pvtsew Reviews

La Soufrière (1977)

Great Early Herzog

[24 November 2015]

I love Herzog. I love travel movies, and I love documentaries. Anybody who is into "abandoned porn" would love this. The abandoned city seemed like a dream for a zombie film maker back in the day. Now computers could probably do it, but to see a whole city deserted like that, especially with the volcanic smoke in the background, truly was apocalyptic.

The conversations with the people left behind were a little hard to follow, but still interesting. If a guy has nowhere to go, why should he leave? It's his home and, in the end, the volcano didn't interrupt after all. Vindication if there ever was.

Check it out. It's only 30 minutes anyway.

Three from the Filling Station (1930)

Another Silly Movie With No Purpose

[20 September 2015]

I'm gonna start off with a little bit of a tangent. The scene where Lilian (Lilian Cossmann) to the gas station and meets the second attendant Kurt (Oskar Karlweis) is quite something. Kurt starts singing about how she's just a woman and needs a man with her. There's all these references to women and driving. On the one hand, he's trying to find an excuse to let him ride with her. On the other hand, it reminds me of this Schwachsinn in Saudi Arabia that denies women the right to drive. Now, Europe is being flooded with Muslim immigrants who apparently can't run their own country to go to a country that was more progressive than much of the Arab world is today about 80 years ago.

And that's what so much of this early German really is - a relic. This is a rather silly, light-hearted comedy perfect for TMC with no moral or ethic implications and little connection to the reality of the day. Yet it is still studied because it was a very financially successful, early talkie.

The dance scenes are fairly entertaining. Whenever the three men are together, it's funny and the lyrics are quite clever. However, such films seem typical of that escapism. It's no shocker that, in a world where people make such fluffy, good-for-nothing films, street battles and concentration camps would be the norm.

So how do I reconcile the progressive situation of Weimar Germany with its predilection to mass murder? Well both the Muslim world and Nazi Germany engaged in it, but at least women could drive in one of them. It's the little things.

The Decent One (2014)

Original at first, but fizzles out

[7 December 2014]

I liked the first half or so. They use German voices to read letters, and using these letters they paint a very intimate portrait of Himmler and his family. It honestly got so intimate that I had to remind myself that it's an Israeli production. Towards the end though, their use of era footage, which seemed like stock footage, was very graphic.

This footage turned away from a psychological examination to just gore. I think the idea of a psychological examination of a mass murderer is a very good idea, but the footage was too distracting and seemed more like a History Channel documentary. If they had labeled where some of the footage was from, perhaps it would have been OK.

Letztes Jahr - Titanic (1991 TV Movie)

A good piece of history, but not entertaining

[17 November 2014]

Voigt and crew travel Leipzig from December to December in '89 to '90. Except for about 20 seconds at the beginning and end of a train pulling into and out of the station, it's just a collection of DDR citizens talking about life, about the consequences of Reunification and their plans.

It's a good document of emotions at the time. The crew shares some intimate moments with several people, and they actually get a chance to say some relevant things. From a technical view, it's quite good - the audio and picture are just fine. We don't hear much, in America anyway, about honest film projects from the DDR.

It's really quite drab, with no narrator or background knowledge. The street scenes and events are surely familiar to people who were there at the time, but it was difficult to follow who everyone was and why they were being interviewed. Although what they have to say is interesting, I'm usually left wondering who they are.

There's also no real statement from the interviewer/filmmaker about his own thoughts, save from the few simple questions he posits to the people he interviews. There's no statement on the power of protest to change governments, the rightness (or wrongness) of coercive governments. There's no narrator and no explanation of where one is or what is going on. I'd normally like this minimal approach, but here I found it cheap to possibly lazy.

If you want to know about the DDR, I'd start with other films/documentaries/diaries. This is interesting, but there isn't much substance to it.

Into the Storm (2014)

Twister II: We Should Have Listened (to Al Gore)

[12 August 2014]

SPOILERS

Another dumb installment in Hollywood's desire to show us what we can do with special effects. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything else, but that's just because I wasn't born yesterday.

I loved seeing the fire tornado and the dude getting sucked up into it, and the destruction was cool but I would have liked to see more blood and gore. Perhaps we could have seen some decapitations or so Final Destination style. Escarpeta, you know what I'm talking about. You can tell they wanted to keep it PG-13. Making movies like this (X-Men etc.) is like Joe Camel as far as I'm concerned.

The attempts at showing heartbreak and disaster, were comical. The philosophizing of old man Chester was trite and makes me want to laugh at whoever wrote the script. We'll blow ourselves up, o wait nevermind.

Was it cool to see Richard Armitage? Honestly, I wouldn't even mention Oakenshield, except that I heard Armitage say how we wanted the role because it wasn't a dwarf. Those guys look so different in costume that it's kind of hard to associate them with the role. And while we're on the topic, what was his accent doing in the Heartland?

