Change Your Image
Tekla-too
Reviews
Dah (2002)
Excellent Film -- 100% Worth My Time to Watch
I give this movie a rating of 10 out of 10 not because it could not have been improved somewhat. It could have been a tad bit better, but if it were better I would be very frustrated since it is not possible to give it an 11.
The actors were engaging; the script well oiled and full of folk wisdom, cosmic wisdom and slants I had never thought of before -- WOW. I was forced by some of the excellent dialog to stop and write down many of the things the lady driver had to say, especially when she was talking to women whose men (one a husband, the other a fiancé) had left them. Some of the advice she dispensed was nothing less than Stellar: "Honestly, honey. You can't live without losing. We come into the world for that. To win and to lose. Win! Lose! Why don't you want to lose? See what it's like. Experience. More experience. Nothing but experience!....You're weak. You've very weak. -- (the woman continues to cry, maudlin) -- You understand? You cling like this to someone who leaves you. It's useless. Forget him. We women are unhappy because we don't love ourselves. We don't know how to live for ourselves. You can't sum it all up in just one person. Life is so vast. Why depend on just one person? Why not be different? It's not love. It's an illusion." "If it's an illusion, what is love then?" the grieving woman asks.
"First you must love yourself. You despise yourself so much, you hurt yourself. Has he gone? Too bad. There's more than one man in the world. Are you still crying? Go on and leave him too. You're wrong to cling to him. It's an illusion. That's all! You were hurting each other like psychopaths. 'Why are you late? Who's on the phone? Where were you?' Why this, why that. People say women should please men. That is a weakness." Still weeping, the other woman says, "All the same, I was fond of him." "You were wrong. We're unhappy, dependent, clinging. When we were little we clung to our mother and father, then to a boy, then to a man, then to our child. Like idiots. He is no longer there. You can cry all you want. He's not there anymore....Should your life and your ruin depend on just one person? What's preventing you from being yourself?" The quotes above and more where what I copied down, and it was like manna from heaven for my ears to hear (and in my case to read). I may not agree 100% with what she said, but 99% yes definitely, and can't tell you how much it would have helped me as a person to have watched this film when I was 15 or 16 years old before the saga of all my heartbreaks with men began. It may not have changed my fate, but it sure would have changed my attitude enough to help me learn at a much younger age to roll with the punches! I would just like to add that I feel the weakest portion of this film is the very first 10 minutes or more. In fact, I got an entirely negative impression of the lady driver at the beginning of the film because I thought of her as another mom who yells at her child too much and has not learned how to communicate well. However this problem righted itself and I very much enjoyed her conversations with all of the people who rode in her car. I was also particularly touched by the story of the woman who traveled to the mausoleum 3 times a day to pray for the dead (among other things). Turned out both her husband and 12 year old son had died. Somehow her response of going so often to pray for them struck another beautiful chord for me.
Her conversation with the prostitute was interesting too, though I am not certain I learned anything from that one.
I think people who feel a need for plot and action in a film will not be able to listen to this film, and that is unfortunate. However for those who are able to and enjoy just listening, this movie will provide you with wonderful fare.
Gadjo dilo (1997)
Interesting, Funny, Dramatic, Sad, Romantic, a Whirl with the Gypsies!
Oh yes, I loved this movie very much. I have always loved the free-spiritedness of the gypsies and their sense of humor in this sense is just really a LOT of fun.
I had already read about gypsies and was a little bit familiar with some of their ways, though certain things are different for groups in different locations of course. In this film you get to see something typical of gypsies mourning the death of a loved one or friend -- the chest-pounding dramatics, the drinking, the dancing -- although in the film this was just one person doing all of this and in the books I have read I would have expected to see a larger group moaning aloud, drinking and dancing all night. But still, so much the same...
I love the way the movie begins. Any Puritans out there who don't like four-letter words or other sexual terms in movies, don't even watch this film because that happens in the beginning, middle and end. To me it was just perfect -- and hilarious too.
In fact this movie now officially has one of my FAVORITE "love" or "seduction" scenes -- with the character Sabina first saying something IMDb would no doubt have to delete if I typed it, then Stephano saying something and the way they did it was SO cute. I can't explain.
Oh, and I want to mention that the person who wrote the synopsis of the story for IMDb I believe said in error that at the end Stephano discovers that no one knew what he was saying all along. That is not what happened at all. There was a language barrier all along, but he was learning the language throughout the film and as Sabina warmed up to him the conversing got VERY good since she spoke French. I don't want to give away more, just to say I really love the film and will definitely want to see it again (and then probably again).
Napola - Elite für den Führer (2004)
NOT a Gay film -- it is however an EXCELLENT one!
