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Reviews
Les liaisons dangereuses (2003)
Kinski gets a meaty role, for a change...
As for how this production looks:
This mini-series is absolutely gorgeous. The director captures the essence of 1960s French Riviera without over-glamorizing, which is a good thing, because it is not necessary. The outdoor scenes (especially the horseback ones) are stunning. Costumes are very accurate and well thought out, especially for the female leads. LeeLee Sobieski looks alternately frumpy and seductive, just as most 18 year olds do in real life; showing a girl still figuring out how to present herself to the world. Deneuve's high society duds are probably the most spectacular, as they should be. Her character is draped in vivid reds and evocative jewelry. Kinski's clothes are virginal and chunky for the most part, as befits the wife of an ambassador...and yet her passionate exoticism cannot be held in check, and wins over repression in the end.
The storyline is the one we know well. I won't belabor telling it again. The mini-series was supposedly shot in both french and english language, but I did not find this to be true. I saw the english version. Some scenes were definitely shot in english, but others were simply dubbed...and it shows, which is too bad. If you rent or buy the DVD, I would advise watching it in french with english subtitles (if you can't speak french). Most, if not all, of Kinski and Everett's scenes in the english version were shot in english, while Deneuve and Everett's were mostly dubbed. In fact, there were only a few moments in the entire thing where Deneuve's lines were in english. For me, this created distance between her character and me as a viewer. Of course, her character is viciously evil and not one you would normally identify with, but villains CAN be empathetic. I did not find that here. Rupert Everett is slick and Machiavellian, with a slight vulnerability that is just right. LeeLee Sobieski is much more believable in this role than Uma Thurman was in the 1988 version. Nastassja Kinski, as Marie Tourvel, is the standout here. She does a marvelous job of representing the character arc (virginal wife to repentant adultress) that is required. Kinski wrote the book on portraying these kinds of heartbreaking roles (Tess, Magic of Marciano, American Rhapsody, The Claim...) and it is a shame she has been largely overlooked by Hollywood.
I highly recommend this mini-series, but watch the DVD in french with english subtitles, in order to get a better grasp of Deneuve.
I Take This Woman (1940)
a train wreck
I adore Hedy Lamarr. I think she was vastly underrated as an actress during the 40s. She was the Nastassja Kinski of that era, and critics didn't take her seriously. Having said all that...this film is a BORE. When I watched it for the first time, I was shocked at the lack of continuity, not only in story, but in makeup and costumes. Hedy's makeup changes from shot to shot. So does hair length and style. Reason: This thing had so many writers and underwent so many stops and starts it's amazing they ever released it at all. Her "Lady of the Tropics" began filming AFTER this one began, yet it was released before "I Take This Woman." In fact, at the time, it was known in Hollywood as "I Re-Take This Woman." That should tell you something. I'm a Spencer Tracy fan as well, but he is AWFUL here. I've read in various film histories that he absolutely despised Hedy Lamarr, and that looks perfectly obvious on film. NO chemisty whatsoever. The story wanders around for reel after reel and finally just rolls to an end very strangely. I can't recommend this one at all.
The Changeling (1980)
Mature and Intriguing
This is not a teen/slasher film. It builds slowly, but the movie is not slow. This is the first 'ghost' movie I ever saw in which I actually cared about the ghost. 'The Others' and 'The Sixth Sense' came much, much later...and in that way, this film is similar. The reason for the haunting is heart-breaking and may even bring you to tears. And yet, the creepiness factor is in full force as well. I watched this on Halloween with my boyfriend, who doesn't care for 'old movies' meaning anything before 1985. He liked it very much. Most definitely this is in my top five of all horror/ghost movies. I need to get the DVD version.
The Day the World Ended (2001)
Like a Prolonged X-Files Episode
Nastassja Kinski, gorgeous as ever...adds a level of professionalism to the production which is sorely needed. Why do so many films fall apart in the third act? This one starts out appropriately eerie and intriguing. Dennis Quaid does well in presenting a character that you're unsure of. Is he a nice guy or is he Satan? Bobby Edner, the kid, got some nice reviews for this role, but I did not find him especially interesting. The 'monster' is kept hidden in quick shots for much of the time, which is a GOOD thing, as it's much more suspenseful. Seeing it full screen at the very end was as you'd expect; a letdown. There are some needless cliches and some obtrusively odd characterizations (Nurse Divelbuss looks like a drag queen). All in all, it kept my interest throughout but was only a fraction above average. 5.5 out of 10.
Dagon (2001)
Uhhh...no thanks
After reading all the positive comments about this film, and reviewing the synopsis, which sounded very original and offbeat...I rented this DVD with moderate hopes.
