Showing posts with label Pithy Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pithy Reviews. Show all posts

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Micro Reviews (4)

Hey, I'm back!


Calvary (John Michael McDonagh, 2014)
Brendan Gleeson continuă colaborarea cu frații McDonagh, Martin (responsabil de oscarizatul ”Six Shooter” și de ”In Bruges”) și John Michael (”The Guard”), dar fiecare nou rol în care aceștia îl distribuie este foarte diferit de precedentul. În ”Calvary”, el este un good priest, pivotul unei mici comunități irlandeze, care este angajat într-un conflict moral odată ce unul dintre enoriași i se confesează, anunțându-l că îl va omorî peste o săptămână. În prima jumătate, filmul are o structură episodică, preotul vizitând diferite cunoștințe, încercând să-și continue viața normală. Însă pe măsură ce data întâlnirii cu viitorul asasin se apropie și diferite conflicte latente dintre membrii comunității ies la iveală, Father James realizează cât de precar este rolul său în interiorul comunității și cât de fragile sunt relațiile pe care le are cu cei apropiați. Toate filmele fraților McDonagh sunt foarte bine scrise, iar ”Calvary” nu face excepție. Dincolo de modul în care dialogurile dau viață dilemelor personajului principal, acestea au și mult umor, chiar dacă nu este atât de extravagant ca în ”The Guard”.
Rating: 4/5


Bird People (Pascale Ferran, 2014)
Încă un film din recolta de la Cannes de acest an, ”Bird People” se petrece aproape integral în interiorul unui Hilton din vecinătatea aeroportului Charles de Gaulle din Paris, concentrându-se în principal asupra a două personaje - Gary, un om de afaceri american (Josh Charles) și Audrey, o cameristă (Anaïs Demoustier). Inițial, acestea sunt privite alternativ, după care filmul se concentrează pentru o bună bucată de timp asupra americanului, care ia decizia radicală să își abandoneze compania și familia, act care culmină cu o lungă dispută cu soția (Radha Mitchell) via Skype). Dar filmul își ia cu adevărat zborul (la propriu!) în a doua parte, cea dedicată lui Audrey. Scenariul face un viraj brusc și complet neașteptat înspre fantastic, deschizând numeroase oportunități - narative (digresiunile cu personajul interpretat de Roschdy Zem sau cu turistul asiatic), vizuale (secvența aeriană acompaniată de o deja mult-supra-folosită melodie a lui David Bowie) etc. dar și numeroase provocări, în special în ceea ce privește efectele speciale.
Rating: 4/5


Jersey Boys (Clint Eastwood, 2014)
Un fel de adaptare după o piesă de mare succes pe Broadway, ”Jersey Boys” are un ton aparte, departe de a fi un jukebox musical pe placul fanilor. Eastwood alege mai degrabă să facă o cronică a istoriei de peste zece ani a unei formații de succes (The Four Season), cu inflexiuni de film cu gangsteri (à la ”Goodfellas”). De fapt, Eastwood nu face nimic diferit de ceea ce ne propune de obicei - demitizarea istoriei americane. Povestea acestor patru băieți, în aparență copii cuminți și interpreți de muzică inofensivă, de fapt găinari de doi bani susținuți de același mafiot local responsabil pentru cariera lui Sinatra, pare făcută anume pentru sensibilitățile lui Eastwood. Per ansamblu, mie mi-a plăcut filmul și cred că este ușor subapreciat. Evident, se vede că regizorul nu este cel mai mare fan al muzicii practicate de The Four Seasons, dar și eu a trebuit să ascult mult Led Zeppelin ca să îmi reamintesc cum sună  muzica adevărată.
Rating: 3.5/5

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Micro Reviews (3)

Trei filme foarte proaspete, care probabil merită mai mult spațiu decât sunt eu dispus să le acord:

