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JohnF-8
Reviews
Szegénylegények (1966)
Definitely A Film You Won't Forget
Miklos Jancso's The Round Up is not concerned with character development or a complex plot. While this may annoy some, it suits this film perfectly fine. The movie feels very cold and remote, almost Kubrickian in content and style. Surprisingly, there is very little violence in the film although it seems like that the film is very brutal. Perhaps this is because of emotional hopelessness most of the characters experience in the film. A very worthwhile experience overall, rent it, although just don't be prepared to come away smiling.
Szabad lélegzet (1973)
Interesting Hungarian Film, however, there are better films from Hungary
This is the first film I've seen by Hungarian director Marla Meszaros. I had seen recently Miklos Jancso's excellent The Round Up and Istvan Szabo's Father and Mephisto, so I was basically going on a binge (for lack of a better word) of Hungarian films. While not as impressive as the other Hungarian films I'd seen, it still stands head and shoulders above your average Hollywood film.
The film centers around a young working class girl in Communist Hungary in the early 1970's. She has recently broken up with her brutal boyfriend and finds herself at the local University dancing with all of the college students. As chance would have it she meets a young man and they both fall in love. She lies to him at first about her job and tells him she is actually a college student as well. He forgives her and they try to forge a lasting relationship despite there differences. There's a terrific scene where presumably she's sitting in her boyfriend's dorm room looking bored while he's doing homework. She decides to turn on the record player and some classical music (I believe) that was used in the silent version Phantom of Opera. Her boyfriend quickly gets annoyed because he can't study and turns down the music. She immediately turns it back up, he turns it down again, then she turns it back up once again. He hesitates to turn it down again and just stares away from her. Absolutely no dialogue is spoken in this scene and it's perfectly clear just how different these two really are. I don't want to give away the rest of the film but things do get a little hectic for the hopeful couple.
Overall though, I enjoyed the film, especially some of the cinematography. Although I couldn't help thinking that for the most part this is a fairly conventional love story about two people who were never met to be and somehow find each other. I definetely wouldn't call it amazing, but, if you're into Hungarian or East European cinema, I suggest you see this film at some point. Although I would recommend seeing Szabo's brilliant Father (1968) or Jancso's The Round Up (1965) first.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
George Lucas is Back and He Delivers!
I was fortunate enough to see Episdoe I on opening night and let me say I thought it was incredible. I think this film is more than worthy to be a part of George Lucas' fantastic space opera saga. I don't think he's lost a touch in his 22 year hiatus from sitting in the director's chair. He still has the energy and enthusiasm of A New Hope and American Graffiti. Now I know some people are giving it a bad rap for it's dialogue. Let me pose this question, what the hell did you expect? The Godfather? Goodfellas? Citizen Kane? Now let me get one thing straight. I am a huge film buff. I love every genre and I like watching everything from Scorsese films to Orson Welles films to Kubrick films. I love the art of cinema. I also happen to love Star Wars. I did not come to see Episode I expecting a script written with such creativity as say Paul Schrader would do. I came to see a Star Wars film. I came to see epic battles, fantastic worlds, interesting characters(yes I loved Jar Jar), and incredible thrills. Episode I delivered with a bang, no wait, it delivered with a thunderous boom. It was a hoot from start to finish. I loved how Darth Vader is actually the person who builds C3P0. I love Ewan MacGregor doing Obi-Wan flawlessly. I loved finally being able to see the Jedi Council. I loved that hard Jedi stare so perfectly done by Liam Neeson. I loved the strength behind Natalie Portman(especially in the Galactic Senate scene). I loved Jar Jar's silly humor(yes, I like slapstick humor). I loved the cameo's by Jabba the Hutt and Warwick Davis(who played Wicket in ROTJ). I loved the thrilling PodRace sequence which took my breath away. I loved John Williams' fresh, heart pounding score. I loved seeing Darth Maul and Darth Sidious interact and do their dirty work. I think I better stop or else I will go on and on.
