Change Your Image
Dutchyfirst
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Better Call Saul: Bad Choice Road (2020)
Superb screen writing
In short: I never new I could hold my breath for so long.
Femme Fatale (2002)
Better than expected
Heaving read some very negative reviews, I was rather prejudiced when I began watching this movie the other night. However, since it was by Brian De Palma, I assumed it couldn't be all bad and I still wanted to see it. Not quite knowing what to expect, I was at first annoyed by little details that didn't seem to make sense. These gave me a kind of would-be David Lynch-ish feeling. How stupid of me. Of course, in the hands of a true master of cinematography, like De Palma, everything makes sense and in the end all pieces fall into place. The fact that the director needed a rather surreal (okay, almost David Lynch-like) twist to make all ends meet, didn't bother me but gave the film an extra layer and a deeper meaning.
This isn't De Palma's greatest work (I personally like 'Blow Out' best) but it is definitely showing his great and unique skills.
Daltry Calhoun (2005)
A pleasant surprise
Don't be fooled by the names. This movie is a victim of bad merchandising, at least here in Europe. The box that I got the DVD in couldn't be more misleading. In the biggest type that would fit it said "QUENTIN Tarantino" and "JOHNNY KNOXVILLE" and in smaller print "Daltry" (not even the full name of the movie). The name of the director (Katrina Holden Bronson) is completely buried in the small print on the back. And then the tag-line: 'Spreading his seed all over America'. Never was a tag-line less appropriate.
'Jackass' and 'Pulp Fiction' couldn't be farther away. Clearly a case where a movie company wants to cash in on the popularity of two of the people involved. Sure, Tarantino will have made the movie financially possible, so what he says goes, I suppose, but I just find it hard to accept that potential viewers are given wrong expectations.
Actually the movie is a kind-hearted story about the hardships of a fourteen year old girl that is about to loose her mother and find her father (not a spoiler; we are told so in the opening sequence). Knoxville plays the father, Daltry Calhoun, and does so adequately. His acting doesn't stand out, nor is it irritatingly bad. The same can be said of the other actors. Julliette Lewis gives her character, the young widow Flora Flick, the right mix of ignorance and cleverness to be convincing. It's a pity that the part doesn't offer her enough room to show all her qualities. More caricature than character, I'd say.
The person that lifts the entire movie to a higher level is young actress Sophie Traub. She is the smart, friendly teenager June that is struggling with some very grown-up problems. She manages to make you feel sympathy for her without getting melodramatic. The scene in which she tries to get her father's young associate Frankie (Kick Gurry) to tell her everything about French kissing is NOT sleazy, it's plain funny.
This is also a feel-good movie, but not such a lame, predictable one. Okay, the stroke of good luck that her father has, that will make all the problems go away, may not come as a surprise and of course the ugly duckling turns into a pretty swan, but hey, she deserves it.
In short, a movie that was overlooked in the theaters and really deserves a second chance as the endearing dramatic comedy that it is. And as for Sophie Traub; may her acting career be long and fruitful.
Holland, November 2006
Ladies Room (1999)
Nice, but not more than that
When I saw this DVD in the "special offer" bin at a local book store (for only 2 Euros) I was surprised I had never heard of it before. When I watched it, it became clear why you never see any reference to it.
The reason I bought it was exclusively because of the cast. Just look at it; this can't be a bad movie, can it? Yes, it can. The actors do their trick and they do it well, but there doesn't seem to be much coherence. The story is rather confusing and not because it is so complicated (which it isn't) but simply because you never know what the story is actually about. Don't get me wrong; telling a story with different story lines can be very interesting, but this is definitely no 'Magnolia'. The various elements just don't seem to come together. I have the feeling that this is some kind of private project, for and by friends only, not really meant to reach a large audience.
My advice: if you're a fan of one of the actors (Malkovich is great as always), get to see it if you get a chance, but don't spend too much money on it.