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Reviews
Loup (2009)
A gorgeous painting
First, this was nothing like a documentary. It is a poignant story of a young man trying to grow up in one of the world's most hostile environments. In this country, reindeer is life. This animal provides everything to sustain life for these nomadic clans. It is their food, their clothing, their transportation; their money. Hungry wolves live on what they can get: rabbits; whatever, but when they can, they take down a deer, a feast for a starving pack. Young Sergeï has a lot to prove. He has to grow up and he has the lovely Natashya who loves him. Sergeï wants to prove himself to his clan and persuades his father to allow him to guard the herd of reindeer. Against the advice of others, his father permits Sergeï to do this. When Sergeï spots a wolf on a ridge, he takes his rifle and goes out to kill it, but soon discovers a lair with four cubs frolicking about. Although Sergeï knows what to do, he cannot do it. He is smitten and after a time, he and the cubs and eventually the mother whom he names Voulka, have bonded. He gives each cub a name as well. When Natasha discovers what he is doing, she is devastated. She explains that they don't hate the wolves. It's simply a matter of survival. It's the clan or the wolves. They must be killed on sight. But out of her love for Sergeï, and the wonder of seeing the wolves up close and personal, Natasha too allows herself to be seduced by these beautiful animals. But soon other wolves come and the pack not only drives off the herd but slaughters one reindeer. Sergeï is blamed, and when the clan realizes what he has been doing to encourage the wolves, Sergeï's disappointed father says "If you can't be a man for us, how will you be a man for a woman?" This cuts deeply. Sergeï pleads for a chance to redeem himself. He will take care of the wolves. At last his father permits Sergeï to go after the wolves, but warns him, this will be his last chance. Sergeï sets off in a frozen, stunningly white and bitter winter to accomplish his dreaded task. It is so cold that waterfalls are frozen in place. This film was shot on location under the most severe conditions and it really shows. Each scene is a painting and the interaction between man, reindeer, wolf, nature and the ever-encroaching civilization is amazing to watch. Warning: get a fuzzy blanket and/or a heavy sweater. You're going to need it.
The Reunion (2011)
Pretty good
When we think of WWE we think of yelling, threats, boasting, deception and all around monkey business, so when we realized this was a WWE film we didn't expect much. To our surprise, we found this to be very enjoyable romp. Plenty of action, humor and some pretty good lines in a plot that was just a bit different. Upon the death of their father, four siblings who have a mutual dislike for each other — make that can't stand one another — are forced to work together to a greater end. This opens the door to some pretty good situations. There were some good scenic shots too, along with with pretty girls and horses. What more do you want in a DVD?
Wild Target (2010)
A real charmer
In this dark and charming, tongue-in-cheek tale, an dimwitted youth, a light-fingered free spirited young woman and a middle aged hit man are thrown together in a wild ride that never stops, and at the same time, changes all their lives forever. Not to be missed. I haven't yet seen the 1993 French original, "Cible Émouvante" (which is a more clever title, meaning Moving Target, with "moving" in the emotional meaning). I'm not familiar with most of the actors, but Jean Rochefort as Victor Meynard is, I'm certain, the equal of Bill Nighy. They don't exactly look alike, but both exude that same deadpan reserved exterior. Emily Blunt was most charming and one could not help forgiving the errors of her ways. Rupert Grint as Tony was excellent as a naïve, but willing young man who had never before seen a real cow in person. "They're much bigger than I thought," he says, or something close to that. Not to be missed. Think "The Adams Family" meets "Hitman".
I Love a Mystery (1945)
Disaster Movie
This woeful film begins with a flimsy, transparent and preposterous plot, followed by wooden performances and action from actors who recite their stilted lines mechanically. George Macready was so outstandingly bad that I'm amazed he wasn't immediately banned from Hollywood forever. Fortunately for all of us he survived to become a pretty good actor. The direction was slow and predictable every step of the way and of course, since this was obviously filmed on pocket change, the entire production showed it. "I Love a Mystery" may have been a popular radio show in its day, and evidently some fans enjoyed this film as well. When TCM offered this, I taped it, hoping for something more in the line of some of the other '40s noir films. Sad.
L'illusionniste (2010)
A gorgeous painting
This is a beautiful film insofar as each and every scene is a work of art. A visual treat for the eye, one to be brought out and savored from time to time. The story is nothing special, The late M. Tati (under his real name of Tatischeff) is...an animated M. Hulot. Tati films are trying at best, but at the same time fascinating as we watch the inept M. Tati stumble about, always out of step with his surroundings. As the Illusionist he is M. Hulot in the persona of an aging magician who, along with his contemporaries, finds less and less work in the '50s as vaudeville writhes in its death throes while rock and roll takes center stage. A ventriloquist has to pawn his dummy (which the pawnbroker can't even sell, finally offering it free to no takers). A clown nearly commits suicide, and M. Tatischeff finally gives up everything, frees his rabbit, and travels off into the sunset. There is a tender (almost) love story throughout the film, but it's a love destined never to flower as life goes its course. The real star of the film is, again, the scenery. It is perfect, every scene a masterpiece down to the slightest detail. Supposedly this is in three languages with no subtitles, but as in M. Hulot's other misadventures, you can't understand 94% of what anyone says anyhow. You don't need to and you aren't intended to. As in a topnotch silent film, facial expressions, body language and gestures impart a perfect understanding to every action throughout the film. Slow, yes, but all the more time to savor the wonderful and colorful backgrounds. A film to keep on the shelf for yearly viewing.
