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mrpinbert
The watcher observes, the fog collapses, an event resolves.
A theory becomes a fact...
What is the truth?
Tell me, if you know.
And I will not believe you.
-Trevor Goodchild (Æon Flux)
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An error has ocurred. Please try againThe bottom titles are usually movies that I have seen recently and might get a different spot in the future.
Reviews
The World Is a Window: Making 'The Colour of Pomegranates' (2011)
Only good because of it's subject matter
It could have been better. What should have been a good doc for fans of the film, The Colour of Pomegranates, unfortunately only turns out to be mediocre.
Allot of it is ruined by speakers whose grasp of the English language is barely audible. The sound of their voice could also have been improved during the recording, or in post production.
Made it unfortunately hard to enjoy.
It also does contain some interesting info on the behind the scenes politics of filmmaking in the SU. And
However it's still interesting for fans of the film and worth checking out. Just make sure you have your finger on the volume button.
Permanent Vacation (1980)
I almost want to give it an 8
Arg! I almost want to give this movie an 8.
But the thing is, although there are interesting parts, it is also often very dull.
I could see what he was going for but too often I felt that the scenes, although interesting and fun, were lacking in depth.
I did enjoy it overall but it was also a little hard to sit through.
This was my first Jarmusch and I am looking forward to watching more. It felt appropriate because Sunday they're screening his 2nd feature at a local theater.
It did have well directed scenes, and some felt very trance-like. The main actor is not fantastic but good enough, he does show acting talent so I'm curious if I'll see him in something again.
Heart of a Dog (2015)
Overall pretty good
What attracted me to go watch this is that it seemed more like a feature length essay video, which it was.
The images are quite spellbinding and the narration is overall well written and pleasant to listen to.
I found the first 30 minutes completely captivating and put me into an introspective mood.
Then something happened that I can't quite explain. But the movie just completely lost my interest. I think that might be due to it dwelling for too long on the same sentiment. I was afraid that I would suddenly grow to hate this movie even though at first I was quite captivated.
Then, thankfully, it turned a new leaf and I was captivated once more for the last 40/30 minutes.
It is poignant, emotionally charged and quite beautiful to look at. But it did only have a few moments that really stood out for me.
A favorite of this year for sure. But definitely only a lower ranking favorite for me overall, and a movie I will most likely only re-watch once.
Il grido (1957)
A good film that is also not very interesting up until the end.
A local theater is currently showing an Antonioni Exhibition and doing a retrospective of several of his films.
Although I am familiar from film studies with this period of Italian cinema I had not yet seen any Italian Neo-Realist films, or any Antonioni films for that matter.
The film starts of well with some decent drama but quickly evolves into a meandering tale. Throughout the film I often found myself on the verge of boredom, thankfully Aldo's encounters with different women kept me still somewhat entertained. The existentialist themes of this story are not lost on me but I did find this somewhat of a chore to sit through.
I only really put together the films themes in my head after watching it. So it did leave me thinking but not very much.
This is a film I could only recommend to someone that is actually interested in this period of Italian cinema and this particular director. A solid film but nothing spectacular. I followed it up with watching L'Eclisse for the first time a couple of days later, which I enjoyed a great deal better.
L'eclisse (1962)
A thoughtful and entertaining reflection on the meaninglessness of life.
At first i was quite annoyed with the ending of this movie. I wanted to write of the ending as a "pretentious" ending to an already meandering film.
Upon further reflection I did realize that the ending had a very specific purpose, to punctuate the core theme of this film.
We follow the woman Vittoria. She ends a relationship with Riccardo, but can't exactly explain to him why she doesn't love him anymore. She goes to see her mother at the stock exchange. Her mother gambles with money at the stock exchange in order to avoid living in poverty ever again like she used to when growing up. Vittoria claims not to really care about money. While at the stock exchange Vittoria meets money broker Piero, he is attracted and throughout the film aims to pursue her. Vittoria never quite manages to relate with Piero and dodges him whenever he tries to kiss her. Yet she eventually falls for his charms. She seems however fully aware for most of the time that her feelings are only be a flight of fancy.
L'Eclisse is the story of a person that never feels like she can connect with other people or the world as a a whole and is a carefully crafted examination of these feelings.