Go and see it if you want to seem some disaster scenes and stuff blow up.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Great for late night tomfoolery, but little else

[12 August 2014]

SPOILERS The film starts with quick flashes of a woman in a hospital and Michael stalking his victims. A mysterious cult is holding Michael's niece hostage that they may also take her baby. Jamie, his niece, is eventually able to escape thanks to the help of a member of said cult. Michael and the cult hunt her down as she tries to escape through the corridors of her prison. Jamie is able to elude the cult and get out of the building with her baby. She is chased through town and eventually cornered in a barn where she is murdered by Michael, but not before hiding her baby in a bus stop. The paranoid survivor and Haddonfield resident Tommy Doyle is able to locate the baby. Tommy and Dr. Loomis are now both alerted to Michael's revival, thanks to Jamie's radio broadcast that helped Tommy find the newborn. Unable to locate the baby, Michael turns his attention to the current inhabitants of his old home, the Strodes. The Strodes live adjacent to Tommy and those two groups, along with Dr. Loomis are busy trying to stop Michael while learning more about the cult with which he is involved. Tommy, the baby, Kara, Steven, and Danny are ultimately able to elude Michael and the cult. This comes about when Michael turns on the cult, but it comes at the sacrifice of Loomis who, after several movies has a personal score to settle.

All in all another poor installment in a series that started out well. I don't quite understand why Loomis went off at the end. I also don't particularly like the unrealistic powers of Michael. This is a film from the same time as "Seven" so movies can be better. If you're a fan of the series, it's pretty entertaining I suppose. I didn't feel much for the characters and the continuity in the whole series is too poor.

But hey, if it's late at night and you're at a party... give it a go.

Howl (2010)

Good for Beat Fans

[17 April 2014]

The film starts with the interesting claim that every word spoken was actually spoken.

The film isn't a documentary, though it is very similar to one. It centers on several key events so that no dialog needs to be added beyond the historical. A reading of "Howl", the obscenity trial, and two interviews. Each is shown in parts to create a narrative with the suspense being the outcome of the trial. We see the courtroom, the defendant's lawyer, Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) and prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn), Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban) and several of the expert witnesses. Here the debate was whether "Howl" was obscene and thus the book store owner was guilty of selling "obscene" literature. We also hear interviews of Ginsberg as he gives background information on himself and his poem. Eventually, of course, the poem is not ruled as obscene and the bookstore owner is let go.

Several more intimate moments about Ginsberg's life, particularly his relationship with his mom are seen. It's nice to see Franco portray Ginsberg and attempt to imitate his distinct idiolect and mannerisms. Ginsberg always had a unique way of talking, perhaps a product of his New York, Jew upbringing or perhaps because of his experiments with drugs, jazz, and performing arts.

The movie is a more intimate portrait of Ginsberg than I was expecting. I felt that they probably put too much emphasis on his relationship with his mother. A lot of lobotomies were performed at the time, and abuses in mental health care continue to this day. I would hardly put the guilt on Ginsberg, an icon of counterculture. Furthermore, I liked how Ginsberg was portrayed as a struggling artist. His success came, but it took some work.

I also really liked the cartoons that were used to illustrate the poem. I found they complimented the emotional exploration of the film. I'm not sure I would recommend this to anyone who's not a fan of Beat Literature, but I did enjoy it. Of course, I'm a fan of the Beats.

House (1985)

"Fun" House

[7 April 2014]

Richard Cobb (William Katt) is a famous horror novelist and Vietnam vet. He has just inherited his aunt's large house after a suicide. He moves into the home in order to work on his new book about his experiences in Vietnam. At first things go well and he meets his sexy neighbor, Tanya, and the good-natured Harold Gorton. Things quickly go badly as he's confronted with a monster in the closet and hallucinates his ex-wife who then turns into a monster. Richard is continually confronted with flashbacks from Vietnam and the memories of his disappeared son. He's eventually able to find a secret portal into another dimension where his son was being held. He's able to defeat "Big Ben" his army-buddy-turned-monster and rescue his son.

I really like the Motown soundtrack. It keeps things relaxed and fun - what a good horror movie is. I also like the haunted house atmosphere and that it isn't a slasher. It feels like it could be based on "Tales from the Crypt" and is a good example of what imagination can do for horror films. The monsters and comedic elements (babysitting, soap-opera, and neighbor Harold) make a good combination.

