, bla bla but when I went to see it I thought `Are you kidding me?' `D ya think this is better than the first one?' I felt it was similar to what happened with `Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom', like trying to be a lot better than the first one. More special effects, more action scenes, and the story was left behind!
Well we still have great acting by the kids (I believe they have a high IQ!) and from the rest of the cast including Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Richard Harris (God rest his soul), Robbie Coltrane, and also Kenneth Branagh, who is a great add as the narcisist Lockhart.
Yet what is missed? Maybe the magic that the first one had, the sense of discovery of new places. Yeah, I know we have here the chamber of secrets, yet the whole mov is almost like an idiotic cat and mouse thing after the right enemy, much a la Scooby Doo. The question is- does it entertain? Is it interesting? My answer is YES, of course any kid will be pleased, and the fans will be even more happy. Now does it work in cinema? My sincere answer is NOPE. Maybe they were trying to make it similar to the book, but 2 hours and half sitting on theatre is a privilege only some flicks can have. Harry Potter is not that interesting! Maybe movs like `Ben Hur'!--
Finally I'd like to say `Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' had some success here in Portugal, we also have a lot of J.K Rowling's readers. I'm not one of them, yet I have to confess this is a good entertainment for kids. It's simply not my style
Ed Wood (1994)
Sarcastic, inteligent and moving view on Ed Wood
MY RATING- 8.0
To begin, it's a well-aclaimed mov here in Portugal and we have some Ed
Wood
moviegoers (thank god there isn't a lot!)
It's a damn well made mov, created when Burton had finished his personal
Batman Returns, this one on the life of Edward Wood Junior, the worst
director ever.
Well I never watched a mov from Ed, and to be honnest, I don't intend to
spend my money doing so. This mov spare us the torture of it, and Burton
uses again his strange sense of humour to tell the story of a guy who was
convinced that his movs were excellent. In a way, the message is given by
Vincent D'Onofrio in a delicious cameo as Orson Welles- we must go through
with things, even if they're bad as Ed's movs.
As Ed, Johny Depp goes quite well, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker as the
girlfriend who leaves him, Bill Murray (ultrafunny!), Patricia Arquette
(very sweet), Lisa Marie Juliet Landau and Jeffrey Jones as the
omnipresent
Criswell. But the real surprise is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, the
horror
star from 30's Dracula. Under his heavy makeup, we really forget we're
seeing an actor, he truly looks like Bela! What a performance! Impossible
not to sympathise with him, he even won the Oscar (which is quite rare in
a
Tim Burton mov).
Overall, this is a quite entertaining doc mov, and a interesting change on
the director's career, that will please fans and nonfans.
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
A fine war/commandos film
MY RATING- 8.1
This was a blockbuster about 12 murderers who have the chance to redeem theirselves training hard to destroy a nazi castle. Their briefing man and chief is the tough major Lee Marvin. I absolutely love his scenes with John Cassavetes! The mov is really thrilling, not only the training part but also that brilliant climax of the attack to the castle. We actually struggle as they in the hard training sequences. With an all star cast- Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy and a little and brilliant performance by Telly Savalas. Well, I adore war movs, but also commandos type, like this one and the castle part looks like the game Commandos.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Light Marylin vehicle
MY RATING- 7.6
GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES is the mov that contains the immortal scene of Marylin singing `Diamonds are the Girls Best Friends'.
It's much more than that, it's a light romantic comedy with Marylin and Jane Russel finding their ideal and millionaire husbands. Most of the action occurs in a cruise in the Atlantic also with old Charles Coburn delivering good moments with both girls. If we compare this one to SEVEN YEAR ITCH or BUS STOP we see that they're obviously superior, yet somehow this one became famous probably to the color of Marylin's hair. In fact I conly count one or two really funny sequences, while other Marylin's movs have non-stop gags. Yet watch it, if you want to enjoy beautiful Marylin and Jane and some nice mov!
Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
A fine fantasy flick
MY RATING-7.4
Impossible to fail with a formula like this- A gangster is killed by his partner and the Devil gives him the chance of coming back to the world of the living in the body of a judge, to corrupt people. Paul Muni is very nice here, spoofing his own image of gangster as well as Claude Rains, who we believe is really Satan. Anne Baxter is also very sweet and young as the judge's girlfriend. Spite its age, the mov goes quite well and it's entertaining enough.
La règle du jeu (1939)
The only french mov i love
MY RATING- 7.2
I watched this mov, knowing it was called a masterpiece, but guessing that it would be boring like all french films. How wrong I was! I actually liked the style, it almost looked like some american comedies from the 30's!
Well, the major importance of the mov is social critique and the behaviour in the best families of that time and Jean Renoir manages to it well. You see for instance the character of Marcel Dalio fighting with a guy then offering him a cigarette few moments later. Attention to the symbols of the hunt for the rabbits like it would be the party. The mov simply doesn't hit me as some brit and american masterpieces. By the way, I found the actress who played Lisette very pretty too.
Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938)
An overrated propaganda mov
MY RATING- 6.2 Seen this the other day and I found it a fine propaganda vehicle that only Eisenstein can create, with long shots, quick shots, and great camera work to glorify the russian people. Of course, the objective was also to glorify their government and to advise the nazis to stand in their own land. However, I must say the mov was a bit crude and childish in some parts and characters, it's too crude to be considered a masterpiece, yet the critics always exagerate. To them I'd say `See 49th Parallel, that's an excellent propaganda mov!'.
China Seas (1935)
A nice romance-adventure flick
MY RATING- 7.1
A fairly entertaining romantic adventure with Gable having to deal with the dumb blonde Jean Harlow. She's very sexy here, and this mov helped to create the myth. Also starring Wallace Beery as the bad guy, Rosalind Russel as the old Gable's sweetheart, and a nice little performance by Lewis Stone.
The mov contains some crude and unecessary violence like in the scene some colossal machines crush poor chinese fellows.
L'Atalante (1934)
A boring movie!
MY RATING- a dubious 5.0
Yeah, you bet, all you french guys who think this is excellent! I found myself looking to the time in my videorecorder waiting ansiously till it finished! I know it may be naturalistic or surrealistic, yet my sincere cinematic opinion is that this is simply a bore! It's totally uncinematic, since it don't feel the mov going with a nice story to capt our attention. Just a young married couple going in a boat trip in the river and you can expect what's gonna happen- simply nothing happen! Like all french flicks! At least La Regle Du Jeu had some social critique involved. My rating is rather dubious cause of my doubts towards the quality of it. I might love this one someday when I learn more symbols or such things. In the meantime I don't have the right of give bad rating--or good rating!
Traffic (2000)
A film with a message
MY RATING- 6.6
A tough and accurate view of the drug business between the great lords, who have benefits with the misery of drugs. A great performance from Michael Douglas and Amy Irving as his wife. My personal fave is Catherine Zeta-Jones who is much more than a beautiful woman here, she's a strong-willed woman who tries to take his husband (who is guilty) out of the prison. We are treated with different points of view, by loving Douglas' ideals yet we root a little for the efforts of Zeta-Jones, knowing his husband is a real drug lord. I also loved that division (maybe a racist touch!) between black and white for drug dealing parts and color to what seems our nice world. Not a great mov, by any means, but see it if you can.
Dance of the Vampires (1967)
Nice mix of horror and comedy
MY RATING- 7.4
It's quite a bizarre mov, but after all what isn't from Polanski?
It's about two vampire killers who aren't much fearless, and they go after the trail of the vampires castle and his owner, a kind of Draculish noble count. Attention that this mov introduced the idea of homossexuality between vampires. Polanski seems having a great time directing and acting in this film, with a horror subject that he uses a lot. I also loved the older master.
There are some funny chases in the castle, but my personal fave is the ultra funny ball sequence. The redhaired girl is Sharon Tate, the poor girl who was Polanski's wife and was slaughtered by Charles Manson family in her Beverly Hills home in 1969.
