Enid-3 Reviews

Junebug (2005)

Smart-ass sophisticates meet dumb hicks

[3/10 · 24 July 2006]

Basically, the situation is that of a sophisticated, big-city couple that go for a visit to the man's unsophisticated, rural family. The first part of the film held my interest; during the second part, I just wished that the director would get on with it, already.

The principal character, Ashley, is a twit-brain, and her husband, a sullen redneck. One reviewer found the climactic scene, between Ashley and her brother-in-law in the hospital, one of the greatest tings ever put on film. I found it an interminable bore.

Oh, yes, this is one of those films in which almost everybody smokes. Could the tobacco industry have contributed to this production?

Control (2003)

Another cult masterpiece, I guess

[3/10 · 15 January 2006]

Apparently the Budapest subway system makes sure that people pay their fares by employing groups of young men who roam the trains, checking to see if riders have bought tickets (which, evidently, many do not).

At the beginning of the film, we meet a group of these "controllers" who go about doing just that, in a rather abrasive and vulgar fashion. There are a few funny moments, such as the subway motorman who fixes his cab up like a shrine, with religious pictures, candles, beaded curtains, etc.

But the problem seems to be that nothing very much happens, except for bits of gratuitous violence, at least for the first hour, after which I shut the thing off. If I ever visit Budapest, I think I will stick to surface transit.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Who is Steve Zissou?

[3/10 · 27 November 2005]

The title would make you think that'Steve Zissou is an instantly recognizable fictional character, like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. I'm sure that is what the authors would like, but he is not. Steve Zissou turns out to be the loud-mouthed head of a bumbling group of undersea explorers.

What mild amusement there is in this situation fades long before it is over despite some nice bits of animation. However, so many people seem to have liked this that you end up thinking that perhaps you are just a Philistine, and really should be looking for "deep meanings" as the film grinds on. Nonetheless, I found myself wondering, between yawns, just why two excellent actresses like Anjelica Huston and Cate Blanchett decided to appear in this piece of junk.

Fortunately, we had recorded the film on our PVR, and could just erase it afterward. Otherwise, I would resent having spent anything to watch it.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)

Sushi western

[5/10 · 7 August 2005]

This film is set in what I believe is 16th century Japan - the whole country seems to be ruled by a series of clans (people are evidently free to slice each other up, without any interference by a superior legal authority), and most fighting is still done with swords and knives, although firearms are just being introduced, as seen in a scene where one character produces a pistol. As was the case in other films I have seen with a similar setting (notably "Gate of Hell"), it is quite visually appealing).

Nonetheless, this film is basically an old-fashioned Western, with the invincible good guy showing up to rid the town of bad guys who have taken it over. This being done, the villagers announce that it's time for the "festival", which leads to the silliest and most irrelevant finale I have ever seen in a film.

Intimate Strangers (2004)

Talk, talk, talk

[2/10 · 2 July 2005]

No I did not find this film sexy, nor did it lead me to any great psychological or philosophical insights. It was what we used to say about unsatisfactory dates when I was an adolescent, "NATO" - No Action, Talk Only. I just kept twitching, wishing the bloody thing would END already. It was just a lot of endless blither, and, as such, effectively numbed any concern I might have had for the characters, rather than cause any empathy with them.

One additional problem I had with the print I saw was that the voices and lip motions were poorly synchronized - almost as if it had been badly dubbed into Franch from another language, which, considering that all the principal actors were born in France, probably was not the case. Perhaps other prints were better.

Niystill, as one critic said about O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" "It boreth, me snoreth, me thinketh it stinketh.".

The Legend of 1900 (1998)

Less to this than meets the eye

[22 February 2002]

The basic idea of this film, someone who is born on a ship and never leaves it during his entire life seems interesting. However, the film, to me at least turned out to be a crashing bore, through which I fidgeted, fell asleep once, and turned on the display several times on the DVD player to see how much time was left.

The main character, the ship's pianist (just where he learned to play the piano, as well as how he got whatever education he had while never leaving the ship is unexplained) is evidently quite adept at jazz and cocktail music - viewers fond of these musical styles will have a lot to hold their attention through most of the film. As for me, the heavy-handed dialog, "meaningful" pauses and "deep meanings" made this one of the worst films I have ever seen. The replica of a World War I vintage ocean liner was very good, however.

