gagewyn Reviews

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Good parts, muddled whole

[18 March 2001]

Shadow of the Vampire is a fictional account of the behind the scenes

events surrounding the making of the silent film Nosferatu. There are

some interesting parallels in the plots of the two movies, mainly

because Shadow of the Vampire treats Nosferatu as if it were filmed

sequentially. The intermittent scenes from Nosferatu in the frame of

Murnau's camera play off the action going on just outside the frame.

Any five minute clip of this film would be interesting and well done.

Still the film as a whole falls short. I think that some of this may be

due to the mixture the film was going for. There is the horror comedy

mix, which is pretty well done, there is the historical background,

which starts to loose coherence, and then there are little bits like the

vampire talking about why he didn't like the novel Dracula (it didn't

mirror his own life, so he found it horribly inaccurate) which try to

introduce a bit of philosophy. So you get these bits where the vampire

is being deep, and then he hisses at someone for comic relief. This is

OK in little parts, but overall it was instances like these which lost

the film it's footing. In the end it gave me the impression of a very

muddled effect.

Still, any short segment of the film that I can think of was pretty

good, including the opening credits with a lot of moody zooms on celtic

style drawings. These credits were so long that the end credits started

with the main actor's stand-ins or something. Anyway we're talking

really long opening credits, so the fact that they were decent to watch

says a lot. Anyhow the details are good. I particularly liked the

scenes with Murnau yelling at the actors or telling them something odd

to get the proper reaction because the only other places I get to see

silent film type directing like this is on MTV's Making the Video. (only

prerecorded sound in a music video) The bits with the vampire are also

great with lots of very overdone very funny hissing going on.

It's a toss up as to whether or not this film is worth seeing, mainly

because it doesn't hold together well. If you are a fan of the horror

genre or it sounds interesting to you then you might like it for the

parts. Seeing Nosferatu first would be a good idea, since this movie

plays off it quite a bit, (there is also the possibility of it giving

away the plot to Nosferatu) and since Nosferatu is pretty good.

Monkeybone (2001)

Pretty good, but too homogenous

[12 March 2001]

Money Bone was a decent watch, but I think that at some levels it

tried too hard to be zany and original and just came out cluttered. The

plot deals with the cartoonist Stu Miley and his alter ego creation

Monkey Bone, and takes place in the real world, and in the worlds of

sleep and death. By the way Sleep is the brother of Death. I

particularly liked the theme of voyage into and return from the land of

death, because this sets up sort of a classical framework, and gave the

movie a good level of restraint and balance.

As for the visual effects, which I feel have been the main

marketing appeal of the film so far, they are consistently done, which

flaws the film. The effects in the land of sleep are extremely well

done. What might otherwise be a meaningless clutter of eye candy works

here because it adds to the sense of unreality and disorientation. In

the world of sleep the well done eye candy enhances the film on more

than a purely visual level. The problem is that the eye candy, and

constant activity are carried over to scenes in the real world. This

decreases some of the effect of having different worlds in the first

place. If people in the real world don't obey all the laws of physics,

dress in matching colors, or act rationally then what exactly is

disorienting about the sleep world in the first place?

In summary the dream and death world sequences were very well and

appropriately done, and had the whole movie been as well done I would

definitely recommend it. However carrying the visual clutter, that's

clutter - not richness, into the real normal world degenerated the movie

into more of a decorative eye candy type work. I do recommend watching

this film for the good parts, but it doesn't carry through, so don't get

your hopes up.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Extremely well done horror-comedy

[12 March 2001]

Horror and comedy make a great mix, and this film mixes them pretty

well, although some of the transition between the two was a bit choppy.

The film grabbed my attention from the start, with the bit where the

split dog comes back to life. Seeing half a dog trying to run and

whimpering is something that you have to see. Also as scenes progress

and the nervous warehouse supervisor realizes things are bad, the sweat

pools under his arms and on his back get progressively bigger and

bigger. I guess between takes they were hitting the actor with a wet

sponge. Little jokes like these made the first part of the film one of

the funniest sequences I have seen.

The element of comedy is carried through the film, but in the second

half toned down and mixed with a much more horrific tone. I felt let

down by something about the shift, like the movie changed pace and left

me behind for about twenty minutes. I think that some of this may have

been to make fun of the death obsessed punks getting a taste of what

they were interested in. Remember Trash's talk about death - pretty

ironic considering what happens to her later. The fast paced comedic

element held through the film though, as each time some even more

horrible mistake was made wild music played.

