scandojazzbuff Reviews

Three Monkeys (2008)

Creeping, Crawling, Storytelling.

[5/10 · 2 November 2008]

How long does one have to sit through a film to feel that something interesting is going to happen? After 30 minutes or so, I began hoping something would change in this film to keep me from falling asleep. Do I really want to look at depressive people's faces for more than 30 seconds at a time without a single word being uttered and feeling like the characters in this film are really messed up people with not much intelligence. Is this life in Turkey? If it is, there is something seriously wrong there. I think maybe it's the depressive nature of the director who crafts his film thinking about art more than telling a story to draw in the viewer. Why else make a film if it is not for the audience? Is it just some type of exercise, discipline? Life flows. It is not stuck in stills with altered colors giving it meaning. Not worth anyone's time, IMO.

Manthan (1976)

A Movie With A Real Message

[9/10 · 27 October 2008]

How can anyone sit through this movie and not be moved by the plight of poor people the world over who have been controlled by tradition, superstition, power, and, greed. Every country in the world is reflected in this eloquently told story of poor Gujerati dairy farmers whose sole means of existence is based on their buffalo's milk and the control they are placed under by the higher castes of society. Shyam Benegal has told a very straightforward and real tale of the desire to reform the past and how difficult a task it is to bring change to a simple village under the spell of centuries of belief systems that rob the individual's chance of ever rising out of poverty and the control of a few. A gem and a very sobering film for all to consider.

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

A Very Creative Film

[7/10 · 27 June 2008]

that would have been much better, IMO, without Jack Black who seems to play the same part in every movie he makes. To pair him with actors like Danny Glover and Mos Def doesn't make sense to me but the movie still works in spite of it. There is so much creative energy flowing in this movie due to the great imagination of the director and the clever building of the various sets and how the movie is constructed. I don't want to give too much away but it's worth anyone's time that is into cinema to sit through this very clever, heart-felt, crafted movie. I can't help but feel it would have been a much better offering without the Black character giving it an over the top, gonzo performance. The story didn't need this kind of character to make it work. In fact it dumbed it down and made it a more commercial, box office attraction for teenagers. Maybe the next movie this director makes will finally take the leap out of mainstream American corniness and treat the viewer to something on a different emotional level.

Control (2007)

Extraordinarily Dull

[5/10 · 15 March 2008]

If it weren't for the fame of this band, why would anyone be interested in making a film about Ian Curtis? There was little about this film or the subject that had any life to it. Was that the point? To show how utterly dull and lifeless he was off the stage floor? How inward and unable he was to communicate much real feeling to any of his friends or family? I feel sorry for the people in London who have to shell out almost 10 quid to see something like this. And, there was little in Anton Corbijn's cinematography to inspire artistic ooh's and ah's. The jump from photographer to filmmaker is not necessarily a natural one. This is not my idea of an interesting film on any level.

Import Export (2007)

A Film That Should Elicit A Response From The Viewer

[7/10 · 2 November 2007]

No matter what you think about a film like Import/Export, you have to have some kind of reaction to it. It is an unsettling, bleak look at a couple of lives that the viewer will rarely think about unless confronted with in a film like this. The story takes place in both Ukraine and in Austria and focuses on 2 lives of very different people who share a similar circumstance of being at the end of the line in the place that they live in. Both seek change and their circumstances take very different shapes and fates but share a similar intention, to find a better life.

The director and writer give us little hope in their depiction of these 2 lives and how their environments constantly conspire to either keep them down or challenge their will to survive and change. It is a story at once about Eastern Europe and a story about the world's 'lower classes' and their monumental struggle against inertia and their past. It is a movie filled with images, humor, highs and lows, and, graphic scenes of sexual play that all add to the base quality of the human experience that exists not only in Eastern Europe, but, many place in the world today. Human beings have created incredible technology and yet there is still so much ignorance, cruelty, and, general meanness in the world. A rough film told with a keen eye toward a subtle message.