This is one of THE best films about the Nazi regime I have ever seen. I am shocked that I never heard of it before. And saddened. It is the kind of film people NEED to see. Is shows two HEROES that are very young and are being "processed" to be unfeeling and obedient killers. Both of these men in the end do not choose to continue to obey. This is a very IMPORTANT film.
You have to be gay or a homophobe to see anything gay in this flick, in my opinion. I just finished watching it. The relationship between the protagonist and his friend could EASILY have been -- and I took it as -- a heterosexual friendship that happened to be a deep friendship. My God, I can't believe all the hoopla about the gayness of this film. It is not about sex. It is about having a friggin' CONSCIENCE. If you are gay and you like to look at the protagonist that's your enjoyment but it is not the angle from which this film was made, and that is absolutely clear.
People who try to make it gay are only trying to do a disservice to the REAL message of this film which is that each person as an individual MUST stand up for what they believe or we are all going to be living in a Nazi "paradise" one day. Believe it. Multinational corporations are totally fascist and have been since before they funded the Third Reich.
By the way, there IS one very sexual part of this film and it is HETEROSEXUAL, where the supposedly gay friends are being peeping Toms. They are being called gay by those who have always tried to play upon people's prejudices to get them to do what they want. In this case, "they" do NOT want you to watch this film.
I'm Not There (2007)
Very Worthwhile (but I'm a Dylan fan)
I'm a big fan of Dylan's and have been familiar with him almost my entire life, and I have to say that it took ALL I knew about him to help me try to navigate any understanding of this film. (Was I successful? Only in small starts with a lot of stops.) I VERY much value this film for what I DID get out of it, but you could take 50% of this movie out, minimum, and leave in everything that I even halfway comprehended. For that reason I TOTALLY understand anyone not liking this film.
All that said, I have to watch it at least one more time because it is a rare film in which I feel it has something to teach me and I want to get everything out of it that I can. (I actually found myself taking notes during my first viewing when the "Rimbaud" Dylan was listing the things a person who wants to hide must do:
1 - never trust a cop in a raincoat, 2 - beware of enthusiasm and of love, each is temporary and quick to sway, 3 - when asked if you care about the world's problems look deep into the eyes of he who asks -- he will not ask you again; 4 - never give your real name, 5 - and if ever told to look at yourself, never look, 6 - never say or do anything the person standing in front of you cannot understand, 7 - never create anything -- it will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life and it will never change.
I take it he meant if you want to hide from fame. When I start taking notes it means I'm REALLY enjoying it. I thought there was supposed to be an 8, 9 and 10 in that list but either they weren't there or I missed them.
I have to compliment the director of this film because it was a very brave endeavor. Both the script and the editing were amazingly psychedelic on a very fundamental level. I thought some of the dialog was really excellent (though I sure wish I knew which was fact and which was fiction, but at least with this film you KNOW it's not all factual rather than like reading a newspaper that PRETENDS to be all factual but isn't).
After watching this film I made a mental note that I really must get hold of more Dylan CDs for my collection, and also must seen the documentary Martin Scorcese made about Dylan in 2006 (the title of which escapes me right now). Oh, and one more thing: my favorite actors in the film were great and must be mentioned: Blanchette (the only one that really seemed like Dylan and the only one really meant to seem like Dylan) and the lady that played his wife (sorry, don't know her name but she had a lot of screen time and that didn't bother me a bit).
Great Performances: Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
I'll stick with the 1973 version, thank you!!!
I'm sorry, but this version of Jesus Christ Superstar is to me SO inferior to the original 1973 version that I couldn't even bear to watch the whole thing -- from the singing to the acting.
Besides, it is pure folly to remake a film that is a BRILLIANT as the 1973 version. I checked this out at the library by mistake, thinking it was the original version.
I didn't watch the whole thing, but I can tell you that the actors/singers that played Judas, Jesus, Mary Magdelene, Herod, Ciaphas (sp) and others in the ORIGINAL were stupendous. Not so here. I would not exchange even one of those actors from the original.
I can't imagine why they even tried to remake this film. All that said, I give the ORIGINAL version 10 stars out of 10, (yes, it's that good!) -- and this one gets 3 stars. Sorry.
About a Boy (2002)
Absolutely Wonderful -- I wasn't expecting it to be this good!
This movie just gets better and better as it goes. It deals with a lot of real problems that a lot of people have in real life (though many of us would just LOVE to have Hugh Grant's character's problem of not having to work for a living).
It shows the transformation of a man who really just attends to his own wants and desires and slowly becomes more and more a caring person for others. But that's not all. He'll stick out his neck for those he cares about.
And it's not just about message. This movie has great humor, style, lots of original "moments." It was a good movie but I could only call it GREAT the way it ended. A real shocker to FINALLY see a film that does not give the message that the only way a person can be happy is if s/he is in a twosome.