I didn't like it.
I do not understand the comments like, "relax, it's a horror flick; if you're not a horror fan, you won't understand." In my opinion, it shouldn't matter if you're a horror film fan or not. If a movie is good, it's good...no matter what. You shouldn't have to make concessions for it.
I love B films. I like some horror films that are B films. But in this one, at least 2/3 of the movie is spent in one relentless chase. It is not bad because the chase scene lasts so long. The problem I have with it is that it is boring. The same thing over and over again: fish people chasing inept and bumbling lead actor with nothing new added to the mix. Chase in hotel, chase in street, chase in a car, chase in another building. The plot isn't advanced by any of this. The lead doesn't learn much in these scenes, for the most part.
The real plot starts when he finds his friends in the arroyo, but I have to confess the first time I watched the movie, I shut the thing down long before. Yes, I watched it twice, trying to see what the other reviewers saw that made this film redeemable.
From the arroyo scene forward, it is mildly interesting...yes. It is fun to see the lead actor make his metamorphosis into Rambo. And the fish woman (Macarena) becomes interesting; she does a fine job with a ridiculous role. But sloppy effects (the CGI Dagon creature we see for all of 3 seconds) and a slap dash ending quickly capsizes the enterprise. (He is burned into a glob, his friends are dead, and yet he is thrilled to be underwater with his fish sister in a matter of minutes?)
It is just a big disappointment for me, especially since I admired the originality of the idea.
All Around the Town (2002)
The epitome of a tv movie
Not a bad flick. It was enjoyable, but when the movie reached its conclusion, it was equivalent to a soda which had gone flat. Not bad, still drinkable, just missing that pop and fizz.
I fail to see why they advertised this as "STARRING NASTASSJA KINSKI." She did not star. She supported. In a MINOR role. Would that she HAD starred, but the storyline would have needed to be adjusted to account for her age. Not that she is ancient. She is lovely, as usual. She just didn't have much to do.
Michael Shanks as the psychiatrist has the shining role in this film. I had never seen him in anything before, but came away thinking "he is one to watch." I believe the actress with the lead role was Kim Schraner. NOT one to watch. Her performance was standard and cliche. Someone should have told her, "Playing someone with a multiple personality disorder does not mean you need to slam your two palms on either side of your head every time a new 'alter' appears."
The plotline with the tv evangelist was a little murky. I still do not entirely understand what happened with that. I guess you had to read the book. For me, Mary Higgins Clark writes great suspense, but with cardboard characters. With the exception of Michael Shanks, the cast of this movie largely fulfills that prerequisite. (I exempt Nastassja, because her part was so peripheral).
An average, but quick paced tv melodrama.
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
intriguing; well worth your time
I really liked this film. It is well-acted by all. Besides Hilary's oscar winning performance, I especially liked Chloe Sevigny AND the actress who played her mother. Dead on with the trailer trash characterizations.
I know this is based on a true story, but it didn't affect me very much emotionally. I think this is because in some ways, Brandon Teena was on a self-destruct mission. It was hard for me to drum up a lot of sympathy for someone who made such poor decisions. I am not saying she deserved what she got (far from it!) but I was just amazed at how she subjected herself to such danger.
Cold Heart (2001)
Nastassja's 3rd movie with the same plot
Nastassja Kinski seems to be making a career out of playing the bored wife who has an affair with a younger man...who then tries to kill her. Seriously, "Cold Heart" follows the plotline of her other film "Say Nothing" very closely. And then there is "Blind Terror," which is the same basic plot, with very minor differences.
Actually, in some ways, "Cold Heart" is the best of the three. There is a clever plot twist towards the end which I was not expecting. It is not fully fleshed out and explained, but it's an interesting idea. Josh Holloway is on the verge of playing a good psychotic...but he reverts to the same maniacal smile too many times to bring much depth to the role. Jeff Fahey has a thankless part, and seems bored playing it. Nastassja...well, I think she too is bored, and why wouldn't she, since she played the same role in three different movies, all released within a year of each other. She looks good, but for Nastassja fans, there is nothing particularly intriguing that she brings to this part. There is no one scene that stands out.
It is what it is...a made for video thriller.
Quills (2000)
Call me a prude
I was not impressed. If the film was to be about how free speech and art should be unhindered by censorship...then this is a poor attempt at illustrating that point. The Marquis de Sade is whitewashed in this version. As depraved as the film portrays him, actual historical accounts show he was far worse. I find the whitewashing unfair, for the sake of this particular argument. A better example is out there somewhere.
Beyond that, I predicted the ending of this film within the first 15 minutes. I can't rate it any higher than a 5.