Dallas Pashamende (2005)

A Visually Riveting Film

[8/10 · 27 October 2007]

I have just viewed this film at the Bangkok World Film Festival. From the opening scene, this is a film that is both visually compelling with a very good storyline. The story builds and builds and never gets bogged down in unnecessary emotionalism or morality. The story takes place in one of the most shocking locales ever filmed, a gypsy barrio in the middle of a garbage dump. The squalor, poverty, and, roughness of the people, are as real as it gets. Compelling beyond the natural revulsion that we feel viewing their condition of life, there is human tenderness, goodness, and, a natural sympathy we develop with the characters. Great acting, faces that are out of an Andre Kertesz photo book, and, all the hooks that make this a first rate film that should be seen by serious movie goers.

War (2007)

Could Have Been Something Special

[5/10 · 9 October 2007]

There is no lack of talent or fight scenes in this film. It just falls way short of the mark in the sense that the movie (script?) never really drew me in, didn't develop the characters enough during the movie, and, had a very anti-climactic ending. Really weak writing here. Clichéd, predictable, and, a waste of some great modern action heros like Jet and Jason. I can see Jason's future in the movie biz. He has a huge screen presence, is a real badass, and, somehow manages to strike sympathy with the viewer. OTOH, Jet Li continues to mystify me with his vagueness as an actor. He is the same person in every film and outside of his martial arts prowess, which is considerable, he is really quite unemotional as an actor. John Lone, whom I haven't seen in ages, certainly deserves a better role than the one he plays in this movie. All these guys should really exercise some real discernment in the type of roles they sign on for.

Away from Her (2006)

A very sensitive and moving film

[8/10 · 9 October 2007]

Flawless acting and a story that goes straight to your heart about the unraveling of an older couple's marriage and life due to Alzheimer's. Sensitively directed by Sarah Polley who is a mere youngster in comparison to most of the actors in the movie. Big Kudos and big talent there.

The film held my attention right to the end and the way the story unfolded was in no way predictable by me. The added twists and viewpoints greatly expanded my own way of looking at relationships and life and the way we interact with our loved ones. Good to see this quality of film-making.

Knocked Up (2007)

How Did Americans Get So Weird?

[5/10 · 6 October 2007]

Why is it so difficult to make a comedy that has some intelligence in it? Is it so hard to not show people as distorted caricatures who over think everything and make themselves look like utter fools? Is this the best that Hollywood writers can come up with and call it funny? Call it adult entertainment? It's truly bizarre what the public will eat up and call delicious. What possible reason do people want to see a movie like this? There were a few good laughs, more at the absurdity than the comedy. It's a shame the direction that American cinema has taken. You get either over the top action movies or over the top moronic comedies. Very few intelligent, emotional, and, significant work being done there with a few exceptions like Eastwood, Scorcese, and, a few others. We need more comedies like Sideways.

Glue (2006)

Wake Me When It's Over

[5/10 · 5 October 2007]

If the point of the movie was suburban teenagers bored to distraction, then it achieved its purpose quite well. The problem with this is it also bores the viewer to distraction. Telling a story cinematically doesn't achieve its end with visual gimmicks alone like cross processed film and home movie additions without backing the story up with dialog that the viewer (those over 15 years of age) can relate to. This type of adolescent story has been done over and over again and for me, this film doesn't achieve anywhere near the rating this site has given it.

The story itself seems to meander at its own pace using the absence of dialog to set the mood. In a sense, this seems to be in step with the emotional life of teenagers where dialog is at a minimum and the expression of emotion is not fully formed. This was a realistic way of portraying the subjects and the kids did a good job of bringing this off.

Stardust (2007)

Hollywood At It's Wankiest

[6/10 · 5 October 2007]

If it's true that Miramax originally had the rights and gave it up, they must have realized that this was a movie (and a script) that really wasn't worth the bother. The fact that any Gaiman book gets made into a movie amazes this viewer. Talk about hype! Fairy tales like the Princess Bride, Lord Of The Rings, and, Harry Potter, bring something fresh and relateable to an audience that has been inundated by commercial film-making for decades. Those films were very good on all levels and their story lines worked. This is mainly because of the writers who wrote them. They knew how to tell a story and grab the viewer. Unfortunately, this movie should not be mentioned in the same breath as the others. There are some bright spots, namely, Michelle Pfeiffer, who is perfectly over the top and who does a bang up job with her role. There are others, but, the DeNiro role could have been done by a dozen other actors, but, it helps to have a name like his in your otherwise, absurd, badly written, movie.