oscarlawren Reviews

McBain (1991)

Prequel to Expendables

[5 October 2015]

Typically period-movie, not very good, not exceedingly bad, clear division between the good and the bad. Story about a handful of mercenaries supplying revolution to south- America. Simon Bolivar and Rambo in one package. Anyone familiar with the Stallone vehicle The Expendables will recognize the similarities between this picture and the Expendables fighting El Presidente. This might be called the unauthorized prequel so to say without the bravado and speed of the Stallone picture. Not very uplifting, cliché-filled, but worth every teenage penny, if you like the thrill to be fast and easy and like the old style novel with torn banknotes and honour-killings. I lacked the patience to concentrate dully on this movie, harvested from a rumble sale. Not memorable and soon forgotten. Nicer period-character is Mrs Fletcher from Murder she Wrote. Thrown in the problem of US POW's after withdrawing from Nam, solving it with an ambush and killing th bad guys.

Columbus Circle (2012)

Wortwhile, in the line of Hitckcockian Form..

[8/10 · 11 June 2013]

A movie about the power of guilt and shame, and the resolute and ruthless exploitation of an obsessed person, who is mentally very vulnerable. This picture is an attempt at shooting a picture in the best tradition of Hitchcock' Dial M for murder. But here no hysteria, no black suspense and no gallant gestures a la Rex Harrison. An interesting movie despite the nasty reviews the picture got in the Netherlands.. Still, the characters of the policemen are rather sketchy, and the helpful janitor is not as homely as one believes. So, what is the problem with this movie? I think it is lack of passion, Hitchcock submerged passion in a polar sea, yet it was fiery. Too many crooks and vileness behind sociable masks are not good for the popularity of a work of art. And that, 19th century writers already knew. Anyway, still an enjoyable picture..

Battleship (2012)

Entertainment

[6/10 · 21 February 2013]

This picture builds on the many years of SciFi entertainment and borrows its metaphors seemingly from cult-series as StarTrek.. The main idea of the storyline is that the earth is nothing but the coast of pioneer America. And it is visited by alien Conquistadores after the poor Indians, us, stupid earthlings, and people like civil servants, scientists and NASA, have sent an invitation to the Planet G. So then the game can begin.. The hero in this fantasy is a lost, bright kid, who knows his Homer. This kid is on the loose, but saved by joining the navy, and he learns humility in due process, fighting aliens. The aliens appear to be modeled on Klingons crossed with Transformers, who fly in bug-like vehicles. Locusts? So, the plague is here. But hey, we stupid humans send out the invitation to come and eat at our table. Nothing better than the old Greek Hybris. Hey surprise, from deep-space they have come... Hence we need to be saved by drastic measures, courage, panache, old veterans and an old battleship. Unbelievable..? Well.. These creatures who can fly great distances haven't caught the earth on their radar before. Anyway, lots of fairytale stuff but amusing movie. Great for the kids, because no sex, no lap-dancing, no F-words, only square decent americanship. Entertainment for the boys on a rainy day, with gungho and geronimo, and some pumping of the adrenaline. Rihanna included.

The Book of Eli (2010)

Memory

[8/10 · 18 February 2013]

