Change Your Image
dr-mtarver
Reviews
Appaloosa (2008)
boring because the heroes lack a counterpoint
I spent some time figuring why this movie doesn't work. Its slow and boring, despite some solid performances.
The problem is that two of the central characters are weak. Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) is the villain. He starts off well by killing three lawmen single handed. After that it's downhill. In succession.
* He backs down on facing Virgil Cole when having 4:1 advantage in numbers. * He is captured going to the toilet. * He then backs down again when having the advantage of 10:1. * He escapes (a brief rally but ...) * Is recaptured double quick and his horse is traded by Hitch to the Indians. * Manages to run off again. * Finally is killed by a perfunctory single shot from Hitch having been slapped in the face.
Altogether not the most daunting villain. This accounts for why the film seems to lack pace - because Cole and Hitch as a duo are very powerful but have no counterpoint and hence not much purpose.
Allie (Zellweger) is simply batted between strong men. So there's not much development there. So you're left with a character study of two lawmen in an empty film.
What Women Want (2000)
clichéd American comedy
Probably American humour does not cross the Atlantic well, but this followed the depressing trend of exploiting American men making fools of themselves for laughs. I suppose its kind of chic and a counterbalance to 50s themes of women being dumb dolls who basically need big strong men to look after them. But it palls very fast unless you like humiliation as a gag. In some sense it is a comment on the dismal relations between men and women in East coast America. The women are painted, self-centred, ambitious and ultimately as useless as Gibson's main character.
Interestingly the film starts off by presenting Gibson's character as a 'man's man' (quote). In the short scenes that follow the 'man's man' is portrayed as a total jerk. The implication is that what men value in men and admire is crass and useless too. The alternative models of manhood (and there have been very many great men) are reduced to this shallow portrayal. In that sense the film is an accurate portrayal of a society that has lost touch with male values. But that is a comment on the film rather than the message.
The rest of the film follows a predictable course of Gibson's redemption to a sanitised version of the modern male. If you can stay up to watch it.
Invincible (2001)
that was dire
Got to be one of the cheesiest martial flicks I have ever seen. The fight scenes were pathetic, and the scripting made you realise the virtues of the silent films. I think the actors must have crawled into their trailers at the end of the day and climbed into a bottle just to forget. Why on earth did the heroes spend so much time doing martial arts training in an indoor pond? So many times Billy Zane was droning on about something or other while sloshing around in jammies in ankle deep water. The character development was non-existent. There is nothing about this film which you could recommend except perhaps the camera work.
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
an uneven film
A mixture of weaknesses and strengths. The weaknesses were largely the result of overacting - perhaps encouraged by the script? The Italian torturer was absurd and irritating. The brothers Grimm perhaps a bit manic. Plot occasionally a bit disjointed.
But the effects, the forest, the score were quite good. The weaknesses made it difficult to completely lose oneself in this film.
A lot of people seem to have given this film a bad rating because it is a bit grimm! The death of the kitten seems to have influenced many verdicts. Bizarre. Arnie bumps off a small army and its OK, but a kitten cuts people up.
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
dull and pointless
Well IMDb insists on at least 10 lines in a review - which is probably more substance than is present in this film. The summary really says it all.
The basic plot is - pretty young woman wanders around playing fairly pointless pranks with minimal dialogue. Little character development and her behaviour is not outlandish enough to be really interesting. Her life is too unreal for me to identify with her and her affections seemed shallow and unrooted. Nothing especially exciting, funny or tragic happens.
A contrived film in the main, two stars for decent camera-work and a pretty lead actress.
My DVD had a hiccup just before the end - it had had enough. So had I.
The Last Samurai (2003)
don't be put off - this is excellent
This is an epic film; probably one of those classics which will shine more brightly down the years. Basically the film hits all the bulls eyes; good plot, powerful characters, fine acting from the leads, great supporting acts from the Tim Small , Billy Connolly and Koyuki (whose ability to conduct feeling through facial expression alone is stunning), great cinematography, stunning battle choreography and a wonderful musical score by Zimmerman. Perhaps the best film I have ever seen.
This film plays well again and again which is a sign of its class. Very few films are good enough for me to say "I'd like to watch that again" and very few films move me to tears. This does both.
TLS undoubtedly deserves 10/10 and the fact that on this site it does not get that mark is due to some very silly and immature remarks from some 'critics' who either do not like Tom Cruise or have some political axe to grind. The rest of the criticisms revolve around "It is surely improbable that .....". Quite lot of them are not accurate; here are a few.
" ..... Ahlgren survives the last battle and does so without without suffering a scratch."
Ahlgren does not inevitably survive the battle; the narrator states that "nobody knows what became of him" and that he may have died of his wounds. Ahlgren does not survive the last battle without a scratch he is hit in the shoulder and leg.
" .... that Ahlgren can learn the art of Japanese sword in 6-9 months."
As a cavalry man and civil war veteran Ahlgren already knew how to handle the sabre for at least ten years before his capture. From sequences it is apparent he is extremely adept and coordinated
in movement and he has six to nine months daily practice in Japanese fighting techniques as a prisoner. Its not inconceivable he could turn into a fairly formidable figure.
" .... that Katsumoto speaks English."
Katsumoto speaks English - not unusual given he is a daimyo and not a samurai from a local village as some commentator mistakenly says. Katsumoto had been a senior figure in government and Japan had been open to the West for 25 years.
".... that Katsumoto speaks English in his final words."
Katsumoto's final words are in English because he is addressing his friend who is American.
"... Katsumoto seeks advice in war from Ahlgren."
Not at all - Ahlgren knows the tactics of the enemy far better than Katsumoto.
"... Ahlgren could learn Japanese in 6 months"
The great Richard Burton remarked that he could "break the back of any foreign language in a month". Burton was extraordinary in learning 40 languages. But he proved what can be done - and Ahlgren was credited in the film as gifted as a linguist.
"... Japanese were advised by an American in military matters."
Yes, correct, Japan was advised by Germans on army matters and British on Navy ones. So really what we should have watched was a guy speaking authentic C19 German with a Prussian accent and subtitles from beginning. What fun - NOT.
People who argue this stuff rarely stop to think that fanatical adherence to historical detail at the cost of rendering a film unwatchable does no good service at all. Historical verisimilitude must be respected as contributing to the film as a piece of art, but when it overrides the mission of the film, it performs no good service. I think Zwicker got this right.
If you're one of these historical nerds who watches a film only to see if they've got the shoulder pads right then you must avoid Shakespeare - he has historical anachronisms everywhere.
"... that the Japanese wife could come to care for the man who killed her husband"
Well Ahlgren did save the life of her child at risk to himself! We can see that Ahlgren killed in the line of duty to defend his own life and that he is a brave & decent man. Perhaps she could see the same - can anyone predict the human heart?
One other criticism you will read here - TLS is like "Dances with Wolves". And so? Dances with Wolves is no doubt similar to one or more of thousands of previous films. This is the silliest criticism.
My advice: go and get the DVD if you have never seen it. Ignore the losers who try to put you off. You're in for a treat. .