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Yva-Laz-Vegas
Reviews
One Way (2006)
Sadly Disappointing
I'm afraid this film is rather bad. I just went to see it yesterday and was surprised it was given a cinema release.
I am a strong supporter of independent film and especially of Swiss directors, but this film sadly never gets out of C-Movie territory.
The story itself has the makings of a fantastic movie, the themes of violence against women, betrayal and revenge are topics of enduring interest.
I am normally delighted to see European (in this case German) actors participating in international films which will showcase them to a wider audience. I'm well acquainted with Til Schweigers work, but I thought his acting was awful in this film, full of clichés and hamminess. He was even better in King Arthur (another bad film) where he only had a few sentences of dialogue. Even though he was typecast as a villain in that one, his acting was miles better than in this latest offering.The supporting cast were also pretty bad in this film, especially the guys who played the boss of the advertising agency and his son, they were just awful.
The filming of the violent attacks were needlessly graphic in this case and did not lend to the gravitas of the film. Other films have done this in a much more poignant(or relevant) manner e.g. Lilja-4-Ever, The Accused, Boys Don't Cry, Irreversible...etc. etc.
The whole concept of the victim introducing an imaginary hero to help her cope with the trauma of rape didn't work at all in this instance and I thought this was a very weak point in the script and it's direction.
The plot of the film is actually very interesting material, and if worked with in another way, could have been great. I intend no disrespect towards the makers of this film, as releases like these are normally a labour of love and an awful lot of very hard work goes into them, but i cannot give this film a good rating as it simply badly executed.
The Sentinel (2006)
Rather bland film
The trailer for this film looked very enticing but after having seen it yesterday i think it's a very bland production.
In the first 20-30 minutes, I got over the patriotic hamminess of the film's setting in anticipation of a great plot which I was expecting to see unfold, but it just got more ludicrous as the film went on.
The holes in the plot are colossal and the credibility of the protagonists' actions was just ridiculous.The characters are very one-dimensional and some of the dialogue is cringe-worthy.
The film is a clear waste of the veteran acting talents of Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland and Kim Basinger. On a positive note, I was pleasantly surprised by Eva Longoria's performance. (I don't really watch Desperate Housewives so I'm not that familiar with her work)
There are definitely worse films than this one, but this production-by-numbers is not for everyone.
Lilja 4-ever (2002)
One of the most harrowing films ever made
After watching this film in the cinema, i felt like i had been hit with a sledgehammer.This film was a U-turn for Moodysson, after his comedies "Together" and "Fucking Amal", one expected something with less gravitas.
I have rarely been reduced to a blubbering mass of tears - but this film made me sob out loud. The severity of human cruelty and hopelessness depicted in this picture is very frightening. It is a fantastic piece of film-making with a very strong cast and an exceptional performance from the young female lead.
The subject matter of the movie is very controversial; however it is addressed in an uncompromising and intelligent manner.