The appeal of this picture, and some reviews testify to that, is that it contains familiar elements from our culture. It furthermore builds on doomsday-scenarios which have come into cultural existence since the invention of the Atomic bomb. Many a SciFiand horror movie in the fifties was filled with fantasies from after a nuclear strike. A more impressive cinematic attempt was On the Beac, after a book by Neville Shute. Nuclear destruction is the background of The book of Eli. In this movie it is referred to as the big Flash. It came about because of religious zealotry and the source was the Bible. Hence Eli finds himself surrounded by a culture of the depraved, a.o. cannibals or shakers. The horrors of hunger, famine and rape are generously scattered throughout this picture, with a wink of the eye when Eli and his companion meet an old crazy couple in the desert.. These horrors of famine belong to our romantic fantasies and narratives. Already in the 19th century they appealed to man's more primitive states of consciousness, take f.e. Gericault suggestive painting Raft of the Medusa. Our times and age are luckily not often haunted by stories about the recently shipwrecked who have eaten their companions. Culture is just one call from a cell phone away. And who can get lost with GPS-tracking? So the nuclear destruction is mainly the suggestive backdrop of the story. The hero in this movie is Eli, or Denzel Washington, the heroines are a blind woman and her daughter, slaves of the villain Carnegie, without any fine-lining. The magical has been rationally taken from the evil side by the story-writer, testifying to his solid modernity. He glosses over he magic, whereas in most man-eating cultures, eating the other was also gaining or submitting the other's qualities and powers, chewing the other was an act of superiority. So the plot is this: Carnegie is trying to find The book, and is desiring to use it to enslave a greater number of people.. Not just a village. This story builds on Rousseau's and Voltaire's perceptions about the social relevance of religion. Carnegie sees religion as a tool to structure civilization and control the ignorant. That is it? Religion, for dominating the dumb in a Nouveau Kansas, or Thugtown reborn...? This scenery has been put up to clarify the violent hunt for the Book of Eli. What we see is therefore a familiar landscape, a villainous gang not on a horse going for the gold, but rogues on bikes going for a rare book, serving Carnegie, the book-collector who is hoping to complete his education to power.. But Eli is in the way, he also refuses to stay, but he possesses the desired object. What ensues is this: a struggle, battles, and people get killed brutally.. Heads and hands are chopped off. A variation of the hunt for the treasure? Well, on the psychological level you have the archetypes of the warrior-sage, Eli, and the wicked king, Carnegie. That is truly a biblical motive. And then there is the metaphysical element, yes too.. This picture addresses several topics and that makes it interesting. Really interesting. This is foremost, I think, the story about a man who follows his prophetic nature and the voice in his head who tells him to go west. His inner compass tells him where to go. No budging from this road and inspiration. As a result Eli travels across America, a journey which takes 30 years to complete. And during that time Eli reads and rereads his bible, meditates on it and acts with great concentration. From a book, not condoned by the culture as that time knows it. Near the end of his story Elis surrenders his book, but continues to go west, accompanied by a young girl. In the last 20 minutes or so, the story unravels and is structured along a more optimistic viewpoint. Eli has come to rest among group of real men, evolved civilized humanoids, set on restoring civilization.. Eli's contribution to that project is the Bible he memorized. Eli returns the Scriptures to the world not as the physical object, but as something he took to his heart. And Eli has memorized the Scriptures on more than one level. To sum up the last sketchy part of the picture: Eli is hurt, without the book, saved by the Lord, helped by the girl, heading West after the struggle with Carnegie and his men. His destination is the prison of Alcatraz, and there he comes to meet his optimistic destiny. And recites the Bible from memory. We are shown in suggestive seconds that the prison has become a storehouse for culture, the prison thus as a paradise, the home of Alcatraz Press, whereas the world in general has become the prison. What becomes of the vile king Carnegie and his new book? The bible Eli surrendered to Carnegie is a peculiar book without words, a book with punctuated dots, braille for the blind. The irony is that the blind woman, Carnegie's slave, who might read it, states she no longer can read it. She tells Carnegie it is too long since she has read these kind of books, and then she smiles.. Only a blind woman can give Carnegie access to the Book of Eli and she denies him that access. His project to construct a new slave-state on the Book of Eli is therefore doomed. This is not a mad max picture but a story about inspiration that is self-threatening. Perhaps not a great work of art, but still with many complex strands, containing worthwhile ideas. Expanding these ideas dramatically was a hell of a job, but still a worthwhile project for those who want to look beyond their obvious ideas about entertainment and dashing narrative structures. Or: Is your life's inspiration and inner voice a 30 year's travel worth?

Tears of the Sun (2003)

being good means choosing not the easy out

[8/10 · 25 February 2011]

This is a movie in which Bruce Willis is not only fighting the odds again as many other of his pictures, f.e. last man standing that contains a lot of meaningless gang-violence. But this more. First there is reality. This is a first and foremost a picture about the gruesomeness of ethnic cleansing, a movie about soldiers raping and mutilating men and women in sadistic fashion. It is also a picture about betrayal, out of fear and hatred, it is an invitation to challenge your thoughts about saving yourself at the cost of many others. Choices must be made, we learn, and they can be intolerably naive, because people bent on murder do not listen to reason, but they can also be wise, recklessly brave and show us valor. This picture is surprisingly good to be hones. Willis plays his role in a subdued fashion and his co-actors are performing in an admirable fashion. The underlying message is worth memorizing: evil can only spread and grow if good people do not act. But doing the right thing might a a dangerous thing. However in the end that saves the lives of people.

Circle of Iron (1978)

Fairytale zen

[3/10 · 23 January 2011]

This movie is a fan-movie, f standing for fanatic about martial arts and Bruce Lee. Yes, anyone interested in the craftsmanship of Bruce Lee and his perspective on filmmaking and the interaction between martial arts and zen spirituality should see this picture. Not because it is a good movie, alas it is not. There are many reasons for shunning this picture, f.e. the cardboard acting, but to keep an optimistic view of things, it is still a great movie for a a juvenile afternoon. Thirteen to sixteen years old will be enchanted as there is battling, philosophy, sex, a hint of nudity and there are bad and good guys. The acting is taken care of by seventies types who still have more hair than style and character. Good old boring days, rampant with clichés. Carradine is a blind sage. A Homer of Kung Fu, seeing without seeing, so to say. Is that all/ Well, I could really enjoy watching Star Trek in the seventies, when I was an innocent youngster, and I still do enjoy old shows and pictures. Sometimes. Let us call that nostalgia. The silent flute or Circle of Iron is a video show for adolescents. Anyone seriously interested in Zen should leave this film where it is. That is to say rest it on the shelves of the video-shop or the library, or where you might find it. Those that really go for Kung Fu and Martial arts should look for the latest Hong Kong movies, such as judge Dee, a surprisingly good movie for Asian cinema. It is a better deal and will bring enjoyment.

