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ya1973
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Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)
2,5 hours of misery - worst movie in a while
This is about the worst movie I have seen in a while. The acting was very good though, especially by the children (very expressive and believable), which is why I give 2 out of 10. Overall, the movie is just depressing from start to finish. It's a long one (2,5 hours) but it felt like being much, much longer. I was thinking of leaving the theatre earlier, but then figured I'd waited long enough already, and perhaps the end would explain it all. Well, there was no end. The movie just stopped at some point. Yes it is a portrayal of people in a German village just before WWI, but the thing is, hatred, brutality and disgust are so dominant in this whole movie, that no other emotion seems possible (except for a little love story, which makes up for only about 5% of the whole story though). Discipline, self-hatred and hatred of others, abuse (of children also), punishment. These are the themes. And they are being shown in a depressingly dense and one-dimensional manner. I cannot relate to any comparison to Lars van Trier movies (which I just read in another comment), because this movie here does not have any hope or lust for life in it. This is such a typical German way of portraying the evil. And I had so looked forward to this one, because it was supposed to tell us something about the "old" Germany, without being a movie about WWII and the Nazis, like most other successful German movies are. Look at "Life is Beautiful" in comparison. It's an Italian movie, yes, and one can so much feel that. It is full of hope and also joy, yes joy, despite the tragic theme. But this one? Forget it. It gave me the creeps. I regret not having left the theatre earlier. If you want to watch 2,5 hours of misery, go and see this movie. Otherwise, save both your precious time as well as money. No wonder that the best "German" director these days is not German, but Turkish (Fatih Akin). I am utterly disappointed. I couldn't care less about the characters, despite some very good acting. Amazed at the Golden Globe nomination.
Brüno (2009)
Cohen is a Genius, Bruno a great character, but the movie fails
I love Sacha Baron Cohen's work. Everything from the Ali G show, Borat to the character Bruno, that he already introduced in the Ali G show (and I always thought Bruno was hilarious). I so couldn't wait to watch this movie. In fact, I marked the day in my calendar, and I went to see a preview screening. As a huge admirer of Cohen's comedic talent (he IS a genius, incredibly gifted!), I couldn't be more disappointed than I am with this movie. It's not that I haven't laughed, and some scenes were funny, but often it was more a hysteric kind of laughter in disbelief about how badly this movie was made, or I wanted to laugh, because hey, this is my favorite comedian in action, right? Especially the character Bruno used to be so funny (watch "Bruno in Alabama", or "Bruno and Pastor Quinn, Gay Converter"), but the movie as such just goes over-the-top for the sake of it, it shocks in a non-intelligent way, it is often unaesthetic to watch. Plus, most scenes seem staged, so there is nothing like the (surprising and revealing) effect that Borat had, Brüno does not reveal anything. Just about everyone gives ready-made answers/reactions anyway. There is so much hit and miss. "Shock as much as possible", just for the sake of shocking, seems to be the motto, and it saddens me because it's as if Cohen tried to please a mass audience. Anything that is extreme, or even disgusting, even if it doesn't make sense in the plot, is being utilized here. I think this is a sad waste of talent. Maybe Sacha can afford it though. Sometimes even a genius fails!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Highly overrated, erotic fantasies of aging Woody Allen don't make for a good movie...
What a bore. I am just back from the cinema and highly disappointed with this movie. I am a fan of Woody Allen's early work (like "Manhattan" etc) and was delighted to read that with this movie, he was said to be back to his "old style". What? OK. Let's be fair. It was esthetically filmed and not a complete nuisance to watch, with good actors. But that's all. That's why I give 3 out of 10. Basically, the story is very dull. It's a mediocre piece of work (ok, Allen is no genius, but at least he used to be pretty entertaining). It made me think "is this showing the aging Woody Allen's erotic fantasies?". What is the message? There is no plot that is worth the mention. And character development? No. The passion(s) that develop are not even that: developed! They are not credible. I felt that the audience is made believe that the shown emotions exist this way - but it's that: make-believe. I did not believe much of what I saw, and, perhaps more sadly, I could not care less for it anyway. A "wanna-be-exotic-and-interesting" movie. Dull dull dull.
Elegy (2008)
What an uninteresting and manipulative plot!