Cheatin' (Bill Plympton, 2013)
Plympton probabil că este acum recunoscut ca unii dintre maeștrii mondiali ai animației, chiar dacă probabil mai multă lume a văzut couch gag-urile pe care acesta le-a semnat pentru The Simpsons decât filmele sale, care rămân încă prost distribuite și greu accesibile. ”Cheatin'” poate nu este la fel de reușit precum preferatele mele ”The Tune” și mai ales ”Hair High”, dar este o fantezie audio-vizuală despre o relație sentimentală extrem de pasională. Sau, cum o descria Plympton însuși în pitch-ul său de pe Kickstarter: an animated adult tale of love, jealousy, revenge, and murder – full of nudity and violence, but also with my surreal sense of humor. The story is inspired by the work of James M. Cain (“Double Indemnity”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice”). Secvențelor onirice (și de la un moment dat chiar science-fiction) gândite de Plympton îi răspund, pe coloana sonoră, muzică din ”Traviata”, împrumuturi rock'n'roll, dar și compoziții originale de Nicole Renaud - parcă niciodată vreun film de-al acestui regizor pasionat de „americana” nu a avut un feeling atât de french. And in a good way...
Rating: 3.5/5

Enemy (Denis Villeneuve, 2013)
Încep să am impresia că filmele astea au tot timpul același twist, dar premisa este irezistibilă. La final, ”Enemy” lasă spectatorul să descifreze misterul (eventual cu ocazia unei a doua sau a treia vizionări), dar ideea e destul de clară chiar dacă nu ai interesul să pui totul în ordine. Cel puțin apariția Isabellei Rossellini în rolul mamei unuia dintre cei doi Jake Gykllenhaal ar trebui să fie edificatoare. Sincer, mie mi s-a părut a fi Cronenberg la mâna a doua (”Dead Ringers”, ”Spider” și ”Cosmopolis” la un loc), dar al naibii de entertaining. Am o slăbiciune inexplicabilă pentru Denis Villeneuve, care se dovedește în continuare un foarte abil (și versatil) regizor de filme de gen (vezi și ”Prisoners”).
Rating: 3.5/5

Aimer, boire et chanter (Alain Resnais, 2014)
Filmul final al lui Resnais este un mic divertimento, în sașe personaje, două dintre care fiind interpretate de cei mai fideli colaboratori ai regizorului din ultimele trei decenii - Sabine Azéma și André Dussolier. Este un fel de teatru filmat, în decoruri aparent simple, dar sub o lumină foarte îngrijită. Îmi imaginez că piesa de teatru care stă la baza filmului se vrea o satiră la adresa moralei burgheze (give me more of those, I say, we haven't seen enough), dar Resnais nu pare deloc interesat de aceste lucruri. Decorurile sunt frumoase și funcționale, dar în același timp artificiale, impersonale și inerte. În acest decor, freamătul continuu al personajelor și micile lor probleme nu fac decât să accentueze senzația că privim un fel de natură moartă. Renais pare decis nu doar să deconstruiască piesa lui Alan Ayckbourne, ci să o distrugă cu totul. E păcat că ultimul film său film nu are un emotional punch precum ”Coeurs” sau nonșalanța ludică al lui ”Les herbes folles”, dar ”Aimer, boire et chanter” este un petit bijou, o curiozitate semnată în finalul carierei de unul dintre puținii iconoclaști adevărați ai lumii filmului. 
Rating: 3.5/5

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Pithy Reviews (12)

Docs of the Year 2012...

The Imposter (Bart Layton, 2012)
An Errol Morris-style documentary about a 23-year-old Frenchman who pretended to be a missing 16-year-old Texan boy. Narrated through interviews with the people who took part in the story, "The Imposter" creates a much more compelling drama than most thrillers we see these days. However, in the last act, it brings certain allegations against the family of the young boy that it simply cannot prove and I think it was a mistake to go in that direction.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Samsara (Ron Fricke, 2011)
This movie is probably meant to be seen on the big screen projected in 70mm (not available in my region...) A wonderful collection of images from all over the globe, focusing on natural wonders, poverty & exploitation and - in contrast - our dependance on technology. Still, this doesn't really go any further than Fricke went with his most celebrated film, "Baraka" and it's a long way from the masterpiece of the genre, Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi" (for which Ron Fricke was cinematographer).
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Searching for Sugar Man (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012)
An incredible tale of a forgotten musician and the millions of fans he didn't know about in another part of the world. First-time director Malik Bendjelloul gives enough room in his film to the music of Rodriguez and, in the end, I responded most to the music as opposed to the film-making. A mediocre film, but a great showcase for an artist who deserves more recognition.
Rating: 3 out of 5


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

„Lună plină” - Recomandări (Partea a II-a)


Partea a II-a - The New Stuff

Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011)
***
Punctele forte ale acestui film sunt copiii-actori din distribuție, realismul vieții din cartierele defavorizate, peste care se suprapune amenințarea extraterestră și un design cel puțin provocator al creaturilor (à la Uncle Boonmee, dar cu colți fosforescenți). Debutul lui Joe Cornish este un mix de genuri atractiv, care sfidează așteptările și se înscrie în tradiția începută de Edgar Wright cu ”Shaun of the Dead”.

