Change Your Image
JoH-2
Reviews
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
I really don't know what to write here. Eh.. it's great to watch :-)
It was very interesting to go through some of the reviews here, and a few dedicated websites. You can say a lot about this movie, but NOT that it leaves people indifferent! We get the whole spectrum: people who didn't get it at all and didn't even LOOK for profound meanings. People who desperately try to read anything in it, looking for a way to agree that it is a work of exceptional art. People who consider themselves "smarter than smart" by pointing out that it is all nonsense, that "2001" just relies on pseudo-intellectuals hyping a self-assigned 'profoundness'. People who THINK they "got it", but only expose their limited intellectual capacities... Creationists, post-modernists and agnostics all finding something to their liking. :-)
And now it is my turn and I have to disappoint you: I do NOT have the definitive answer :-) What I DO know is that this movie wandered around in my head for quite a while! Some of its images,atmosphere and sounds are simply *unforgettable*. As someone else said: even if you were clueless, it still was a wonderful *experience* that made you feel out-of-this-world for a few hours. I have no problem admitting that figuring it all out was way over my head. Yeah, a few ideas about "man vs machine", the "birth of civilisation", the "next step of humankind", entered my mind. But the Big Picture? I felt rather stupid when reading all the brilliant and profound interpretations by people with 5 degrees in philosophy <G>
But it was worth it. I felt the emptyness, indifferent silence and immeasurable volume of space like never before. I sincerely questioned whether HAL was _killed_ or simply _shut_down_. I felt a chill down my spine when hearing the disturbing choir-music everytime a monolith was discovered. I got a feel for how absolutely BORING real-life spacetravel is destined to be, opposed to the typical Hollywood depiction. I learned to re-appreciate the authenticity of pre-CGI special effects. And all this from an old VHS copy on my ordinary TV set. I'd pay to see it again on the big screen, I tell you!
Executive Decision (1996)
Suspense and plot twists for everyone...
I enjoyed this one. Sure there were some implausible things: the speed of the counter-action, the strange fact that a complete change of the aerodynamics of a stealth bomber seems to cause zero disturbance... But all in all it was well within bearable limits. Don't expect to see a 100% realistic plot in a movie that is supposed to contain heros! In reality, they usually get shot or explode before they have the chance to become one :-)
Critical Decisions has a more than adequate mix of suspense, better-than-horrible acting, plot twists and mild humor to relieve the tension. Whereas a lot of movies in the same genre totally screw up one or more of those aspects. I'm thinking about the terribly balanced "humor" in The Rock, for example. Killing all tension and involvement..
8/10
JoH
Coma (1978)
Medical horror at its best
"Coma" is one of those movies which for some reason made a powerful impression on me as a kid. Not through its story line, the acting or Geneviève Bujold(I was still too young to appreciate these "aspects" :-) ), but through an overall atmosphere. Such that, upon reviewing 20 years later, certain scenes trigger memories and almost puts me back into that couch as a 7-8 year old. Another of those movies is the weird early science fiction movie by George Lucas of which the title escapes me right now.
In "Coma", it was in particular the image of the "Jefferson Institute" building that recalled an evening somewhere in the late '70s. There's probably no movie featuring a more effective and suggestive modern-style horror house. For me, the "Jefferson Institute" complex perfectly impersonates and clenches the feeling that this intelligent thriller is trying to get accross. By its architecture and desertedness, it suggests sterility, impersonality, loneliness and the feeling of an industrial complex. The sterility of a medical system that does well in the technical aspect, but features a growing impersonality that makes it miss its primary goal: to make people feel good. The loneliness of Bujold, who is rather assumed by everyone to be paranoid than to be believed, even by her boyfriend. And the industrial feeling of a healthcare system that doesn't exist to cure people, but to keep itself alive as an industry (=profitable).
With the arrival of sophisticated genetic techniques, the medical horror genre is bound to return soon to the big screen. It will be difficult to do a better job than the concisely-titled "Coma"...
JoH
Contact (1997)
Plausible science fiction, not to be missed
(CONTAINS SOME MINOR SPOILERS)
Since I have been interested in the subject of "Contact" for a fairly long time (with the necessary scepticism) , it did not really open up new vistas to me like it seemed to open up to many of the reviewers here. However I thoroughly enjoyed "Contact" because of its plausibility. While most of the "action" might seem rather un-exciting when compared to beasts like "Independance Day" or "Men in Black", it happens to be infinitely more powerful! Much like a piece of classical music often contains more intensity than some heavy-metal song that entirely depends on loud guitars. Apart from a few small details (only noticed by a select public of rocket scientists), the search for and discovery of the extraterrestrial signals happens just like it would in end-of-20th-century reality.