Bravo, Hugh. You keep picking real winners (I adored Bridget Jones Diary and others Hugh Grant has done in the past several years too. Hmm. I guess I'll have to be a Hugh Grant fan now.)
Betty (1992)
I enjoyed this film very much and will probably watch it again
The settings, hair, makeup and cinematography were all excellent. I love French films, and this one was no exception.
However this film WAS an exception in that the director taught no moral story and in fact withheld opinion, just showing the characters for what they are and do.
I found this very interesting. Somehow, even though the movie is titled after the lead character Betty and centers around her story more than anyone else's, to me this movie is just as much about the character Laure, the nurse who was so kind to Betty.
To me, Betty has an interesting story and is basically a narcissistic personality who really does not take into consideration how her actions might affect others; she simply does things however they suit her. Whereas Laure is a compassionate and caring person, thinking of others often, and it seems that her kindnesses to others are one of the only reasons she finds to keep living.
I love Laure, and in my opinion her character steals the show (as does the wonderful actress who played her role).
Bravo.
The Good Wife (1987)
Very Interesting Movie -- I like it more as time goes on!
At first this movie made no sense to me: why did the husband allow the wife to sleep with his brother, why did the wife do it, why did the husband put up with his obnoxious brother anyhow, why was the barman so curt with his first (and only) come-on to the wife that he seemed more like a rapist than a rogue, why did the rapist/rogue lose interest so quickly (as the wife is very beautiful), and why in the heck did the wife ever want the barman at all? None of these things made any sense to me (not to mention that to me the barman was not anything as dashing as his part gave him credit for being).
Then when I watched it again -- mostly because my screen had been messed up (with way too little lighting the first time) -- I started noticing other things I too often take for granted perhaps: how loving and loyal the husband was to his brother, how loving the wife and husband were to one another, how mechanical (read very boring) the sex was between the husband and wife, how premature the ejaculation between the wife and husband's brother (the first and only time they had sex with one another, with the husband's full consent), how disloyal and disrespectful the husband's brother was to anyone and everyone, what a total jerk the barman was from front to finish. Asking myself again what was the significance that the wife's mother was a total floozy. The wife and her mother chose different paths in life, but maybe for this one episode the daughter was reflecting the mother's ways more...
Then things started to occur to me: that perhaps part of the reason the wife felt like her life seemed so devoid of meaning was not only that she had no children but also that sex had already become so "ho-hum" between her and her husband. Perhaps she would never have considered a liaison with any other man the rest of her life had it not been for her husband allowing, and thus encouraging, that she basically whore for his brother that one time. Perhaps his premature ejaculation brought her to a higher degree of frustration. While on the one hand she was loyal and having mechanical sex with her husband, she loved him and he her and it was okay; but now that she had a chance to hope for something to feel a bit special in that regard, with the brother, it was a total wash. Now her husband and unleashed something, by allowing that tryst with he brother. Now her anime within sought fulfillment, and supposed it could get a passionate response from the rogue/rapist. Really she went a bit crazy, and surely the sex drive can make most men and women act crazed and foolish, especially when no holds are barred.
There was a very touching scene where the wife says the barman "must love her" because otherwise how could she possibly feel the way she did? What she felt was so exciting and felt so good and any woman that beautiful knows she is beautiful. There was simply no reason for the barman not to want her; so she thought and felt. He was really such a jerk, and actually the only person in the film I feel was a bit mis-cast. For this role I would have liked to have seen a man with much more magnetism, charisma.
Anyhow, as the movie goes on we find the husband reacting with trying to get her back and being incredibly loving toward her -- not at all the kind of husband we are used to seeing in so many movies and in so many scenes in real life that becomes angry and violent.
Really this woman could have lost her husband so easily by her actions, and for quite a while was totally okay with losing him. That he took her back and loved her as he did was so beautiful to me. The movie ended as if we were at the end of the film in "The Wizard of Oz." She had wanted something interesting to happen, it had happened, the "bad guys" were gone now -- (both the upstart brother and the jerk barman) -- and this was her home where she was cherished.
Beautiful.
Van Gogh (1991)
This is not at all the Van Gogh I "know"
First I should mention that I cannot talk much of the cinematography as my monitor for watching this film was much too dark and some scenes were cast almost entirely in darkness, but still I could always read the subtitles and saw much of the movie visually.
Van Gogh is a favorite "character" to me, both his art and his life. Just from the little we DO know about Van Gogh, this movie is just wrong. It is portraying someone else, I don't know who. It's not a bad movie to watch. I agree with the other reviewers who said this might be a very good movie if it were about "John Doe." Just don't expect to get a glimpse of the great painter. You will not.
Cruel Doubt (1992)
This movie was well done in my opinion
First of all, I am not a Christian fundamentalist and in fact I am not religious. However, I am amazed to see how many people have put comments on here putting down the movie just because they want to defend Dungeons and Dragons.