It's obviously a vapid tale, and nowhere near as good as many of the horror masterpieces. I still liked it and it's a recommend to any horror fan.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

No

[7 April 2014]

The film starts out as Captain Kirk is being chased on an alien planet. A great beginning scene with the main crew neutralizing a volcano on a pre-warp planet leads ultimately leads to Captain Kirk being demoted as, not only does he violate the prime directive, but also lies on a report. The main action starts later when John Harrison (aka Khan) attacks a meeting of upper ranking Star Fleet officers. Kirk is able to neutralize the threat, but Khan escapes and is pursued. Kirk and his crew, now that Pike is dead, chase him to an uninhabited Klingon planet with the planet to destroy him with a new style of torpedoes. Scotty perceives this as dangerous and, due to his objections, leaves his post and the ship. Upon arrival at the planet, Kirk is able to capture Khan. Khan reveals the truth with the help of Scotty, who is now off ship. The new torpedoes actually harbor Khan's brethren and Marcus (Peter Weller) has been developing new weapons and has hopes of starting a war with the Klingons. Khan and Kirk are able to defend themselves against Marcus's attacks. They later fight amongst themselves, crippling both ships. Khan crashes his ship into San Francisco, and Kirk sacrifices himself to repower the ship. In the final fight, after Khan and the Vengeance have crashed into San Francisco, Uhura and Spock are able to capture Khan and use his blood to revive Kirk.

The obvious attempt to show war without blood, and the body of the woman (but only in part), are blatant attempts to market to the PG13 audience. It gives a sterile vision of war and seems cheap. These are obvious ethical flaws that I find unforgivable. Plenty of money was spent of actors and effects, so I feel that none of this was unavoidable.

The other major problem is that after First Contact humanity was united. In this movie, Marcus and his crew openly attack the Enterprise. The crew is shown, at least in part, human. They also seem not to be given any good reason for openly destroying the Enterprise and her crew. The Vengeance is overly aggressive and this is not conducive to the spirit of a united humanity that is shown in so many movies/shows. It helps to add a big battle that JJ Abrams is known for doing("Armaggedon" "Mission Impossible 3"). The adventurous sci-fi atmosphere is sacrificed for the sake of a giant battle. It doesn't make much sense and is an insult to the genre. It's stated he "went rogue" and "has Khan". He neither went rogue, as Marcus should know and his capture of Khan was to take him to Earth.

This is an example of post-Jaws Hollywood blockbuster. It's fun in the theatre, and is very exciting. These are fun attributes, especially with a group of friends in the theater. There are just more important things than explosions.

The Good German (2006)

Film Noir Film Bon

[7 April 2014]

The film starts out with dramatic music on the ruins of post-war Berlin. Jake Geismar (George Clooney) has just arrived in Berlin. His story quickly gets entwined with Lena (Cate Blanchett), a former lover, and Tully (Tobey Maguire), his driver. Tully works in the black market and has a relationship with Lena, who is now a prostitute. Through Tully, Geismar finds Lena again. Tully is busy trying to get Lena out of Berlin, who herself is busy trying to protect her husband Emil. The occupying powers are seeking Emil, as he was an officer in the military with important information. In part due to this, Tully's attempt to get Lena out of Berlin fails and Tully ends up murdered. Geismar discovers this and spends his time trying to ensure Lena's safety and that she, too, can get out of Berlin. He and Lena turn over Emil but are betrayed and Emil is murdered. Geismar is still able to get Lena out of Berlin but learns that she, like many others, was involved in war crimes.

I really like the film noir. I like the camera work that plays with light and shadows. I also enjoyed the detective/crime story so common in the genre. This is pretty simple wording, but it's really easy to get into the story and excitement in this type of film-making. It was pointed out that the language was somewhat vulgar, and that there was too much sex for a REAL film noir. I find these sorts of things perhaps a little cheap due to their lack of authenticity, but Clooney, Maguire, and Blanchett really pulled the thing together; it was nice to see modern actors in an older style of film.

I also throughly enjoyed the setting in post-war Berlin. This adds a good deal of excitement. I recommend this film, though I'm sure fans of quality cinema will appreciate more than most.

Atonement (2007)

A Good Romance

[31 March 2014]

The film starts out with the sounds of a typewriter and a doll house.

A man is falsely accused of raping a little girl. Evidence relies on the testimony of a confused girl who was probably influenced by the class of the actual rapist and confusion over the relationship between the accused and the witness's sister. To avoid prison, the accused, Robbie (James McAvoy) joins the British Expeditionary Force. He eventually dies in Northern France. The sister of the accused, Cecilia (Keira Kinghtley) also has a difficult time. She's angry at how her family handles the case and goes off on her own to London. Here she's killed in the Blitz. The story is told through the perspective of the little girl, as she has grown old and writes a novel as form of repentance. She was never able to set her false testimony straight.