The reason I give it such high praise, yet do not rate it higher than an 8. Is because for one this movie, although very well shot and acted, was quite a bore on this first viewing and because of its meandering, small on dialogue nature, I only managed to put together what it was about couple of hours after my viewing. So for most of the time I was somewhat annoyed, especially near the ending which I at first thought was just meaningless drivel.
It is quite funny how my opinion of a film can change so much in the span of a few hours. Perhaps I will rate it higher on an eventual re-watch sometime in the future.
Love (2015)
A unique and extraordinary experience.
If there is one thing that i can say with certainty about "Love" is that I can safely recommend it to anyone that is interested in Erotic Cinema. Watch it at the theater, in 3D if possible.
"Love" is very much unlike any other film going experience that I have ever had, and I am not a stranger to films that show nudity and sex.
Applying 3D to this picture was an excellent choice. It makes both watching the "action" and experiencing what is going through the main character's mind more immersive.
I have not seen such a powerful portrayal of a troubled young man since "Taxi Driver", one of my favorite movies.
"Electra", the main character's love interest, is also well written and acted. The depth of her character and her flaws are also deeply rooted in the story and its themes.
There is a poster of "Taxi Driver" hanging on the wall of the room of the main character and I think that "Love", like "Taxi Driver", has the potential to become a film that will be studied for the ages to come.
The 3D was good but I think it could have been slightly better.
The only negative aspect that I can think of are that the sex scenes did occasionally become repetitive somewhere halfway, but only sometimes.
The Terror (1963)
Deserving of a Better Fate
This movie deserves to be restored and re-released. I unsuspectingly bought the DVD that I own for 50 cents at a flea market, a great bargain! Sadly the print used for this DVD release was very badly deteriorated. Even with that sad I still thought it was a beautiful looking film and I would love to see a version of higher quality.
The story is not very original, the plot elements are very clearly borrowed from the stories by Edgar Allen Poe, but the story was still pretty entertaining and the cast does a pretty good job, especially Boris Karloff.
The DVD that I own was released under the eXtreme label by Dutch FilmWorks and World Wide Cinema. Avoid this one, it is of a terrible quality.
True Romance (1993)
A fun story with a somewhat anticlimactic final shootout.
The plot is good, although it sometimes moves a little too close too the edge of believability. The characters are fun and very Tarantino, the cast does a great job fleshing them out even when they only have a small part.
I also want to note the catchy and memorable score by Hans Zimmer that lends the film an upbeat and airy tone that fits the mentality of the two main characters and also sometimes forms a perfect contrast against the darker, more violent and bloody scenes. This early screenplay by Tarantino contains many of the fun "tarantinoizms" that make his movies so much fun!
Overall Tony Scott has done a good job adapting the screenplay.
One of my main problems with the film is that the final shootout Is a bit anticlimactic. The characters simply stand in a room and shoot at each other. This scene could have used some more suspense and style. Also the relationship between Clarence and Alabama was sometimes, like the plot of this movie, too close too the edge of believability.
*Spoilers* I also want to make special note of the scene where Alabama is almost beaten to death by one of the mafiosi. It was very difficult to watch not only because of the emotionally intense and graphic violence, but also because this scene was excruciatingly long, with little "funny" scenes in between of Clarence driving to the hotel with not a care in the world, unknowing of the horror that is taking place in the hotel room.
Adieu au langage (2014)
Occasionally an interesting 3D experiment, doesn't really have much else to offer.
I will mention before I start this review that sadly my experience was greatly hampered by a technical issue with the subtitles, I am not a french speaker but have watched movies with subtitles all my life. During the film the subtitles would regularly become blurry and hard to read. Because of that I found myself playing catch-up to everything that was being said.
Adieu au Langage/A Goodbye to Language features a couple of interesting 3D tricks, and I sure would invite another filmmaker to tackle a more ambitious experimental 3D film.
The couple of times these shots where featured in the film it sure made me wonder about how 3D could possibly be used as another element to add to the cinematic language, the same way music, editing and color have in the past.
Because of the technical problems with the subtitles I just might go watch this movie a second time.
Anyway for now my opinion is that, outside of a little bit of cool experimentation with 3D, this film was just people waxing philosophically. Often in the nude while, of course, smoking cigarettes.
