spiritualwolf Reviews

Filantropica (2002)

Close to perfect...

[10/10 · 4 March 2006]

...and an excellent commentary on the state of society not only in Romania but in the rest of the world. There are some references, small, almost hidden, to the World Bank and the EU, that help you to see the parallels between what's happening to the protagonist on a personal level and what's happening to Romania on a national level.

I've spent a lot of time in Romania over the last few years, and have wanted to tell people I know here in the UK about what it's really like over there - Filantropica gives me a chance to make what I say come to life. The portrayal of the rich, useless 'students', in particular, was so close to reality I just couldn't stop laughing.

....and the dogs at the beginning and the end are just, well, perfect!

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Christ for our violent, negative times

[1/10 · 8 April 2004]

I watched the Passion of the Christ with some positive expectations - I have generally quite liked Mel Gibson, and the cast looks good, the investment sound - but was pretty bitterly disappointed by the end. The film was pretty much negative from beginning to end - it was violent, aggressive, angry, bitter and twisted. If this converts anyone to Christianity, it will convert them to a twisted and perverted form of Christianity - a Christianity for our warlike and negative times.

Gibson seemed to focus pretty much entirely on the beatings and torture of Jesus, rather than really putting any emphasis on the message that Jesus was supposed to have brought. We got a momentary mention of 'who lives by the sword, dies by the sword', while the rest of the movie celebrated violence.

The other thing that disappointed me was that it was a very poorly put together and inadequately edited movie - touches of third-rate horror, a sub- Bergmanesque devil figure, and a Barabbas that was the worst kind of parody. The number of times that Jesus fell over and crashed, in slow motion, into the dusty ground was almost laughable. Do it once. Do it twice to make the point, do it three times to emphasise it - but it must have been nine or ten times in all. The acting was generally poor, too - whoever the actor was who was playing John seemed to know only how to stand still, mouth slightly open, eyes wide and looking stupid. He held that pose throughout the movie, from beginning to end.

One final point - it reminded me quite regularly of a far better film about Jesus.... the Life of Brian. A lot more blood, far fewer laughs, and quite a lot less deep.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Good but definitely not great

[5/10 · 29 August 2002]

A good movie, highlighted by a stunning performance by Russell Crowe, but limited by dull and unimaginative direction, a one-dimensional aim and disappointing compromises.

Crowe is brilliant - his failure to win the Oscar is one of the worse decisions by the Academy - but his portrayal of insanity is let down by a disappointing screenplay and very limited directorial skills. Compared to Shine - which shows you how well these things can be done, the images of insanity are dull, and the plotting is pedestrian at best.

The inability of the director to face up to the limitations of Nash as a human being, the soppy ending and the cliched images of collegiate life let the movie down too - with a decent director, it could have been great.

Shine (1996)

It's true greatness shows up compared to A Beautiful Mind

[9/10 · 29 August 2002]

I saw Shine twice when it first came out, and then watched it again on DVD after going to see A Beautiful Mind - and was immediately reminded how good it was. Not to criticize the brilliant acting by Russell Crowe, but the portrayal of mental illness in Shine is 100 times better than in A Beautiful Mind - the combination of a sharper script, a more imaginative and braver direction and a deeper intention produce a vastly superior movie.

Shine really does Shine - and despite the Oscars, it shows A Beautiful Mind to be pretty ordinary. Best of a bad crop, I guess... or perhaps more of a political than an artistic decision.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Lots on the surface - nothing underneath

[1/10 · 28 August 2002]

Moulin Rouge is one of the worst movies I've seen - its high rating in IMDb is a sad indictment of how easily people are seduced by flashy sets, big set-pieces and a star names on a cast list. Even the soundtrack is very disappointing - only El Tango De Roxanne is worth listening to.

Nicole Kidman... well, what can you say? This is one of Ewan McGregor's worst movies, and only Jim Broadbent shows any ability to act at all. The script is cliche-ridden, the plot as predictable as they come, the characters simple stereotypes and the sexual tension non-existent.

I've never seen a movie with so much on the surface and so little underneath.

The Jungle Book (1967)

Unmatched...

[10/10 · 28 August 2002]

Disney's best by far. The soundtrack is just wonderful, song after song of brilliance, the voice characterisations superb - George Sanders as Sher Khan is the quintessential villain, while Phil Harris as Baloo just makes you smirk every time he opens his mouth.

Nothing better....

Far and Away (1992)

Far and Away the worst movie I've seen

[1/10 · 22 August 2002]

CONTAINS SPOILER There are few words that would do justice to how bad this movie really is - badly written, badly acted, badly directed over sentimental, misleading and far too long is a start. As someone with an Irish background, and who has spent a good deal of time in exactly the places that Howard tried to portray in the movie, it was sad to see how little he made of it, and how much he simplified and sentimentalised the truth of the place, the time and the history. It was cliche piled on cliche, and the accents - particularly Tom Cruise's - were risible.

From a bad start, it just got worse - I had no sympathy for either character for a moment, and the ridiculous 'near-death' scene was as predictable as it was stupid. The scenery was beautiful, that was all...

Signs (2002)

Over a lot of (re)viewers' heads

[9/10 · 21 August 2002]

CONTAINS SPOILER Signs is a much deeper movie than most people seem to expect - and to read a lot of the negative reviews here, too deep for most IMDb users to even understand. Sure, the aliens are a bit weak and predictable, sure the plot has a lot of holes in it, but anyone who focuses on either of those issues has completely missed the point. Signs is not a movie about aliens - it's a movie about faith that happens to have aliens in it. It's a movie about how normal people react to abnormal situations - and the way that the actors showed that to us was far better than almost anything else around.

Yes, Mel Gibson's character behaved irrationally - even incredibly stupidly - at times, but in the context of the character it was completely believable. We all do stupid things - and in the face of such stress we do them more often than not.

The acting was superb throughout - the children were brilliant, and it says a lot about Shyamalan's abilities as a director that he can bring such performances out of them. This and Sixth Sense have the best performances from children I have ever seen. The atmosphere was superb - as long as you weren't a nerd looking for plot-slips and error, but a movie-lover looking for an experience.

If you have any sort of a spiritual life, you'll enjoy this movie immensely. For me it was something very special.

A Knight's Tale (2001)

The best fun of the year

[8/10 · 12 August 2002]

Achieves everything it sets out to, and a whole lot more than anyone could have expected. Exciting, romantic, evocative and most of all fun - I haven't seen a movie for years that was so obviously sheer fun to write, make and watch. Heath Ledger has so much more than ever showed in the Patriot, and Paul Bettany could be one of the best finds for years. I can't wait for the director's next movie.

Batman & Robin (1997)

The worst movie I've ever seen

[1/10 · 12 August 2002]

I saw this movie out of desperation - I wanted to see The Fifth Element but the theatre was full. Batman & Robin was the only show available and I quickly learned why. No originality, an appalling script and a plot with so many holes it was laughable. Alicia Silverstone's attempts to portray an English schoolgirl were in the Dick Van Dyke class, and Arnie was at his very, very worst. I'm a big fan of comic books and I found the original Tim Burton Batman to be a wonderful movie, so I was desperately disappointed.