Category Archives: FilmReview

2013, Depression, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Nudity, Psychological Drama, Quiet, Sex Scenes, Slow, Strange Ending, Thought provoking, Unusual

Enemy (2013)

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From Netflix:

When humdrum academic Adam Bell spots his double in a rented movie, he launches a search that leads him to a small-time actor who seems uncannily like him in every way — except for his personality.

Ever since first seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in “Donny Darko”, I have always expected the unusual in his films. This semi-crazy film is no exception. Here he plays two parts: a nervous, hesitant history teacher and a womanizing actor. His first persona is so hesitant that the story moves at a very slow pace, including long-held shots where he just stares.

Hang in there, because after awhile the story gets interesting when the two look-alikes start to interact.

So far in my movie viewing life, this film has the most unexpected, crazy, and difficult-to-interpret ending I have ever seen. Please send me your reactions as comments. Just exactly what is going on in this story?

2014, Action Film, Action Hero, Ancient Greece, Based on true facts, Explicit sex, Mayhem, Mediocre, Mixed Martial Arts, Navy, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Violent, War

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

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From Netflix:

Rodrigo Santoro is back leading the Persian forces in their invasion of Greece as mortal-turned-god Xerxes. Determined to thwart him is Greek general Themistokles, who takes to the sea in his quest to unite his country.

If you liked the film “300”, you will like this very similar film. Gerard Butler has been replaced by Sullivan Stapleton. Needless to say, the violence bar was raised considerably. (Is Hollywood having a violence competition ?)

Lena Heydey (Cersei Lannister of “Game of Thrones”) plays the Spartan Queen Gorgo.

If nothing else, you might want to appreciate the importance of the battle of Salamis.

Numb your brain and watch ships crashing into one another, Themistokles attempting rough sex with Artimesia, and lots and lots of blood splatter. Or watch something intelligent.

2014, Based on a Book, Ethical struggles, Historical Fiction, Mediocre, Muddled biblical references, Ridiculous plot, Suspense, Violent

Noah (2014)

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From Netflix:

This ambitious adaptation of the story of Noah depicts the visions that led him to voice dire prophesies of apocalypse and to build an ark to survive. As he labors to save his family, Noah asks for help from a band of angels called the Watchers.

Half of this film is somewhat ridiculous. Following a fanciful and jumbled interpretation of the Bible book of Genesis, we meet Noah and his family somehow surviving in a barren middle of nowhere, doing their best to avoid the sinful descendants of Cain (who slew his brother Abel) who have managed to ruin the earth. Due to a series of visions Noah is convinced that humanity will be punished and should be eliminated.

After a forest miraculously sprouts up around him (don’t ask!) , Noah gets help building an arc from a band of outlandishly conceived Watchers who most closely resemble moving rock piles.

We watch in wonder as zillions of birds, snakes, reptiles, and mammals somehow fit into this wooden monstrosity.

So why did I continue watching this Bible-rama?

  • Russell Crowe does a pretty good job as an anguished man determined to do what he thinks is God’s will.
  • As unsubtle as it is, the idea of humanity producing its own demise is all too realistic. (Advice: take swimming lessons)
  • Just how two sons and one daughter-in-law will go forth and multiply is tricky.

Once again, the film was worth watching at least on a seven hour plane ride.

2014, FilmReview, Nothing special, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Somewhat trashy, Woody Allen's New York

Fading Gigolo (2014)

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From Netflix:

Middle-aged Fioravante and Murray are an unlikely gigolo and pimp in this farce about two cash-strapped friends who turn to the sex trade to make ends meet. Their new enterprise is fruitful, but things get complicated when romance enters the picture.

Accepting Woody Allen as a pimp is easy. But would you ever think of John Turturro as a professional male whore with Woody Allen as his pimp? Despite appearances, Turturro as “Fioravante” is convincing not so much because of his sexual prowess but because he understands the emotional needs of his women clients. Actually touching is the way he brings the repressed and lonely Hassidic widow Avigal back to life while falling in love with her. Live Schreiber is perfect as the Hassidic cop who also loves Avigal.

Sharon Stone tries desperately to redo her sexy legs movements from “Basic Instinct”.

While not an especially worthwhile film, it was good enough to watch on a plane ride to Ireland.

2013, Arab Culture, Arabic, Basically Sad, Hebrew, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Prison, Revenge, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wonderful acting

Omar (2013)

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From Netflix:

With his girlfriend, Nadia, living on the other side of an Israeli-built boundary wall, young Palestinian Omar regularly scales it to visit her. But he faces even greater obstacles after a lethal confrontation with an Israeli soldier.

From a filmmaking viewpoint, “Omar” is well done. Emotionally, as is true for most films about the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it offers a sad, hopeless view of the lives of those unfortunately born into the situation.

If you are a history fan, you will realize that such an atmosphere of paranoia in which you can trust no-one: friends, lovers, or otherwise is nothing new. In the court of Henry VIII of England there were spies everywhere.

For a good review see what Roger Ebert has to say.

As yet I do not understand why there is a wall between Palestinians and Palestinians. Omar regularly jumps this wall to see Nadia. But Nadia is Palestinian.

Stay alert for the final few seconds of the story.

If you can stand the heartache, “Omar” is worth watching.

2014, Amusing banter, Art Treasures, Comedy, Crude Talk, Farce, Imperfect, Possible a put-on, Satire, Trains

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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Fron Netflix:

Between the world wars, Gustave H, the concierge at a prestigious European hotel, takes a bellboy named Zero as a trusted protégé. Meanwhile, the upscale guests are involved in an art theft and a dispute over a vast family fortune.

