Eponine-6 Reviews

And the Band Played On (1993 TV Movie)

A true thriller

[10/10 · 1 June 1999]

I saw this movie at a movie theater, after reading one favorable review. I didn't expect to be so thrilled, by the characters and the history. Being a physician myself, I remember quite well how despised the AIDS epidemic was at the beginning. That it became what it is today is also the result of society's and physicians' disbelief.

The movie is great in portraying the scientific research in a way laymen can understand, and at the same time the struggle real people went through. The final heartbreaking real scenes remind us of how REAL they are.

It's a must-see. Beautifully enacted (Alan Alda is perfect, but so are Lily Tomlin, Mathew Modine, Saul Rubinek), great story-telling. Don't think you'll be bored by a documentary, this is not a "TV-movie", it's an adventure...and a wake-up call!

Repossessed (1990)

Boring to tears

[1/10 · 1 June 1999]

Don't waste your precious time on this. If you have nothing to do, take a nap, wash your car, talk to the walls. But don't rent this movie!!

It won't make you laugh..it can't make you smile... It's lousy from beginning to end. Mr Nielsen should know when to stop. If you can't resist, you'll find yourself throwing up like Linda Blair.

Casablanca (1942)

Wake up, folks! This movie stinks!

[3/10 · 1 June 1999]

I read all the other "user's comments", and found out there are only 3 among those 54 who didn't like this movie!! Well, I will add to that short list. Ever since I was a kid, I heard of Casablanca as "one of the best movies ever made". Sorry, folks. I watched it three times, and the more I watch the less I like it.

The characters are as empty as sea-shells. Bogart (whom I never found a bit attractive anyway) mumbles through the story, as a one-dimensional "cynical with a big heart" (my god, what a novelty!!), Bergman cries a lot, but as a compliant female does what she's told and follows her husband: Rick is a man, he knows what's best for her, and her husband needs her support, he's a war hero!! I would rather be alone, anyway, if I had to choose between dull Laszlo and cowardly Rick!

Fortunately Claude Rains can be funny, though utterly unlikely as an officer who at the last moment chooses to "be good". Nothing is convincing!

I have nothing against "classics", as Parca (another user) said before: I love Lawrence of Arabia, The Night of the Hunter (now THAT is a movie!!), Gone With the Wind... But Casablanca cannot be worshipped as one of the "best ever". It's the forties' version of a pop-corn movie. Should you see it if you haven't yet? Yeah, why not? Otherwise, how can you judge?

Just don't think you HAVE TO love it.

The Legend of Doom House (1971)

Disturbing yet wonderful. Unforgettable

[10/10 · 25 March 1999]

Based on a novel by Jean Ray, Malpertuis is a "haunted" house, unescapable by those who live in it. Characters hiding their true nature, disguised as a "family" to which sailor Jean-Jacques returns unwillingly. Susan Hampshire plays 3 different characters beautifully, and Orson Welles is the perfect actor to play the dominating shadow. The film has an unreal, nightmarish atmosphere, and goes far beyond the scope of the book. Malpertuis is a labyrinth whose secrets are kept behind locked doors, and reveals itself as the film reaches its climax. We come to realize that the mind has as many labyrinths as the house itself. Full of mythology, dimly lit and spooky as dreams use to be ("what is life but a dream?"), Malpertuis is a cult. Jung would have loved it.