The title might suggest that this film is a parody of Night of the

Living Dead. I have seen it represented as such, and I feel that it

isn't a parody, but there way be some intentional connection. Perhaps

the shift to serious violence and horror was part of working toward a

connection. Both films follow a progression of increasing seriousness,

with a slight relief then downer ending. Intentional connection may

have been part of what contributed to the choppy shift from comedy to

horror. On the other hand Return of the Living Dead felt complete at

the end, so overall the pacing was good.

I definitely recommend this movie to everyone. The whole thing was very

well done. This film plays up the kitsch value for parody effect, and

unlike many comedies doesn't feel weak at the end.

Dika: Murder City (1995)

Documentary with pretty good subject matter

[18 January 2001]

This documentary starts out with people walking around saying things like, "Oh noooo. Oh my Godddd. Here's another body." and, "Look at the blood all over." Their voice intonations were appropriately whiny, but it was all very casual. From here the documentary plunges into footage of Dika, a 75 year old night club singer, who tends to do off key versions of Elvis songs, and who used to be a university professor. The subject material is interesting. Interspersed with the footage of singing are the usual interviews and such. Some of the people interviewed wore somewhat odd clothing. I don't recommend seeing this film. It is an interesting subject, but the singing - good lord.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Like a really long music video that makes you want to run

[18 January 2001]

I saw the German version with English subtitles. Just so you know a

little about the version that I saw.

This is a very energetic film. Most of it consists of footage of Lola

running with music playing in the background, hence the title. In this

respect it reminds me a great deal of Tetsuo: Iron Man, except no blood

spraying everywhere. Plotwise the film deals with parallel universes,

as referred to with the promotional slogan, `Jeden Tag, jede Sekunde

triffst Du eine Entscheidung, die Dein Leben verändern kann.' This

doesn't bog the film down with metaphysical debate, and is shown only

through plot. It comes up as Lola passes people in the street and a

series of images of their future lives strobe across the screen. In

each of the three scenarios the flashing images change slightly.

Parallel universes is a good way of dealing with the movie being

substantially longer than the amount of time the drug dealers give

Lola's boyfriend to get the money. Basically this allows the incident

of Lola trying to get money to be shown in real time multiple times.

This was a good film, because the philosophical content was not

delivered in the form of a melodramatic monologue and hence cannot be

edited out and doesn't seem crammed in. It was also easy to watch,

although I think that it maybe shortened my attention span.

I recommend this film to everyone. It has a meaning but isn't preachy

or dull. It will make you want to run.

The Mermaid (1904)

Pretty trick show

[13 December 2000]

I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music matched the mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film. Frame speed appeared to be adjusted. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

This film was pretty. Some of the special effects in it are extremely good. I could'nt pick out exactly where the editing was done when the clown pulls rabbits from a hat. If it did'nt go so quickly I think that many of the effects would come off as cheesy and played out, given that they have been used in so many films since. As it is the dizzying pace keeps things interesting. I think that an interesting aspect of the film is Melies experience as a magician. He directs eye movement away from the effect much as a magician distracts the eye to perform a trick.

I recommend watching this. It has an intriguing feel. I don't know that one should go to a great deal of trouble to find this film, but it's worth a look.

Dune (2000)

Not that wonderful

[11 December 2000]

The Dune miniseries is adequate as a book adaptation, and adequate taken alone, just not remarkable in any aspect. Its main weakness is losing much of the feel of the story. Water doesn't seem all that important, because characters rarely wear stil suits, and there aren't seals on doors or windows. This makes certain rituals surrounding water seem much more trivial than they should be.

Costume design gets in the way in many cases. The strict regulation of color reminds me of the Destiny's Child video, in which the band members are all dressed in clothing the same color as the room and the sofa they are sitting in slides through other monochromatic rooms in various colors. In many cases the costumes seemed like overdone versions of what someone thought sci-fi clothing should be, without much creativity. Also there are a lot of cat in the hat style velvet hats and suits. The main exception to this is the costumes of the emperor and his entourage, which are well done with a distinct Japanese influence. The computer graphics are somewhat fakey, given that almost all the sand is computer generated. Large expanses of desert don't look so powerful when they are obviously blue screened. So visually it's not that good.

