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Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
Harmless senseless fun
I have to say I feel the user rating for this film is pretty unfair. It does depend what you're after if it's great art or a new perspective on the world then this is not the film for you. But on another day or night, when you just want to have some harmless senseless fun, it could be. It's not normally my standard type fare, but I found myself smirking away, and occasionally full on laughing at Farley's antics. There's nothing particular I can add regarding the "plot" that I think will be particularly helpful. But watching it left me feeling rather melancholy about the fact he's gone - he would have made a lot more people happy if he'd been around to continue. All that said, I bumped into it on cable, and watched it off TV. I might have been a bit less pleased with it if I'd paid rental fees.
Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
Painful & plodding - no need to treat the donkey or audience like that
Firstly let me express my appreciation to those who have written in to draw attention to this film's failings. Unfortunately I did not heed your words, but I will now make my own small offering in the hopes that someone somewhere, someday (who knows, perhaps even a whole family?), will be spared the experience of sitting through this film. In truth I think there would be vastly more negative reviews on here, except, most people that begin watching this film surely do not see it through to the end, and thus, do not perhaps feel qualified to comment, and so ultimately leave it to others to do. The sample, as a result, is massively skewed in this case (far more so than with most other films, where much greater portions of the audience likely see them to the end).
My wife was one of those who did not see it through. A sensitive and intellectually disciplined woman - a graduate student in English literature, who regularly reads massive books through: Ulysses & the bible come to mind - she simply couldn't muster the strength of will to persevere long enough to see this thing out. I don't blame her one bit. I felt exactly the same way, but owing to circumstances had to stay up anyways, so finished the matter off.
In terms of technical critique, I really haven't any idea where to begin. The film makes no sense. What most of the characters do in most of the situations they face is not what any humans I've met in my travels would do. Most links are not made. We were left sitting there asking why did x do that? innumerable times. How come he has the donkey now - I don't understand, whose donkey is it now? - innumerable times. And we didn't care. There was no reason to. I can't think of any of the human characters who were likable, or really believable. Causation, reasoning, subtlety, all utterly absent.
Afterwards I watched the film critic on the DVD telling us why he liked the film. He was a very imprecise wordsmith - his meaning was left unclear invariably, and I felt, in the end, he had astonishingly little to impart.
And, lastly, I was really offended that they did what they did physically to the donkey. I know most of it was "faked" but there were certain things that weren't, couldn't have been. Just no excuse for it.
Reading through the comments of previous viewers on here left me with a feeling of pronounced envy for the one who fell asleep.
American Experience: Malcolm X: Make It Plain (1994)
Interesting, powerful, uplifting & sad
I knew rather little about Malcolm X prior to seeing this documentary, but it does such a good job of bringing you along & keeping you up to speed that I never felt lost - though I did rewind a few times to be sure I had heard/understood exactly what was said. Since I have little prior knowledge of Malcolm it's difficult for me to assess precisely how honest/accurate this portrayal was - but it certainly felt genuine. They had clearly put quite a bit of effort into their research as well, and seemingly done a very good job of digging out appropriate persons to interview.
By way of constructive criticism it is worth considering that at times the film maker would have done well to juxtapose some of the stories and comments being offered by different interviewees. For a masterful (albeit so much so that full emulation is beyond the capacities of most of us mortals) example of such film making you may wish to consider the example of "The Sorrow and the Pity", by Marcel Ophüls. That film assesses the choices different people made in the face of questions of complicity with systemic cruelty and evil in Nazi occupied France. Similar questions are present in the matters treated by this film, and I rather felt the pathetic and latterly rationalised cowardice of Philbert & Wilfred X, and the confident unemotional and dehumanised ruthlessness of the bald former NOI captain (whose name escapes me), very much echoed some of the more glaring moments from Ophüls masterpiece. The difference was Bagwell basically let it slide, whereas Ophüls juxtaposed such material with comments from others, forcing the audience to confront the full ugliness of either or both the context & the participants subsequent choice.
Nevertheless, this was a very well made documentary. I note that a previous reviewer suggested it is one of the best he's ever seen, & I feel comfortable saying the same. To say it is less well done than "The Sorrow & the Pity" as I have essentially done - is in actuality very high praise.