Red State (Kevin Smith, 2011)
***
Am mai scris despre ”Red State” mai pe larg deja aici. Cred că ajunge să reamintesc doar că este unul dintre cele mai suprinzătoare filme venite de la un regizor care părea, cel puțin pe baza ultimelor producții, că s-a abandonat complet mainstream-ului. Reușita lui Kevin Smith ne întărește credința în viitorul filmelor de gen, fie ele filmate pe peliculă sau digital. De asemenea, în rolul principalului antagonist, Michael Parks este extraordinar.

Kill List (Ben Wheatley, 2011)
***
Ok, aceasta nu este neapărat o recomandare, pentru că nu consider ”Kill List” un film bun. Totuși, filmul are admiratorii lui și acest lucru nu poate fi negat. Prima jumătate a filmului este destul de bună, Wheatley portretizând cei mai atipici ucigași plătiți. În partea a doua, însă, povestea este invadată de un fir narativ à la ”The Wicker Man”, iar în final se înlănțuiesc câteva secvențe halucinante, bordering on incoherence, în care personajele principale devin victimele unui cult de sinucigași.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

„Lună Plină” - Recomandari (Partea I)



Partea I - The Classics

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
***
Primul mare film cu vampiri și prima adaptare, neautorizată, a romanului lui Bram Stoker, „Dracula”, a supraviețuit 90 de ani ca moment de referință al expresionismului german. Nu cred că este cel mai bun film al lui Murnau (de fapt, cred că nici nu intră între primele trei), dar este filmul pentru care regizorul german este cel mai cunoscut și acesta nu este decât unul dintre motivele pentru care trebuie văzut cu orice preț. Mai ales într-o proiecție în aer liber, cu acompaniament live.


The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)
***
Frank-N-furter is returning to his native Transylvania, ar trebui să fie headline-ul acestie proiecții... Deși nefiind tehnic un horror, filmul are părțile sale terifiante (mai degrabă din alte motive). ”Rocky Horror...” este o deconstrucție camp a filmelor de serie B, horror și SF, realizat din dorința de a sfida moravurile și prejudecățile. Tim Curry rupe ecranul în rolul lui Frankfurter, iar cântecele sunt (cu câteva excepții) catchy, fredonabile și adictive. Nu cred că este un film prea bun, dar faima îl precede, iar cultul format în jurul său îl recomandă.


The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)
***
Cunoscut drept una dintre rarele ocazii în care un remake este mai bun decât originalul, horror-ul antarctic al lui John Carpenter este recunoscut pentru efectele sale de machiaj inovatoare, dar filmul devine misterios și neliniștitor grație modului în care este filmat și editat, cu elipse temporale frustrante în care creatura face noi victime. Spectatorul răspunde mai puternic la ceea ce nu vede și la ceea ce îi este ascuns, iar de aceea filmul este mai complex și mai bogat decât pare la prima vedere, iar impun vizionări repetate se impun. Acum numai dacă ar exista un festival care să proiecteze o peliculă restaurată... Oh, right!

To be continued...

Monday, April 30, 2012

Pithy Reviews (11)

A small retrospective of recent more or less independent American films I didn't find time to write anything about...

Bellflower (Evan Glodell, 2011)
Set in an Apocalypse-expecting California, the movie begins as a wonderful chronicle of the beginning of a relationship. As the relationship deteriorates, so does the narrative and, in the end, it seems to me the open-end-ness might also be a symptom of the writer-director's refusal to take some decisions. Still, it's a visually impressive piece and a promising debut.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Sean Durkin, 2011)
Led by a devastatingly good performance by Elizabeth Olsen in the (multi)titular role, MMMM is a very astute psychological study. Although the main character's story is predictable in its non-linear form, the choice of using flashbacks (as well as nightmares and possible hallucinations) makes it a far more interesting watch.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols, 2011)
Is he a prophet or is he just going crazy? That's the main sell-point of the movie. But could it all be an elaborate metaphor about the financial crisis. Characters talk about money, investments, costs, while the camera insists of price-tags. Nevertheless, Michael Shannon is the perfect choice to impersonate the madness of the world we live in, in all its aspects.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 



Monday, December 5, 2011

Pithy Reviews (10)

Short reviews of rare-ish movies, just to pass the time...

