magstarted Reviews

An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

Doesnt cut it.....

[4/10 · 3 August 2000]

When I first heard they were making a sequel to one of my favourite, child-hood chillers, I also heard they were going to use a continuity, of the lead being the son of the woman from the first film (became pregnant with Wolf-Dude). I have no idea why they didnt go with that pitch, as it seems the most common sense if your going to follow-up the best horrors of the early 80's.

As it is its awful. The acting is far below-par (Ton Scott is a good actor, but I dont know what the hell happened) all the Americans come off as incredibly annoying and anal, the SFX, while OK, dont reach the glorious "Physical" pitch reached 20 years ago, the story is just uninteresting, and overall, even as a first off it doesnt cut it, and is impossible to not compare it to its predeccesor.

I give it 4/10, if only for the beautiful Julie Delpy.

Akira (1988)

An incredible film of epic proportions.

[10/10 · 31 July 2000]

I remember seeing this film when I was around oh, 8 or 9 years old, in full knowing of the adult content (I mean, the most violent animation I had seen previos was probably "Footrot Flats"). I didnt sit all the way through it (its a hell of a lot of story to consume) but the action in the first half entranced me like no other "Cartoon" had before ie I couldnt believe they allowed breasts and shot dogs in cartoons.

I have since bought it myself, and it still, from start to finish entraps the imagination in its beautifully stunning animation, set pieces and unbelievable action. I would say the last half hour is the greatest action sequence ever portrayed on film, whether animated or not, and is enveloped in animation I believe far surpass' that of even Ghost In The Shell (which is saying a lot) especially considering its entirely hand drawn, which I appreciate greatly in animation.

The storyline while being convoluted and incredibly hard to follow the first few times, and could alienate some viewers through its intricacies, opens up after several viewing and provides a great backdrop to the entire experience.

I will admit one thing though. I have yet to see the subtitled version, and while sure to be superior to the dubbed, its not entirely necessary IMO. The American dubbing, while ruining a lot of the context (as anime dubbing does) its probably one of the best efforts I have heard. The characters voices really grow on you, and are all individual sounding with a lot of character differentiation.

Overall it sits on my personal top ten, and provides a depth rarely seen in film, let alone animation.

10/10.

Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)

moving........

[9 July 2000]

OK normally I try to avoid the US films that portray foreign wars, and I only like a few within that factor ie The Killing Fields, Schindlers List etc. This film falls into my favourites list, and yes it does have several trappings that faulter it, but I feel that it's focus on the kids and their surounding's saves it, along with the very strong performances.

I think the storyline has been explained well enough so I'll focus on the factor that draws me to rate this film so high. The acting I feel is extremely well conceived esp from Emira Nusevic, the young girl retrieved from the orphanage. She perfectly portrays the fear and frustrations with living in the center of an urban warfare and in fact is probably the best child performance I have ever witnessed on film. Stephen Dillane, playing the British Journalist, also comes through with an astounding performance, as does Kerry Fox and all others.

Overall based on it's merit's I would rate this 7.5, for it's acting, on-location shooting, and the overall moving portrayal of the effect's of Urban Warfare. I detract 2.5 for the slightly one sided portrayal of the war.

The Baby of Mâcon (1993)

What is ultimately a Stage Epic....

[10/10 · 22 May 2000]

I'm surprised at the common interpretations of this film, and I agree it is incredibly gratuitous in it's manner, but it also reflects that of a modern crisis. Greenaway based this film on his witnessing of the virtual exploitation of youth in mass commercialism, from television to that of city billboards.

The story revolves around an infant who is exploited by a young woman, ultimately for attention, by claiming the child as being holy and that God speaks through him (the voice being that of a man plainly seen, hidden up near the rafters. Quite brilliant production settings I think). What begins as a sudden rise to fame for her soon starts to unravel leading to an eventual murder, and her quick descent into hell (as explained by the other reviewers).

The production values are simply superb in it's theatre settings with either minimalist action and wonderful dialogue, or a stage filled with constant movement and flair, (and wonderful dialogue). The subdued, yet bright colour's throughout, and morbid setting's reflect perfectly that of an intoxicating period of history, and really makes one glad that they dont exist in this corrupted, horrific environment. As said elsewhere, you can almost smell the stench.

The acting is absolutely brilliant, from Ormond as the child's disturbed mentor to her eventual lover "The Bishop's Son" Fiennes. I truly can't understand how one of the reviewers would consider this to be a low point for Fiennes, as, if I were in his position, I would be truly proud of the performance given and the content of this wonderful film. It's morbid, but gives much at the same time to the imagination.

It's a shocking film nearly all the way through but I think that's just one of the factors that contributes to it's success and it's portrayal of a truly bloody and socially immoral period of time and context (especially for the classic theatre settings) Any other way would have detracted from the subject. The ending has never left my mind. I love this film.

10/10.