While I gave this film a 9 it was either that or a 10, and if there was a 9.5 category it definitely would have gone in there.
Life and Debt (2001)
Powerful & sobering
As a documentary 'Life and Debt' has many merits one of the most apparent and significant of which is the highly imaginative and effective way that it draws a complex concept into the form of an 80 minute film. A film with so much to say necessarily risks either becoming boring or inaccessible, however Life and Debt suffers from neither of these. Ideas are treated elegantly and efficiently, and invariably illustrated with footage of entirely appropriate and often poignant examples, which in turn allows for excellent pacing. These assets allow what could have been a very dry and abstract film to instead comfortably hold the audience's interest. By way of criticism I would say that on certain occasions subtitles were probably required to render the material fully accessible to an international audience, as the accents/dialect (and cultural constructions of language) are such that the meaning of speakers is periodically unclear. But this and what other minor failings exist pale in comparison to its strengths.
Umberto D. (1952)
Thanks Vittorio - that was lovely
A superbly crafted and singularly poignant film that educates as it engages. Among its many strengths, perhaps the greatest is the performance of Carlo Battisti as Umberto. While I am echoing the comments of many others here, I must add my voice to those in awe at the strength of the performance delivered by a man who was not a professional actor an accomplishment made all the more remarkable as he was not 'playing himself'.
With a little regret, I will arrest my review here, not because I do not wish to say more, but rather because in the particular case of this film I feel it is probably best for people to see it knowing less rather than more about the story. I would encourage anyone reading this who has not yet seen the film to stop reading, and simply see it better to consult these reviews afterwards I would think. Not to worry if it's too late for that though, even so I should think you'll still very much enjoy the movie.
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (1974)
A quite splendid film, which gives pause for thought
This is a film peopled with immensely likable characters, from the lead Kaspar, wonderfully brought to life by the performance of Bruno S., through to the various surrounding characters whose humanity is altogether touchingly drawn out in the empathy, patience, and kindness that they extend to Kaspar. Uniformly excellent acting helps ensure that the story comes across as highly authentic (a characteristic partly aided no doubt by the story's basis in actual events). Together these elements help to ensure that Kaspar's fate holds the audience's interest tautly. Dealing with material that inevitably draws the viewer into central questions about culture, identity, and the place and importance of the individual, Herzog excels, and the final result in this case is a quite splendid film, which gives pause for thought while providing engaging entertainment.
By way of warning however, I should say that the notable downside of the video version that I saw was that the English subtitles were horrendously done on a number of occasions simply unreadable. The missus and I are patient folks, but, on this basis, after a while we just looked at each other and, without needing a word of explanation, began to laugh out loud in resigned despair. In short, watching this film is a rewarding experience, but is not to be done on a night when you're tired, and not feeling like battling with what are particularly arduous subtitles. As it was, in certain cases even rewinding twice did not allow us to decipher the subtitles as they appeared overtop of either white backgrounds or, on certain occasions, overtop of German subtitles.
645 Wellington (2002)
Thought provoking in flashes, but analytically strained
"It may turn out that wealth can ravage a city's vitality even more than poverty." The documentary '645 Wellington' commences with this intriguing quote, clearly pregnant with analytical promise, set in text against an otherwise blank screen.
It's an auspicious beginning, however, disappointingly, the intriguing questions it raises are not ultimately addressed by the film. The filmmakers do not articulate an argument and the material they include, while sporadically thought provoking, does not knit into coherency. While of course, reality is, in a sense, an infinite chaos that inevitably eludes summary, if one is to make claims like "wealth can ravage a city's vitality even more than poverty", then one has moved beyond that elementary position, and one needs to imagine a strategy for evaluating the claim, and to then seek to put it into action. No strategy for doing so appears to have been developed in this case, and thus, the film fails to clear the hurdle it established for itself.
Also, some of the interviews were neither particularly revealing nor good-natured. As a rule, I am inclined to think that where there is some pressing reason why they need not be in the second category then they ought to at least be in the first.
