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nikapell
Reviews
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
It's like a ride on a merry-go-round.
It was a while since I've seen a movie with such an original point of view on the most commonly represented matter, love. It was like you were taking a ride on a merry-go-round. Like you have been lifted up by those feelings, and as corny as it may seem, brought to that fairytale land where love does really conquer all.
The story is about a guy who feels like his world is falling apart because of his loneliness and opressingly ordinary life. But suddenly in the middle of this madness he meets a woman who gives him some kind of extraordinary power to overcome all the obstacles that have come in his way. It feels like that love has build some kind of protective bubble around him, and in this bubble the world just seems more wonderful, colorful and magical, and nothing else matters to him anymore.
I have never really liked Adam Sandler before this movie. Maybe it was because of his previous films, where roles have never really made him any justice. This role thought made me understand that he is really talented but never had a chance to prove it. Emily Watson is as charming as usual in her own sensitive way. But her character in this movie was not that developed so she was more or less left in the background, so we could concentrate more on Sandler's character.
The way the movie was made had the most effect on me. I just simply adored Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, but I was still a bit reluctant to believe this was also a well-made movie, with a touch of originality, because I have also seen Boogie Nights, which didn't have the same effect on me as Magnolia. And still many say that it was Anderson's best film, so I thought maybe it applies to Punch Drunk Love too. Thank god I was wrong. This movie is one of those I really enjoy watching, and this is very rare for me lately since as many have probably noticed, the year 2002 hasn't produced many masterpieces. So I can definitely say that this is one of those rare good ones and certainly is worth of your time. Just watch it and decide yourself.
Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (1998)
A story of love, friendship and honor, not a reality quest!
I've seen this movie a lot of times, and loved it every time. Surely it is not very truthful story from the historical point of view. It also isn't very realistic and probably it wasn't made to be one. Who says that every movie nowdays should be? Sometimes you want to see something more fairy-tale like. Though you should remember, this is not one of those happy ones. From mine point of view the main idea of this movie was to show the emotions of youth in those days in Russia. Friendship, love and honor were the virtues that were truly valued. Every one of those emotions were shown in the best possible way. The things I didn't like in that movie, were the overplayed roles of some characters and too long scenes showing the russian passion for drinking(???). But those shouldn't be that big obstacles for not loving everything else. If you didn't like the story of this film, you should watch it at least because of the incredible performance of the russian actor Oleg Menshikov, which dimmes everyone else appearance, even the fabulous Julia Ormond. He plays with such passion that even the fact that he plays much more younger character than himself is not noticeable. I think that everyone who is looking for real emotions on screen, should give this movie a chance, and maybe in the end you will be suprised how much you really enjoyed it.