Change Your Image
Max Renn
Reviews
Analyze This (1999)
An OK film with lots of goofs.
I'm not a big fan of comedies. There are a couple that are worth watching, but the genre itself is far from being one of my favorites. So why did I watch this movie? The plot grabbed my attention in the first place. And also because of DeNiro. He's one of coolest actors of all time and seeing him on the big screen is always an enjoyable experience. As I didn't expect too much from the film, I ended up enjoying it a little bit. I didn't laugh that much, but the whole thing (cast, jokes, etc.) didn't annoy me at all. DeNiro is superb (again!) as a mobster with emotional problems and Cristal is OK as the criminal's psychiatrist. Some of the most "serious" moments of the film made me want to watch again all the great mob-themed films starred by DeNiro (Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, Casino...)! He's the ultimate wise guy! Nonetheless, my real motivation for reviewing this film is to talk about the real big goofs. Have anyone out there noticed how many time the microphones are visible during the 90+ minutes?? It's truly unbelievable that the director and producers (Cristal being one of them) didn't notice those goofs in the final cut!! The first time I saw a mic in the top of the screen I thought I was seeing too much. But then it happened over and over again!! Here's a good point to further discussion: how can a major movie company spend millions in casting, photography, marketing and put a film together with such primitive mistakes?
The Matrix (1999)
Don't believe the hype
Well, well...everybody want to know what The Matrix is, right? For me, it's just an OK sci-fi movie. Nothing more than that. The storyline is pretentious and yet doesn't develops that well during the 144 minutes or so. It seems like the directors had a real good idea but didn't know what to do with it.
And, come on, the plot is not even so original as one might think. "Terminator" has a story that's just too similar to "Matrix"(we humans live in a world that no longer exists and the future is ruled by machines and robots, then someone crosses the dimension [future or past]to fix the whole thing). And I got to confess that Arnold is more charismatic than Keanu and he didn't even had to play the nice guy...
"Matrix" has its highlights though. The special effects are superb, the references to computer games are cool and some sequences come close to be breathtaking. However, all this buzz around the film can be only explained by the good marketing campaign of its producers. You ain't going to regret watching "The Matrix", but if you're looking for a real remarkable experience (which contains the same basic elements: man/machine/body modification/reality /fantasy), try Cronenberg's "Videodrome". That's the real thing. An authentic underrated breakthrough release.
Hardcore (1979)
Another great underground story by Paul Schrader
If you've already watched Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, you know how good are Paul Schrader's screenplays. Hardcore is a not-so-famous film, which was not only written but also directed by Schrader, and it contains the same underground feel as the ones mentioned above.
George C. Scott throws a great performance as a moralist Dutch descendent which lives in the quiet Grand Rapids and finds out that his only daughter has disappeared from a church camp.
What follows is a desperate search that leads poor Van Dorn to the belly of the beast: the filthy porn scene of Los Angeles.
The story is very, very similar to the one of 8MM starring Nicolas Cage (the word "rip-off" is a bit offensive, but it really comes to mind). The difference here is that the leading character is more convincing than the one played by Cage (especially because of Scott's superb dramatic skills) and the photography has a cool 70's flavour (nonetheless 8MM's art direction is great as most of the film).
If you like urban stories, underground characters and good drama, this film is for you.
Dog Walker (1994)
Too good to be a porn
Well, shooting a porno flick must be an easy task when you have access to some professional performers and a single US$10,000 budget. However, John Leslie (the director) - which is also a talented blues player - managed to create an interesting atmosphere where sex goes along with the story really well. A guy gets in trouble with the Mafia and winds up in the gangsters hands. His life then becomes dream-like as he descends into a sexually twisted world (yeah, there are nasty girls everywhere in his "dungeon"). Unfortunately, this a porn film and has an obligation on showing sex too often. It makes the story seems confuse, not to say a bit pointless sometimes. Anyways, the good aspects of this film reside on this very fact: Leslie (who was a porno star himself from late 70s to mid-eighties) shot an x-rated feature which doesn't suffer from lack of creativity nor technical skills. The last scene of Dog Walker (the one in the dark alley) is probably the coolest and best looking in the porn history. Leslie never did anything better than this, though he kept on producing high-quality erotica in his other works such as The Lecher 2 and Drop Sex.
This guy's so good that one might wonder why he never made it to the mainstream...
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Not just another horror movie
I really don't know what was Romero's original idea when he started shooting "Night of the Living Dead", but one thing is for sure: the film came out to be more than a horror classic. The more the story develops the better it gets. Each new ingredient is great: people coming out of the cellar, terrifying TV news and the constant fights between Ben and Cooper. Cannibalism, daughter killing mother, betrayal...those unfortunate souls go deep down in miserable decay. When the film finishes (and what a final sequence!), it's impossible not to think about all the metaphors. Men acting in a more disgusting way than zombies - that is! And the racism thing is such a small detail in the plot that not many will be able to understand it. An absolutely must see!