Nevertheless, for all that, the film features some highly compelling footage of a man struggling to avoid eviction owing to his repeated failure to meet his rent payments. It is quite poignant, though largely because he is clearly unable to cope with the sum demands life is placing upon him, rather than because he is being treated unfairly by the specific landlord, as the film seems to imply. With a bit of help though, it rather seems like he would be able to function. He's clearly the kind of man who would survive, and perhaps make a go of it under a socially conscious government, but would probably die a terrible and lonely death on the streets under a rigorously "market oriented" one.
Bread and Roses (2000)
The Least of Ken's Films (that I've seen)
On the whole I have been greatly impressed with Ken Loach's other works, however, without question, this was the low point in my experiences with his films. Speaking as a Brit with a lot of North American life experience, I would say that Ken understands and portrays British society brilliantly, however, he hopelessly misunderstands American society. At one point, for example, one of the evil company bosses is supposed to be excruciatingly shamed in public by the gutsy and imaginative union organiser who crashes his lunch meeting ... only, in America, this simply wouldn't work - at all - in a restaurant like that in the US the other patrons would respect someone for making money & not give a crap what some "scrub" had to say about the percentage rate of profit that went into x dental plan, or what have you (I'm not really sure that that would work in Britain or anywhere else either - but in any event, it seems to me, never in the US & especially never in LA). As such, all the fabulous nuance that invades Loach's British based films is starkly absent in this one. Consequently, watching Bread and Roses was quite literally an excruciating experience - like watching a childhood hero fail embarrassingly, & without grace. Ken creating wooden characters? How is it possible?? (See above). I don't consider myself political. I am someone interested in ideas, fairness and justice. I respect people who approach the world with those ideas in mind. On this basis I usually have all the time in the world for the films that Ken creates. But realistically, I can't recommend this one. In the end I gave this movie a 5 & a half (then rounded up) but all of its score comes from a particular realistic, powerful and highly revealing moment. There's too much of the remainder left over, however, for that single moment to carry the whole.
Stealing a Nation (2004)
American and British citizens must see this film or be complicit
This well conceived and carefully researched documentary outlines the appalling case of the Chagos Islanders, who, it shows, between 1969 and 1971, were forcibly deported en masse from their homeland through the collusion of the British and American governments. Anglo-American policy makers chose to so act due to their perception that the islands would be strategically vital bases for controlling the Indian Ocean through the projection of aerial and naval power. At a time during the Cold War when most newly independent post-colonial states were moving away from the Western orbit, it seems British and American officials rather felt that allowing the islanders to decide the fate of the islands was not a viable option. Instead they chose to effect the wholesale forcible removal of the native population. The film shows that no provision was made for the islanders at the point of their ejection, and that from the dockside in Mauritius where they were left, the displaced Chagossian community fell into three decades of privation, and in these new circumstances, beset by homesickness, they suffered substantially accelerated rates of death.
Following the passage of more than three decades, however, in recent months (and years), following the release of many utterly damning papers from Britain's Public Record Office (one rather suspects that there was some mistake, and these papers were not supposed to have ever been made public), resultant legal appeals by the Chagossian community in exile have seen British courts consistently find in favour of the islanders and against the British State. As such, the astonishing and troubling conclusions drawn out in the film can only reasonably be seen as proved. Nevertheless, the governments of Great Britain and the United States have thus far made no commitment to return the islands to what the courts have definitively concluded are the rightful inhabitants. This is a very worthwhile film for anyone to see, but it is an important one for Britons and Americans to watch. To be silent in the face of these facts is to be complicit in a thoroughly ugly crime.
In the Company of Fear (1999)
Will likely challenge your beliefs about what is possible ...
This movie is both uplifting and depressing at the same time. If you have an interest in considering how people may try and share the social space of this earth in peace - and I recognise that not all people have an interest in such questions - then you will likely find this documentary quite intriguing. Essentially it is the story of how trans-national activists (I think that's a better frame than 'foreigners', as some might have it) have tried to co-ordinate with Colombians to allow some communities to escape what otherwise appeared endemic cycles of violence in the country. What shines out above all is the stoic courage of the Colombian activists. Watching this film you will very likely resolve 'I must seek out more films by Velcrow Ripper.' I certainly did.