One point, the initial timing of 160 minutes as contrasted with the actual time of 125 minutes, and the fact that the notes on the DVD box caution parents that the film shows a woman's breasts, while I did not see any, leads me to believe that the film was cut. Normally, this sort of censorship irritates me, but, in the case, I can just be grateful.

Last Wedding (2001)

Enjoyable and believable story in a Canadian setting

[8/10 · 28 October 2001]

This is an amusing and believable story about three young couples who are not particularly well suited to each other. They all discover this, but one couple has to get married to find this out. The film is set in Vancouver, which, for once, is not dressed up to be some American city. It was nice to see Canadian references, such as Canada Council grants and the Cambie Street Bridge. The film is very funny in a low keyed, unhysterical, thoroughly Canadian way.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

A better tune than I had expected

[26 August 2001]

This is a real "old-fashioned" love story. However, it has an unusual and interesting background, being set on one of the Greek islands during first the Italian, and the German occupation during World War II.

There has been some criticism of the fact that some of the events relating to Italy's departure from the Axis are not presented accurately. But the basic fact remains the same; the Germans occupied the areas held by the Italians at the time of their departure. This is, after all, entertainment, and not a treatise on Italy's role in World War II.

As well, the variety of accents in the film, from Penelope Cruz's Spanish accent to the vaguely Italian one of Nicholas Cage, has been criticized. However, unless one is prepared, where one is making films with a non English-speaking setting, to use just native speakers as actors (in this case, Greek, Italian and German) with subtitles for all, there is no good solution for the problem. The results here are as good as can be expected, and a lot better than I have seen elsewhere.

The whole thing makes me wonder to what extent I should trust reviewers. A few weeks ago, having read glowing reports, I went to see "Sexy Beast", and loathed it. As far as I was concerned, it was just the largely incomprehensible rantings of a sociopath, and more incomprehensible talk from his unpleasant associates. I went to see this film having read that I should be prepared to dislike it, instead, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Left Luggage (1998)

Interesting, with a few minor flaws

[26 August 2001]

This film has a most unusual setting, the Chassidic community of Antwerp, Belgium. The protagonist is a young Jewish (but non-observant) woman, who gets a job taking care of the children of a Chassidic family, and has a humanising effect on all, of them, including the imposing and forbidding father, albeit with an unfortunate side effect.

The film's title refers to a sub-plot, in which the protagonist's father digs holes in various spots around Antwerp, seeking for some trunks of personal effects he buried while fleeing from the Nazis.

After the film was over, I realized a few flaws in the plot (Unlike one of your other reviewers, I did not find the nude swimming scene unpleasant at all. It serves nicely to contrast the protagonist's lack of inhibition with the sexual prudery of the Chassidim.). For one thing, the concierge of the building in which the Chassidic family lives is an anti-Semite, who constantly harasses the family. He denies them access to the elevator, blocks the stairs and even injures one of the children. Yet nobody thinks of complaining the the building's owner about him.

Also, the name of the protagonist is Chaya. Yet it never occurs to her best friend, until it comes up in conversation, that she might be Jewish.

Sexy Beast (2000)

Blah, blah, blah.

[15 July 2001]

We went to see this film today, based on what seemed to be virtually unanimously good reviews by various critics. Boy, were we disappointed! The theatre has a policy of giving refunds to anyone who wants to leave within the first half hour. We should have taken them up on it.

This film presents us with a group of assorted British gangster types, with a few female companions, endlessly talking to each other, very loudly and fast, generally in menacing tones, a bit like a Pinter play without the talent. They are not funny, they are not interesting, in fact, they are hardly comprehensible (at least to my North American ears), due to their thick lower-class British accents, abetted perhaps by the theatre's sound system. In short, one of the most irritating films I have recently seen.

The thing is just about an hour and a half in length, short by present day standards. This is one of its few virtues.

Memento (2000)

I'd rather forget

[6 May 2001]

The basic story of this film seems straightforward enough; a man is attempting to avenge the murder of his wife despite being unable to recall any subsequent events. However, instead of presenting the events in sequence, the makers of this film present them as snippets, in random and sometimes repetitious sequence, a bit like playing the tracks of a CD in random, rather than sequential order. The result, to me, was just too self-consciously clever, and also, simply incredibly boring. I found myself wondering more than once if I should simply walk out of the theatre and put myself out of my misery.