The acting is pretty good, although I feel that casting is flawed. Case in point; casting a 26 year old as Paul makes him seem more like a whiney mama's-boy than a prodigy. Also a lot of the dialogue is a little awkward, from trying to clarify concepts without a narrator.

Possibly if they had made Irulan a narrator rather than a character...

My advice is not to see this. Six hours (with commercials) of your life is a lot to waste. If you are interested in a good film adaptation of the book, then see the 1984 version. It preserves much of the feel of the book, and doesn't alter the plot any more than this version. If you are looking for a good film in the sort of genre as Dune, then this miniseries isn't for you. As I said earlier poor visual feel and cheesy costuming interferes with the flow.

Titanic (1997)

A pretty well done action film, but gets awkwardly drawn out toward the end.

[11 December 2000]

The sets and costumes for this movie were good, other than that it was OK but really drawn out and at least 45 minutes too long to keep from being tedious. The characters have the beginnings of something. The girl is a trapped feminist character, but I got the idea that her character was more to be politically correct. As for the conflict between classes as the passengers struggle to get positions on life rafts leaving the sinking ship, this is set up as a little too black and white. This is all acceptable for a simple action film, which tend to have cardboard characters to a certain extent.

The film is a pretty good little perils of pauline serialized style action film. The acting is pretty good. The dialogue is OK. The main flaw is that it went on to long and played itself out. I got extremely bored at the point when RoseÕs future husband decides to chase Jack and Rose into the boat with a gun. WhatÕs the point? The audience already knows that heÕs a bad guy. After this many of the scenes get repeated. Third class passengers beat at the doors to the deck as the water rises - again. Jack has to swim underwater and get the keys - again. The repeat action sequences only stop once the ship actually sinks. I think that had it not been for this extra 45 minutes I would have liked the film. If you are watching this on video and it bothers you then my advice is to fast forward.

I donÕt recommend this film. Other than the pretty sets and packaging its a typical explosions film. Except, here when the man puts his arm around the woman to protect her as they run down the hallway with a fireball of a violent explosion, they arenÕt running from a fire ball, instead they are running from a big burst of water.

Quest of the Delta Knights (1993 Video)

A serious attempt, but marred by half-assedness throughout

[11 December 2000]

This actually isnÕt all that bad of a movie. There are parts in which any particular aspect of the production is good, but then most of the

time they are mediocre.

My favorite part is where the busty bar tending waitress keeps hinting to Tee that she is available for prostitution. She spends about

five minutes asking and being ignored. Ordinarily this would just be moderately amusing in a crude way, but given that Tee is about

nine years old it is hilarious.

My advice is to steer clear of this. If you watch MST3K it is worth watching because you are probably a fan of the show and arenÕt

watching for the movies. DonÕt spend money on seeing this.

Visions of Light (1992)

Very general introduction with good time divisions

[11 December 2000]

I watched this to hopefully get some ideas on what movies would be interesting to watch. From this point of view I was disappointed.

The movies used as illustration are fairly mainstream. I had heard of almost all of them even though I hadn't seen them all.

One thing that I very much have a problem with is that I think that the frame speed was accelerated on some of the silent film clips. The alternative would have been to repeat some frames so that events would play at the intended speed, but would have a slight skipping irregular pace. (24 frames per second was not a standard film speed during the silent period, so many films were done in 16, 18 or even occasionally 12 frames per second) I believe that the latter solution to the frames problem is preferable to comically fast pacing.

Also the silent period was some what gypped in that it got the same amount of time and focus as each subsequent decade. It should have gotten twice as much time as a decade, because it includes 1910's and 1920's and all prior movie history. Other than this minor disparity, the amount of time spent on each decade is about equal. This is good because the documentary isn't skewed toward any era.

Even bias is a prerequisite for a film documentary, and this documentary has it.

Keep in mind that this documentary is very general. It would be impossible to go into a great deal of depth in only 1 1/2 hours. It is not for an extreme film buff. The film is not going to be a revelation, but if you are looking for a very general introduction to cinema this is a good documentary to watch.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999)

Good show with poor social results

[11 December 2000]

I have very mixed feelings about this show. It was very very funny when Joel was the host, but towards the end it degenerated into less entertaining than most of the films would be by themselves. Still this is a pretty good concept, and I think that part of the problem that came up with the later episodes was choosing films which wouldn't be worth watching to begin with. I. e. I might independently watch some of the films sampled, and yes I'd make fun of them but their flaws would be mixed in with enough substance to be endearing, but I would never bother taking the time to watch Hobgoblins and there isn't even any sport in making fun of it.