Algiers (1938)
An interesting film, nothing more
MY RATING- 7.1
I watched this mov, knowing the legendary quote associated to Charles Boyer- `Come with me to Casbah'. However, that's is only a legend and he never said that in this film. This is the remake of a french mov (they say the original is the best) about Pepe Le Moko, the famous french robber hunted by the police, is brilliantly played by Charles Boyer. He has such a deep, velvet voice that I like to imitate! Hedy Lamarr is exoticly beautiful, and she matches very well with Boyer as lovers. However, I feel that the romance is not very plausible, we don't feel passion as in Casablanca, for instance. The supporting cast has a young and capable Joseph Calleia as the inspector of rotten Casbah and Gene Lockhart giving a fine but dated performance as a double-crosser. Oscar nominations for Boyer, Lockhart, Art Direction and cinematography.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Probably the best screwball comedy ever!
MY RATING- 8.4
Well I was never too keen of screwball comedies, specially the Katherine Hepburn's ones. Movs of that kind relied too much on her feminist style and I certainly didn't identify with that! This one made me change my mind, it's one of the oldest (1936) and it's some of the best. It's all about a `forgotten man' of the Depression (wonderful William Powell, he was nominated for the oscar) who is caught by rich crazy girl Irene (Carol Lombard, also nominated) to be butler of her family. The rest of the cast is simply brilliant: Alice Brady (nominated), an often forgotten lady of the 30's, who is absolutely funny in the scenes with Mischa Auer (nominated), as Carlo, her `protégé'. I was laughing a lot in his gorila scene! Also with the great Eugene Palette as the father and snobish Gail Patrick as the inteligent sister, Cornelia.
This is another gem by director Gregory La Cava, who marks his soft and inteligent flow of action here.
Get Carter (1971)
A tough and not too interesting mov
MY RATING-6.3
This is a mov I watched for only having one of the greatest actors of all time- Michael Caine. The film develops in a strange way almost in a Raymond Chandler flair but this one is set on British locations. The story turned to be a bit disapoitting at the end and it gets even more bizarre with that music! However it features one of the hottest girls of the 70's, Britt Ekland. Look at that erotic phone call made by Caine! Look also for `The Avengers' first season star Ian Hendry. Overall, a tough and almost mean mov that is not for all tastes.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
A great mix of mystery and comedy!
MY RATING- 8.8
Seen this other day! What an homage to Sherlock Holmes! It's a must to any fan of the books dying to see a faithful and 100% victorian version. It features Colin Stephens as the famous detective, in a acccurate, mysoginist personification and Colin Blakely as an amusing Watson. The cast also has Christopher Lee (one of my fave actors) as the snob Mycroft Holmes and Stanley Holloway in a small part. There's a french actress that is the Holmes only passion in life and she actually has a naked little scene! I guess the 70's permitted that-- Anyway, Billy Wilder couldn't resist putting his comic flair here, and it works surprisingly well, each scene with Stephens and Blakely is delicious. This don't get the 9 rating cause of my preference of Poirot adaptations. Yet to all Holmes fans- RENT IT NOW!
Der blaue Engel (1930)
Overrated but symbolic
MY RATING-7.8
It's what they call the Josef Von Sterberg's masterpiece and I tend to agree cause I never enjoyed too much his american efforts with Dietrich. This gets a certain genius touch on the screenplay with Lola Lola, the femme fatale who leads professor Rath (or Unrath according to the students) to self destruction. The symbols are all there with the dead bird in the cage, for instance. Jannings is simply brilliant in his part. No wonder the nazis made him the actor of the nazi fatherland. Marlene created the myth, singing `Falling In Love Again' in german preparing her way to the America. Old Hitler himself loved her! A word of advise- this gets beautiful each time we watch it!
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Another sample of the mind of Tim Burton
MY RATING- 6.7
Well, let's begin to say the attitudes and reviews towards this mov here in Portugal, were mediocre-good as it always happens with a Tim Burton mov.