Henry's Crime (2010)
Interesting
Henry's Crime has all the feel of a French film. Bleak, with low key acting, the play within the play and romance, of course. The emphasis is more upon relationships than on the plot. The performances are all interesting and the performers interact well. The concept too is interesting, and even — with a little imagination — plausible. Ms Farmiga was perfect as the so-so actress who dreamed of a future in Hollywood. Her switches from sweet to downright bitchy were really believable. Everyone else too did a fine job. A few little things script however bothered me from the beginning. Why would the softball team wear its outfit to a robbery? How did the robbers all get away with the loot leaving poor Henry to take the fall? Getting into the bank vault following the method described is very unlikely. It's almost certain that when the vault was installed it would have been better reinforced than it was. The ending too was unsatisfying. It's pretty obvious that a logical outcome of this is that all the "bad guys" get caught and go to prison. Only Mr. Caan would enjoy that part. He said it's a win-win situation. Whether he gets caught or not, he wins. Maybe even Ms Farmiga who got caught up in the plot would be imprisoned. For all that, I found the film interesting, watching the interaction between the principals. Good to see that Mr. Stormare has decided not to be such a baddie. In this he's not as bad as he pretends to be.
The Casino Murder Case (1935)
Thank God for Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell saves this movie from being just another '30s mystery out of the mystery machine. Paul Lukas, despite his panache is not a good Philo Vance because of his accent. This is more of a romantic "screwball comedy" type of film than a mystery, but taken in that aspect, it's pretty good. The auction scenes and Alison Skipworth are wonderful. The chemistry between the unflappable Russell and Mr. Lukas is really neat, although in the novels romance never got in the way of a good murder. Whether played by Ted Healy or Eugene Palette, poor Sgt. Ernest Heath never got a fair shake. In the books he was never quite the boob portrayed on the screen. The Casino Murder Case is worth viewing if for nothing but to watch Rosalind Russell on top of her game.
The Dragon Murder Case (1934)
A film with potholes and plot holes
Hollywood never found a real Philo Vance. In the books he was an effete, superior pedantic individual and really not very likable. Maybe no one wanted to play him that way. Warren William made a barely passable Vance. I've always been a big William Powell fan, and whether he was Vance, Charles or Dal, he was always the pleasant urbane same William Powell. That being said, I'll move on to The Dragon Murder Case. There is a plot I call the Scooby-Doo plot. All Scooby-Doo episodes share one plot: There appear to be frightening mysterious and perhaps supernatural events going on, when in the end it turns out to be just another baddie with a baddie agenda. The Dragon Murder Case is one of these. A group of guests go for a nocturnal swim. A man disappears after diving into a naturally formed swimming pool. After draining the pool, there is no sign of the missing man. Eventually his broken body is found some distance away in what they call a "pothole". Word on the street is that the dragon that supposedly inhabits the pool, killed the man and dragged his body away to the pothole for future nutrition. When the film came out, audiences weren't as blasé as they are today, and many were probably amazed at what happened and at Mr. Vance's acumen. Today however, most viewers will spot the murderer the moment he appears on the screen. For its time, the film is pretty good with spooky lighting, aquariums with lizards and fighting fish; sea monster lore. The dammed up pool looks pretty good with its rugged edges. But the denouement is downright lame. It worked better in the book because of the description of the pool and the reader's imagination. In the film it seems impossible for the murder to have been carried out without one or more of the four people present having seen something. The biggest "plothole" in the story is however, that the entire operation (which began sometime before we entered the movie), depended completely upon the victim (both in the book and on the screen), suggesting that everyone go for a swim. Okay, maybe he liked to swim, but what if he hadn't made the suggestion? The killer would have wasted a great deal of effort and bad acting for nothing. How many times would he have to go through this to get his victim where he wanted him? And really, why bother to hide the body? Just to add to the mystery? If I plotted to murder someone, my concern would be not to get caught, to hell with offering up a great mystery for the world to ponder. I liked The Kennel Murder Case a lot better.
A Crime (2006)
Undeveloped screenplay
Although this was an intriguing film and Mr. Keitel is always a pleasure to watch, the screenplay left me disappointed. In the first place, all the husband did was glimpse a taxi passing him in the opposite direction and from that deduced that the taxi driver killed his wife. No motive, no explanation. We just see her dead body and leap ahead three years to see the man obsessed with his wife's murder. For no reason that I can ascertain, even the cops take it for granted that the taxi driver was the culprit; all this based upon one brief glance of a speeding taxi. We (the viewers) didn't even get a good look, but the husband managed to note a long gash in the driver's door, a large ring on the driver's hand and a red jacket the driver was wearing. Now we're expected to believe that three years later the murderer is still driving around in his taxi with his red jacket and big ring. In the end, a broke and homeless taxi driver and a broke woman suddenly have a nice vehicle to drive and in it she finds a large ring which presumably tells us that after all, this man is actually the taxi driver who murdered a woman three years earlier. If I were a cop, she and the writer are the only culprits I'd throw in jail.