So good concept, but it degraded from inside over time.

The reason that I have mixed feelings about this show is that I think many of the fans cannot accept that a film can be good and still good material for jokes. From reading reviews of movies which have been MST3Ked, it appears that the ratings and comments on these films are determined mainly by the fact that 'Oh that was on MST3K, so it must be utter worthless crap.' On the one hand most of these films are lucky to be getting air time at all, but on the other they seem to be getting a shallow unthoughtful audience.

I don't recommend this show, except that watching it a few times will give you a pretty good idea of what the show is, and the show has been an influence on how the public views B-movies. Keep in mind that the true spirit of MST3K comes with staying up until the really bad movies come on at 3 in the morning, and making fun of them.

She (1984)

Oh sooo bad!! A must see!!!

[11 December 2000]

This is an extremely weird movie, regardless of genre including Italian B movies. It is the oddest movie I have ever seen. See there's this woman, called She, and she is a goddess. And she has to go through these other worlds with their own various Gods and Goddesses. Among the creatures she meets are a group of men who look like potatoes, the semi-Nazi God Nork, and a 300 pound man in a candy pink tutu. This is definitely fun to mock with friends. I have no idea what it was trying to be, but it is god awful good.

After seeing this I read the novel by Haggard, in an attempt to make sense of what I had seen. I thought I had gotten the wrong book, but no the She I read is cited in the movie credits. The only similarity between the two is that both do indeed have main characters named She.

My recommendation is to see this when ever you get the chance. This film is so bad that it's good. It's a bit scary, but this is the film that got me into liking movies

Vampire Princess Miyu (1997–1998)

Deep and not in a cliched way

[8 December 2000]

To me this is not as visually interesting as the 1997 movie, but it has a similar visual style. The plots are complex and not cliched. Just because a character is one of the main characters doesnÕt mean that they might not be killed off. The plots are less heavily based on Japanese mythology that in the later movie version. They are the short ironic plots sort of like in television series like Tales From the Crypt, or The Outer Limits. This is not in terms of genre, but main characters die, and there is usually a bit of irony, also this series is better than the earlier two because the plots are less

predictable, respectively you donÕt always know that people will die, and the earth will be destroyed. It is also important to point out that this is geared towards adults. This is not a slapstick cartoon, but actually addresses philosophical and moral issues, and in fact has no comic relief. Miyu has the ability to grant immortality, and the decision of whether or not to do this in specific cases is an issue. In action is not an option because she must drink to live. There are also characters who parralell aspects of MiyuÕs life, most obviously the girl who can live believing that she killed her mother or die, as Miyu would without taking blood. Miyu is allowed to determine her fate. As opposed to the 1997 movie this shows Miyu as darker and more evil, and shows more of here past. She must drink blood and does so for food, not to give people release in the form of death, or immortality. Also there is an element of greed to feeding. All in all I would say that this is worth watching, and recommend it.

Vampire Princess Miyu (1997–1998)

Dark expressionist art and sombre plot

[8 December 2000]

Visually interesting, this series borrows from early German expressionist film. The scenes set in the real world are similar to Murnau.

The wild lines and intense contrast of he supernatural world fit the plots of the four sections of this movie. Plotwise the stories are good because there is the idea that good and evil exist without having any characters that are all one or the other. Characters tend to be deep without necessarily having their pasts revealed to us, and depth does not keep them from being killed off. The way in which things work out makes sense, but is not predictable, or contrived, so the movie has a realistic feel to it.

The world of Miyu is based on Japanese mythology, but knowledge of this subject is not necessary to understanding the film. Also although I am not familiar with Japanese mythology, I did notice that the reference to Lemuria was part of a completely different mythological system, so there are other random elements.

The film is suitable for children, but made for adults. Moral issues are addressed. Although Miyu says, ÒI do not judge humans.Ó, she cannot help but get involved in situations in which she must decide whether to kill them or make them immortal by drinking blood from them or how far to go to save them from the Shinma. She must drink blood to live so this device is used to solve tie up loose ends.

