Change Your Image
jojairus
Reviews
Live by Night (2016)
a quiet masterpiece
... in my view. Others have reviewed in detail what it contains, what it gets right, and what it doesn't. For me, overall, I found this to be an excellent piece of storytelling, somewhat in the vain of "The Shawshank Redemption". I don't care that it lacked realism. What I loved was its tough stand on racism, and then the surprisingly good critique of organised religion as just another kind of mob mentality.
The Transporter Refueled (2015)
a good try
Could be subtitled "put on your lipstick, we want to talk about hiring you as a driver"
Fararishtay kifti rost (2002)
Gripping slow-paced story.
Apparently it's a dark comedy. I took it more as observant of how people typically behave in difficult circumstances. The tough and unfeeling son who's been in a Russian prison for ten years comes home to his mother. He doesn't realise she's colluding with other annoyed villagers to trick him into repaying his debts. The moment of realisation that his mother has tricked him is beautifully simple - reminded me of the slow and realistically paced thinking of the characters in Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man".
The village, which he has habitually bullied and used, get its revenge on him, but also tries to reform him. This was all very realistic to me, and quite heartening. He has buried under his tough selfish exterior goodness and hope. We see faint glimmers of it. His young mother's nurse responds, at her cost, to this. His mother, eventually outwitted by sharper operators, becomes self-sacrificing. She is aware that, for better or worse, it is now her son's world, and the good in her son may come out one day. There is a beautiful scene in which she instructs her young grandson, confirming for him what he too is realising, that his father is bad, but that he may become good.
You may find this a bleak film. I found it quite brilliant. It is certainly sparse. No melodrama, no histrionics, no happy ending, but hope, honesty, and humour. It also has buried in it a witty bit of magical realism, which may irritate some, but which I found delightful.
Entropy (1999)
Easy, low-paced.
Lots of nice minimal jokes. Surreal amusing look at a young Hollywood director's search for the perfect partner. His life falls apart, in an affable way - he's likable. My scratched rental DVD jammed appropriately enough about half way, where there's a turning point. The picture blocked and jittered (almost a technique used in the movie) and ten minutes later the fun began, for me, with the introduction of the gorgeous Kelly Macdonald. If you've ever felt your work or love life's collapsing, and seen the irony of it, you might enjoy this film. It's a sweet story, nothing gruesome or sleazy. Music's minimal and appropriate. No sentimentality - not a trace. Just a nice bloke trying to find love.
The Salton Sea (2002)
Highly crafted and pointless
There's no doubt this is a very well made movie. It's definitely high ranking. Script, acting, direction, sets, music all in a high game. Got that over with. You've probably heard that the beginning of the film is a glamorised portrayal of crystal meth addicts. It's well made, such that it would appeal to people interested in a sort of slow, illegal, decadent experiment with self-destruction. That is to say, it would appeal to plenty of young adults who want to be bad. Nothing wrong with that. In fact I'd say it's a good thing. Even the ancient Greeks had a structure for allowing that kind of rebellion to happen in a controlled way. This film is part of our current establishment structure for expressing our occasional wishes to reject all authority (even benign authority). So far so good (or should I say bad). Anyway, the plot's interesting, and Kilmer is good. (I seem to be in the minority that enjoys Kilmer's low-key acting.) The plot's even a little noble, if you agree that revenge for massive personal injury is a noble thing. It certainly makes for a great story. It's maybe even one of the oldest stories. So, if it's well told, as this one is, it's gripping, as this one is. For me though this film was annoying on a few fronts. First, so much is made of Kilmer's character's tattoo that you have to be the kind of person who romanticizes tattoos to enjoy it. Next, so much was made of the glamorously seedy depiction of the crystal-meth takers in the long intro that you have to romanticise self-destruction by narcotics to enjoy it. You'd have to romanticise it so much that you are willing to buy the suggestion by Kilmer's character that self-destructing on narcotics brings the self-destructors close in a way that is otherwise unachievable. (I don't see that it does - I think that's one of the illusions that recreational drugs help create, and it's a trap.) But then, we're on to the big hit of this film - D'Onofrio's character, and his chronies. He almost steals the film, and to enjoy that, you've got to be able to find his portrayal of a psychotic bully amusing. I didn't. I'm sure director Caruso and his crew know that people like D'Onofrio's character really exist - people who laugh while slowly killing someone. They can be charming, as D'Onofrio's character is, but they're essentially gruesomely evil. I can't imagine anyone who's really been at the receiving end of such cruel sadistic violence finding this portrayal funny, as we're apparently supposed to. Which is where the film most lost ground with me. It's basically a film I'd warn people against. I don't think it says much of benefit to anyone. The only redeeming features for me were the naïve and loyal meth-taking friend, Kilmer's character's determination, and the title. Oh, and the Texan Asiatic FBI agent, with his so-unlikely compassion and wisdom was fun, cool, but so unlikely.
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Grimm Hammer Horror at Sleepy Hollow
It's a well made film, with plenty of funny moments and clever tricks. If you know nothing of Brothers Grimm, well it might be a useful first introduction. But if you're expecting a good story about them, forget it. Kruger, the writer, seems to specialise in horror, and largely that's what this is, but funny light-weight horror as per Gilliam's requirements. For a film that's supposed to be a tribute to the Grimm Brothers, the story seems to pay tribute more to the old Hammer House of Horror plots than to the Grimms' Tales. I almost expected Dracula to show up. There are repeated brief references to characters from the Grimms' fairy tales, but their presence feels like "brief commercial breaks from our sponsors" - just to remind us that we're watching a film about those two industrious brother who collected all those folk tales for us - then it's straight back into the grizzly, unstoppable Hammer-style action. I like a good story, and being a fan of the Grimms, I was expecting at least to find that. It ain't there. This is cake, not dinner - enticing but unsatisfying. If you like Gilliam films, you'll probably like this. It has a lot of his clever fantasy world stuff. The old evil queen is terrific, and her disintegration is magnificent. It's not a masterpiece though, like Brazil. More daft and noisy, like Munchausen. I kept thinking I was watching a comedy version of Sleepy Hollow. Street theatre brought to the screen. Good fun for a family to watch. Enjoy.
The End of Violence (1997)
Excellent slow-paced and observant conspiracy movie.
This film is more about people adapting to change than about thrills. Bill Pullman is a very successful producer who uses people. His wife decides to leave him, but at the same time he gets caught up in a bizarre plan to introduce a pre-emptive high-tech crime-intervention system based on the ubiquitous "Big Brother" cameras that we've all become so used to in the developed world. All though he actually knows nothing yet, he's targeted for assasination. He finds refuge with his Mexican gardeners, and, while trying to discover why he's now hunted he goes through an epiphany of his own. This film is full of lovely characterisations. It's much more than a conspiracy movie.