donjokat-kat Reviews

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)

Not a bad movie at all, and quite entertaining, even if flawed....

[7/10 · 24 October 2009]

Now I am a fan of the book series, and for book fans out there I can tell you that they changed a lot, took out a lot of the subtleties (it's patently obvious that Mr. Tiny is controlling Darren and Steve's lives the whole time, rather than a hidden thing revealed at the end like in the books), moved the plot forward, eliminated Debbie and replaced her with a monkey-girl, made his parents awful, etc....and for non-book fans, the plot can seem a little muddled at times, and the main actor who plays Darren is frankly a terrible actor, even if he looks the part....

And yet, it's still quite an enjoyable film, full of lots of laughs (especially from John C. Reilly, who is brilliant and a riot as Mr. Crepsley, it is worth watching this movie just for him alone!) and fun and colorful characters and an interesting story--enough of the books is retained for book fans like me to feel warm and fuzzy recalling them (this is no "Ella Enchanted" or "The Dark is Rising" abomination), and overall I think it's worth seeing. Everyone in the theater with me was laughing many times throughout the film, and besides the main kid everyone gave a great performance--Salma Hayek, the kid who plays Steve, William Dafoe, Patrick Fugit, the list goes on....

So in all, a decent film worth watching, and which I hope does well enough for a sequel....

The Anarchist's Wife (2008)

A moving masterpiece about love, war, family, and commitment to ideals.

[10/10 · 28 January 2009]

I came into watching this film with relatively high expectations, but it succeeded in exceeding them! It is an incredible film, with an interesting and heartbreaking story, wonderful performances (I especially enjoyed seeing the talented young Banquero again), and an excellent evocation of the Spanish Civil War that is a little more balanced (as far as showing atrocities on both sides instead of just one) than most. The interesting use of old archived footage interspersed with dramatized scenes added to the war atmosphere. But while it is something of a historical/war drama, the main heart is the enduring love between the anarchist of the title and his wife, that survives time, distance, tragedy, and the horrors of war--it is really a family drama and love story set in the Spanish Civil War more than a movie about the war itself.

In any case, it is well worth seeing, for both the story and the performances, if you have the chance. The musical score was lovely as well.

Moram spavat', andjele (2007)

A beautiful, heartbreaking film that's well-worth seeing!

[8/10 · 8 November 2008]

I saw this film yesterday at the Seville European Film Festival and was blown away by the time the film had ended--and not to mention sobbing like a baby! Though it takes a little bit of time to get into, once the movie gets going there's nary a dull moment--though it does help if you read the summary first, and know that the father is Croation and the mother Serbian and some background perhaps of Yugoslavia to fully understand the film.

Basically this film is the story of a 9-year old boy named Goran in communist 1970s Yugoslavia whose life seems peaceful enough, with an eclectic and colorful family, until his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, and they finally file for divorce. To make things harder, his father immediately begins dating a colleague from work, and not long after that the father of Goran's best friend gets in trouble for some anti-Yugolavian activism and has to flee with his family. Then more tragedy strikes.....

In short this is a moving family drama whose interesting plot is complemented by good acting (even though the lead children were not professional actors) and accented by a beautiful score which seems to me to be influenced by ethnic music, though I am no expert and thus can't say for sure. I really hope that this film is released internationally, especially in the US, since I think it deserves to be seen in more places. Just make sure you bring some tissues!

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Terrible--a big disappointment that's a pointless nonstop show of gore

[3/10 · 30 January 2006]

Sorry, but I'm a reviewer who a) absolutely loved the first Underworld movie but b) still thinks that this one is terrible. I mean, I was looking forward to this movie with much anticipation and excitement--but from the opening clay-mation-like battle scene(that's how bad and fakey the special effects were in that part), to the end, there was pretty much just violence, violence, blood, and gore (with a little sex in between) with nary a plot to sustain it. While it may not be gratuitous in sex scenes, it most definitely is in violence--impalement is the operative word of the movie, it pretty much happens to everyone in a bloody fiesta and spectacle of guts and gore. Basically the movie consists of Selene and Michael running from Marcus in the Czech republic (how on earth did they end up there anyway?) and shooting at him. Over and over and over again. And then shooting at anything else in their way, to almost no effect (I wonder why they kept doing it--I guess just to keep up the standby of pointless blood and gore and violence). In the middle, they meet a vamp historian who tells them the truth of why Selene's family was targeted (finally some interesting plot! And the exposition promised by advertisers!), and then they meet Alexander Corvinus, the father of the Vamp and Lycan races. Then they go to stop Marcus from unlocking his bro the first Lycan using Selene's memory,and manage to chop Marcus's head off with a helicopter blade--thus they win for the time being, and set up for a third movie a la Matrix (though I have to say that the Matrix was a lot more plot-filled than this one, and less of a nonstop aimless gore fest.

What I loved about the first movie was the ambiance, the the plot, with Selene trying to uncover Kraven's betrayal and save Michael--I liked seeing the way the vampires lived, with Selene's friend (played by Sophia Myles), the ceremonies of Awakening, the many vamps lounging glamorously in the Mansion. These are the things that I miss so much in this film, which weren't there--they only go to the mansion once, and that's just to see Marcus kill everyone and wipe out the Kraven threat in two seconds. We don't even get to see the rest of the vampire or Lycan clans even ONCE, besides the few who were with Kraven in the one "Marcus-killing-all" scene. And I think there's more violence than dialogue. True, there was violence in the first film--particularly the subway station scene in the beginning--but no where NEAR to the scale that exists in this movie. In this movie, the violence just takes over and overwhelms and swallows the plot, making it a journey from point A to B with mostly just violence and gore, a sex scene consummating Michael and Selene's love, a tiny bit of interesting exposition, and a tiny bit accomplished in the end. I hope the third will be better, but I won't get my hopes up too much this time, and will probably wait for it to come out on DVD to see it.

But if you just like nonstop, pointless blood and gore and violence, then sure, maybe this movie is for you. For me, though, I like plot, and so I'll stick to the first Underworld film.