I know many people who have seen the film found it fascinating, challenging, and the like, but I simply feel that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.

In the Mood for Love (2000)

I beg to differ . . .

[18 March 2001]

At the risk of sounding like a hopeless Philistine, I shall say that I found this film boring beyond belief. To be sure, it is quite artsy-fartsy, with many "deep meanings"; the hopelessness of the protagonists' situation underlined by various cinematic devices. There is plenty of atmosphere present (with a few timely rainstorms, a la Hemingway), but the film is essentially a film about two repressed people who, as a result of their repression, do nothing, on screen, anyway. Nothing, that is, except gaze at each other mournfully, and have moody, petty spats. At the end they just seem to break up, whereupon the male protagonist goes, for some incomprehensible reason, to Cambodia, to whisper his secret into a crack in a wall at Angkor Wat, instead of into a tree as a custom would have him do.

Many of the characters do quite a bit of eating in the course of the film, which made both of us hungry. After leaving the theatre we went and, to be appropriate, had a good Chinese meal, which was the best part of the afternoon.

High Art (1998)

Ho-hum

[4 April 1999]

This film starts out with a fairly promising idea, the young editor of a photography magazine tries to give a psychologically troubled photographer an interest in the career she had abandoned. In doing so, she finds herself involved in a subculture of drug addicts, lesbians, and (mainly) lesbian drug addicts who seem to spend their time doing nothing but lounging around, acting and sounding as if their brains had turned to mashed potatoes.

The film might have been better if the makers had not decided, every so often, to pull the action, never very swift to begin with, to a halt for yet another scene of drug-taking, or soft-core porn (Doesn't it ever occur to any of these characters to take their clothes off for sex? Too much work, I guess.). While all of this may have been shocking thirty years ago, the end result here is just something of a snore.

What Dreams May Come (1998)

Great visual effects, but . . .

[26 March 1999]

To be sure, the imagination shown by the designers of heaven and hell in this film is extraordinary. They should be put to work on a film version of a better book about the subject (say, Dante's "Divine Comedy"). The plot, however, should be avoided by anyone with a family history of diabetes. It is a simplistic, sappy amalgam of Catholicism (Suicide is a mortal sin, so suicides go to hell), reincarnation (if you REALLY WANT IT), Judaism (we stay alive in the memory of those who come after us), New Age "feel good" and who knows what else. An indigestible mess, not likely to be very challenging to the intellects of most viewers.

Such a Long Journey (1998)

Fascinating and excellent film

[10/10 · 15 March 1999]

It's really unfortunate that most people outside of Canada think that the only things that Canada produces are snow, mounties and hockey players. This film is the second superlative Canadian film I have seen within the past few weeks (the first was "The Red Violin"), far better than all but the best Hollywood efforts.

Gustad Noble is anything but that; he is a middle-aged Parsi bank employee in Bombay in the 1970s. This film sensitively explores various things that happen to him concerning his family, his friends and his work, and their effect on him. At the same time, it is a fascinating, and, I would assume, accurate, portrayal of middle-class, urban life in India at the time.

However, I was somewhat prepared for this, having read Rohinton Mistry's book a few years ago. The film, as might be expected, cannot capture all the complexities of the book, but, if you want to read a really good book, and see a really good film, read and see "Such a Long Journey".

Dark City (1998)

Atmospheric sci-fi

[12 March 1999]

To begin, the plot of this film is unbelievable (but what else can you expect from sci-fi?), dealing as it does, with a bunch of supposedly superior beings from outer space who can make time stand still and can fly through the air, but still spend most of their time walking around looking like a bunch of 19th century undertakers. This degenerates into a positively comic ending, with most of the bad guys being knocked backwards, and a great number of props being smashed up.

On its way, though, the plot has something in common with "The Truman Show", particularly the scene where the protagonist comes to the wall which delineates the limit of his universe. However, Truman's world is unfailingly bright and cheerful, while the atmosphere of this film is dark, foreboding and sinister, in this respect reminding me of Gotham City in "Batman", or Polanski"s "Chinatown". It maintains this feeling very well throughout, which, to me is the most attractive part of this film.