Dune (2000)
for Dune readers only
Never read the books, but I just bought a DVD player, and someone told me this was a good one to test it out. Good production values, etc.
I agree that the production values are pretty good. I loved the sets and the costumes. However, as an objective viewer without any previous "Dune" exposure, I would have been TOTALLY, COMPLETELY lost if I had not had my boyfriend with me there to pause the picture and explain to me what in tarnation was going on. In fact, at certain points my "interpreter" said, "I have no idea how they expect you to know this, but the reason why....blah, blah, blah," and he would give me a detailed background on the character and motive involved.
I was not moved emotionally by anything in this. My boyfriend said the same thing, and he has read all the books at least twice. However, it was entertaining to watch overall. I'd give it two and a half stars out of 5, or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. It appears that this mini-series was made strictly for "Dune" fans, who know all the terminology, etcetera. At the same time, the recent "Lord of the Rings" which has just been released is not at all like this. An uninitiated Tolkien reader would be able to understand the film version. I wonder if "Dune" can really be translated into film at all.
As stated before, the production values are high. Only a few flawed scenes: That CGI desert rat is hilariously poorly done. Also, the matte paintings are over-used and become too obvious for what they are.
For my first DVD, it served its purpose: I got a chance to see what DVD is all about with a good production. As a story, it more or less failed.
Say Nothing (2001)
Say interesting effort
This film is not groundbreaking. I assume everyone was hired with the knowledge that they were shooting a story for Cinemax, and that they wanted quality in the production...but anything else was optional. It is not horribly bad, it just offers nothing new. Cut out the sex scenes and you have a Lifetime TV movie. But since this is Cinemax, we see a little more skin.
I thought I read somewhere that Nastassja Kinski wasn't doing anymore nude scenes. Scratch that. Well...almost. There are some topless scenes with William Baldin, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Basically, this is Fatal Attraction in reverse. One difference is that nothing is as extreme as that film. No pets are boiled, etc. Kinski has a one night stand with Baldwin, who then sets out to wreck her marriage with Hart Bochner, who plays her husband. Baldwin plays a millionaire power player in a global corporation, and offers Bochner a prime position in his company. Of course the poor husband has no clue why he is being hired. This infuriates Kinski, and the manipulation continues.
I was quite entertained by the first two thirds of this film. The last third simply gets a little dull. Nothing too drastic really happens, just a lot of power play by Baldwin's character, which threatens the Bochner/Kinski marriage. It fizzles out.
The interesting thing about it is that Kinski plays an ex-model very close to her real life persona. Her past history as a top model is emphasized by showing her famous "Kinski and the serpent" pose by Avedon, her Andy Warhol tribute, etcetera. Kinski still looks fantastic as ever, does an okay job as the stalked wife. Her little girl voice is out of place at times, but there are a few instances where she overcomes that liability, and belts out her anger in a real woman's voice. My favorite scene is when she has an argument with Baldwyn in the men's room, he leaves, and a stranger who couldn't help but overhear walks out of a stall. She glares at him and yells, "WHAT!" I would have liked more of this. Baldwyn is properly snooty and oily, and Hart Bochner gives another unique performance as the betrayed husband.
It's just too bad that it all added up to not a whole lot of anything in the end.
Diary of a Sex Addict (2001)
Astonishingly Pathetic
This film was so amateurish I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It is shot on VIDEO! NOT film! I have not seen the likes of this since the early 70's, when late night networks showed movie of the week 'horror flicks' shot in......video. It looks like a bad soap opera, and that is paying it a compliment. Some of the actors give it their best shot. Michael Des Barres does okay with what he is given to do, which is to act like a sex addict out of control. I can't say that it is pleasant to watch.
Nastassja Kinski as the therapist sits in a chair for practically the entire film, with very little variation in camera angles. I can't fault her for someone else's poor blocking, but she is totally unbelievable in her role. Her little girl voice works against her here. And I consider myself a Nastassja Kinski fan. She is certainly ageless and exotic, but she's outside her range with this.
Alexandra Paul is pathetically overwrought. Every line she delivers is with three exclamation points. Someone must have directed her to scream at all costs. Why would Michael Des Barres want to have sex with such a raging shrew?
Finally, Rosanna Arquette as the sweet, maligned wife comes off okay, and probably the most believable of the bunch. But that is not saying much.
This has to be the worst film I have seen in years.
An American Rhapsody (2001)
Nastassja is a standout
Since previous comments outline the plot, I will only add that this film is excellent, and provides Nastassja Kinski with one of her more weighty and challenging roles of her entire career. She is such a heartache to behold, smoldering with moods that are beyond exact definition. After 20 years in film, she still looks only a few years older than her debut in "Tess." However, there is an added depth to her as an actress, and flashes of her famous father can sometimes be seen in the brilliant subtleties of her craft. All the rave reviews she has received for this film, from Rex Reed to Roger Ebert, are well deserved.