If you're into deep emotional character development and a slick Usual Suspects' type plot then why in the hell are you going to see a Star Wars film? That's great if you are because I am too, but in some movies it isn't necessary to make the film incredible. None of the Star Wars films are known for having a complex story and character development. I think you people who are trashing Episode I for it's "childlike" appeal will look forward to Episode II and III. Episode II is supposedely the "romantic" one which sounds really interesting and Episode III is supposed to be somewhat darker in tone for obvious reasons that I'm sure you can figure out. I'm sure that's why they call Episode IV A New Hope, because a lot of bad things happen in Episode III. This is one film buff who is definetely looking forward to what George Lucas can come up with next in Episode II. See you in line.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
The Curse of the Odd Trek Films Returns!
While not the worse Trek film by any means, Star Trek V proudly takes that honor, it definitely doesn't rank up there with Star Trek II or First Contact. This is basically a comedy. There is loads of humor, which isn't necessarily bad when it's done with a decent story like in Star Trek IV, but the story is so unoriginal that most of the jokes just seem tacked so that people will not focus on the lame plot. The effects are pretty good for the most part, but nothing very outstanding like the opening of First Contact with the battle against the Borg cube. If you're a Trek fan, I suggest you see this simply because you're a Trek fan. If you're not a Trekkie, avoid this sub-par Trek film. If you want to rent a good sci-fi movie that's come out in recent years rent Dark City. Avoid the Independence Days and Fifth Elements at all costs.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
A Distinct Line Between Viewers?
It seems to me that people are very divided on The Thin Red Line. You either love it or you hate it. When I saw it with a group of my friends I was the only one who liked the film. So much in fact that I went and saw it again two weeks later and I liked it even more. A good comparison that people are making to this remarkable film are how it is getting a similar reception that Kubrick's groundbreaking 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyessy received. While I was not around when that film came out, I have seen it many times and I think it's one of Kubrick's best. Apparently at the time many people trashed 2001 much in the same as people are bashing The Thin Red Line. Want to know why? Because both films are radically different from the other pictures being released today. Think about it, most science fiction films were nothing like 2001. And to be quite honest, not many are still on caliber with that great film. It went against all the Hollywood conventions. People found it "boring" that Kubrick would follow a ship slowly through space with classical music playing. I guess most people don't "get it." And now today it is a classic. Although there are still many, many people who say, "I can't stand that movie. It's so long and boring." Sounds very similar to what people are saying about The Thin Red Line I think.
I think that once people begin to peel away the many depths that The Thin Red Line carries with it, they will finally begin to appreciate it. It's definitely one of the best war films made in recent years. Up there with Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Coppola's Apocalypse Now (my fav war film by the way), and Oliver Stone's Platoon. The Thin Red Line breaks all the conventions of a war film. Most war films (including Saving Private Ryan) use what I call the "melting pot" platoon. This is that each soldier is from a radically different area to show how varying Americans are. There's the Jewish guy, the Brooklyn guy, the shy, cowardly guy, the rough and tough guy, the commanding Sargent, and the saintly Commander of the group. Most WWII films have this typical kind of group ot men. The Thin Red Line is nothing like this. None of the men know each other very well. They don't crack jokes between combat scenes. The heroic commander doesn't give a "riveting" speech as to why the men are here to die. None of that is here. Which actually makes it more realistic than most war films. As for the poetry, director Terrence Malick studied philosophy. So he is obviously very interested in the philosophical aspects of war which I found fascinating. Although I doubt in a combat situation men would recite poetry, it gives the film a feeling of an epic poem like Beowulf. I like to think of the film in those terms. That it is a basically an epic poem with images. That explains why this film does not rely heavily on a complex plot. Or have a clearly defined main character. Malick wants us to get into the minds of many different men put into a horrible situation and how they think and react to it. So I can understand why people dislike this film so greatly. It's really not a film for mainstream America. But to call it the "worst film ever" or "boring" or "it's too long" seems very unsubstantiated. Please, give this film a chance and you will see just how powerful it really is.
Goodfellas (1990)
One of my all time favorites
This film is truly amazing. This is what film is all about. Spectacular direction, excellent acting, and a wonderfully written script. Every character is engaging and keeps your eyes and ears interested the entire time. This is my favorite Martin Scorsese film. He just keeps making great films. If people say it's overrate it's simply because they don't want to admit just how wonderful this film is. I've seen it many times and I never lose my interest. I only wish Ray Liotta had gained more praise for his underrated performance. He was truly terrific. I completely believed that he WAS Henry Hill living a life in the mob. A must to buy!