Bad Cop (2009 Video)

cultural community picture

[5/10 · 23 January 2011]

It is hard to review a picture which has been made from dedication towards picturing the reality of the Latino-American population. This movie plays the border where Spanish and American culture meet, the chaos erupts, the feelings are brushing American clichés. NO, it is not a good movie, but an honest attempt at it.. no it is not amateurism, but let us say pre-professional. The scenario is.. not very good. The lines and the characters are often paper like, tinsel, and yet I kept wondering how this tale would evolve. The collision of two cultures and the fact that it really is partially a Spanish- speaking movie makes it interesting. Carradine.. good? No, not really, but still a moving tribute from a director at the beginning. An apprentice-film really. If it is worthwhile to stick to his cause future can only tell. Not a superb beginning, but one though. The female characters are sometimes worthwhile, the bulk of the cast is too camera-consciousness, and forgot the story once in a while to follow their idea about the narrative.

Handsome Harry (2009)

Tiresome Harry, social identity versus persona

[6/10 · 28 December 2010]

This film sets off with a pensive mood, as the leading character, repair shop-owner Harry is being teased and a waitress invites him to have more intimate contact with her. Harry seems an earnest man, reflective, he is wanting to do the honest thing. So it seems. He refuses the offer to sleep with the wife of his friend, a Navy sailor, who uses tablets to enhance his love-life. Harry is really a gentleman that is conforming to the southern old style, a beau for the belles. But as he is thrown out and the wife of his former friend accompanies him, as she is leaving her man, they consume their relationship more intimately. But as the movie progresses the story turns into something totally different. Be forewarned, this is not a thriller but a movie about Harry's betrayal of his male lover. The hinting is carefully done, but after an hour the director goes wild on his narrative organ, throws his registers wide open and the film becomes a whimpering tragedy about masculine love. It all fell into places then, the predilection for men in uniform, the warm mates. And then comes the revelation about the crime, which is not a crime, but more of a Dionysian frenzy evoked by a lover who wishes to destroy his lover to avoid his own detection. So this is the story about a sacrifice.

And in order not to shame his family, and not undermine his vocation in the direction of priesthood, Harry incites his comrades and bashes the hand of his lover, maiming him and ending thereby his career. The victim remains fascinated by his lover, he keeps tracing him throughout his life and career. If this is not Identity-stalking for you, what is? And there is one other peculiar storyline which of course is typical for the gay community: gay becomes priest to avoid being outed. Harry wanted to be a priest. He tells a friend that he did not become a priest because the chaplain on the ship kept combing his hair when he told him about his vocation and longing for the Lord, the man did not turn around. So Harry submitted his cause, and the chaplain leaves because he had an appointment with higher quarters, no not Heaven, but the Navy-captain. This has put Harry off for good.. It is just another saddening fact in a totally confusing biography? So Harry decides, as he is no priest stuff as a Navy-sparky, he will drop the idea of becoming a priest. So much for his higher idealism. The name of the movie is Handsome Harry but it should be called Tiresome Harry.. This is a tired movie about tired people who confuse their lust and fascination for love. The title is misleading the public by positing itself as a thriller and being a story about guilt. Harry doesn't feel any real guilt, he is glad he has escaped detection by his mates. It is a sorry no-sorry movie which should be better labeled for viewers. A sad coming out, but not-coming out story, as Harry flees to where no one knows him. This movie will be appreciated by the gay community, but for viewers that go for crime and straight male-female relationship and romance it is a saddening waste of time. The depth is all fabrication and the tragedy is no real tragedy at all, but confusion of mind and a story of sheer cowardliness. I felt sorry for the waitress..

Silent Sam (2009)

cliché, camp or just bad, bad movie

[1/10 · 26 November 2010]

The story behind this movie contains certainly interesting aspects worth developing, but as soon as the bad guy starts fondling the breasts of a lady-cop and giving her el-shocks, with a lousy snitch watching her, you know this is horror for teenagers and it will be bad movie. The car chases are unbelievably fake and simply PC-racing stuff while Sam is on a killing spree. B-film? No C- or D-film with lousy acting, predictable lines and cliché-characters. Not worth giving a minute or your time. That is if you do not like this kind of stuff, a cafeteria catering you violence and simplistic lust with no brain and interesting people attached to the story.