As opposed to the 1988 show this shows MiyuÕs good side, and her actions are motivated by mercy towards the people who have been changed by the Shinma.

I highly recommend seeing this.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

A very entertaining horror film with some haunting bits

[8 December 2000]

This film has a great deal of sexual content. Not in the form of nudity or people moaning at one another, but it is definitely there; the swinging leg super imposed over certain scenes, the boiling pots and sexual frustration in the laboratory. When the lid shoots off the pot we all know what that symbolizes. Oh, my! Ivy is a woman and a clingy wrapping vine. This film was made before the sexual openness of the 1920Õs had turned into the innocent 30Õs. Oh ya, before the Hayes code.

This is a pretty good movie. It takes the usual liberties in doing a film adaptation of a book, so donÕt expect the exact same plot. The film is entertaining. The Jekyll/Hyde transformations are disturbing. At the same time there is so deeper artistic stuff, like the repeated references to bird. Basically itÕs entertaining and analyzable, which is not terribly common.

I recommend this film. It is one of the two film versions with sound and both are black and white, so if you are interested in watching an adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde, this is a good choice. Also you get the pre Hayes code violence and sexuality. Whoopee.

Charlie's Angels (2000)

Considering that itÕs Charlie's Angels I guess itÕs OK.

[28 November 2000]

This is probably what you would be expecting. The girls wear tight clothes or skimpy clothes. Mainly the clothes are tight as this works well with the Matrix rip off effects. Some stuff blows up. Girls asses are prominently featured in shots. It doesnÕt really do anything new or wonderful, but it is adequate at what it does.

The big surprise here was the really great villains. Get this - they have to beat the Avengers who are working with a guy who looks like Mick Jagger. Is that excellent or what? Anyways the thin man is a really good villain, because he acts a little quirky and doesnÕt talk. By the end of the movie you pretty much hate him, without it having been rubbed in that heÕs bad.

Ahh yes, one added plus is Tom Green shaved pretty well for his scenes.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

comments seem to be only extremes

[28 November 2000]

All I see are rave reviews and slams for this movie. None of you get it. I seriously doubt that that many of you genuinely love this movie. Your eyes are clouded by its popularity and because your friends and just about everybody likes it. On the other hand to write it off as terrible with a blanket statement is a pretentious way of trying to establish oneself as an artsy person who really gets it.

To judge this movie accurately you must first realize that it is philosophically deep as a mud puddle. It is not about art. It is about creating a world and putting you in it. From the standards of the time it did this very well with special effects. Now many of these effects look very fake (the cardboard box and PVC gun turret on the death star) Also many of the scene changes look dated. Datedness is inevitable for any movie, so to criticize a film based on this is to criticize practically the whole media.

Instead the way to address the film is to find the distinguishing feature which has totally altered the movie industry. Off the top of their head a cynic would say that budgets have been forced up because other movies have to meet the special effects standards set by Star Wars. This in turn has made independent low budget film go way underground. This is true to some extent, but by this reasoning any movie with advanced special effects would have done the same, and it was bound to happen anyway. In terms of plot to explosions ratio Star Wars isn't that bad. A devout Star Wars fan would say, 'Well, duh Star Wars'

My response to both is that what was new about Star Wars and still makes it good viewing today is not shiny new visual effects, but having a futuristic world with advanced technology and still having disgraceful examples of that technology. I will call this concept jalopies in space. The idea of craft like the Millennium Falcon with technology to go light speed being held together with duct tape and rubber bands is why Star Wars is still relevant today. The feel of the beat up helmets, which the wing men wear, or Han Solo's 'just hit it with a hammer' attitude were a new way of presenting the future. (Yes I realize that the story is set long,long ago, but it is still a representation of a more technologically advanced society than ours, so for purposes of this review its the future)

The dirty feel of the technology has very much affected the feel of science fiction movies. Prior to this, although a technologically advanced society might be morally degenerate in a 1984 novel sort of way, the technology would have no chance of malfunctioning unless it wanted to kill people. Also the jalopie feel of the movie is not an attempt at comic relief. It is an attempt at realism that works well. The dirty feel of the film also applies to other genres to a lesser degree. In the 90's computer generated effects have been knitted into all genres. You know the look of these graphics: too clean, too smooth. Having a too perfect look is good if that is what one is aiming at otherwise it's not so good. A realistically rough look can be applied to any visual media.