I wasn't that interested in this, I only enjoyed his Batman flicks, yet the other night they had it on tv, so I couldn't miss it. In general, it's a good mov, mildly entertaining, but not the best Burton has given to us.
The starting point is, as someone has said, the parody of the old fears of 50's sfifi movs, the hysteria a la Orson Welles on alien invasion and dealing with the invaders. And Tim manages to do it well with his typical twisted view to show the hysteria that would cause an martian attack.
We see a great deal of massacre by the aliens, runaways, different views on the attacks and some funny `experiences' like Sarah Jessica Parker with a dog's body or Bondian cientist Pierce Brosnan! In fact, the way of destroying the aliens come from an old tune from Sylvia Sidney radio! What a twist! Well, the mov has so many different stars, that only a couple of them create a whole new scene. Some of them appear in almost cameos- De Vito, in a minimum role, Anette Benning, as the neohippy wife of cowboy Jack Nicholson who also stars as the U.S President. In fact, only Nicholson and Glenn Close get the status of stars. Others include Rod Steiger (one of my fave actors), the now-adored Natalie Portman, a grown up Lukas Haas (from Witness), Joe Don Baker, the old lady Sylvia Sidney (loved her in the 30's movs!), Martin Short and attention to the silent appearance of Lisa Marie (Burton's girlfriend) as the female alien. Even Tom Jones appears to sing in the new world `It's Not Unsual' after escaping with Benning in a plane! Well, maybe his presence has somekind of meaning about not being unusual that some of these days we get invaded by aliens.
Overall, it's a nice mov, it's not even the best of the director, yet a must to anyone who enjoys his mad sense of humor, like me. However i as well as many others prefer Pee Wee's Big Adventure--
Ed Wood (1994)
Sarcastic, inteligent and moving view on Ed Wood
MY RATING- 8.0
To begin, it's a well-aclaimed mov here in Portugal and we have some Ed
Wood
moviegoers (thank god there isn't a lot!)
It's a damn well made mov, created when Burton had finished his personal
Batman Returns, this one on the life of Edward Wood Junior, the worst
director ever.
Well I never watched a mov from Ed, and to be honnest, I don't intend to
spend my money doing so. This mov spare us the torture of it, and Burton
uses again his strange sense of humour to tell the story of a guy who was
convinced that his movs were excellent. In a way, the message is given by
Vincent D'Onofrio in a delicious cameo as Orson Welles- we must go through
with things, even if they're bad as Ed's movs.
As Ed, Johny Depp goes quite well, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker as the
girlfriend who leaves him, Bill Murray (ultrafunny!), Patricia Arquette
(very sweet), Lisa Marie Juliet Landau and Jeffrey Jones as the
omnipresent
Criswell. But the real surprise is Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, the
horror
star from 30's Dracula. Under his heavy makeup, we really forget we're
seeing an actor, he truly looks like Bela! What a performance! Impossible
not to sympathise with him, he even won the Oscar (which is quite rare in
a
Tim Burton mov).
Overall, this is a quite entertaining doc mov, and a interesting change on
the director's career, that will please fans and nonfans.
Poltergeist (1982)
Frightening Spielberg production
MY RATING- 6.9
It's quite a frightening mov directed by Tobe Hoper and co produced by Spielberg, thing that is visible with atempts to scare all of us. This time Spielberg challenge us with a house that has a lot of paranormal disturbances. The victims are JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson and his kids, specially the little daughter who is capturated by the ghosts.
We get really scared with some scenes in the kids' room with the alive tree attacking. We even get a pause when the ghostbusters leaded by Beatrice Straight and a midget woman appear. The final attack is particularly frightening, with all that difficulties of getting out of the house, but it can't get out of my mind the time the midget said `This house is clean'. Too early to say that, I think-- One thing that also confuded me was JoBeth Williams being so young and having already a 17 year old daughter! Overall, a nice spooky flick, but not the best of the genre.
