On the hospital scene, just as the sick male nurse presents the comatosed Bride to the trucker dude, the script mentioned a closeup of a very beautiful, lovely bunch of blonde pubic hair. I think the scene is really missing, for it would set the tone a few notches up for the violence that comes afterwards, and perhaps would have made it even more justifiable. What I mean is the audience reacts well to edges of emotion, and sex is the edgiest of edges. Anyone who has seen Irreversible will understand my point: it's greatly more disturbing to see the contrast between sex and violence if there is more graphic display of the sex.
Reviews
6 Reviews
great laughs
28 October 2003
This movie was never released in theaters down here in Brazil. I stumbled upon it on a video rental store, and got because I had always liked Mike Myers from his work at Saturday Night Live and the first Wayne´s World. I was delighted with the freshness of the spoofs and ideas, all the thousands of little jokes they placed all along. You can´t take your eyes away from the TV for a minute without missing a joke. I cried out of laughter at that meeting room sequence, when Dr. Evil punishes a reckless collaborator using all sorts of villain clichés in the book... it´s all fun. The sequel to it gave way to much more of Myers ego than his talent, and to me it was too nasty sometimes. The second sequel, Goldmember, is a lot better, but in the end they are very worth the watch.
Jimmy Hollywood
(1994)
Where´s is Zealand?
6 January 2003
There is so much content on this, it is just a shame such few people have seen it. It is brilliant, funny, sometimes sad and deep, but overall a story full of quotations. Joe Pesci is even greater than the usual, never mind the long blond hair. There is an astonishingly funny performance given by Christian Slater, to me his most impressive ever. Search for it everywhere you can and see for yourself.
Up at the Villa
(2000)
Down at the villa
3 January 2003
I watched this movie last night, on pay-per-view. It is boring, pointless. Yet it´s got a beautiful art direction, very well executed in all, but just drags on at times.
The book by W. Somerset Maugham is not great, the movie could not be either.
But what caught my attention the most was the "professionalism" of Sean Penn. Being a huge fan of him, and having read loads of his independent-minded, bold-against-the-system interviews, it is kind of comforting to see him work plainly for the money, or as someone said earlier, acting as a big dude. You come to the conclusion that "Well, even the just and mighty have to put bread on the table".
Still I voted it 6, as being worth the watch. But not renting or paying for it like I did... wait till TNT features it for free and with lots of commercials, so you can zap around for something better!!!
The book by W. Somerset Maugham is not great, the movie could not be either.
But what caught my attention the most was the "professionalism" of Sean Penn. Being a huge fan of him, and having read loads of his independent-minded, bold-against-the-system interviews, it is kind of comforting to see him work plainly for the money, or as someone said earlier, acting as a big dude. You come to the conclusion that "Well, even the just and mighty have to put bread on the table".
Still I voted it 6, as being worth the watch. But not renting or paying for it like I did... wait till TNT features it for free and with lots of commercials, so you can zap around for something better!!!
The Godfather Part III
(1990)
As Al Pacino has said, "part III was a mistake".
10 May 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Attention: if you have not seen the movie, do not read on. I don´t suppose I put spoilers in, but I might for this is such a classic.
I spent heavy bucks on the recent DVD box and I´m proud of it. But there´s no way to avoid noticing the gap between second and third parts. Not the time gap, because that was of course well taken care of by the brilliant producing and directing. The same cast is there, and with the great addition of 15 years. That makes Michael and Kay controversial, loveXhate relationship even more appealing and dramatic, for now they are mature and have all the wrinkles to prove.
But as Al Pacino said in a recent interview, the attempt for redemption doesn´t fit with Don Corleone. That is a fact. That may be a flaw in Mario Puzo´s story, but that is greatly expectable. As long as you have read "Omerttà" or "The Last Don" you do understand me: not all of his stories are as perfect as the Godfather.
Think of the cold stare Michael gave the Cop that punched him on part one just before and moments after killing him point blank. And also of the look in his face when he shows up unexpectedly at the house and finds Kay secretly visiting their children: he never says a word. Walks towards her, gets real close and, when she starts wondering "is this forgiving time?" he closes the door - we glance at the desperate look Diane Keaton throws at him for a second, but he doesn´t. To me this shot is specially revealing of how cold and stone hearted a Don has to be. The woman aborted his son on purpose. She is let to live, but to him she is dead.
And, as part three goes on, he befriends her again after what, fifteen years? Too human for a Don. Specially Michael, who got appointed by Vitto as the greatest Don ever. What about the scene beside the coffin? That is lame, and is the only part I don´t like in the whole series. Even Pacino did not pull that one off, and the extra disc on the DVD Edition shows it clearly: Coppola tries to guide him through the dialog and the sobbing. It just doesn´t work.
And on a final note, I stick with the majority regarding Sofia Coppola: she is terrible. The theater scene is the climax of the film and she could easily have made it flop. Still, as a director, she has proven herself worthy of the Coppola name. Good thing Nicholas Cage did not stick to it.
I spent heavy bucks on the recent DVD box and I´m proud of it. But there´s no way to avoid noticing the gap between second and third parts. Not the time gap, because that was of course well taken care of by the brilliant producing and directing. The same cast is there, and with the great addition of 15 years. That makes Michael and Kay controversial, loveXhate relationship even more appealing and dramatic, for now they are mature and have all the wrinkles to prove.
But as Al Pacino said in a recent interview, the attempt for redemption doesn´t fit with Don Corleone. That is a fact. That may be a flaw in Mario Puzo´s story, but that is greatly expectable. As long as you have read "Omerttà" or "The Last Don" you do understand me: not all of his stories are as perfect as the Godfather.
Think of the cold stare Michael gave the Cop that punched him on part one just before and moments after killing him point blank. And also of the look in his face when he shows up unexpectedly at the house and finds Kay secretly visiting their children: he never says a word. Walks towards her, gets real close and, when she starts wondering "is this forgiving time?" he closes the door - we glance at the desperate look Diane Keaton throws at him for a second, but he doesn´t. To me this shot is specially revealing of how cold and stone hearted a Don has to be. The woman aborted his son on purpose. She is let to live, but to him she is dead.
And, as part three goes on, he befriends her again after what, fifteen years? Too human for a Don. Specially Michael, who got appointed by Vitto as the greatest Don ever. What about the scene beside the coffin? That is lame, and is the only part I don´t like in the whole series. Even Pacino did not pull that one off, and the extra disc on the DVD Edition shows it clearly: Coppola tries to guide him through the dialog and the sobbing. It just doesn´t work.
And on a final note, I stick with the majority regarding Sofia Coppola: she is terrible. The theater scene is the climax of the film and she could easily have made it flop. Still, as a director, she has proven herself worthy of the Coppola name. Good thing Nicholas Cage did not stick to it.
With Honors
(1994)
Joe Pesci is badly disguised as a homeless intellectual
12 December 2001
Joe Pesci is great. Anyone who´s seen him in gangster roles has to acknowledge that. Those who saw "Jimmy Hollywood" will acknowledge him when doing some drama. But in this movie he is just phony. As if the story weren´t bad enough, of a homeless but brilliant intellectual, former seaman, contaminated with asbestos, fond of philosophy who lives in Harvard basement... (I´m not making it up), he speaks in a soft, dramatic voice that sounds really bad. It lacks some anger, some Pesci attitude of a short tempered short guy. Even Leo from Lethal Weapon crying about the death of his pet "Froggy" is better than the genius bum of "With Honors". Watch it if you like Brendan Fraser, but be advised: he never appears without a shirt on.
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