rcharding Reviews

Munich (2005)

Spielberg misses the mark

[5/10 · 21 May 2006]

I went into this film expecting another Schindler's List masterpiece. Despite the hype, what I ended up viewing was an overwrought, predictable, and plodding work of mediocrity.

First of all, Munich tries too hard to be "artsy" in its pacing, cinematography, and dialogue. Though it tries to portray itself as a Greek-type morality and tragedy play (i.e., "are we becoming the same monsters we're killing?"), it largely fails.

SPOILERS ********************************** The story progression is predictable. I could easily foresee every "plot twist," such as the phone bomb scenario. We knew the little girl was going to somehow reenter the house. Likewise, Avner's tirade in the Jewish consulate was forced and predictable.

Spielberg has, of course, had many great successes. Despite the poignant subject matter, this film was 2.75 hours of my life that I wish I could get back.

Enemy Mine (1985)

Science Fiction metaphor of tolerance

[7/10 · 12 March 2005]

I first read Barry Longyear's riveting short story for a high school English class (I had a very progressive teacher). The original story had a blob-like creature versus a human with a force field between them. The movie version is more free form. Quaid is gung-ho, racist military pilot who engages a Drac (Lou Gossett), humankind's mortal enemy, in a dogfight. They both crash land on an isolated planet. At first, trying to kill each other, they learn to cooperate to survive and even respect each other. Gossett's performance as the alien is convincing, making his reptilian features ever more obvious through his snake-like speech.

Like all great science fiction, this story is not really about space but an extended metaphor for current human problems, in this case, racism.

The DVD faithfully reproduces the film as I remember it on cable in the mid-1980s.

Guerreros (2002)

An important War-film addition

[9/10 · 4 January 2004]

I caught this on Spanish-language HBO the other night and was captured by its style, tension, and brilliantly executed character development. The pacing is deliberate and, at times, frenetic. The tragedy of the "fog of war" in which these Spanish peacekeepers are lost is palatible. If you liked "Saving Private Ryan", "The Big Red One" and "Enemy at the Gates", you'll love "Guerreros".

Bitter Sugar (1996)

Extremely accurate

[21 January 2003]

It is amazing how many people are ready to criticize this movie when they have NO direct knowledge of Cuba or its sociopolitical situation.

Myself, I have been to Cuba, traveled its highways, walked many of its cities and towns' streets, and had long conversations with the common people as well as government officials.

As a result, I can tell everyone reading this that in no uncertain terms that the problems portrayed in Azucar Amarga are very real. The prostitution, tourist aparteid, and growing dispair shown in this film are completely accurate.

Cuba is a country coming apart at the seams due to its contridictory existence as a communist state embracing the capitalist tourism industry to survive. Those Cuban with access to tourist dollars are surviving and those without access now beg in the streets. It is heart-wrenching but true.

Please avoid snap judgements of this film's accuracy until you too have spent weeks living the Cuban experience. Until then, you know nothing.

CSI: Miami (2002–2012)

Another LA Dream of Miami

[27 October 2002]

Just like the other new Miami show, Good Morning Miami, CSI: Miami has been written by writers who either have never either been to Miami or do not care to portray the city accurately (I lived in Miami for 5 years and consider it my second home; I go back every year).

It pains me to think that so many writers in Hollywood have such tunnel vision. There is more than LA and NYC in the world, and I for one, am fed up with the vast majority of shows being set in those two locales (as a previous poster noted, CSI: Miami's landscapes are not from Miami). This show, much like GMM, is painfully "gringo" in its representation of Miami.

Suggestion for the future: Do it right or don't do it at all.