Despite some great sight gags, the constant tongue-in-cheek patter is a bit overdone. Perhaps as a conciliation prize we get to watch a constantly changing series of often exaggerated scenes and situations. At times the scenery, if it is real, is breathtaking. Much of the constant and rapid movement is hilarious probably because it is unlikely in not downright impossible.

Is it a tip-off that the film is imperfect when there are so many notable walk-ons? Besides Ralph Fiennes through most of the film, we also get to see Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton. Not only was some of the acting (more precisely, script reading) not very good, but why was it that for me in this film the American accents sounded so flat?

Maybe I am over critical or expected too much. But I did get a few good laughs.

2014, Action Film, Cancer theme, Car Chase, CIA, Father-daughter relations, Nothing special, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

3 Days to Kill (2014)

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From Netflix:

After a terminally ill secret agent retires to spend his remaining time with his family, he’s asked to complete a dangerous last mission in exchange for an experimental drug that might save him — if he can survive its hallucinatory side effects.

At his current age of 59, Kevin Costner in this film does indeed look like a tired and sick aging man. But here he is as much Kevin Costner, neither better nor worse, than in any of his other films. It is amazing how he never misses a shot with his many weapons.

So what makes this story different from any other “secret agent lethal assignment” story?

  • He is dying of a brain cancer.
  • He has ignored his wife, from whom he is separated, and daughter throughout his career. Now is his chance to reconcile.
  • Not too terrific actress Amber Heard, playing supposedly sexy Vivi Delay, trades one last killing assignment for a series of experimental shots that may cure Harrison.
  • One side effect of the drug is that whenever Harrison’s heart beats too fast (think “Shootout at the OK Coral”) he gets dizzy and nearly faints. This effect is annoying when he is confronting each of the really mean bad guys.

Details were clever enough to keep me interested.

2014, Addiction, Car Chase, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Dysfunctional Lives, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Nothing special, Police Story, Revenge, Violent

Blood Ties (2014)

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From Netflix:

When 50-year-old Chris is released from prison, his younger brother Frank, an up-and-coming member of the police force, welcomes him with open arms. But when Chris has trouble staying straight, Frank is trapped between duty and family.

We should probably coin a name for those films featuring two brothers, one of whom is a crook and the other a cop. How about “Good Brother, Bad Brother”? There are an awful lot of such GBBB films. What makes this GBBB film a bit better is the fact that Bad Brother is Clive Owen and Good Brother is Billy Crudup. In this case we might change “Good Brother” to “Conflicted Brother” although that is often the case in GBBB films.

Remember Marion Cotillard who played Edit Piaf in that wonderful 2007 film “La Vie en Rose“? Here she plays a drug-addicted woman sadly misused by Bad Brother.

James Caan is the aged and dying father of the two brothers.

Nothing special, but not a waste of time.

2013, Alcoholism, American Indian culture, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Catholic culture, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sexual discussion, Love Story, Mental Illness, Psychiatrists, Psychological Drama, Quiet, Slow, Talking Heads, True Story, Unusual, War

Jimmy P. (2013)

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From Netflix:

Returning home from World War II, Blackfoot Native American Jimmy Picard suffers from a host of psychosomatic symptoms. In this drama based on a true story, he bonds with psychoanalyst Georges Devereux as the two explore his psyche for causes.

From Wikipedia:

Jimmy P. stars Benicio del Toro as the titular character, Jimmy Picard, a Blackfoot Indian who has returned from war with debilitating symptoms. Mathieu Amalric, who has appeared in most of Arnaud Desplechin’s films, plays George Devereux, a French doctor of Hungarian Jewish background, who specializes in ethnology and psycho analysis. Jimmy P. was shot in Michigan and Montana, and is primarily based on a book by George Devereux , “Reality and dream: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian” (New York: International Univ. Press, 1951). The film is about some of the pioneering days of psychoanalysis.

Because this is basically a psychological talking-heads film, not everyone would find this story interesting. Except for some sad violence involving mentally ill patients, there is no action.

Assumedly Benicio del Toro’s first language might have been Spanish because he was born in Puerto Rico as the son of two Spanish lawyers. In this film he speaks in a slow, well articulated manner that presumably a Blackfoot Indian would use in speaking English. If you read del Toro’s full biography in IMDB, you might discover some films worth watching.

Mathieu Amalric is no great actor, but he delivers a believable performance.

For me seeing Gina McKee as Amalric’s “lover” was a nice surprise. Everytime I see her I remember her performance as Irene Forsyte in the British TV series “The Forsyte Saga”. Probably her portion of this film could have been entirely omitted without affecting the intent of the story.

Language fans will enjoy the discussion of Amerian Indian languages.

Not for everyone, but I was fascinated.

2013, Abduction, Addiction, Based on true facts, Child abuse, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Detective, Drugs, Grim, Nudity, Prostitutes, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, True Story, Violent

Frozen Ground (2013)

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From Netflix:

In this fact-based thriller starring Nicolas Cage, an Alaska state trooper looking to bring a notorious serial killer to justice teams with a 17-year-old prostitute who escaped the predator’s clutches.

Oh no! Not another serial killer film! Nevertheless the film is well-done, exciting and engaging. Of course it doesn’t hurt that John Cusack portrays to perfection a very disturbed serial killer Robert Hansen. It always helps to have a really clever and devious bad guy. Nicolas Cage is excellent in his relentless drive to convict Robert Hansen.

Dean Norris plays Sgt. Lyle Haugsven. Every time I see Dean Norris I identify him with the DEA brother-in-law in the not-to-be-missed TV series “Breaking Bad”.

When you realize that this is a true story, the film takes on more urgency. At the end of the film the screen text tells us what happens to Robert Hansen after his conviction.

More than likely, I will never move to Alaska. But I was really caught up in this suspenseful film.