This realism makes perfect sense. It is the sort of thing that cannot be replaced with shiny new computer graphics. I do wonder how much of the jalopies in space feel of the movie was intentional. In the special edition rerelease Tatooine is computer generated and looks really clean. A one horse planet shouldnÕt be clean. On the other hand the damaged rebel clothing and helmets had to be intentional, because it would be easier to get a matched set of new looking helmets or clothing than a beaten up look. In terms of Episode I being clean this makes sense because it represents a period of time when the universe is economically stable and deals with affluent classes.

My final recommendation is to see this movie regardless of who you are, because it is referenced ALOT. Of course you have probably already seen it multiple times, because I only know two people who havenÕt.

The Wonderful Living Fan (1904)

Pretty victorian film

[21 March 2000]

I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music matched the mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film. Frame speed appeared to be adjusted. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

Watching this short was like watching an elaborate mechanical toy. I particularily liked the part where the fan box opens. It was smooth and mechanical.

I recommend this to those interested in late victorian culture. It dates to this time period, and helps to give an idea of the spirit of the times. It also includes early examples of dissolves, as the ladies costumes change, and the fan comes to life.

Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjuror (1904)

I feel dizzy

[20 March 2000]

I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music matched the mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film. Frame speed appeared to be to fast. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

This film consists mainly of special effects being used to create a magic show. The chinese magician dances across the screen with a parasol. As his swings his parasol past places on the screen various items appear. A dog appears and becomes a woman. A chinaman is conjured to pair with her. They dance and fade from one part of the screen to another. The effect is dizzying, but I think this may have been partly because frame speed was too fast an the copy I watched.

I recommend this film to people interested in very early film history. For general viewers it is amusing, and not long enough to be tedious, but not that interesting either.

The Untamable Whiskers (1904)

Special effects magic show

[20 March 2000]

I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music was chipper and matched the lighthearted mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film, although it is hard to tell without titles. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

This film was mainly done to show off a particular special effect. A magician draws pictures on a chalkboard, and then his facial hair grows to fit the image he has drawn. This is part magic act, part comic routine. It is amusing, but special effects are so common today that it is not amazing, as it must have been to the people who first viewed it. Basically an image of the magician with one type of hair fades into an image of the same magician in the same position with another type of hair. The quality of this special effect is fairly good, so it didn't seem cheap, just redundant.

My recommendation is to watch it if you are interested in very early film history. It is a good example of a setup that is similar to a booth or simple theater show, but depicts something that could never be shown live. This film predates plots being the norm in movies, and itself has no plot.

Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession (1973)

Good slapstick type humor and some jokes that I didn't get because I speak very little Russian

[20 February 2000]

I saw this in Russian without subtitles, so I missed most of the dialogue. Luckily about half the humor is purely visual, so I was still entertained. One doesn't need to speak Russian to understand that Ivan the Terrible is confused by the elevator.

In terms of the visual humor it is well done. Most of the humor comes in the form of extended chase sequences with high film speed. The thief is especially funny, although with the mustache he came across looking like an armature porn star at first. I think this was intentional. Also, the footage of the black cat climbing up things and looking flustered is well done and cute.

I recommend this film to those looking for well done slapstick type humor. From laughter by those present who spoke fluent Russian I think that there are probably some fairly good verbal jokes too.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Good supporting actors, but a bit tedious

[20 February 2000]

I watched the Video Images 1985 video cassette version. Image quality was slightly grainy. Cropping did not appear to be off. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

I have mixed emotions about this film. On the one hand the facial close ups were pretty, but they got tedious for me, and I do feel that I have a lot of patience with movies.

I feel that this movie could have benefitted a great deal from sound. Mainly because in a court room interrogation sound would be useful. Given that the actors in the film would also have made as good voice actors as they are actors, this could have been very captivating. As it is I found the most interesting scene to be the torture wheel. The slower film speed makes it appear abstracted and dreamlike. The interrogations still have their intense bits, and I feel that the supporting actors contributed very well to the feel of the movie.

The main long term artistic merit of the film is the artistic cropping of the close ups of Joan. The same close ups and cropping were used on Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3. There is even a head shaving scene in both movies. Alien 3 seems to be praised mainly for mood and cinematography by other imdb reviewers. It borrows these from Joan of Arc. This shows that these devices are still relevant today, which means that Passions of Joan of Arc has framing and set up that are considered good by a general audience today. This also shows that facial close ups of a woman with a shaved head just do not necessarily make a good movie without substance to back the film up.

