Angst-2 Reviews

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

This film has aged poorly

[6/10 · 14 April 2002]

I recently saw "Three Days of the Condor" and "Marathon Man" (a long-time favourite) back to back. Direct comparison does not flatter TDOTC.

TDOTC relies too heavily on the paranoia associated with the cold war for its atmosphere. After starting with a "bang", the plot gradually slows until it is motionless by the final act. Events simply don't sustain the intended mood. And there are several eyebrow-raisers in the plot. The romance is so implausible as to be farcical, and we are apparently supposed to believe that a bookish non-agent could successfully sprint around disarming assassins, rewiring phone grids, and generally making James Bond look pedestrian.

Avoid. If you're interested in paranoid thrillers, watch "The Parallax View" or "Capricorn One" instead. And although their themes are a bit different, "The Conversation" and "Marathon Man" are far, far superior to this movie.

All the Little Animals (1998)

Dreadful

[4/10 · 24 March 2002]

I truly wanted to like this film. I'm a Hurt fan, and the concept appealed to me, but... it just doesn't work.

None of the performances are bad, but the plot is silly. Towards the end the implausibility approaches comedy, and this is not helpful.

I am not proud to have watched this film.

Trouble Every Day (2001)

Ultimately quite shallow

[5/10 · 16 September 2001]

I have no difficulty with gore or the grotesque, when in service of an interesting plot or when furthering exploration of an interesting idea. Unfortunately, this film had neither.

The only idea I detected was the intimate connection between sex, violence, and death. Nothing new there.

Beyond that, one has only a series of slowly developing scenes with little payoff, populated by dull characters. The maid, in particular, had plenty of time on screen for no good reason.

With only a few wisps of plot and background story, we're obviously meant to focus on the characters. Oh wait, they aren't developed or interesting. So I suppose we're supposed to be captivated by the setting. Hmm. Lots of motel room interiors...

So I guess we're supposed to focus on our popcorn and soft drinks.

The Son's Room (2001)

A well-made film.

[7/10 · 14 September 2001]

I suppose I might have been more impressed had I not known in advance that this was the Palm d'or winner. Perhaps I had unfairly high expectations.

And in any case, this was an expertly directed and acted film. The only grievous error was the repeated use of an especially sappy and jarring Brian Eno song. Yeesh. I get the feeling that it would be less annoying for non-English viewers; I certainly would have been less annoyed with the exact same song sung in Italian (and therefore incomprehensible to me).

Overall, however, I was simply underwhelmed. The characters were well-realized, and the tragedy was believable, but the story just wasn't very interesting. In the end I was happy with the way the survivors dealt with their grief, but I didn't really care all that much.

For comparison, I would offer Dekalog I (Kieslowski) or The Sweet Hereafter (Egoyan). Yes, those films had different goals, and my comparison is not totally fair. Nevertheless, I found both of those approaches more interesting than Moretti's.

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

An entertaining ghost story

[8/10 · 10 September 2001]

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie at the Toronto Film Festival a couple of days ago. I was not previously familiar with Del Toro's work, but I enjoyed his strong storytelling skills and craftsmanship.

Other than a couple of grimace-inducing scenes (including an early one with Jacinto and Conchita in which he utters some pretentious nonsense and she replies "You're so complicated..." [I kid you not]), the film is thoroughly enjoyable.

It was also a pleasure to hear Del Toro's explanations, his inspirations, and to appreciate his humility. (Anyone who repeatedly refers to himself as a "fat f*ck" is humble in my books. :-)

Star Crystal (1986)

I lost friends because of this movie.

[1/10 · 13 August 2001]

...because I'm the idiot who rented it for the gang to watch. And it's not as though we didn't know how to appreciate hideous movies, either! We enjoyed mocking movies. But this one was far too depressingly-bad to be mockable. It's one of those films that makes you wonder if evolution made a misstep; perhaps sentience was a big mistake? The only reason I voted on it (1, naturally) and revealed my horrible lack of judgment to the world is to warn off other potential victims. Just say no.

Denti (2000)

Flat-out brilliant

[9/10 · 13 September 2000]

Wow.

'Teeth' is visually stunning. The next time I hear the term "magic realism", this film will leap to mind. That's only a vague categorization, of course. 'Teeth' defies classification. Perhaps it is Cronenberg-esque, but with a fundamentally positive outlook. No, I don't mean to suggest that this film is upbeat - but it gives you the impression that all of the extremes and strangeness have served a purpose. This is also considerably more artistic than anything Cronenberg has created so far.

Wistful, hilarious, horrifying, and contemplative by turns. Wow! Oh, and if you were expecting a quiet, amusing story like Mediterraneo... be prepared for a surprise.

Alive (1993)

Harrowing, horrifying, but excellent

[8 August 1999]

Apparently a very accurate recreation of the true plane crash and consequent struggle for survival of a Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes. It is relentlessly tragic, and never lets you forget the true horror of the situation.

The opening plane crash is one of the most terrifying sequences I've ever seen in a movie. If Alive was presented as an in-flight movie I think I'd pass out...

The Stupids (1996)

It's not as bad as you think - it's worse.

[10 April 1999]

*Obviously* it's not a good movie. I'm sure we're all aware of that. You may be suspecting that it's humorously bad, though.

I'm afraid not. It's just... perplexingly dumb. I can't think of a single good reason to waste any more time thinking about it.