Through most of this movie, I was bored to death. It tells the story of a middle-aged man who won't grow up and has some affairs with his students and then he falls in love. And that is basically it. Told for unbearable 2 hours or so. I must add that I love Ben Kingsley as an actor, but tend to not find Penelope Cruz especially interesting in her performances. Her character in this movie is pretty dull (no surprise there then), she is being portrayed as the beauty who is also profound (well, that's maybe a matter of taste, but I really don't find her that beautiful, and certainly the character was said to be profound, but it was not shown). Please. Give me a break. Just when I was about to almost leave the theatre, the movie gets a dramatic turn by Cruz' character having cancer. I am actually angry because of this movie. I do have a case of cancer in my family, so I am familiar with the subject, thanks very much. But a movie that has basically no substance at all (and just claims to be sophisticated, using all sorts of clichés etc) and then throws in the dramatic element of a terminal illness to make it a good movie? I find this manipulative and sorry, her character does not become interesting by having cancer. There is little character development (maybe mostly for Ben Kingsley's role), but the subject of people reaching middle age and not wanting to grow up is just dead boring to me. He won't commit, yet he is in love with her and never forgets her, whilst she loves him too, but leaves him due to lack of commitment, and then she reappears, telling him she has cancer. And he bursts into tears (actually the best moment, Kingsley is very credible here), and is at her side to support her. Add to all of this an even more dull son who appears somewhere in the middle of this painfully bad plot, wanting to talk to his father (and we are already informed that they don't have the best relationship with each other). He has an affair! As a married man! Oh My God! And it is so very bad acted, that I actually felt in every second of that scene "he is acting! he is acting! this is a movie! this is so not credible". I am sure this was not the intended reaction for the audience. So, all in all, let me summarize that I still feel this is a mainly uninteresting, dull, boring movie that has nothing new or really profound to tell, and that misuses the element of cancer (or any serious illness, for that matter) for its dramatic effect on the audience. I felt betrayed by this sort of emotional manipulation. I give 3 points because Kingsley's performance was - as usual - excellent. A bad movie remains a bad movie though, even if you add cancer to it. An uninteresting, not deeply explored character that is the so-called sophisticated lady (wishful thinking here!)does not become incredibly interesting just because she is going to die soon. Give me a break!
In Bruges (2008)
Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is such a fine piece of work, it is a laugh-out-loud movie with many surprising moments and so much wit. The blend of the dark side of things with comedy is superb. I think the genre is clear, it's black comedy. There are so many scenes when you actually expect the dialogue to develop differently (or actually the plot itself) and it's just so naturally funny. This is a movie that has to be watched in the original language, because the Irish comments and sense of humour is in itself hilarious. I would say except for the last 15 minutes, when I thought it was all going a bit over the top (which is why I give 9 out of 10), this is a very inventive, original way of storytelling, an intriguing plot, with character development, beautiful shots of Bruges and the sense of humour is just very deep, very fine, superb!
The Bucket List (2007)
Soft tones, shining actors and a decent story
This is a good one. First of all, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are very well cast for this movie. I liked the soft tones in it, some things that have not been said and even though I found the ending a little confusing and many things of the story do not come as a surprise (so it's rather mainstream and conventional, which I normally am not much drawn to), it is still as good as a movie can be under these circumstances. It is just a pleasure to watch and also makes you reflect on certain philosophical questions, as some things are being quoted in the movie. Not excellent, but very likable. I left the cinema with a heartwarming feeling.
Once (2007)
Lovely movie with soft tones and good soundtrack
I went to this movie with high expectations because of the overwhelming critics that I had read, and I must say it did fulfil my expectations - at least to quite some extent. The music is powerful, the emotions pure and natural, the handcamera is sometimes a little painful to watch (feeling like on a roller-coaster) and the romance theme works well as this is yet another movie where a love (or beginning love) remains unfulfilled. For my taste though, the beginning emotions should have been stressed a little more to make the end even stronger - as, for instance a movie like "Before Sunrise" has managed to do. Good piece of work though.
Odette Toulemonde (2006)
Charming components, but dull result
First the positive sides: Some beautiful pictures/ shots, some funny moments, a lovely actress playing with charme and surely this will put a smile on your face. On the other hand, what comes along as "funny" is often rather serious in reality and so in my opinion, the movie wants or tries to be "lighter" than it actually is. The jokes can be foreseen (clever is something else!) and are sometimes a little forced, plus there is a lot of cliché, so the genre of "kitsch" is perfectly fulfilled. It reminded me a little of the movie "Amelie" which I disliked for similar reasons. There is better french humour, charme and "feel-good-movies" than this. All in all, this one was a bore to me.
Kabadayi (2007)
Disappointing apart from Sener Sen
After some glorious reviews I was very curious to watch this movie. I must say I was quite disappointed all in all, but there were some positive elements as well: Sener Sen is fantastic in his performance, very convincing and his character truly shines. But that does not save the movie. I thought the main problem was an unfortunate mix of genres, which weakened the movie: it is supposed to be a drama, but there are (mainly unintended, almost ridiculous) "slapstick"-like scenes or moments in it, that makes it like a caricature of itself. Of course drama and comedy can be very close but I am not talking about true comedy here. Slapstick elements in such a serious piece of work just simply ruins it. Since I felt like laughing in some of the supposedly most serious moments, the drama in it did not truly catch my full attention. The homosexual character was so exaggerated (like a persiflage), sympathetic but very calculated jokes, then Devran is still talking and saying odd stuff whilst he is almost about to die, generally people have very dramatic expressions in there faces once they are shot dead (this could be slapstick, truly!) or the girl's comment about Devrans "best male piece" not being as big as Murats, and Devrans reaction to it (slapstick pure!) and this unfortunate mixture just took so much away from the movie. I got distracted and even noticed some minor imperfections in editing or logic of scenes(which I normally don't tend to notice). For example, Ali Osman uses Murats mobile phone to call his friend and just presses one button (like a repeat call) but it is impossible that his friends number is saved in Murats phone as he does not even know him! Karaca is seriously injured by the shooting in the bar, she is in hospital etc and suddenly the injury seems to be gone, she is back to normal! All of this is a pity, as Sener Sen truly shines in his role, but alas this is not a solo performance.