I really got into this movie. I loved the pictures of the English countryside and the Cliffs of Dover. It was easy to get a dreamy state with the idyllic pond and huge wildflowers. THis put my hard down so that the scenes of battle carnage were all the stronger and more powerful. The beautiful tuxedos of the wealthy class at the beginning, made the dirty faces and the cockney accent of one of the soldiers all the more cruel and hard.

I rarely enjoy romances, as they're often too sentimental, as though the only people that feel affection are half-wits that choose to beget a bunch of spawn and live in the suburbs. Many of us are screwed over by lies and apathy. This film shows that, but it also shows a ferris wheel and kisses such that the gritty image was arguably true.

It's another great performance of the beautiful Keira Knightley and level-headed James McAvoy.

Europa Europa (1990)

Awesome, awesome

[31 March 2014]

The film starts off with two boys underwater. Solomon is about to turn 13 years old and celebrate his bar mitzvah, but Kristallnacht happens. His sister is killed while his family's home and store is vandalized. The rest of the family decides to flee to the father's native Poland. Here they are safe until war breaks out. Solomon and his brother are sent east by their father to flee. Here they are separated, but Solomon ends up in a Russian orphanage. Things go relatively well for Solomon who receives education in the orphanage and joins the Komsomol. When Hitler breaks his pact and invades the USSR, Solomon flees once again, this time with the rest of the orphanage. As he and the orphanage escape he is separated and captured by the Germans. Here he uses his knowledge of Russian, Polish and German to impersonate a Volksdeutscher. Through a stroke of a luck and the protection of another German soldier, he's able to remain safe and learn how to be a soldier in the German army. In a a battle his comrades are killed and, while deserting. it is assumed he is revealing a hidden Russian position. This leads him a captain to adopt him and send him west where he will enroll in an elite Hitler Youth School. Here he mostly deals with being a normal teenager and hiding his identity and circumcision. When he is about to be discovered, the Russians destroy the office where he is to verify his German purity. When the Russians finally advance, he deserts and, with the help of his surviving brother Isaak, is able to give up his hoax and rejoin his Jewish brethren.

The film does a good job of showing dreams to help get into the psyche of Solomon, while the whole films feels like a real Greek drama like the Odyssey. Solomon is always off to some new place coming through mainly by luck. I especially like the reference that Hitler was himself a Jew in hiding. This helps bring the analogy that it may be better to die for one's belief, than live and hide them. Certainly it is a debate better conduced by Holocaust survivors than myself, but respecting the fact that the stories of Jews, Poles, Russians and even Germans were all different. It even posits, as Solomon's linguistic skills in battle, that perhaps a Jew is more German than some of the Volksdeutsch who were merely German by blood and not the merit that helped to actually save lives.

I was completely mesmerized by all the characters. Each one enabled me to really feel and I go into it. I'd like to move away from WW2 in German cinema, but films of this caliber are hard to ignore.

The White Ribbon (2009)

The children that became Nazis

[31 March 2014]

The film starts off with a long title sequence.

A series of strange events are befalling a small town in eastern Germany in the months before the onset of WW1. A wire is strung across the road throwing the doctor from his horse. A window is opened to the cold jeopardizing the health of a baby. The son of the baron is abducted and whipped. A local handicapped child is kidnapped and beaten. These events are mixed in with typical small town happenings and politics, so that it remains who the culprit is. It appears, according to the local teacher, that the children of the local pastor are responsible for the acts, but they go unpunished.

I've never thought of what the childhood of Nazi war criminals was like, but considering serial killers often have childhoods torturing animals and other deviant acts, it would go to reason that this was the case for Eichmann and Goering. That's probably the obvious interpretation. The Protestant discipline was not confined the the Puritans who gave us witch burnings and, arguably, the Bill Clinton scandal.

I felt like I was watching a "Little House on the Prairie" meets "Children of the Corn". It's very haunting and aggravating to see how cruel humans can be, unfortunately too disgusting. These pointless acts of aggression and torture are often repeated. Aptly, it is having large families that helps to create these bonds. Children were viewed as future workers and an investment in the future. Even the hint at incest between the doctor and his daughter, as well a small town suspicion of outsiders (present in the initial interrogation) help to solidify a statement that cruelty is a normal, albeit unwelcome, aspect of life.

In other words, this is likely just a typical small town experiencing the vagaries of life. It's a form all but gone in much of the world, even perhaps China at this point.

I did enjoy the love story between the teacher and the nanny. I also thought all the children did a good job of being sincere. It probably helped that most of their lines were "No, sir" and "Yes, sir". I liked the interplay between the workers and the baron. The workers seemed to be able to voice their opinions, though they remained largely ignored.

This film really deserves a more in depth analysis as it is about 2.5 hours long, but anyone who's willing to sit down and explore the mind of a small village capable of sending men to the slaughters of WW1 would get something out of it.

