pavor nocturnus Reviews

The Interpreter (2005)

...preconceived notions would spoil the experience...

[9/10 · 22 April 2006]

...and I had none. Didn't know anything about the movie before I've seen it, so I watched it with an open mind. The storyline is mentioned before, so, to skip the repetition, this is a modern political thriller with a twist. >>> SPOILERS AHEAD <<< First of all, I happened to like the idea that no particular country was mentioned. The plot revolves around the imaginary south-African country, which suffers from the universal tragedy - civil war, ethnic cleansing, dictatorship, torture and death. By not mentioning a particular country, we are better able to apply the principle in general (we recognise the plight of white Africans in Zimbabwe, crisis in Sudan, power-struggle in Congo, liberation and 'liberation' movements across the continent...). Another aspect of the movie that I liked was the intensity. It was a subdued experience, with very little of intense action, such was the blowing-up of a bus (perhaps the only action-movie moment). The characters act in a low-key, and yet express the range of emotions. On very few movements the acting was over-the-top. The whole tone was reminiscent of political movies made during '60s and '70s, with the ideas of balance, political correctness and universal values still being in place. Of course, both the acting and directing showed evolution over the period. Shooting the movie in the UN headquarters was definitely a bonus. In my opinion, and I recognise that not all would agree, the inconsistencies in the plot and directing did not affect the movie. On a contrary, we have a constant feeling that there is something missing, like in the real world where you see only the part of the picture and than struggle to connect the dots. Somebody complained that thing just happen in this movie. Yes, some things just happened, as is the case in real life. The characters are often portrayed as weak, and Sean Penn's character on one instance admits that he had made a mistake (and implies making other mistakes). This was the strength of the movie, and not the weakness. The whole 'bus fiasco' was a replica of a real-life situation, with confusion, happenstance and tragedy. What I didn't like were a few compromises that were made, such as using a couple of common places and repeating stereotypes, but that seemed to be unavoidable. Otherwise, some of the fans would be shied away from seeing the movie (I did like the end - it was the only possible ending, no wedding bells here). Perhaps on some other day I wouldn't be so generous, but today is a good day - Mr. Smith gives it 9/10.

Avenger (2006 TV Movie)

jackal it ain't...fading of former glory

[2/10 · 20 April 2006]

I am actually not surprised that some people liked this movie, it's the same thing with the junk food, the more you eat it, the more you want it. The same principle applies here, and there will be some happy customers at the end. So, if you like generic, mindless movies, where unbelievable characters do unbelievable things, you'll like this movie. The premise of the movie is something that was recycled many times over. Forsyth is considered to be one of the most popular authors. However, being popular does not make you a good writer. Even in the 'Jackal', his much acclaimed book, the characters of the OAS are portrayed in a flat, one dimensional manner (you keep wandering why there are people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for a such a cause), but this was (mercifully) not the focal point of that story, and it did not stick out that much. (>>>This part may contain spoilers<<<) The 'Avenger', on the other hand, is focused on such a premise, and we learn very little about the main character and nothing about the main villain, or his fight, except that he is a psychopathic killer (together with his fellow Serbs, a fact speaking how much generic the script is). Forsyth uses the stereotypes left and right, to the point that there is no single original part in his story - first, you have a strong silent hero, who actually might be a hidden psychopath himself (considering his Vietnam past), played by Sam Elliott. Sam Elliott is a lovable actor, a perfect cowboy, but here he does not belong (least because he is over 60 and walks like he needs a hip replacement). His daughter is killed by a foreigner, who happens to be a Panamanian serial killer (because Americans are not capable of such crimes, or because we would relate in an unexpected way to an American serial killer? - no, in Forsyth's lack of imagination, this was a way to show a man beyond the reach of justice). Sam is out to avenge a man killed in Bosnia together with his girlfriend by psycho-killer Serbs (incidentally, there were also six children killed during the same incident, because this is how many children Serbs need to kill in order to be hated?). The girlfriend happens to share the last name with the former president of Croatia, showing the depth of the source of Forsyth's information ("the research", says Forsyth, 'there I was one day sitting in my living room, drinking tea and reading the newspapers, and bam!, there it was, in front of me, my new book!'). The plot never thickens, and the sequence of predictable events follows. The directing is mediocre and did not help in improving the experience (one of the most annoying things were the flashbacks with a 'whoooosh' sound). The action scenes are done without much thought or skill (first fight with the guard who actually ambushes the main character would be, in normal life, the end of the story). In all honesty, there are some bright moments - the CIA director, portrayed by James Cromwell was one of them. If somebody told me that he is, indeed, a CIA director, I might believe. He became an archetypal chief of a governmental institution and he is good at it. Timothy Hutton repeats his role from the 'Nero Wolfe Mystery', but with the sinister twist - that is, he twists arms here. Not enough for me to like the move, or even get close to it. On a good day, I would give it 3/10. But this is not my good day, and Mr.Smith gives it 2/10...

