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Reviews
Persona (1966)
A very long rambling monologue interspersed with uninteresting random images
"... The effort, not what we achieve." Exactly, Mr. Bergman. You tried and the result is boring, pretentious garbage for film students to admire for years to come. Super low budget crap only saved from the cutting room by Anderson and Ullman (who just smiles and utters a couple of lines). The only mildly interesting part was the tale of the two naked girlfriends at the beach fooling around with a couple of young boys... which only ever happens in Sweden, Italy or France. Supposedly. Otherwise what we have here is a very long rambling monologue interspersed with uninteresting random images of animal torture and unpleasant stuff. Avoid.
Extrapolations (2023)
Abismal clothing choices and poor writing
With a great cast, futuristic gadgets, an interesting premise, and high production values, the eight episodes are somewhat connected by the climate change topic. The holograms were cool and reminded me of Star Trek The Next Generation's holodeck. Blaming every problem on Alpha and its CEO was a cop out. The episode with the curfews until sundown quite enjoyable. That could happen pretty soon. The idea of a protective cover in the sky was already presented in Highlander 3. The clothing choices in the last episode were absolutely abismal. In the end, poor writing just fails to deliver a satisfactory conclusion. Disappointing.
Solyaris (1972)
Another soporific "masterpiece" from genius Tarkovsky. Not.
Another soporific "masterpiece" from genius Tarkovsky. Not. Space wardrobe design: F. Make sure you don't forget your leather jacket to protect you from the cold of space. Editing: F. Space station interior design: F. When we said design a space station we didn't mean make it spacious or did we? Space station library interior design: A. Of course, we have lots of fuel to lift extra weight into space. Why not pack the library with paintings and pistols for decoration? Seriously? Unfortunately nothing particularly Russian in it either. Still, a couple of good things about this mess: the lovely Natalya Bondarchuk and the final scene. Watch 2001 or Contact instead.
Varázslat - A Queen Budapesten (1986)
For Queen completists.
Not super impressed with the quality of this supposed remaster or the artistic direction of the film. The wanderings about town should have been left out to the extras, more audience video would have been nice, lighting was pretty bad, the songs choices around the middle were poor, May guitar solo put me to sleep. For Queen completists.
Europa '51 (1952)
For Bergman fans only.
Not even a gorgeous Ingrid Bergman playing a modern day saint can elevate this melodrama above mediocrity. Watched it in English because of Bergman and Knox. For Bergman fans only.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
A masterpiece of horror and German expressionism.
Incredible restoration of this 100+ year old film with beautifully tinted black & white images and superb angled sets. A masterpiece of horror and German expressionism. Krauss is simultaneously frightening and appealing. Absolutely highly recommended.
Senso (1954)
Skip it
As a collector and movie enthusiast, I briefly read reviews of a film to decide beforehand whether it's worth buying. Most indications were positive in this case. Ebert (RIP) is my go-to reviewer. But it wasn't until I actually watched Senso that it became clear that if I ever have to move and/or pare down my collection, it won't be a keeper. While the opulent settings are colorful, the restoration magnificent, and Vallis is absolutely gorgeous, I couldn't connect with the uninteresting plot and consequent plot holes. To make things worse, watching subtitles in English on top of Italian dubbing of actors speaking English (Vallis and Granger's dialogue was written by Tennessee Williams) felt weird. I just don't understand why wealthy Visconti couldn't find Italian actors for an Italian movie. Skip it.