The Conversation (1974)
Curious mov between `Godfathers'
MY RATING- 6.7
This one has been sometimes forgot in the middle of the colossal `Godfather' parts. It has a brave acting of Gene Hackman, that goes very well as Harry Caul, `the best bugger in the West Coast'. He's lonely, frightened and he pleases himself hearing his tapes many times. Sometimes the mov gets some thriller touches with Hackman being hunted, however it gets monotuous after a while and we see why the `Godfather' movs are better. Good acting by the rest of the cast Frederic Forrest, John Cazale (a favorite from Coppola), young Harrison Ford and a cameo by Robert Duvall. Not for all tastes.
Wild Rovers (1971)
One of the best westerns ever
MY RATING- 7.6
I've just watched this one last night, and it's quite an impresssive western from Blake Edwards, the king of Pink Phanter. Spite the vulgar screenplay, the characters view is fascinating, specially William Holden, without his usual and cynical presence. We really care for that middle aged cowboy and his tender friendship with the young man Ryan O'Neal. Together, they pass throw challenges after robbing a bank, including a scene with a dog, and most important the slowmotion use in the horse scene. The curious thing is that we see two different points of view: from the main characters and from the law men chasing them leaded by Karl Malden. In fact, Malden with his wife seems to be a person a bit far away from the story of the mov. The mov also stars younger Tom Skeritt and Joe Don Baker, Moses Gunn and a yelling Rachel Roberts. Pretty good western, and I'm not a western fan.
The Loved One (1965)
Strange comedy, not for all tastes
MY RATING: 6.4
I've watched this one last night on tv, and I must say its's quite an odd mov. It's a comedy, a black comedy as many say, yet it's not for all tastes since cause it contains an amount of strange characters and situations. Some good points for the presentation of the eternal rest of the loved ones and that horrid mother of Rod Steiger, who is probably the best character on the film. Also starring Robert Morse as the brit who has just arrived from London, John Gielgud as his gay uncle, a dual role for Jonathan Winters, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley and the irritating voice of Anjanet Comer. Really an mov with some importance in the 60's, but nothing special now.
The Misfits (1961)
This movie smells death!
MY RATING- 7.7
That's right, this mov smells death cause it looks really profetic of what would happen to Marylin, Monty and Gable. Gable doesn't look mature, he looks old and tired. I know that he insisted doing many of the stunt work, yet seeing him we believe why he died little time after. Marylin looks more from another world , the scene when she screams calling `murderers' is as if she was incriminating those who leaded her to suicide. Some fresh air comes from Monty, yet his pensive character is profetic how he would die few years later. In some few words, the title says all, it's about three misfits, that try find his place in the world. Psychological drama, that is overpassed by the master `Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf'. Also nice cinematography, good directing by John Huston as well as excellent secondaries- Thelma Rhitter an Eli Wallach.
`How do you find the way back in the dark?' -You won't find, poor Marylin--
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
`Conjugate me a verb'
MY RATING-7.3
I've seen this some days ago, and i must say at first i wasn't very interested in those quick and cynical dialogues between Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster, but then I realised the story was deliciously evil and I kept myself stick to the screen. What a screenplay! It was made by North By Northwest's Ernest Lehman and it gives us an accurate view of corruption and use of blackmail in the press. Curtis is excellent as the `cookie full of arsenic' as well as Lancaster in an ususual `villain' role as the obsessive caring brother and reputed press writer. My favorite line between the two is when Curtis says `No, J.J not even by a full column--` and then stops. Attention also to the excelent cinematography b/w that films the city as well as the nice jazzy score by Elmer Bernstein.
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
Nice crime-musical
MY RATING- 7.3
This one is a curious mov made when James Cagney had already left his crime movs. It also stars the popular Doris Day as the singer who is sponsored by him. Cagney gets his crime movs touches to create a gangster who loves Doris Day in his way. In the end, she'll stay with Cameron Mitchell. I never liked too much Day, cause of her image too `goodie goodie' yet she proves to be a good actress here. She sings some fine songs like one of my faves-`Shakin the Blues Away'.