What back up there is in Joan is excellent. The story is based on reality which gives it distinctive twists, so plotwise the film is stable. The actors who make up the court trying Joan are excellent. They make the film worth watching.

My final recommendation is to skip this, unless you like artsy close ups, or have some special reason for viewing it. It was slow for me at bits, and I doubt that you be captivated by the whole film. The excellent acting keeps the movie from being to tedious, but it didnÕt pull me in. This may be due to grainy image quality on the edition I watched, and not due to the film.

Nosferatu (1922)

Good mixture of suspense and action

[20 February 2000]

I watched the Kartes Video Communications 1984 video cassette version on a 15 inch screen. Titles were in English. Film quality was good. Sound was matched to action. Cropping appeared good, and titles were completely visible. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

Nosferatu is one of the few silent movies with a significant following today. It deserves a following. The film is a suspense piece. Still it is paced nicely so that it feels tense in the right places but never goes long enough without something happening so as to be boring.

Visually Nosferatu forms the precedent for the vampire in movies. The main difference is that Count Nosferatu has more affinity with rat than bat. Aside from this the main stream image of the vampire is based heavily on Nosferatu. This film has been as influential on modern vampire mythology as the novel Dracula. It is based on the novel Dracula. Especially disturbing to me personally are NosferatuÕs twisted hands.

In terms of the filmÕs being silent, this should not put anyone off. The suspense/ horror genre fits well into this medium. I was lucky enough to see a version with music matched to the scenes, but if the copy you are watching has a bad sound track just play some music you like.

I recommend this film to anyone interested in the horror or suspense films. It is a bit of a cult film, but this does not keep it from being actually good.

The Matrix (1999)

Nice mood piece, but really big plot holes.

[12 February 2000]

This movie has a nice feel to it with the sleek stars, martial arts, distopian future with artificial intelligence overlords theme, and black leather and guns. Basically this is all it has, but it is enough to justify watching.

The main problem I have with this are the gaping plot holes. Firstly why are the robots keeping people alive. Oh sure they say something about harvesting body heat, but more energy would be expended daily in moving food (low energy fluid fuel) to people than could be extracted. Also if they are feeding dead people to the living people their energy source would shrink exponentially. These plot holes could have been easily avoided by not trying to explain anything and showing more Keanu Reeves running on the walls. LetÕs face it this film wasnÕt about plot and the makers probably expect us to equate vague with deep.

In terms of acting Keanu Reeves was actually not that bad. The role calls for him to look cool and be naive and a bit slow, which he is very good at. He is a pretty guy, shame he canÕt act. The other actors are the same. They adequately wear leather or sack cloth and look cool when necessary.

My final advice is to see this if you are drawn to the visual promotional material. DonÕt expect things to make sense or be coherent. This film has a sleek feel to it and an interesting mood, but thatÕs about all.

The Day of the Dolphin (1973)

Sensitive film about trust

[12 February 2000]

Aside from the idea of using talking dolphins to kill the president, this is a well done and sensitive movie. The idea of a 70Õs movie about dolphins killing the president appealed to me in a cheesy=good sort of way. The subplot about the assassination was indeed humorous, but was not the point of the movie and is only a device to bring out the human dolphin relationships. The real focus of the film is on the relationships between the dolphins, each other, and the trainers.

The major problem that I had with this movie was rather arbitrary. The dolphins sound a bit like Furbies, which gives the sensitive moments a slight tinge of absurdity. And of course there was the presidential assassination plot. Given the low budget the president was an ambitious target-to well protected. Oh well pretend that they are trying to kill some independently wealthy minor drug lord or senator or someone and it makes sense.

In showing human-dolphin relationships and a theme of innocence this movie is almost perfect. It backs off at the right times to keep from being to mushy (ex. Pa doesnÕt jump in the water and hug the dolphins at the end) At the same time the relationship is very sensitive and nonwithdrawn. The whiting out bit at the end is the sort of mushy device that usually annoys me, but in this case it didnÕt. This film balances between showing genuine caring and going to far to a comical degree.

My advice is to see this if you like animals, even if you are the sort of person who doesnÕt like cute animal movies. This is an extremely well done sensitive film about trust.