I had a friend that became very involved in Dungeons and Dragons and got VERY crazy from it. It was truly distressing to see the changes it brought about in him. I am not saying that everyone who plays the game gets this way, but I can definitely tell you that it happens and I have seen it happen. I think it's the creepiest game I have ever seen. One time I picked up a D&D book at the store and opened it to a random page just to see what was there, and what I saw was instructions on how to possess another person's soul. I'm sorry, but I don't find this entertaining or fun; I find this sick and psychologically and psychically dangerous.
There is no way for me to know what really happened in this murder case, but it does not surprise me that Dungeons and Dragons could be involved with something like this.
The acting was superb in this film. Even if you watch it as if it were a fiction and not based on a true story it is a good flick.
The Music Man (1962)
One of my favorite movies of all time, I give it a 10
If you are a sucker for touching sentiment and romance and love music, maybe you will love this movie half as much as I do and still be glad to have seen it.
What affected me most about this movie was its wit and humor and humanness. SPOILER: A con man comes to town and suddenly instead of the sad story you usually see when it's about a con man is something very different; rather, it's about how this con man brings the town to life in optimism, cheer and dance -- all just to sell musical instruments and uniforms and collect the money, then skip town. The "scam" is that he is not really a band leader or music teacher, and although the kids do get their instruments and uniforms they don't get any kind of real music lessons.
At first, the town librarian played by the young and lovely songstress Shirley Jones, finds him out and is about to expose him -- but stops when she sees her little brother -- (played by the young and adorable Ron Howard), who barely spoke before "Professor Harold Hill" came to town (due to the death of his father and his embarrassment about a speech impediment, a lisp) -- happy, talkative and excited about life again. At this point Marion the Librarian decides NOT to blow the con man's cover, because she sees what happiness he has brought into her little brother's life, and indeed, the lives of so many in this small Iowa town somewhere near 1915 or so.
There is a group of four men who all had hated each other that because of the con man now are inseparable as a barbershop-like quartet; and so many others whose lives have been touched in a cheering way by the "Professor." I won't tell more -- so even though there are some spoilers there is much not spoiled -- except to say that I've seen this film probably about 30 to 40 times in my life, (the first 25 times being when I was about 12 years old, and the most recent at age 53). This movie makes me laugh and cry -- and the crying is out of feeling touched and happy for the characters on the screen, one of the most healing kinds of crying I know.
I hope you'll give this movie a chance. I hope many others will have the chance to enjoy it as much as I have (and still do)!
Sam & Janet (2002)
Like a song sung by a tone deaf singer
Pretty people were in it. Obviously enough money was spent to give the visuals that "slick" look of a Hollywood movie. A lot of the actors had good voices that were nice to listen to. And the screenplay may have been a good one -- it's just really hard to tell. Ferguson seems like a very good actor and a few others in the film probably are too. However I don't think the director can tell the difference between good acting and "being caught acting." So much of it was so unbelievable and not in a fun or creative and artistic way. It just came out like a tone deaf singer singing what might have been a good song but I can't really tell because the tune was so out of whack and never could detect the melody. I watched almost all of it and nothing ever really seemed to happen and nothing touched me or moved me except some of the acting by Ferguson, who at times reminded me quite a bit of Ann Heche. I do not recommend this movie unless you are studying what makes a bad movie a bad movie. It might be interesting for example to compare this film to something done by, say, Ed Wood.
Broken Flowers (2005)
I loved this film
Watched it while I was in a very melancholy mood and was feeling much sadder than I usually ever do. Somehow this film really "hit the spot." It did not take away my melancholy, but provided a relief for a while. Somehow it was resonating with me.
One thing I kept thinking over and over again as I watched it was that this was the most European-feeling American movie I have ever seen. It reminded me so much of the way French films are (which I love).
The mysterious ending was disappointing to me, but I still liked the movie. Bill Murray was amazing in his very monotone performance. It made it so that when he was really moved in the film, you could see it. I thought Jessica Lange was amazing. I couldn't tell if it was her at first. I don't know if that is because she has gained a little weight or because she has had plastic surgery or neither or both. Whatever, she looks incredibly beautiful. I always thought she was beautiful, but in this she seemed even more so.
There were many fascinating moments in this film. To me it was a film full of moments, very pregnant moments, leaving much to my imagination to fill in the blanks of what I thought each character was thinking or maybe what their lives were like. I will want to view this film again and again. I gave it a 9 out of 10 stars rather than 10 only because of the way it ended. To end the film where it ended, to me, was like a crash landing and I did not like that. Even so, I have to call the film excellent.
Oh, and the fellow who played Bill Murray's friend Winston was really excellent.