Masking-tape_Muldoon Reviews

The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

hypnotic

[12 January 2004]

I think that I was just Svengali'd. I went to see "Les Triplettes de Belleville" yesterday, and for the rest of the day I found myself having these bizarre little mini blackouts.

I'm convinced that the film hypnotized me. It's quirky pacing, and cryptic imagery seems to have gotten the better of my fragile psyche. It feels like I'm living the Manchurian Candidate, I did enjoy the film on certain level and I would recommend it to others however, I would caution people who are easily hypnotized or highly impressionable to stay away.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

I can't figure out why this film makes me cry

[22 October 2003]

It's odd, but for some reason I always start crying during this film, for no apparent reason. For example, the scene when kiki wakes up on the train and she sees the ocean, that always makes me cry, as does the scene when her father picks her up at the beginning; And for some reason the scene when the boy shows her his propeller bike for the first time, makes me weep.

I wonder; are these scenes really that moving? Or I'm I losing it?

Mystic River (2003)

This film so not brilliant.

[6/10 · 20 October 2003]

This film is not bad mind you,It's just not the brilliant tragedy that it's been hyped up to be. Mystic River is just one more film that's been tailor made for the Oscars. Dark, (but not dark enough), daring (but nowhere near daring enough), good (but predictable) performances.

Sean Penn was adequate, but his character shoots his emotional load early on, and he never gets it back. Robbins gives the stronger performance, but it's so good it's boring. Yes he nails the accent, and the mental state etc etc. I've seen that same sort of brilliant performance from countless other actors over the years. It's just one more example of a film that showcases the performers first and foremost and leaves the rest of the film to flounder in it's own mediocrity.

And of course: EVERY single actor takes a shot at the accent.

If you happened to be from Boston that gets really tired after a while.

Really tired.

The Five (1995)

This film has permanently scarred my psyche

[20 October 2003]

It's been a year since I rented this film. I still get nightmares. There is one scene in particular (and I think we all know which scene I'm talking about) Which I've been revisiting over and over again in my most horrible dreams. This film has disturbed me in a way that no film ever has. It's a testament to how dark a feature film can be if the filmmakers choose to go there.

Personally, I know that I will never be the same.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Good film - but the dialogue is crap.

[6/10 · 13 October 2003]

I'm sorry, as good as this film is; the dialogue is so below par I am shocked that it was penned by the same man who wrote the snappy patter, and grand soliloquies of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

I can only assume that he's either doing it on purpose, in an effort to emulate the lousy subtitles of his favorite Asian action films; Or that much of the dialogue is stolen from various sources; OR that he has lost his gift for it altogether.

Come to think of it, all three reasons could be valid to a degree.

Still, the bottom line is this: The trick he was trying to pull off didn't work.

Amazing dialogue would have catapulted this film to greatness. As is, it falls a wee bit short in my opinion.

Stations of the Elevated (1981)

Beautiful + real = real beautiful

[8/10 · 19 September 2003]

This 1979 documentary is one of my all time favorites. The structure is as simple as they come. Footage of the various New York subways which run on elevated tracks is set to the music of Charles Mingus (with a little Duke Ellington thrown in for good measure)

It's as if you are riding the rails in 79' while listening to Mingus on your walk man. Eye candy up the wazzoo from graffiti to Nylon paisley shirts but there are no characters per say; except for the subways themselves.

Brother (I) (2000)

I have no idea why I liked this film.

[3 September 2003]

I agree with most of the negative statements which have already been made by other users. This film was cliché, The dialogue was poorly delivered. As a whole I felt that the film didn't translate very well, and I couldn't figure out whether he was trying to make a film about American gangsters meant for a Japanese Audience, or a film about Japanese gangsters for an American audience.

One thing's for sure. If I was watching this in Japan, didn't understand English and just had to rely on Japanese subtitles, It would have been a lot more enjoyable for me. It would be like "O.K. now they're speaking English, I can read the dialogue at the bottom of the screen, and it sounds as if Masayo Kato is really doing a great job" as opposed to "This guys has no idea what that line means" Which you can't help noticing if you are an English speaker.