Het schnitzelparadijs (2005)
Never walked out of a movie before - until this one!
I never walked out of a movie before. Until this one. It took me exactly 25 minutes. Some things about it made me smile, but it was more of a forced smile mixed with some hope that this would turn out to be a funny movie. I am quite drawn to the Netherlands and tend to like dutch movies. This one is a total disgust, at least the first 25 minutes. Its not that I have no idea about "life in a restaurant kitchen" but summing up some really disgusting scenes and pretending to be "funny" is simply ridiculous. Is this movie supposed to be provoking? Shocking? Entertaining? I thought it was full of clichés (re. immigrants for example) and God!! some incredibly cheap jokes. Sorry, but accumulated nonsense and disgust don't really appeal to my sense of humour ... went to the drugstore afterwards for some shopping and boy was that entertaining in comparison! PS: My review was much shorter originally as I don't think there is really much to comment on but I couldn't post without a minimum of 10 lines, so this is the extended version of my "thumbs down" ;-)
Die große Stille (2005)
Beautiful scenes but endless repetitions that make you tired!
It's a shame that a movie with such beautiful pictures and a really fascinating insight into monastic life just turns out to be extremely boring due to endless repetitions and 160 minutes length! It pretends to be a meditative movie but in my opinion, seeing others meditate is just simply very tiring, especially after 2 hours or so...initially I thought, wow, there is so much beauty to be seen here (and I really love silent movies or movies with a slow pace) but this one just goes way to far. I caught myself at wanting this to finish, much earlier than it actually did. I had read about something at the end of the movie which I was curious to see, otherwise I would have left the theater much earlier. Really a pity!
Volver (2006)
Disappointing, no genre, packed with loads of messages that sum up to almost no message at all
"All about my mother" was the only Almodovar movie I actually ever found meaningful. Ever since, I keep watching his films in the hope that they will also touch me in some form, but I must say "Volver" is yet another disappointment. Like another user commented, I too think there are too many messages in the movie, too many plots (and also undeveloped ones) and as a sum it seems like no message at all. It is supposed to be a comedy but you don't really laugh, most of the time not even smile. Which genre is this movie in? Drama? No. Comedy? No!! I am an actress and studied film so I do not just watch movies for the sake of entertainment, but try to appreciate the artwork behind it. I find it hard to figure out which genre this movie is in, and that in itself lowers its quality in my view. Yes, the performances of all actresses was good but so what? I almost left the cinema in the middle of the film and it was not worth staying until the end like I did. I think with this movie I will finally accept that "All about my mother" was an exception and one should not expect exceptions to happen often.
Så som i himmelen (2004)
Excellent but has its flaws
Firstly, I really enjoyed this movie and its message, which is about daring to live life to the fullest. Very poetic, with heartwarming and funny and sad scenes, very lively, it was a pleasure to watch. Here are my "exceptions" though: The movie was way too long and at some point, it kept adding more and more additional conflicts so that it started to lose the main story line. I disagree though with another comment that its unrealistic to have so many people with "strange" problems in such a small village. I think this was absolutely realistic! There are incredible dramas going on everywhere, we just don't know this about people we meet only superficially. I disliked the ending, which was so loaded with symbolism and extremely forced. It left a bad taste as it was just too much. I did not like it that so many big issues were dramatically mentioned in the group (when some accused others in front of everyone else of major things, people would just be more "ashamed" to voice everything so personal in front of everybody, even if those people are a group one is closely working with). And: defending oneself is a human-beings strongest instinct. So why on earth would Daniel let himself be beaten and never fight back, not even to defend himself? I mean he was not weak, he could at least try to defend himself when attacked but it just drove me mad to see him do nothing. It was as if the storyteller tried to forcefully bring across a message like "violence is not needed", but the way he chose to do this was not good. I am also against violence but the character loses credibility when he stays unmoved despite all the attacks. And: Gabriella...why on earth would a woman, who has spent years with a man beating her up, go to that man when he gets arrested and say "I do not wish you any harm. You have just done your best, like all of us". Oh really, this spoiled so much! Was she going to be a saint or what? It would be normal for her to be bitter but not so almost "holy" and therefore not human. Was her work with Daniel and the music so great that it made her forget all of the s**t that happened to her? Oh, please. So, these were the spoiling moments. Nevertheless, I still think this is a delightful movie all in all, which is amazing enough, given my discomfort with quite a few things. Watch it!! ;-)"