Jacob the Liar (1974)

Yes of course it's that good

[31 March 2014]

The movie starts with a violin and scenes of the Jewish ghetto. Jakob is one of many Jews in a German-controlled, Polish ghetto. While walking home one night he is sent by a guard to headquarters. There he hears a brief broadcast that Russian troops are doing well against the Germans. The next day, in a desperate attempt to save his friend from committing a rash act and stealing potatoes, he tells him of the Russian advance. He twists the story and it soon is believed that he possess a radio. In order to protect his exaggeration, he continues to tell more and more lies by pretending he hears them on the radio. His lies have a huge impact on camp, but he eventually needs to tell the truth to his friend Kowalski, who kills himself out of despair for living another day in the ghetto. The Jakob's lie remains largely undiscovered, his street is eventually deported to their presumed death.

At the beginning of watching the movie I was quite sick of seeing another German movie about WW2. However this movie was amazing. I like how it toys with the perception of truth. Plenty of truths are told that are harmful, and lies are told that are good. Furthermore, truth is merely the acceptance of truth and is useful in so far as it accomplishes an act. Though Jakob may never had possessed a radio, his initial statements were disbelieved. The same way a cloud is out of water, though it is really out of tiny drops of frozen water. Though the obvious interpretation is that life in the ghetto was terrible, and that Jakob's lives were pure hearted, it's also a statement on underlying scientific notions that we cannot legitimately achieve through personal work what we can do together. That notion is very clear for an East German movie.

I enjoyed the way the film cut to flashbacks to explain who characters were. It's a short, concise and brilliant method of exposition. The relationships were very well-developed. Rosa and Mischa's courtship was handled well. Although it's obviously sincere, no reasonable parent would approve of such a love in the ghetto.

Though abuses are shown, such as when Herschel Schtamm is killed after investigating a boxcar. Much of the movie focuses on the psychological damage forced by isolation, poverty, and a general racism. The movie knows that abuses are known, it's the stories of relationships that aren't as things like letters and radio were banned. For example, Uncle Jakob's care for his niece, and the niece herself, show a compassion. The explanation of his lamp helps to put emphasis on the love of families that was destroyed, frankly by any organized government and especially that of the 3rd Reich.

The Great Dictator (1940)

A visionary film that still has relevance

[19 March 2014]

The film starts with a long title sequence typical of early films. Charlie Chaplin is a bumbling, albeit somewhat effective, Jewish soldier in WW1. He's in an air crash and awakens after the war without his memory. His town has been turned into a ghetto and the the anti-Semite Hynkel has seized power. He tries to return to normal life, but of course can't, as the anti- Jewish laws are far too powerful. He and a friend from WW1, who is now a pariah, try to stop the evil Hynkel and his ally Napoloni. Towards the end, the Jewish barber/soldier is mistaken for Hynkel and delivers a speech of brotherly love that appears to stop the coming war.

I now really know what a "gag" is after watching this. I had seen such things in "Airplane" but never known them by this name. As the barber tries to operate the AA gun, as he throws the grenade, and as he and Schulz are in the plane. It's really a collection of many funny sketches in the beginning. The airplane was particularly funny with the feigned exhaustion of Schulz. I couldn't stop laughing as Schulz tried to drink from the canteen.

The scenes in the ghetto are often gnashing, because, as we know now, the situation was much darker. However, even giving attention to these is something many didn't do at the time, so it looks more artistic than calloused.

This is still a pretty funny movie, although a modern movie would probably be quicker paced and have more recognizable actors. It has, after all, been about 74 years. It's still funny though - a big recommend.

Alien (1979)

Up there

[19 March 2014]

The movie starts in space on the rings of some planet. The mining vessel "Nostromo" is on its return voyage, but the crew is unexpectedly awaken from its hyper sleep because the ship has received an "intelligent" signal. The crew wakes up happy, thinking they are almost home. Everything goes down hill when they realize what's going on and that they have to explore some inhospitable planet. A portion of the crew goes off and Kane (John Hurt) is attacked by some parasite. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) tries to keep the crew from getting back in, fearing infection, but Ash (Ian Holm) lets the explorers in anyway. Eventually, an organism bursts out of Kane's stomach and runs amok on the ship. Kane is left dead, then Brett, then Dallas, then Ash, then finally Parker and Lambert. Ash, however, is murdered by the surviving crew after it was revealed he was an android and tried to hide an attempt to capture the alien instead of helping the crew with their original mission.

This film is definitely the best scifi I've seen, perhaps ever. It has nice long talking sequences (after they wake up) and great seems of the ship (inside and out). Ripley Scott conceded in the commentary to have been heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick's "2001…" and this is obvious. However "Alien" maintains its uniqueness being much darker. The soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith also keeps it haunting and more a horror movie than the classical score of 2001.

