patrick-braley Reviews

The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz (2000)

If you can suppress a yawn, then go see it!

[1/10 · 5 February 2008]

I am adding my comments somewhat late, it seems. I read most of those written before mine, so that my judgment may lack some spontaneity. It is now impossible for me to dissociate my personal impressions from those of some of the other viewers. But something really weird strikes me: few dare say that the film is a bore and a waste of time. That it's simply fashionable to make pseudo-intellectual comments, staying aloof as it were, for fear of being pronounced a Phillistine, is more than obvious. That this movie is radically different from the usual Hollywood flicks, no one (not even me) will dispute. But does this non-conformism necessarily make it an enjoyable movie, I am not too sure. I sat thru the whole show, not really feeling that I was totally wasting my precious time, but not feeling at all enriched by the experience either. The least I can say is that it is curious, aims to put off the viewer by its nonsensical story, while drawing no conclusion from it. Now and then, I had a glimmer of hope -- were we about to have something in the vein of Monty Python's flying circus? But no -- we were left high and dry, and the show reverted to its previous ineptitude. My advice: if you have time to waste, it's better than nothing. But I can think of a million things worth doing instead.

Mille milliards de dollars (1982)

Robert Lattes badly let down by Verneuil

[1/10 · 1 November 2005]

Not quite what you would expect from someone like Henri Verneuil. Patrick Dewaere does indeed rescue the film from complete oblivion. While Robert Lattes' novel makes pleasant reading (if you read French, that is), the movie adaptation doesn't amount to much. Denouncing the ills of "big business" is certainly laudable, as is placing the action if the larger picture of "economic history". But is this sufficient to keep an audience spellbound from beginning to end? All the ingredients are there for the taking. But Verneuil never seems to be willing to go all the way, and he simply leaves you high and dry. Enrolling a better- than-average cast of actors is no guaranteed recipe for success. If all you're looking for is just to sit back and relax because you've nothing better to do than watch a movie, OK -- go ahead. But if you're looking for a good French movie, skip this one. A sheer waste of time. (But read the book by all means).

Pearl Harbor (2001)

In spite of all that's been said: a remarkable movie

[10/10 · 7 August 2005]

If instead of calling this movie "Pearl harbor", they had called it, say "Enemy at the Port" (like they did with the movie on Stalingrad), I'm sure most viewers would have been more positive in their comments. Yes, it is set on and around Dec. 7, 1941, and the location is (mostly) Pearl Harbor, but the story could have been the same, and been called, say, Iwo Jima, or Tarawa, with the same romance (whether one likes romance or not is another thing altogether), and the war scenes could have been along the same lines, only in a different setting. The reason for the movie's low rating is simply that: people thought they would be seeing a movie on the historical Pearl Harbor events, and they left the theater bitterly disappointed. Agreed, Tora! Tora! Tora! is a much better historical movie. But don't go buy a 7Up and say that champagne is better -- they're not in the same league.