Blind Terror (2001)
better than expected
Surprisingly...this is not bad at all. Yes, it's strictly a straight-to-video/made-for-tv-movie kind of thing, but it's paced well, coherent, reasonably suspenseful, and Nastassja looks great. I say 'reasonably suspenseful' because most people will figure out the mystery 3/4 of the way into the film.
The Claim (2000)
Haunting
One thing I loved about this film is also the thing that took it down a notch: The place looked so real. It did not seem like a movie set. It did not even seem like a movie, with actors saying their lines. It was more like you were eavesdropping on a town. One way they showed this was overlapping dialogue. There would be several different conversations at once. You'd catch the tail end of one, the main thrust of another, and the beginning of yet another conversation. All this contributed to make it one of the most realistic movies I've ever seen.
The disadvantage in this is that I think the director spent too much camera time on incidental dialogue, and not enough on dialogue involving the main plot. Some incredibly emotional scenes were cut short. Just when you think you're going to get hit with it, it moves to a scene where Milla is talking to Bentley about something trivial. And those shots lasted far too long. I understand that in movie making, you don't want to focus on the sentimental, because if you do, it can come out maudlin and manipulative. But in this case, I felt a little cheated.
Still...I was deeply moved by several scenes in the movie. So it wasn't devoid of all emotion. I just felt in places it could have been stronger.
Nastassja Kinski was perfect for her role, and I don't say that about her very often. She looked every bit like she could have an 18 year old daughter, and yet she was also incredibly childlike and delicate herself. And beautiful, in a pale, pathetic, used way. Actually, the best term to describe her in this movie is "haunting."
Peter Mullan was awesome. I have never seen him in anything, but I was fascinated. Milla was like an over-ripe exotic bird. She was excellent at nailing greedy desperation. As for the subplot with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley, I was not terribly moved by it. These two were not bad, but not outstanding in any way, either.
Scenery was fantastic. You know how some movies stick with you for awhile? This is one of those.
Time Share (2000)
TimeShare = TimeWasted
What a hideous waste of talent. Nastassja Kinski valiantly tries to do something with the script, but Timothy Dalton's try at comedy is over-the-top and pathetically schtick. And what a shame he decides to go shirtless in a few scenes. His stomach is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. As for the kids in this film, they were better than average and like Nastassja, get an A+ for trying. The plot is as creaky as they come and utterly ridiculous, to boot. One of the worst tv movies I've seen in a long, long time.
Susan's Plan (1998)
On the lame side
I liked this movie only because Nastassja Kinski starred in it, and it was kind of a different role for her. She usually plays victim types, but in this she's not so nice. I wish the movie had been better scripted and edited. Too many things don't make sense. Why should we think Adrian Paul is worth killing? He's supposed to be not worth much, but we never know why. The ending is practically non-existent. It just runs out of steam and dies. Having said that, there were a few funny moments. Enough to rent a video for? Probably not, unless like me, you like one of the leads.
The Intruder (1999)
Enjoyable but murky
I saw this film on video, on a cold snowy day. Perfect conditions for this type of dark, mysterious movie. Charlotte Gainsbourg is quite intriguing as the lead. Ditto Nastassja Kinski as the oddly vulpine neighbor and Molly Parker as the eccentric Miss LonelyHearts. I wish I could say nice things about everyone else. Alas, there are some weak actors in some supporting roles who appear to be reading their lines from a teleprompter. And...the plot, though fun and slightly sci-fi, becomes so murky that as a viewer, I simply had to give up on understanding it and busied myself with the suspense factors instead. For me, it finally boiled down to "will she make it out alive or will she not?"
Red Letters (2000)
Nastassja Kinski's Talents Wasted
What a great cast and what a pathetic attempt at a film. The script is full of holes from beginning to end. Incoherent, not cohesive...utterly ridiculous. One of the most talented/beautiful actresses in the world (and I'm talking about Nastassja Kinski) is without a single memorable line here. Worse, she supposedly dyes her hair halfway thru the movie, but it's obvious she's just wearing a cheap black wig bought from a drag queen costume shop. The best moments are given to a character actor and his dog in the apartment building that lead actor Peter Coyote lives in. Fairuza Balk is photographed poorly, to boot. She looks like an overweight freshman who's pigged out at too many all-you-can-eat-student-cafeteria-buffets. I was so looking forward to this film. I WANTED to like it, but I think I'd rather watch Nastassja read the phone book, with her OWN hair.