Utu (Geoff Murphy, 1984)
Part western, part ethnic cinema, part exploitation, part historical war epic, with hints to Shakespeare, the New Zealand film "Utu" is a quite odd, but very enjoyable piece.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Jesus of Montreal (Denys Arcand, 1989)
Biblical allegory, set in the world of French-Canadian theater. However, it does seem to be more a movie about the artistic corruption, as our "Jesus" is a young actor who refuses to compromise his integrity or accept censorship. Very impressive visuals, as well...
Rating: 4 out of 5

Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Glauber Rocha, 1964)
Also known as "White Devil, Black God", this is one of the most impressive film of the Cinema Novo movement, from one of its leading directors. An esoteric, mystical depiction of social unrest and religious practices in rural Brazil, it definitely should not be missed, even though it isn't exactly an easy watch.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Pithy Reviews (9)

No, let's not take five... Let's go again!

Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)
The first movie to feature Hannibal Lecktor/Lecter (here played by Brian Cox) is a very suspensful and often scary(-ish) thriller. A bunch of amazing performances (Joan Allen and Tom Noonan, among others) and director Michael Mann's firm hand not only make this a definite must-see, but also make the remake ("Red Dragon") useless.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Gimme Shelter (Albert & David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin, 1970)
The best documentary ever made featuring The Rolling Stones (and there are quite a few of them) begins as a normal concert film with inter-cut scenes of the Stones goofing around in the studio or in drag, but it climaxes with their disastrous Altamont concert, symbolizing the disappointing ending to an ideal-filled decade. Just a shot away, indeed.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)
Varda crafts a visually mesmerizing film, in which the protagonist is surrounded by mirrors and supporting characters that endlessly reflect her own vision of herself. The action moves in real time (as we are constantly reminded with the help of subtitles). "Cléo de 5 à 7" is one of the best movies of the French New Wave.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Pithy Reviews (8) - Silent Movies

The 20s were the best decade in cinema history. Everything you need to know about movies is there. And here are some of the best ones.

Die Büchse der Pandora (G.W. Pabst, 1929)
This is one of those movies you know about even without reading anything on it and you have a pretty good idea how it's going to turn out in the end. However, Pabst's direction dives it a darker-than-usual edge and makes it suspenseful, erotic, unsettling and wildly entertaining. Louise Brooks gives what is probably her best performance and, certainly, her most iconic one. A masterpiece (and I don't tend to say that about any movie).
Rating: 5 out of 5

La roue (Abel Gance, 1923)
A very long movie (about 4 1/2 hours), but still not as long as Gance's other big movie, "Napoleon", a 5-hour-long incomplete movie that was supposed to be the first one of a hexalogy. "The Wheel" can best be described as Sisyphus meets Oedipus, but the movie in remarkable because of the technical innovations (the movie redefines special effects, camera movements and editing).
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
Another long one, but it would've been even longer if Thalberg wouldn't have butchered it before the release.
In its current version (even the reconstituted one), the movie feels incomplete and it's the only reason I can't call it a masterpiece (as it probably should have been). Still, this movie is amazing and there are so many amazing sequences (the prologue, the wedding, the final confrontation in the desert and so on...)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Monday, August 15, 2011

Pithy Reviews (7) - Classic Sci-fi Edition

Let's travel to the future in the past, when America was afraid of a commie invasion and filmmakers exploited the hell out of it...

