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mariogastel
Reviews
The Gathering (2002)
A great idea poorly executed
The central idea of this movie is very intriguing. Think about what M. Night Shyamalan could have done with this: On the outskirts Glastonbury, the remains of a church are uncovered which have apparently been deliberately buried centuries before. Most noticeable is the presence a fresco of people facing a statue of the crucified Jezus Christ. Coincidently, a young woman (Christina Ricci) is hit by a car and taken in by the woman responsible. The young woman can't remember what she was doing near Glastonbury. It turns out that the people depicted in the fresco are The Gathering, who seem to be present at numerous horrific occasions in history, simply observing the suffering. Now, these people are walking around in Glastonbury ...
Unfortunately, this idea is the only real merit of this movie. I just can't begin to explain how this movie could have been improved upon. Now, it's basically a great idea poorly executed. With Christina Ricci frantically running around in tight shirts.
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
Fails to make a point
This movie wants to elaborate that criminals are a product of modern society. Therefore, can thieves, rapists and murderers (the Killer of this movie, Carl Panzram (James Woods), is all three and worse) be held fully accountable for their deeds? An interesting notion, but very difficult to bring to the screen in an intellectually and emotionally satisfying way. And this is where Killer: A Journal of Murder falls very short. Although the film tries to put Panzram's behaviour into perspective, with flashbacks to his violent youth and dysfunctional upbringing, the viewer never gets the idea that Panzram is a victim rather than a culprit. Sure, the system is corrupt, with one mobster occupying the whole sick bay of Leavenworth Prison (where most of the movie takes place), most prison guards are sadistic bullies, and the prison director something like a megalomaniacal despot. But why on earth does new prison guard Henry Lesser (Robert Sean Leonard) take such pity on Panzram? Even after having read his gruesome diaries? The movie offers some explanation: Lesser witnesses Panzram being beaten to a pulp by the most sadistic (and stereotypical) guard, and is impressed by Panzram's intelligence (though it isn't clear why exactly Lesser thinks this man is so smart). Surely this isn't enough to sympathize with a hostile man like Panzram, even though this movie tends to downplay his crimes and highlight his personality? Towards Lesser, Panzram is quite loyal, and the viewer is given the impression that for Lesser this outweighs all of the atrocities he has read about in Panzram's diaries. Does this man Lesser have so little friends that he takes at face value everyone who seems only remotely friendly to him? Perhaps it is Lesser who is a product of modern society, judging on appearance rather than substance.
I can advise Monster, starring Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci, as a movie which handles roughly the same themes with far more integrity and scope.
BTW: Killer looks as though shot for TV (not so good)