Your Friends and Neighbors (1998)

Ho-hum, more sex talk

[4 March 1999]

The men in this film seem to spend all their time discussing their sex lives with each other (don't they even discuss that old man-talk specialty, sports, or even wonder if it's going to rain?). The women discuss this, and their relationships part-time, when they aren't being turned off by the men (I must say I can't blame them). The personages are just what you would expect in a "with-it" film about sex and love in the 90s, and as predictable as the Harlequins and Columbines of the Commoedia dell'Arte; the husband cheating on his wife, the wife cheating on her husband, the woman who discovers she's a lesbian, the jock who discovers he's impotent, etc. etc. etc.

The dialog is flat and repetitious, sort of Pinter without the talent. It takes no mean talent to make sex dull and tedious, but the creators of this dreadful little opus have done just that.

For a realistic and witty slice of life, you're probably better off with the Marx Brothers.

The Red Violin (1998)

Absolutely wonderful film

[1 March 1999]

This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time, far better than (in my opinion) the politically correct but rather overrated "Life is Beautiful". It does require the viewer's careful attention, to be sure; this is not a film for those who like to put their brains in neutral and watch the bullets bounce off Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is really at least four or five separate stories (taking place in widely different locales) about things that happen to the Red Violin, any one of each, with just a little amplification, would have made a very satisfactory film by itself.

Of course, despite the score's composer and one of the principal actors being American, the film is basically Canadian, and thus probably will not be seen much anywhere else. I am sure that, had it been made in the U.S., with the final scene taking place not in Montreal, but in Ell Ayyy or Noo Yawk, it would be critically acclaimed as one of the season's best.

Eraser (1996)

Typical shoot-'em-up

[23 February 1999]

This is a completely typical, and unbelievable, action film - all the sophisticated weaponry they throw at him can't give Arnold Schwarzenegger more than a broken arm. Nonetheless, very good viewing for those times when you are tired, and want to put your brain into neutral.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Not as bad as I had expected

[22 February 1999]

I went to the theatre fully expecting to dislike this film intensely. First of all, the idea of making a film about someone clowning his way through the holocaust does seem, as many have said, very distasteful. Secondly, I have never found clowns, in general, to be very amusing. However, Benigni is often really funny, and parts of the first part of the film made me laugh quite a bit.

The story really is in two parts; the first being a fantasy about how a clown outwits his rival and succeeds in marrying the woman he loves, and the second, another fantasy about how the same clown succeeds in outwitting a band of murderous thugs. I would say the most emotional moment of the film is the one when the American tank enters the camp grounds.

So, while I do not think this film is the transcendent masterpiece some say it is, it is, nonetheless, an excellent film.

A Question of Silence (1982)

Hate Literature

[22 February 1999]

Just imagine a movie plot something like this:

In Germany, in the late 1930s, a young man enters a shop and tries to steal something. The identifiably Jewish shopkeeper apprehends him, and calls the police.

The young man turns out to be a Nazi, and later returns to the shop with a few other Nazis, whereupon they proceed to torture and kill the shopkeeper. At the subsequent trial, the defendants find overwhelming public support.

I'm sure most people will say this seems like a piece of abysmal anti-Semitic propaganda, probably turned out during the worst days of Hitler's "Reich". Yet, if you just substitute "Men" for "Jews" as the demonized group in society against whom violence is justified, you have the main thread of this film.

This film pushes the limits of what is allowable under Free Speech, and perhaps even crosses them. It is hate literature, and should be regarded as such.

The Opposite of Sex (1998)

Begins well, but falls flat

[20 February 1999]

The first fifteen minutes or so of this film are interesting and amusing, but then two things happen. First, one begins to tire of the main character's constant grinding sarcasm. Then, the characters become far more interested in each other's sexual orientation and relationships than we are. At one point, for some unexplained reason, they all dash off to Canada, and continue their agonizing there. I finally ended up looking at the clock, wondering when the wretched thing would ever end.

The First Wives Club (1996)

Coarse, low-grade man-bashing

[1/10 · 20 February 1999]

If you are one of those dodos who think that bigotry toward men is acceptable, especially when disguised as a joke, you will probably like this film. The rest of us will just wince.

Gate of Hell (1953)

Utterly magnificent

[10/10 · 20 February 1999]

It has been over 40 years (!) since I first saw this film, and I still see it, whenever I can. In my opinion, not only is it a masterpiece, but its use of colour may well be the the best of any film ever made.