The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953)
The first big-screen adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel (which is one of my favorite pieces of Sci-fi literature) is a bit clumsily made at times and the acting is pretty flat, but it compensates with a bunch of startling sequences, including the meeting with the alien "tentacles" at the farmhouse, the explosion of an A-Bomb, the cruel, rioting crowds in L.A. and many others.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Forbidden Planet (Fred M. Wilcox, 1956)
It's Shakespeare's "The Tempest" in outer space! Almost... Astronauts arrive on a distant planet searching for the survivors of a "shipwreck" that took place 20 years earlier. They meet a robot, a passive-aggressive scientist and his hot young daughter (the only survivors), the remains of an ancient alien civilization and they face the stuff that nightmares are made on.
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Incredible Shrinking Man (Jack Arnold, 1957)
After passing through a radioactive cloud, Scott Carey begins to lose height. The first half of the movie is mostly a awkward family drama (with the added benefit of some comedy), but after a pint-sized Carey is chased in the basement by his own cat, it becomes an adventure movie, as the character explores his almost-microscopic new world in a series on scenes that rely on mood, music and clever effects rather than the occasional narration. Also, the ending really puts things into perspective...
Rating: 4 out of 5


Monday, August 8, 2011

Pithy Reviews (6)

But who keeps count, really?

The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953)
One of the best film noirs, Fritz Lang's movie is gritty, suspensful, political and unafraid to show the ugly face of the world. An indictment of omnipresent corruption and one of the bad guys actually says he was "just following orders". All-around excellent acting, especially from Gloria Grahame, whose character is - in at least three different ways - the true victim of this story of revenge. 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Deep End (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1970)
Recently re-released, this is the story of a teenager's infatuation with one of his co-workers. The movie is playful and off-beat, but there is a feeling of impending doom throughout. The decay on the walls of the bathhouse where they work, the young man's ever-growing obsession and the young woman's indifference are all bad omens...
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Wind Will Carry Us (Abbas Kiarostami, 1999)
An alienating picture that takes place in a remote Iranian town, where an engineer arrives for some initially obscure purpose. Beyond the mere cultural clash, this is an existentialist picture, that searches deep meanings in long, meandering takes and its picturesque depiction of the Iranian countryside.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Pithy Reviews (5) - "Alien" Edition

Ever seen a downward spiral? How about this one?

Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
A science-fiction horror that is full of subtext(s) and exploits our deep, subconscious, collective fears. In my opinion, it's Ridley Scott's finest film (with apologies to the excellent "Blade Runner" and "The Duelists", but it's open to debate anyway...) and, certainly, it's Sigourney Weaver's most iconic character. 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5  

Aliens (James Cameron, 1984)
This is much more of an action picture than the first one and much less of a horror film. Cameron is in his comfort zone and he delivers a few gripping action sequences and a bunch of quotable moments. He also uses a lot of clichés and the final product is not really to my taste. A lot of people like it, though...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Alien³ (David Fincher, 1992)
This movie is a mess and it's not entirely Fincher's fault. There are so many things wrong with it and so many disturbing things in it that I don't even want to talk about it. However, there are a couple of moments that makes you wonder what kind of a movie Fincher might have pulled off had he been allowed to actually make the movie he wanted to make.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Alien: Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997)
Another movie that is kind of a mess, somewhere between a gory, Cronenberg-esque horror and a dark comedy in the style of "Delicatessen". Sigourney gets to do something a bit different and she is still the highlight of every single sequel in the series. Ron Perlman is also here and Darius Khondji is the DP, so, all things taken into consideration, this is a pretty flawed film, but it could be enjoyable assuming you have rather low expectations.
Rating: 2 out of 5


Friday, July 15, 2011

Pithy Reviews (4)

Making long stories short, since about last week...

Le quattro volte / The Four Times
(Michelangelor Frammartino, 2010)
A shepherd, his goats, a tree and some pieces of coal. These are, one by one, the heroes of Frammartino's unique film, that defies all genre classifications. "Le quattro volte" is almost silent, but visually and thematically rich, one of my favorite film of the (last) year.
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Age of Stupid
(Franny Armstrong, 2009)
Alarmist global warming documentary, presented by the late Pete Postlethwaite, as a man from the future (2054, if I remember correctly), who warns his contemporaries not to make the same mistakes we did. The movie crams in a few hard facts between a bunch of "human interest stories", that don't always succeed in raising the viewer's interest.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Turin Horse
(Bela Tarr, 2011)
Reportedly, Bela Tarr's last film is a bit difficult to rate. At two and a half hours of length, it's comprised of only about 30 shots. Visually, the black and white cinematography as well as the elegant tracking shots are amazing. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any moral or point to the story, other than the fact that the end of all things is coming. But while it's there on the screen, it's a hypnotic and unique experience.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pithy Reviews (3)

Still not short enough for twitter...

