capitainehaddock Reviews

Jean de La Fontaine - Le défi (2007)

Imbecilistic revisionism

[3 November 2007]

This, like too many French scripts aimed at modernizing the seventeenth century's literary production in Paris, is utterly out of context and disregards all facts. Here La Fontaine is presented as an important political commentator feared by the power that be. It is furthermore suggested that his "writing career" depended on Fouquet's support. Many writer of the time are evoked to no purpose other than to promote the "Hero". No mention is made of Aesop. No mention is made of La Fontaine's friendly patrons. We are led to believe that the guy was a Trotskist before his time. The acting is in accordance with the pretensions of the writing.

Quintet (1979)

Too much Vaseline

[7/10 · 14 June 2007]

This is one of the many very good performances by Paul Newman, who was always underrated as an actor because of his all-encompassing beauty. The main problem with this movie, in my opinion, is the huge Vaseline budget they had. The whole movie was shot with Vaseline at the edges of the lens. I find that very annoying. When I make the effort to remember not to be annoyed by that "Vaseline experiment", I find it is not a bad movie by a long shot. The cast is brilliant, the futuristic plot is innovative for the period and the decor is intriguingly apt. The smearing of Vaseline on the lens applied to a whole movie may have been innovative, it was certainly daring, but I, for one, like to be able to look at the part of the screen I choose, and not be forbidden to have a clear look at the edges. CH

World Trade Center (2006)

Not bad but wrong title

[26 January 2007]

This is not a movie about World Trade Center on sept. 11 2001. It is a movie about two guys trapped under the rubbles after the towers fell. The devastating horror of what happened on that day gets reduced to the suffering of those two cops. The title "World Trade Center" is a definite misnomer here. What about the occupants of the tower? What about people in the area? What about the planes passengers? Not five minutes. We are asked to witness the heroic effort of two cops trying to survive for two hours and, understandably perhaps, they never wonder what is happening on that day to whoever was in those towers. Could it be a metaphor for the self-centerdness of United-Staters....?