Sniper 2 (2002 Video)

give me my life back !!!

[1/10 · 5 April 2006]

After renting this movie by mistake, I said to myself 'how bad can it be, I'll just sit tight and give it a try'. My dear Lord, what a mistake. I am a war movie buff myself, and I can swallow a lot of inconsistency, dumb dialogue, poor acting, thin plot and lousy sets, but this was way below the threshold. This movie was full of each, and than some. Tom Berenger is at the age when he should be enjoying his retirement benefits in Florida. Who was he fighting at the end - Hungarians, Serbs, Muslims? I know that, by now proverbial bad guys, the Serbs (which itself tells you how 'cliche' the plot was) were the target, but they ended up speaking the Hungarian, and this in a scenery that screams 'This Be Happening in Hungary'. For God's sake, do you think that the viewers are so uneducated. I could continue ranting, but the main point is, don't waste your time as I did with mine. Mr. Smith gives it 1/10, only because there is no 0 rating.

Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

Who's to blame for the fiasco - I guess the person who got us here...

[4/10 · 8 October 2005]

And that would be John Moore - he simply cannot cut his mustard. Not to repeat all the comments about the flaws of this movie, but to ask a question - 'what were you thinking?'. Moore decided to get beautifully streamlined Aldrich' 1965 movie and reshape it in his monster garage into the 300 hp dust blower, thinking this would cater to whom? Today's younger generation? They didn't buy it. Then who else? I guess no one, or at least I cannot see that there was a specific group that particularly liked the movie. We see again and again how Moore tries to exploit today's common places, this without much style, and the result is just a bad movie. The idea of so-called equal representation backfires - a couple of 'good whites', a couple of 'bad whites' (one to turn out to be good), one Hispano-American, one woman, one or two blacks, one from each ethnic, denomination and interest group...At the end, the great equaliser is that, because of the stereotypes, everyone gets offended. From the technical and special effects point, the movie does not shine either. It was a shabby work at best. Why did I then bother to give 4 stars...First, I like adventure movies (at the same time, it was disappointing to see it done like this), some of the sets, images and flickers of dialogue and acting reminded me that there were some good actors and solid original story involved. Everybody seem to agree that these good actors were, to say the least, uninspired. Some liked Ribisi in his role, I did not...Ribisi is a great actor, but once you see Hardy Kruger in the original movie, you cannot help but think that Ribisi's interpretation did not work quite as well. At the end, I think I'll try to forget that this movie was ever made. ...Now, thinking of adventure movies, I would really like to see a remake of that famous 1965 Aldrich' movie 'The Flight of the Phoenix' done by an apt director.

The Hunted (2003)

low, lower, lowest...hunted

[1/10 · 11 March 2004]

Recycling to save the earth is fine, but this piece of recycled hollywood c... is so lame. oy, hollywood, how'but this one: 3 US rangers (spec-ops, veal-chops) sneak close to enemy lines (say, serbian, whatahack), and out of nowhere come bad boys and snatch them...and nobody knows where they're until few days later when they're shown on enemy tv and than they say how stupid they are. no, this can't be used in a script, because ...it actually happened. holly s..., now what? ok, i have a good one - us pilot is shot down behind enemy lines, and than tries to survive by hunting and eating bad guys (say, serbian, whatahack). and than comes this retired army guy who'd originally trained the pilot-man-hero-cannibal in survival skills, kinda looks like emeril, and tells him over the satellite phone how to cook them (', some basil, a pinch of salt, wa-bamm!'). how's that for a plot, eh?