fritzo46 Reviews

Niagara Motel (2005)

"Niagara Motels" saved by DVD features

[7/10 · 1 August 2006]

"Niagara Motel" is a hard film to categorize. Its tone fluctuates wildly. Most of the characters have serious problems that for the most part are played straight and seriously but there are some scenes that suddenly turn to flaming black comedy. If you need characters to care about in a movie, they are a bit in short supply here, but there are exceptions. Caroline Dhavernas, in the role of an apparently squeaky clean waitress who is, surprisingly, considering joining the "adult entertainment" industry, is a joy to watch whenever she is on screen. British Actress Anna Friel brings some much needed feistiness to her role as a recovering young drug addict trying to get her child back from a bureaucratic Children's Aide social worker. And Wendy Crewson brings flashes of warmth when her character discovers the hooker next door is both more interesting and nicer than she had imagined.

I saw the movie on DVD. Be sure to watch the audio-commentary version and the other various features of the actors and director talking about the various characters after you've watched the main feature (only 88 minutes long). Clearly all the actors really loved their characters. I felt much better about the movie after I learned how the actual scenes developed in process.

Amusingly, the city of Niagara Falls (Canada) thought that the movie focused so much on the seediest aspects of the city that they refused to cooperate in its filming. So, the few outdoor scenes that were actually shot in Niagara Falls were shot surreptitiously from the back of a van.

Worth watching on DVD with all the extra features. "

Vortex (1976)

Mostly it is a drag

[4/10 · 8 August 2005]

I picked up this movie because I am a big Bibi Andersson fan – but getting this movie was a big mistake. To start with Bibi Andersson does not play the role of Patricia Tauling as stated here. She is in the role of Blondie which is a rather small role until the last 15 or 20 minutes of the film. The role of Patricia Tauling is played by Catherine Jourdan.

The previous viewer comment (andybob-3) does a good job of characterizing the movie. Mostly it is a drag. If you are a big Bibi Andersson fan, do yourself a favor and skip it.

The IMDb information says the language of the movie was in French. The VHS version that I watched was in English. Perhaps two versions were made.

As the previous reviewer commented there are a couple of rather steamy sex scenes thrown in. I wonder if was ever shown theatrically in the US or just released on video.