There are a lot of stereotypes types of Black America, and American organized crime, something which again I think might have played better to his native audience. The Mafia characters for example where way off, badly cast, kind of obligatory and forced. Though I also felt that the Yakuza characters didn't stray very far from the stereotypical (Again, I couldn't tell which audience he was pandering to)

Also, I thought that Takeshi was above casting pretty boys such as Masayo Kato, and Komodo Maki just to beef up the returns at the box office. Their performances really weren't anything special, so I can only assume that he cast them to get the members of their fan clubs to buy a ticket.

There was nothing really original or groundbreaking in this movie, not much that I hadn't seen before, and I got the overall feeling that Takeshi (who holds so many reigns; actor, editor, writer, and director) was having trouble functioning outside of his native environment which is why the film seemed so unpolished and sloppy.

But I'm serious, I really did love this movie. I couldn't get it out of my head. I kept on watching certain scenes over and over in my mind for days. Perhaps Kitano managed to hypnotize me with his crazy editing. Perhaps I just love the way his main characters always kill themselves for the hell of it. Perhaps I love to watch male bonding.

Perhaps.

I really have no idea why I like this film. But I do like it. I like it a lot and I recommend it to people all the time. 10 out of 10 tops of the pops, one of my all time fives (I'm really being serious). But it's true; in many respects this film really does suck ass.

Masked and Anonymous (2003)

No one makes excruciating art better then Bob

[7/10 · 5 August 2003]

I must confess, I was one of the two people who stood up and gave this film a standing ovation during the closing credits. Looking back on it I'm not sure why I did that exactly. I even remember that while I was watching it I cringed a more then a few times.

Great actors paraded across the scene giving performances that kept getting worse and worse. The dialogue (was it improvised?) was tangential and trite, the acting (where there any second takes?)seemed totally unrehearsed. However, the bottom line is that in the few places it worked it REALLY worked.

My guess is that films star, was more involved with the project then I was led to believe. It really plays like a Dylan concert or album, off the cuff, spontaneous, running on instinct. I've seen Bob perform many times over the years, and no matter how bad he may be on a given night. has never failed to do something brilliant, and he is NEVER boring.In fact the secret to Dylan's Artistic longevity (In my opinion) is his willingness to let it all hang out ,the good along with the bad. He makes no apologies for it and he never has. For an artist what's perceived by the public as "brilliant", is usually a byproduct of what is thought of as " incomprehensible crap" (or vice versa, I'm not sure)

At any rate, last time I saw Bob Dylan play live he was doing Grateful dead covers on a keyboard, and the first time I saw him play when I was 13 he hid behind his backup singers the whole time so no one could look at him; and both times I stood up and cheered my ass off when it was over, and I did it again after Masked and Anonymous.

What can I say, No one makes excruciating art better then Bob.

Spirited Away (2001)

Who says this isn't the greatest animated film of all time?!!

[9/10 · 5 August 2003]

Certainly the greatest animated film to come out of Japan since AKIRA; and in my opinion this film even surpasses even AKIRA. First of all, "Ghost in a shell", "Ninja Scroll", "Cowboy Bebop", are all strong films. But Please, I'm tired of seeing the same old themes being rehashed over and over again. I'm all about the occasional acrobatic fight sequence, virtual cleavage, post-apocalyptic metropolis, cyber porn, virtual memories, cartoon nudity; but after a while it just becomes boring.

Spirited away works as a film, because of it's story. It's the real stuff REAL MYTH, it has all the power of an old parable yet I've still seen nothing like it before (or since).

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

The return of the Black Pirate

[4 August 2003]

If you've never seen Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in the 'Black Pirate', I strongly recommend that you check it out before going to see 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. If I'm not mistaken a few choice details seem to have been lifted from this classic silent film.

Nothing wrong with that mind you. If anything it's a good thing.