It's also less overt. I took at as a very good portrait of large corporate policy. A couple of the people are paid a lot less than the rest of the crew (one of them is black) and they want to make more money but aren't really taken seriously. It also has the secret android which is good because many times corporations don't keep their policies open. I always find it important that scifi movies have some type of statement. After all, we cannot talk about the future without keeping in mind what is going on in the present.

To sum it up, it is slow paced and powerful. It is haunting and inspiring (the survival of the cat). It's a high recommend to everyone.

Aliens (1986)

Yes, but better?

[19 March 2014]

The film starts with a title sequence similar to the first as the letters slowly spell out "Aliens". Ripley has been rescued, along with Jones, but it's been almost 6 decades and her only surviving daughter is dead. What's worse, the company professes to not believing her, and she is stripped of her license. She's forced to take a crap job. Some time later, the planet that contains the aliens has been colonized, but one of the colonists awakens the hive, and contact is severed. Ripley is recruited to join a group of marines on a rescue mission. They arrive but find only 1 of the 158 inhabitants alive and are soon assaulted by the aliens. Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), a member of the company, is all the while trying to bring back one of the aliens. One by one the rescue party is killed. Eventually only Ripley, the surviving girl "Newt", and a badly hurt Bishop are able to make it to safety. The aliens appear to have been defeated, for now.

This movie has all the heavy hitting action that one would expect from a James Cameron flick. It stays true to the original in terms of plot, but it really is still a different movie. The first one was quiet where this is loud. There is a lot of gunshots and fighting and death. I liked seeing the devastation of the colony and, especially, the filth that Newt had to survive in. I liked that it created a separate world, albeit short lived, on the colony. We see the workers running around doing this and that.

Paul Reiser did a really good job as the sleazy representative (or whatever his job title was). He keeps this slight smirk on his face that makes you not trust him, although you aren't really given a reason until towards the end.

It's also great that a movie can have such good special effects 20 years after its debut (and before CGI). This movie is an achievement, although it works more like an action movie than a thriller. And I will say that I prefer the latter.

It's a big recommend.

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975)

Obviously and Painfully True

[19 March 2014]

The film starts out on a ferry carrying a man who's being filmed by another. Katharina meets a man at a Carnival party. The two hit it off and go back to her place. The next morning, the police break down her door. Apparently the man was some kind of criminal. This man gave the police the slip somehow and the police are now accusing of abetting him. It becomes a media frenzy and the media comes down especially hard on her. It's a real circus and Katharina's life is turned upside down as well as that of her dying mother. There's one reporter who was particularly oppressive and, in the final scene, is shot by Katharina.

A lot of the specifics aren't particularly clear, but that seems on purpose. It's not clear what sort of criminal Ludwig Götten (Jürgen Prochnow) is except for a widely sought one. It's also not clear if Katharina was lying the entire time and actually helped Ludwig or not. In the end she's very quick to get back with him and call him on the telephone. This seems very contrary to someone ignorant of the man's criminal past.

I really like how the police and media are portrayed. I hear a lot of talk about how police are necessary, but they are those who walk around with a gun putting out harsh questions and being general jerks. This film does a good job showing of what they do - how many times the innocent are convicted etc.

It's also great that the media is shown how they are. The obvious bias shown by media in their decision to cover certain events over another, and the intrusive and aggressive nature of the tabloids is shown well. Undoubtedly, this isn't a true story, but it is based on the novel by Heinrich Böll who had experience with such things himself.

It's easy to forget sometimes that film is a part of life and it's important to show the modern world as it is while still telling a story - which this does. This is a high recommend to any fan of German cinema.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

No

[18 March 2014]

The movie starts with a quote from Nietzsche... and one from Freddy.

John Doe (Shon Greenblatt)is the last child survivor from Springwood, even though he's not really a kid. He's thrown out of Springwood by Freddy so that he can bring back more children, because Freddy can't leave Springwood. He ends up being taken for a drug addict and is thrown into some type of juvenile detention center where he meets the new group of Freddy scenes.

The nightmares are absurd and, as I heard on "Now Playing" podcast very "Looney Tunes"esque. They did seem like they were targeting to a young audience and so had to keep it clean, simple, and funny. The only good line is when the old lady says "Don't be a pussy!". Even the video game nightmare scenes don't look very good.

Another good issue is that Freddy seems unable to leave Springwood, and yet is still able to come into John's dream after he leaves. He also appears in Maggie's dreams and Docs, so I'm not very clear on this. It also doesn't make sense that, when some of the kids escape in the van, that the counselor would tell them to drive themselves back.

The addition of Roseanne and Tom Arnold in cameos was also silly. They seem like they're going for this silliness, when they should be going for a darker more menacing look.