Catwoman (2004)

Dancing aggression

[2/10 · 26 September 2010]

Catwoman is now part of the divx empire with floating borders, managed by supermarkets, DVD-rentals, and more ephemeral torrents and watch-on-line sites. Is it still worth your time to sit down and see this picture on your flat-screen, your PC, media-center or wait for a sequel? Well, this movie was modeled on the pedestal of a famous comic, Batman, and despite the fine cast and the good camera-work this picture seems even less convincing after six years. But hey, anyone who wants to see a beautiful power-woman will not gain himself a raw deal by buying or renting this picture. Its much, much better than the sleazy Youtube do-it- yourself seduce stuff. Anyway, after Avatar and Superman hit the box-office you should be careful as to your expectations regarding animation. It is not up to present day accomplishment and standards. Why is it, that despite the casting, this picture never became a hit? The actors are great. Sharon Stone is a very cold marble-iced beauty-queen, Laurel Hedare, who is really the boss of Hedare cosmetics, while her husband, George, is not much of a real man. He is CEO of Hedare beauty products. George Hedare is being played by Lambert Simon and is a whithering bore who fascinates young women. It turns out he wants them brainless and not to toy with, but he goes out and eats with them and watch boring ballet stuff. These women really do follow this 'ego-maniac'. And he wants to show them off like his car with driver, flashing the message, I am a great virile guy. He doesn't seem to be, at least Laurel claims. Well, perhaps he is a 'gay sandwich', who simply married to Laurel who is dissatisfied with life (and with her sex-life I assumed after hearing some of her remarks). Share stone is acting a person who is a living statue that kills anyone who gets in her way. Still a beautiful woman, this George Hedare cannot tell a woman when he sees one.

But the real heroine of this picture is Patience, alias Catwoman, who is played by Hale Berry. She won an academy award for her leading role in Monster's Ball some time a go. The camera-work of catwoman is great, the animation is not bad, but the heroine was badly served by the scenario-writer Rebeck who mixed in nineteenth century Gothic with Stargate philosophy, Batman's tongue in the cheek humor, and a sort of Mary Jane Parker obsession, for as Catwoman's lover Tom is being threatened Catwoman rescues him. She is at times a nice and compulsory girl, who wants to please others, can't stand up for herself, a real do-gooder. At the opening of the picture a voice reveals Patience was killed. It later turns out for being at the wrong time and at the wrong place. But as the picture starts we know she is still very much alive, well, alive as a dualistic personality, who is caring in a very careless manner. Catwoman's adagio is freedom after the image of modern witchery. She was really made after the image Dion Fortune, a worshiper of Pan, projected into culture as a high-priestess of boundless individuality, with a strong tactile sense and sensuality. Making love to Catwoman hurts, Tom finds out in this picture, his back shows scratches. The philosophy of the makers have turned Catwoman really into a picture that belongs to a period of the last decade, and predating the financial crises. In the decade gone by ethics were merely serving our lust for freedom, or our freedom to lust. So, in the end catwoman does not care a damn about her Tom, but only wants her freedom to do good and to do bad, whenever she likes. That is hardly a program to win the hearts and minds of the viewers. Anyone who is been in a true relation knows that whimsical does not work and annoys eventually to the point of decay. The writer of this story Theresa Rebeck forgot her reality-basics. And the guy shooting the fights had to much choreography in his mind. Well, I like Margot Fonteyn and have been watching Ballanchine, and saw Rudi van Dantzig and Hans van Maanen companies in theaters, but this was too way too much for me, a girl dancing her blows. Is that serious..? Lethal weapon 4 with its martial arts altercations was more convincing in this respect. But boys and girls, if you like romance, virility, lust and beauty served on a plate, it is yours, if you are still going take this picture from a shelf in a DVD-shop. Okay, it is food on a paper plate, you get a bit of burger chewing and no high brow stuff, but on the good side: your not out on the streets doing other mischief. I think it is a shame the writer did not do Hale a better service; Rebeck should read up on her Aristotle, his Poetics and Rherotics, and about mixing improbable story lines and the plausibility of characters. In the end I thought Stone would be a marvelous villain in a new Dalmatians picture.. Improbably bad, lustful languishing bad... just beautiful. In the end Catwoman went for freedom.. a message that liked to imply the idea of a sequel, but also presented the message that Catwoman was perhaps just another egomaniac who goes for sex in the city, one night stands, and self-gain. That really killed the picture and Hale's projection of more sensitive character parts.