Memorias del subdesarrollo / Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968)
Castro takes over Cuba and people begin to flee for Florida. Even though all of his friends leave and he is a intellectual and relatively wealthy, Sergio decides to stay. He is confronted by the contradictions of life under the new regime, while the movie takes breaks from the narrative to discuss social and political, denouncing both the former and the current regime. The movie is about losing and finding faith under oppression and also examines the nature of cinema as a medium of truth and artistic expression. One of the more (in)famous scenes presents a montage of scenes from American movies that were deleted by Batista's censors.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (almost 5, but not quite...)

Monsters (Garreth Edwards, 2010)
It's the future (well, a few years from now, anyway...)! Primitive aliens have reached Earth.. somehow... ! They all live in an infected zone between Mexico and the USA. A photographer and his boss' daughter have to cross it to get to safety. Made on a very low budget, the movie does manage to create a couple of very convincing scenes involving the "monsters" (among some that are not as convincing), but at the core of the film there is the relationship that forms between the two main characters and the beautiful digital photography, some of the best camerawork of its kind that I've seen.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Angel Face (Otto Preminger, 1952)
Let's end with another classic, made by one of my favorite directors of (not exactly, are they?) noir films. Here, he takes the Double Indemnity scenario, strips it to the basics (there is no Edward G. Robinson character here) and deconstructs it: the characters are much more aware that they are part of a scheme, that there is an old guy that needs to die, a femme fatale that want to kill him, and a sap she needs to find. Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons give a couple of excellent performances.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5



Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pithy Reviews (2)

All you need to know about the movies you should see, in under 45 seconds...

A Separation / Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)
Having won the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for the male and female performers at this year's Berlin Film Festival, it already comes highly recommended. It's a powerful drama about divorce, class divide and justice in contemporary Iran. The character of the young girl is the pivot of all that goes on, even though the film seems to sometimes forget about her, in favor of the endless conflicts between the adults.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
Speaking of bears, here's a documentary that will leave you speechless. Herzog comes closest here to actually making a documentary, as most of the movie is edited from footage shot by Timothy Treadwell (the Grizzly Man himself), blissfully ignoring the "chaos, hostility and murder" going around him in the Alaskan wilderness. Powerful, pessimistic and uncompromising. 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

A Star Is Born (George Cukor, 1954)
Changing the tune a bit, here's a true classic. A musical centered around a has-been (James Mason) and a rising star in Hollywood (Judy Garland) impresses with its striking portrayal of their failed marriage, with rather long takes and shot in Technicolor. The best scene is the production number to end all production numbers from her last movie, recreated by Garland for Mason in their living room.
Rating: 4 out of 5


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Pithy Reviews (1)

Time is money, life's too short and there are plenty of movies out there to chose from (and many of them are not reviewed by me, on Poison Whiskey, in English, if you can believe that!). Introducing "Pithy Reviews" - Part One: a collection of brief comments on movies I've recently seen or that I remember from the long forgotten past!

Fantastic planet / La planète sauvage (René Laloux, 1973)
Amazing animated film that doubles the science-fiction plot with a political allegory. Beautiful, colorful images and and psychedelic soundtrack that was already dated when the movie premiered in after the '60s were over and forgotten make this a wonderfully enjoyable film and one of the best animated features of its kind.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Mysteries of Lisbon (Raoul Ruiz, 2010)
A movie-marathon that lasts either 4h30 or almost six full hours, depending which version you find. Based on a literary serial from two centuries ago, it meanders through a maze of characters and stories, all of them revolving around a priest, who is also a former bandit, the son of a fallen nobleman and who knows how many more other things. Great storytelling and certainly Ruiz's best movie in some time.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Black Orpheus / Orfeo Negro (Marcel Camus, 1959)
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice shamelessly retold during the Carnival in Rio. Orpheus is a guitar-playing playboy that falls in love with a shy and frightened out-of-towner that is, apparently, hunted by a demon. Orpheus lacks what it takes to save her from its clutches. With an almost continuous samba soundtrack and a surprisingly creepy atmosphere, "Black Orpheus" may take the metaphors a bit too far sometimes, but it never loses focus on its story.
Rating: 4 out of 5