To sum it up, there are plot holes, plot inconsistencies, and a bunch of stupid scenes. It's still better than a "Hellraiser" sequel, but not by much. Skip it.

New Nightmare (1994)

The Best of the Bunch

[18 March 2014]

The movie starts out with a hand making the glove, much as the original did. Heather is playing herself, a successful movie star from the "Nightmare..." series. She begins having nightmares that members of her crew are being killed by Freddy, and her son begins exhibiting strange behavior too. She seeks help from fellow cast members Wes Craven and Robert Englund while trying to protect her child, Dylan, from child services and his dreams. She soon realizes that her dreams are real and is sucked into a nightmare with a newly designed Freddy who is more a demon of literature than a resurrected child killer. She's able to save her son and herself, but not her husband.

I liked this because it was so dark. I normally find Wes Craven goes too far and is too dark, but perhaps he had too large of a staff to not kill and brutally rape people like in "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes". I liked the I felt frightened by Freddy and how dark and uncompassionate he was.

I also really like the whole "meta" thing. This is a horror movie about a horror movie and that seems very clever to me. Though it's not really a sequel for this reason, it seems like the only sequel that makes sense. It's my favorite for this reason - it's very tight.

A recommend to any horror fans; bring the whole family.

Character (1997)

Amazing Glimps of Dutch 1920s

[18 March 2014]

The film starts on the waterways of the Netherlands. Jacob Katadreuffe is a young man born to a single mother. His mother had a brief stay as a housekeeper at the home of a disreputable local official. She became pregnant with his child and left him, whether rape or not is unclear. She raises her child, Jacob, alone. He has a hard time growing up as a bastard child, even being swindled at one point when trying to buy a cigar shop. This endeavor gets him into serious debt, that and his attempts to get himself a law degree, bring him into contact with his estranged father, Dreverhaven. Despite his father's conniving attempts to prevent the young Jacob from doing well, Jacob is able to get his degree. His success and previous altercations lead him into physical conflict with Dreverhaven. He's under suspicion for the murder of Dreverhaven, but it's never clear if he actually did it to me. In any event he's found not guilty and ultimately inherits his father's fortune.

It's amazing to get a fresh view of Europe. So much of modern cinema focuses on WW2 or the Cold War, that we're led to forget that there are other stories to tell. I like this take on capitalism and ethics without going so far as to bring in the Soviet influence. There was a lot of controversy all through Europe at the time that focused as much on urban life as ideology.

The interaction of the youth in school is also very good. The clothing, the muddy streets, and the fighting amongst the kids paints a vivid, if not realistic image, of life at the time. I particularly liked the school yard fight.

I wasn't crazy about the narrative; it seemed like his interrogator would have had less patience otherwise it would be 10/10.

I'd recommend this to anyone, but especially if you liked "Angela's Ashes".

Friday the 13th (1980)

good, but only for a slasher movie

[14 March 2014]

The film starts with a shot of the moon.

An unknown assailant murders two camp counselors trying to have sex after they snuck away from the main group. Years later, the camp is to be reopened and counselors begin arriving to the camp itself while the leader and the newly arrived crew fix things up. The arriving counselors are warned about past events, particularly Annie who fails to ultimately arrive to the camp because she is murdered by an assailant in a Jeep. A storm comes and this assailant, presumably the same one, begins killing the other counselors one by one (Ned, then Jack, then Marcie, then Brenda, then Bill). Alice is ultimately able to kill the killer, who is revealed to be Jason's mother, Pamela who is taking vengeance on a camp that she feels was responsible for the death of her son who drowned in the lake while unattended. There's a brief ending of a corpse attacking her from the water, but this is apparently a dream sequence or the ravings of someone upset. It's not clear.

This really is different than "Halloween", despite what people may say. There's a reveal at the end, it's in an isolated setting, and there's a clear motive for the killers. "Halloween" has the one and obvious killer, it's in the the suburbs, and the killer is merely a maniac with no obvious reason to do what he does.

I like that and old woman is committing these acts, because that is contrary to so many serial killers. It seems to usher in a the Camp Slasher sub genre (such as "Sleepaway Camp"). The setting reminded me of my summer camp youth, and I liked the mayhem.

It's a recommend, but only to people with an interest in horror.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989)

It is what it is, but that's not much

[14 March 2014]

The film starts off on two bodies in blue light.

Alice, her father, and Dan are back. Alice is suffering from nightmares of a nun, Freddy's mother. Alice begins experiencing nightmares and is pregnant. Her nightmares center on Amanda Krueger (Freddy's mom) and seem to have something to do with Freddy and her fetus. She learns that a fetus can dream and somehow, perhaps through her fetus, she and others are being drawn into the dream world where they (Dan, Greta, and Mark, but not Yvonne) are all murdered. Through a series of battles involving Amanda & Jacob (the fetus), Alice is able to defeat Freddy and have her baby.

