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Reviews
Ôdishon (1999)
What a load of TAT!
After having seen Ringu, Battle Royale and Otogiriso I took an interest in Asian cinema, horror in particular. Both Ringu are great, Audition, however, is far far from the standard Ringu set for me.
The first 25 minutes it moves along in a pace so slow it would seem the intent is to put you to sleep. As the story begins to unfold, and you expect the film to do justice to its horror category, it falls flat on its bloody face and ventures into a near stomach-turning half-assed sado-orgy.
There is no suspense, thrills or excitement whatsoever. I was about to turn the bloody thing off several times but hoped it would pick up nearing the end. It didn't.
Save yourself two hours of your life. The score here at IMdb is overrated in extremo.
2/10.
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Entertaining for an hour
Jim Carrey may be an overrated comedian/actor, but it's in parts like this one he's just plain superb. The first 45-60 minutes of Bruce Almighty is highly entertaining. Morgan Freeman may seem wholly out of place - and he is - but you'll still get a laugh out of it if you like Mr. Carrey.
Unfortunately, the last 30 minutes tend to degrade into a sloppy, sentimental hollywood-esque rubbish romantic comedy. The film loses most of it's glory when becomning too mainstream and cheasy.
Carrey's as well as Aniston's performances are faultless, I suppose, but the story, which is very interesting in itself, leaves you wanting something more. Not just that run-of-the-mill ending.
6 out of 10 in my booth.
The Straight Story (1999)
Great story
This is not a movie for fans of the usual eerie Lynch stuff. Rather, it's for those who either appreciate a good story, or have grown tired of the run-of-the-mill stuff with overt sentimentalism and Oprah-ish "This is such a wonderful movie! You must see it!"-semantics (tho' she IS right, for once!).
The story unfolds flawlessly, and we are taken along a journey that, I believe, most of us will come to recognize at some time. A compassionate, existentialist journey where we make amends för our past when approaching ourt inevitable demise.
Acting is without faults, cinematography likewise (occasionally quite brilliant!), and the dialogue leaves out just enough for the viewer to grasp the details od the story.
A warm movie. Not excessively sentimental.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Must see for Twin Peaks fans
The master of moods gives Twin Peaks fans a real treat. There are some wonderful scenes in this pre-quel, and they will never escape my memory.
As a devout Twin Peaks (TV-series) fan, I enjoy this one a lot. It starts out sort of slow-ish, but accelerates into a fiery storm of what is later shown in the series.
Had it not been for the cast omissions (compared to the series) I'd given this a 9 out of 10. As it is, it gets a 7. The replaced cast is by no means bad, but the original cast & scenery would have added to the intense experience this movie really is.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Flawless. All the way through.
There are only a few movies one get to see where a 10 out of 10 is really warranted after you've seen the film several times. It's easy to jump to conclusions shouting "This is the best I've ever seen" just after seeing one particular film. This one, however, is my fave movie, and I've seen a lot of both contemporary and old movies. Countless viewings after my initial, I still stand tall and proclaim this to be the best drama ever made.
Martha's and George's relationship is that of a long married couple who have grown weary of each other. Yet they cannot leave each other, it's the only life they know. It's the only reality they've set for themselves and they dare not get out. The fights and arguments are, at the end of the day, worth the trouble of keeping your identity, your everyday life, your grasp of reality.
The cast, all four of them, are meticulous in their performances. They complete each others presence, nurture the rivalry, fill the gaps and most importantly-delivers to the maximum of their potential.
Watching this is more like seeing it performed on stage than in a theatre or on your TV in your home. Early on, you get the feeling all is not well between George & Martha, and as the guests arrive, the story is just about
to begin. The presence of the characters adds to the overall authenticicty of the story and the parts they play. It's a clichee, but I know many plays of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" has been set up: none can match the original.
If Citizen Kane is regarded as the best story ever told on the screen, this has to run very, very close.
In a heart-beat, I will give this 10 out of 10. That is saying A LOT, because I am a ferociously discriminating b***ard when it comes to movies!
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Very good film-noir!
The plot is clever and the story runs along very smoothly. Decent to good acting and the plot is very classic: the dream of the perfect heist.
Should go well with fans of Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep and The Killing.
7 out of 10.
Rebecca (1940)
A much better film than Rear Window
Although scoring highly, Rebecca should, in my view, be scored *higher* than Rear Window. This is an altogether more intriguing film. It has a great plot with many an unexpected turn, wonderful cinematography and great acting (Joan Fontaine is extraordinary credible as the innocent and fragile young woman).
In all but one respect, it excels Rear Window. Not as much suspense some will rightly argue, but it's entirely compensated by the neat plot.
I'll give it a 9 out of 10 in a heart-beat. And that is not just because I do not value Hitchcock's other films as highly (or simply because it IS ol' Alfred's work), but wholly on its own merit.