Dick is a great movie. In my opinion it is a whisker away from being a classic. It captures the whole seventies era better than any other movie that I can recollect. I particularly likes its great use of seventies music to advance or highlight the storyline. Its use of young comedy actors (such as Harry Shearer) to portray Nixon's cronies was a master stroke. Dan Hedaya also gives a very funny and infectious performance as Nixon. The script and direction are great and the film contains many highlights, my favourite being the scene where Woodward and Bernstein first get involved in the Watergate story. The "explanations" that the screen writers have put in the film for some of the famous Watergate events are hilarious and inspired. It's a pity that Dick didn't do well at the box office. Catch it on Video if you can.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Blue-Veiled
(1995)
A daring and beautifully observed movie from Iran
21 September 1999
The Blue Veieled (Rusari Abi) is made by Iran's leading woman film director, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. The subject itself, that of a love between an old widowed man and a young unmarried woman, is quite daring for Iranian cinema. The film dares even more by suggesting a relationship between the two whilest they are not married; although it is hinted that they have taken the Sighe (temporary marriage) vows.
The film is full of little observations, masterfully played by the two leads, which quietly and yet effectively convey the hidden desires within these two adult lovers. The Blue Veiled'sc main message seems to be that love knows no boundaries and can break many social taboos such as love between different ages and different social classes. It is a quiet gem which should be sought out and seen.
The film is full of little observations, masterfully played by the two leads, which quietly and yet effectively convey the hidden desires within these two adult lovers. The Blue Veiled'sc main message seems to be that love knows no boundaries and can break many social taboos such as love between different ages and different social classes. It is a quiet gem which should be sought out and seen.
Leily Is with Me
(1996)
An old fashioned comedy, making great fun of a bloody war.
27 June 1999
I saw a 4 hour version of this movie (the version released in Iranian cinemas was 95 minutes). It appears that it may have been made as a TV series which was later edited down for a theatrical release.
Leily is With Me is a very funny movie. Since it deals with a long,bloody and holy war, it is no mean achievement for director Tabrizi to walk a very narrow tightrope between what could have been termed offensive and what would be acceptable. He has, however, succeeded and Leily is a funny, touching movie.
The main character, Sadegh, is a Woody Allen type guy who is a video camera man. Through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps, he ends up (much against his will) at the front in the war. The reason the movie works is that it is easy to sympathize with Sadegh and his efforts to dodge the trip to the front and escape back to his city. The first half of the movie, which takes place in the city, is the less successful. The second half is the funnier section and the main source for the theatrical released version. The whole film is a throwback to the Norman Wisdom/Jerry Lewis comedies and came as a breath of fresh air to the cinema going public in Iran. It was no surprise that it became a major hit. Parviz Parastui, who plays Sadegh, shines in a role in total contrast to the one he played, with same degree of success, in The Glass Agency.
Leily is With Me is a very funny movie. Since it deals with a long,bloody and holy war, it is no mean achievement for director Tabrizi to walk a very narrow tightrope between what could have been termed offensive and what would be acceptable. He has, however, succeeded and Leily is a funny, touching movie.
The main character, Sadegh, is a Woody Allen type guy who is a video camera man. Through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps, he ends up (much against his will) at the front in the war. The reason the movie works is that it is easy to sympathize with Sadegh and his efforts to dodge the trip to the front and escape back to his city. The first half of the movie, which takes place in the city, is the less successful. The second half is the funnier section and the main source for the theatrical released version. The whole film is a throwback to the Norman Wisdom/Jerry Lewis comedies and came as a breath of fresh air to the cinema going public in Iran. It was no surprise that it became a major hit. Parviz Parastui, who plays Sadegh, shines in a role in total contrast to the one he played, with same degree of success, in The Glass Agency.
My Giant
(1998)
A heart-warming film for all the family.
22 April 1999
This is a brilliant film. The story starts off in Romania,where Billy Crystal stars as an agent who can talk anybody into doing anything. There is a really funny scene here, where Crystal is a child, and talks his father, who is a rabbi into eating pork (you filmophiles may know that this is a parody of Crystal's religion). He is mainly a talent scout, and he's trying to find a suitable villain for his latest movie. After finding out that the whole film has a terrible crew, he accidently falls into a small river. Believing he is dead, some huge hands come out to reach him. HE later thinks he is in heaven. He finds out that he isn't, but that he is in a monastery. Believing God saved him, he becomes a monk, searching for who saved him. He later finds a 7 ft 7 in man, who he casts as the perfect villain (he also recites Shakespeare!). See the film and find out the rest!
The Thin Red Line
(1998)
War is Hell without Heroes
28 March 1999
This film, more than any other in recent years, reminded me of Stanley Kubrick. Like Kubrick's movies, it is not easy to digest all the rich content of TTRL in one viewing. And like the recently departed master's films, I am sure that TTRL will improve with each viewing (and I certainly aim to see it several times). Other similarities between the two master film makers include creating a vivid atmosphere and cleansing their movies of any "manufactured emotion".
TTRL delves into the psychology of war. It seems to ask the question: What is it that can make cold blooded murderers out of innocent young men ? (a question also put to the audience in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket) and, Is anything worth shedding so much blood for? His answer to the last question is an obvious NO and TTRL could be termed a Pacifist war movie. For this reason, it is almost diametrically opposite to Saving Private Ryan. For other reasons, such as artistic integrity and creative film making, I believe it to be the much superior of the two films.
I am sure that had Malick cut the first 10 minutes and some 20 minutes from the end section, the movie would have been more commercially successful. As I am sure Vertigo would have been during its initial release had Hitchcock given in to all those around him and save the denoument for the end rather than the middle. But would Vertigo be as great a movie today with those changes? I think not. History will be the judge on Malick's film. Meanwhile, catch it on the big screen while you can. It is an experience likely to be lot more rewarding than watching almost anything else around.
TTRL delves into the psychology of war. It seems to ask the question: What is it that can make cold blooded murderers out of innocent young men ? (a question also put to the audience in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket) and, Is anything worth shedding so much blood for? His answer to the last question is an obvious NO and TTRL could be termed a Pacifist war movie. For this reason, it is almost diametrically opposite to Saving Private Ryan. For other reasons, such as artistic integrity and creative film making, I believe it to be the much superior of the two films.
I am sure that had Malick cut the first 10 minutes and some 20 minutes from the end section, the movie would have been more commercially successful. As I am sure Vertigo would have been during its initial release had Hitchcock given in to all those around him and save the denoument for the end rather than the middle. But would Vertigo be as great a movie today with those changes? I think not. History will be the judge on Malick's film. Meanwhile, catch it on the big screen while you can. It is an experience likely to be lot more rewarding than watching almost anything else around.
The Glass Agency
(1998)
Dog Day Afternoon Iranian style !
7 March 1999
This movie is one of the most successful (domestically), and controversial, Iranian films of the recent years. It is also a prime example of movies which do very well in Iran but cannot find an audience abroad. Its director, Hatami Kia, makes movies which deal exlusively with the issue of war and its after effects. The glass agency's theme and structure closely resember that of Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. A Gulf war veteran, frustrated in his attempts to convince the government agencies to send another veteran from his former unit to London for urgent surgery, takes the people in a travel agency as hostages and demands a plane to take his former comrade to UK. The issues tackled in this film are almost unique to Iran unlike films by say, Kiarostami whose films deal with universal issues. The Glass Agency is, however, brilliantly directed, boasting several outstanding performances and a haunting music score (which closely resembles that of Kielowski's Blue). Worth watching
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