That's what nailed me to my seat: I felt it extremely easy to identify with Jodie Foster. In fact I was completely absorbed. It's difficult to describe the excitement that I felt when the first signal is detected, or during the scary 2001-ish spacetime trip. When she ended up on that beautiful beach with the super-viscose atmosphere (what a GREAT alien-ating effect!!), I had completely Left The Building. Almost saw Elvis at that point :-)
I agree that the actual meeting with the Aliens is susceptible to criticism, just like the ending. But I challenge anyone to come up with better alternatives! At least the "lack of proof" bit was thought-provoking. Which is proven by the fact that both religious and atheistic people interprete it as an argument in favour of their personal conviction. Can we seriously expect a movie to change people's outlook on life? I think we can be thankful if, after viewing "Contact", a few people raised their eyes to the nightly skies and wondered...
C'est arrivé près de chez vous (1992)
Funny but also painstakingly accurate pseudo-documentary
Well, I watched this movie a few years ago on public TV over here (is this thinkable in the US?). Now I was reading some comments and often noticed a misunderstanding: this is NOT a French movie, but rather a _Belgian_ movie. (I know we have a small country, but that's no reason to completely ignore us :-) ) Even though I belong to the Dutch-speaking part of the country, which is quite different from where the movie was actually shot, I still would like to put this right.
The country is not such a trivial point as it might seem... When being viewed now, 7 years after release, this movie has gained a completely different dimension over here. In 1996, Belgium was hit by the famous Dutroux-case: a child molester having killed at least 4 children and a few other people. It not exactly improved the image of our country (whether this was right or more a matter of how the press handled everything is another discussion...)
Anyway: the truely scary thing about this movie, in retrospect, is its almost Nostradamus-like qualities! The story is located exactly where Marc Dutroux would commit his crimes 4 years later. The entire setting, the social background... they are picture perfect copies of the Dutroux-reality! The actual crimes are not, but the atmosphere of an old degenerated industrial environment fits perfectly. Dutroux and Benoit both have this "self-employed" attitude (don't know whether this is the right way to put it in English). They're managing their small "business" and they're doing well not because they are so intelligent, but because the police seems to have other priorities.
They both don't have the slightest notice of guild or empathy. Benoit may think of himselve as professional in his "field", educated, interesting but in reality he is mediocre, talks in clichés and makes mistakes (like when the dumped bodies are exposed at the end of the movie and Bens genius plan collapses, or when he's screwed by a "competitor"). His single strong point is that he has no consciousness, otherwise there would be a hundred colleagues out there with more success.
Thanks for listening and I hope I provided a new perspective. And oh yeah: watch it 'cause it's excellent!!!!
A Touch of Frost (1992)
Detective with a human touch
What a great detective series! "A touch of Frost" does not contain any stupid gunfights or rediculous unrealistic carchases. In a way, even the "whodunnit-part" is rather secondary in this series. Many of the cases that he must solve are not at all remarkable or especially spectacular. Instead, it all seems to come very close to real life police work. The real strength, then, lies in the very good characterization of the dramatis personae. Victims, criminals and most of all Frost himself are shown as people of flesh an blood. With their problems, their moods, their backgrounds... You really start to care for them, and that's why the rather trivial situations shown here are more powerful than typically poorly characterized people being killed by evil serial killers. With some mild humour inserted in places, you end up with a very good mix.
Highly recommended quality series, worth to stay at home for!
The Rock (1996)
Too brainless to keep interest
Well, this is kind of a Armageddon/Independence Day clone... In other words: more nerve-racking than exciting!
The holes in the plot are numerous (forbidden to use your brain)and the many,many (not so many as Armageddon, though) sins against plausibility kill all involvement. Is THAT how a 60-year old man behaves/jumps/runs/jokes after 30 years in prison? Is THAT how the muting soldiers will get their money after all? I also got sick from the ridiculous scenes of stupid patriotism, and the total cliché at the end.
I really don't have anything against good action movies, but at least they have to stay honest with themselves. That is: if you're an action movie, then ACT like an action movie, without complexes or pretentions. Not so with The Rock! It pretends to be more intelligent than typical action movies. They try to make the Bad Guy Good(trying to avoid one-dimensional characters?). The injected humour (trying to put things into perspective?) seems totally out of place at times, which makes it difficult to care about what's going on.
This one doesn't even reach the ankles of Die Hard....