Chappie (2015)
It has some flaws but is also fun, thoughtful and touching
Is it similar to Blomkamps previous works, you bet. But on it's own "Chappie" is in many ways a very accomplished movie.
First of all it is fun to watch, it contains some riveting action scenes and the effects work is great.
The movie had allot of entertaining character dynamics, especially with the crew of gangsters that unfortunately get their hands on "Chappie" after he is "born". The acting form the members of "Die Antwoord" was pretty bad but didn't ruin the movie going experience at all.
It was really cool to see how Chappie is affected by his interactions with different people. He tries to stay loyal to his creator but is also manipulated into doing bad things by the gangsters and there is so much more going on there.
An extra note goes to the score which was a collaboration by Hans Zimmer with the members of "Die Antwoord".
Inherent Vice (2014)
Confusing plot, still worth a watch.
I was looking forward to watching this because I have not seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie yet. I am not disappointed but I was leaving the theater somewhat conflicted.
On the one hand the movie contained allot of separate scenes that I really enjoyed, the cast was strong and it had really good cinematography and contained some memorable shots.
But like I said, when I was leaving the theater I left conflicted. The main reason being that the plot was confusing and felt disjointed. Only by really paying attention could I make some sense of it and I am still not sure if I completely understood what went down.
I feel like the plot being confusing might have been, at least in part, intentional since it really in a way enhances the atmosphere of the film. I left the theater feeling like I had just hung out with my friends and smoked a little too much pot in a short period of time.
Another point that I am conflicted about is the use of the narrator. Which I feel could have been used more effectively.
There is one particular instances near the beginning of the film where I was really annoyed by the use of the narrator.
It was a scene I believe with Shasta and Doc on the beach. I was really enjoying watching the scene play out between the two characters when suddenly the narrator had to chime in and kind of ruined the mood for me. It really irked me how the narrator disrupted that scene to be honest.
The first thing I noted about the story itself as I left the theater is that I didn't really think it was interesting and that it didn't excite me. But the more I let the movie sink into my mind, the more I realized that there was interesting stuff being told, just in a very relaxed and nonchalant way.
Overall I think I might enjoy it more with a second viewing, to let the atmosphere and story really sink in and focus less on the plot.
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
What a disappointment
I was both looking forward to this movie and dreading it a little at the same time.
From the trailers it really looked like this was going to be a generic story with pretty visuals, unfortunately the trailers are correct.
The only thing that can be said about this story, about a main character from humble beginnings who discovers that they are actually destined to be great, is that the main character is a woman. Unfortunately that is the only positive I can think of in what is otherwise a generic and boring story.
The visuals are great but that is really about it.
I had hoped the Wachowski siblings could take a generic story and do something interesting with it.
The Theory of Everything (2014)
Really good movie, not my cup of tea.
I will first say that I did not find The Theory of Everything very engaging and that this could very well at it's core be because of my lack of experience in the field of romance.
Nonetheless The Theory of Everything is a well written and very well directed film that also features terrific acting from the two leads.
Eddie Redmayne really managed to portray both the physical limitations of his character and the emotions buried inside of him. And Felicity Jones portrayed a great sensitivity and the emotional toll her character had to endure.
The Theory of Everything was a pleasant surprise because it manages to be a strong dramatic biopic without falling into the pitfalls of the genre.
Mr. Turner (2014)
Poetic storytelling, wonderful visuals and great acting.
"Visually sublime" where the first words that popped into my head as I was pondering what to describe this film in short, as I was leaving the theater.
Mr Turner is a rather unconventional biopic that focuses on episodes of the main characters life as a means to examine him as a person instead of constructing a narrative centered around him proving a point.
Something I really enjoyed is how the plot seems to work in a more poetic manner rather than following the usual three act structure.
I just can't get over the visual mastery that was being displayed both during interior and exterior scene's. Although the shooting of interior scene's could get rather dull on occasion. Pretty much the whole film is shot to evoke interior and exterior portraiture which worked to incredible effect!
It took me a little while to get adjusted to the slower paste than I am used to, but after that I was completely taken away.
One thing that really annoyed me was the uncomfortably loud and high pitched violin especially during the beginning.
The entire cast is great with a special mention of course for Timothy Spall, him and the rest of the cast delivered very nuanced performances.
Overall this another one that goes up there among one of my favorite movies of 2014, even though I saw it in 2015.