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Reviews
80,000 Suspects (1963)
Watchable if a little dated.
Guest shows himself as a competent all rounder (Wrote, Produced and Directed) but needs Bloom and Johnson to cover over direction which lacks at times. Bloom is given too little material for a pedigree which was demonstrated better both before and after, Johnson is archetypically stoic, if a little wooden. It is fair to say that it is dated, but still watchable, and the formula is true to what still makes a reasonable movie today. Emphasis is rightly on the characters and there are sufficient character subplots to keep us interested, though a little more development wouldn't have gone astray.
Crna machka, beli machor (1998)
Let down by my own expectations
I made the fatal mistake of viewing this with expectations set high. Having eagerly anticipated viewing this one for some time, I finally managed to watch this - granted on video.
In summary it was a disappointment. The wacky character and situation ingredients all seemed to be there, but it just didn't come together. The laughs rely too much on a slapstick formula, which for me was handled a little clumsily, and without smooth comedy the plot was too thin and predictable to carry it.
If you're going to watch this one, and don't say don't watch it, expect little more than simple fun and you'll probably be okay.
The Potato Factory (2000)
One for Bryce Courtenay fans...
The Potato Factory is definitely true in style if not completely in content to the novel.
It gives the typical Courtenay piecemeal character development, in stuttered episodic fashion, telling the same old story, with slight variations on locations, period characters etc. As I said, if you're a fan of Courtenay's work, you'll will no doubt love it.
For me, I wish I watched the Graham Kennedy special which aired on the same night. 4 out of 10.
Pi (1998)
Not for everyone, and not for video
I recently had the opportunity to see this again, and this time at the cinema having previously seen it on video. I have to admit to being disappointed after the video viewing, but given the attention the big screen demands the film makes a vastly different impression. It is most definitely not for everyone, not even all fans of indie films. Brilliant given the tiny budget, but it gives the impression of being a short film padded out to feature length. Some of the cinematography is fantastic, though the grainy images start to wear after a while, and the soundtrack is outstanding. Ignore the holes in the plot, and the occasional implausability, and feel the obsession, the paranoia and fear and you'll probably enjoy it a lot more.
If you have to view it on video do yourself a favour and make sure it is on a big screen, with a decent and loud home theatre set up, with the room dark and the phone off the hook. Get immersed.
Festen (1998)
Still digesting the emotional pull, hours after....
In short, this is an outstanding movie. The use of "cheapening" filming effects, ie shaky hand held shots, which initially take some getting used to, ultra grainy shots and deliberate out-of-focus, ultimately allow the individual artist's performances to shine.
This is as close as a film audience get to a movie, and the viewers emotions move not just up and down, but left, right and every which way - rapidly. Lots of messages augment the powerful central theme, making this one worthy of a return visit. I only wish I understood Danish!
The Lost Daughter (1997)
And On and On and On and On and On it goes
At best a meandering plot, lame, listless and robotic performances abound. Richard Chamberlain's daughter, to whom he hasn't spoken a word in 2 years, is ensconced in a cult, 40 odd members of which have committed a simultaneous murder/suicide in Switzerland and Canada. Chamberlain needs to find both his daughter, and answers to the riddle of the cult. Trouble is, so does just about everybody else on both sides of the Atlantic. Half a dozen or more strings of the plot are left dangling, and complicated with a series of flashbacks to fill in background to the cult and it's members. After 3 laborious hours the answers are suddenly snapped together in a conclusion which is 1% surprise and 99% relief for the viewer. If you're the sort of person who has to find out how a movie ends once you've started watching it, which was my mistake, believe your initial feelings and turn off quickly. If you are of stronger will than I am, enjoy some of the laughable acting, direction, script etc for 20 minutes or so, and then do something positive, like re-arrange your sock drawer!
Macbeth (1948)
Yet again, one to split Welles critics, pro and con
Orson Welles has a long history of polarising opinion of his every effort, and MacBeth, not surprisingly, creates most distance between pro and con. The truth lies in the vast grey in between.
To mine, Welles is a great director, and controller of scene, and the conflict between actor and director is strong throughout MacBeth. The grandest scenes, dialogue and monologue can be buried at the single sweep of the great man's hand, and almost simultaneously, perspectives almost undiscovered previously, are brought to life with a vitality which lambasts the casual onlooker about the head.
MacBeth has always been a play deserving of the utmost concentration, but this version, regardless of effort does no justice to either Shakespeare or Welles.
One has the overiding impression that Welles would have done more for all by leaving his self indulgence at home, and applying his grand creativity to expanding the scope and audience for a modern generation.