I can't say as I understood this movie at all. It's clearly a production of what's considered to be a Freddy formula. Get the survivors, a small group of friends and have Freddy murder them as they try to convince each other of the existence of Freddy through revelations of dreams and a real world investigation that involves research through newspapers etc. That having been said, it's not bad for what it is.

It had some decent special effects that I find hold up just fine. I also liked that they actually at least tried with continuity by having the same actors back and developing Alice's dad a little. They also hit on some issues like teen pregnancy and abortion, albeit only slightly.

It's a stomachable installment, but undoubtedly only for a horror/Freddy fan. I wouldn't watch it, but if it were on TV it may be worth 5 minutes.

Halloween (1978)

Cheap and satisfying like a PB & J

[14 March 2014]

The film starts, as IMDb plot synopsis says, with a jack-o-lantern and the now iconic theme composed by the director, John Carpenter.

A young man, responsible for the murder of his sister when he was six, has just escaped from the asylum where he was held. His doctor believes that he is heading back to his home town, Haddonfield, but he has a difficult convincing others of this. He thus travels to Haddonfield personally and alerts the sheriff but doesn't want to panic the town, so he advises against a man hunt. The doctor is able to find evidence of Michael's (the child killer) arrival in town by returning to the house of the his act. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode and friends are going about their business as high schoolers and baby sitters on Halloween night. She watches one child and eventually a second as her friend and fellow baby sitter has a date. Her friends are killed one by one (Lynda, Paul, & Annie). The killer continues to stalk, but is ultimately shot by his doctor who was hot on his trail. He saves Laurie and the two kids, but the killer appears to have gotten away.

This was a very well done slasher movie. It maintained suspense without becoming silly. The soundtrack did a good job of heightening tension, and I'm pleased by how the camera work never showed the killer until the end. Everything was POV, and we heard the breathing through the mask.

This seemed to me like a B movie when that word meant something, little special effects and pretty much the same song over and over again without the use of an entire orchestra. Also, except for the main actress and director, no other names seem well known.

I'd probably appreciate this more had I seen it a long time ago in theaters. As it stands, I've seen too many slashers and knew the basic plot. A definite recommend to those new to the genre, but I think anybody could enjoy it too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Shameful (but not ALL bad)

[14 March 2014]

The film starts out some hands brushing off a sidewalk.

The three surviving dream warriors from 3 (Kincaid, Joey, & Kristen) are out of the asylum and in high school. Kristen things she is dreaming about Freddy and brings in Kincaid and Joey via her dream power. The two admonish her for her false alarm, but some time later Kincaid himself is confronted by Freddy. Kincaid's super strength is unable to defeat Freddy in his solo battle and shortly after that Joey falls too. Freddy eventually comes after Kristen who is killed, but not before passing on her powers to one of her other friends, Alice, whom she knows from high school. Alice starts seeing visions of Freddy and taking on the traits of those Freddy murders. Freddy murders more and more of Alice's fellow high schoolers. This contrasts with Freddy who absorbs the souls of those he murders, including Deb, Sheila, and Rick, but not Dan. Alice is only able ultimately defeat Freddy by finishing a nursery rhyme/incantation and using a shard of glass to make Freddy reflect on his evils and lose control of the souls he had acquired.

I'm sure that any money-making franchise suffers from a conundrum. They need to conclude one movie, but somehow leave open the possibility for a sequel. The first "Nightmare…" had a sequel that did a half-decent job of turning Freddy into a type of poltergeist and having him need to come back through the body of the living. I was willing to overlook this because 3 came back and did a good job, though it ignored 2. Now that 4 is here, I see that their mythos doesn't make much sense. I wasn't sure what Alice was, or what her role exactly was. She was supposed to be the opposite of Freddy it seems, but she seemed a lot less powerful to be an equal.

The other part of the complicated mythos prevalent in many sequels (notably "Hellraiser", "Halloween" "Cold Prey" and "Friday the 13th") is how Freddy came back. At the end of part 3 he is buried and yet through a dog urinating fire he is resurrected in the dream world or perhaps through Kristen's meddling. The film did a somewhat good job of delivering what Freddy was all about (dream sequences, bloody kills, and the terrorizing of suburban youth). However it was too difficult for me to follow what was going on.

It would have been easier to do a "Leprechaun" thing where the sequels bear no resemblance to what came before (except perhaps "…In da hood"). "Leprechaun" came later, but in other words I would have enjoyed this film if it made more sense. I'm glad they brought back Kincaid and Joey (and sort of Kristen), but it seems like they dumped the success of Wes Craven and the 3rd one to just continue a franchise.

I'm glad to see another Freddy movie, but I'd definitely skip this one (unless you're a "Nightmare" fan).