deluqz Reviews

Modigliani (2004)

mixed bag

[7/10 · 11 February 2005]

This movie is very much a mixed bag.. it's a good film. It's nice to watch, the acting is good, the direction is good and the story is engaging. But I feel it doesn't capture the real spirit of the era and the Paris artist community. It focuses too much on the immoral behavior and madness of the artists and leaves out the way these people viewed the world and their concepts of beauty. It's good the film tries to show the grittiness of it all, but there was so much more... i'd really would've liked to see more about what drove modigliani to paint as he did and what exactly drove him to destruction. This film only just touches on that...

it tries too much to please the American audience in their quest for standardized Hollywood stories, but on the other hand it tries to have a certain "artsy" flair that remains just polish because it lacks depth. Add to that some production-decisions that are a bit unfortunate, like the for any European obviously fake accents. They should've taken the original languages (french, Italian, Spanish, German) or English. Not this lame compromise..

Still you gotta see this. Not for an actual representation of modiglianis life or that era, just for it being a good film, dealing with passion, loyalty, madness, love and hate. See it for the atmosphere ,which although not accurate, is beautiful. See it for the good acting and the wonderful chemistry between modi and picasso. It could've been so much more but it is what it is.. good, intelligent entertainment.

Pi (1998)

the hard stuff

[10/10 · 11 February 2005]

yes I gave this a 10 out of 10, it's that good. I write this because I am annoyed with people complaining that this film tries to hard to be arty, intellectual and deep. And that comment from this guy about people telling him this is their favorite movie are pompous wannabe-intellictuals is just ridiculous. Has it ever occurred to you, little man.. .that those people might actually be intellectuals, or at the very least looking for intellectually challenging film? I know what ticks you off.. is all the pseudo-intellectuals acting like they like this, just because that's what all their hippie poetryslam friends do. That's a problem with those people... not this movie. Good enough with negativity.. why is this film so good? What makes this film good is that it's very, very low budget yet makes no compromise at all. From the onset it's clear that this movie is heavy and clearly not intended for those looking for light entertainment. It sticks to it's roots, it doesn't try to lure in big crowds by using some subculture hype or whatever. Once again... if you are into easier films.. great (me too), but don't look for this one.

I'm not gonna spoil the story, because this film is way better if you don't know where it's going. But i'll tell you what I liked most about it. The soundtrack is an integral part of the story, it functions as a representation of the brainwaves of the main character or something like it, that's just genius. Also the film brings a real sense of paranoia with minimal means (making you even more paranoid) and no matter what your view on the relation between mathematics, strange theories, religion is, it will change the way you think about it.

if you like challenging movies, can stand heavy endings, have the capacity to grasp all the subjects it implicitly touches upon, you can not go wrong. The film itself is pretty minimal and not everything is explained to the viewer and at the end of the story it lets you make your own conclusions. To me this movie shows the essence of religion 10 times better than the passion of the Christ did and it took me from being a full-on atheist to doubting and restating my views...

Robot Stories (2003)

I liked it a lot..

[8/10 · 11 February 2005]

first off, this is low budget and the filming debut of this director (or so it seems). Judge it as that... of course it's not perfect, as the people behind it are still finding out which of their ideas work on screen and which don't. This film then, for the most part works, and if you think it over afterwards it works even better.

You gotta admire the vision and care that went into each of the 4 stories that each touch on a different side of the same subject: how humans relate to machines and then relate back to real life. The story about the comatose boy his mother and his action figures was especially touching, as was the one about the older man that just wants to die, both beautiful roles by the mother and the sculptor. It seems the director is at best when making a 'small' story, he does it with a tenderness and visual power rarely seen. This leaves the actors plenty of room to present their characters in subtle ways and not having to carry the weight of the story by overacting.

The acting from the predominantly Asian cast is very good, and it's nice to see asians in a non-stereotypical role in American film. The imagery shows the low budget, but the locations are well chosen and it's well directed. The only weak point is when it gets exciting the director has trouble picking up the pace and really conveying the sense of fear and adrenaline the characters must feel. These moments are very sporadic (just one in the first story..my least favorite anyway).

This is a movie to watch, if you have an open mind and can relate to the people on screen. If you're looking for more traditional sci-fi themes.. look further. Calling this movie sci-fi just because it deals with robots is missing the point. This is more geared towards drama. And it's good.. especially for a filming debut. Definitely a director to watch for in the future. A man with vision, ideas and original stories to tell.

Gang Tapes (2001)

very good film

[8/10 · 8 February 2005]

I definitely liked it. I picked this one up out of the budget bin, not expecting a very good movie for my 3 bucks, just another one of those glorifying gang flicks most rappers like to act in. So this movie surprised me...

what I did see was some solid acting (people complaining about the dialogue don't understand the film.. it's about realism, something that most movies lack). Although the concept of the film is kind of an LA gang home-video, the visuals are good throughout. They capture the feel of LA and the situations perfectly. I guess in a way you could compare this movie to Kids, it's in the same semi-documentary style, yet it's much more driven by the story where kids was more concept based. Any comparison to Blair witch project is ridiculous.

it's a very good and (as far as I know) realistic and well shot film. It blends a solid storyline, original concept, good subtle acting with real life surroundings, violence and drama... without getting too hollywoodishly polished, overblown and forced entertainment value..

if you like good, reality based stories you won't be disappointed.