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CoenRem
Reviews
Irréversible (2002)
A very hard film to watch
I have just witnessed this film. I will remember it for a long time indeed. This must be one of the hardest films I've ever seen. We are used to films in where good prevails and evil is punished. This one breaks that rule, and leaves deep scars behind.
The scenes in Irreversible are presented backwards. There is no introduction of characters. So one starts to judge the characters on what they do. A guy, who is'nt introduced, gets arrested in a gay SM-bar. He is beat up a little but nothing too serious. OK, you think, how did this happen? Why is this dude carried away?
Well, this becomes clear in the next scene: He brutally murders a man by smashing his face in with an iron fire-extinguisher, endlessly. He smashes his face to pulp. It apparently takes some time to kill a man with a fire extinguisher, which the director is all too glad to show in great detail.
Why did he do this? What caused such rage? We see this man crying over the body of mutaleted woman. His girlfriend, apparently. Why is she mutaleted? I feared to know. I have watched in absolute horror how she was being sodomized in a pedestrians tunnel. After the violence of being raped, she is kicked into a coma. Once again this brutal scene is shown in all its horrific details.
It left me with a feeling of total confusion: surely there must have been a reason for all this violence?
This is where Irreversible gets really cruel: There is no reason.
The rest of the film serves to deepen your sympathy for the victims. The more you get to know about the characters, the more you get to like them. BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!
Irreversible does not judge anything; it just shows you a terribly sad story in reverse. This makes it even sadder by eliminating any sort of happy ending all together.
This is NOT a happy movie. You are NOT dared to watch this.
Regards,
Coen Rem, Eindhoven
9/11 (2002)
This is NOT propaganda
I must admit that I was very sceptical about this documentary. I was expecting it to be the kind of All American Propaganda that we here in Europe dislike so much. I was wrong. This is NOT propaganda, in fact it is hardly political at all.
It depicts the events of 9/11 through the eyes of the firefighters called to the scene just after the planes crashed. It is an amazing coinsidence that this documentary was filmed at all! This film was initially shot as a documnetary about a rookie NY firefighter becoming "a man". We can only thank the film makers that they continued their work during the terrible ordeal that faced them.
A great piece of work. Absolutely stunning material. Highly recommended.
Regards,
Waking the Dead (2000)
A fine film
Well,
Not the masterpiece I was hoping for, but a good movie none the less.
8 out of 10.
Regards,
Koroshiya 1 (2001)
Total crap
This is not a movie at all!
The idea of an action/horror movie is that there are some "good" guys and some "bad" guys. Sometimes the baddies win, most times the goodies win... There is a plain reason for this: it creates some kind of a struggle. "Ichi the killer" features only bad guys, which makes this film totally pointless.
But this is just the first reason to avoid this one: another would be that the action sequences are all very lame, the horror parts are truly pathetic. Combine this with a lack of a story and you'll have "ichi the killer". Makes you wonder why Ichi didn't kill the producing cast as well, that at least would have put an end to this waste of time.
One last point: the guy starring "Ichi" can't act!
My conclusion: utter and total crap! 3 out of 10
Regards,
Caligola (1979)
This is something else...
I have never a movie, not ONE movie, that even remotely touched
the explicit nature of this one. The explicitness is, without doubt,
the aspect of this film that I will remember the longest.
In my mind, there are two kinds of movie: the "standard" movie and
the "X-rated" movie. Both have in essence the right to exist. I am speaking of course of the high budget, main audience, major
feature film; in the likes of 90% of the movies we regularly see...
And of the, low-budget, mass-produced, pornographic flics of the
anonymous masses. -- I have NEVER seen a film in which these two were united; until
this ONE exceptional movie.
Let there be no doubt about it: This is one hell of an EXPLICIT
movie. It will show you scenes of extreme sexuale violence, the
likes of which whould put a smile an "the Marquice the SadeÕs"
lips. It will show you orgies in which no bodily fluid is spared.
People are tortured to death.... in real time! Well, you catch my drift.
But... there is a totally different side to "Caligola". It had huge
production cost! I casts some very fine actors, who perform their
parts with perfection. It has an intriging, fabulous, story about
Power and the abuse of it. It puts you back to the Rome of two
thousand years ago. I is one of the grandest movies made.
Thus, I marvel... What great courage of the makers, achieving the
combining of these two in the same movie!
If you have an open mind, this is the thing to see!
Hackers (1995)
Love, sex, secret, god...
These are the four most commonly used passwords. I love this line!
The film is about a bunch of computer whizzkids who try to save the world from the evel hacker who wants to play havoc with a couple of oil tankers.... Uhmmm - Well, let's just say that the story is NOT the reason why this is a memorable movie!
No, it's the atmosphere of this flick that really captures you! It's the hardcore soundtrack from The Prodigy, it's the energy with which the characters play there roles: they were clearly having a great time!
And it hasn't even dated too much! *(made in 1995)
Great fun: a pure thrill-ride!
A well deserved vote: 8
Ice Age (2002)
Well, it's a cartoon....
I must say that i expected more from this movie. After Simpsons and Futurama, which are labelled by same company, i was hoping for the same irony and funniness. It did not deliver. Guess this film was indeed intended for all ages, and they played it safe.
There were some funny moments though... The little rodent with his nut managed to trigger a few facial mussles. On the whole, i was a bit disappointed. 6 out of 10 is a generous vote.
Bandits (2001)
Very enjoyable!
Walking through the the video rental place, normally a strange feeling of panic strikes... What movie should i rent? This time i grabbed this film from the shelves.
I didn't read the movie description on the back of the box, and rented it without knowing what it was all about. I was in for a very pleasant surprise! This film is actually pretty good.
In two words: very enjoyable!
A true feel good movie, and well played by our favorite elf from Lord of the Rings.
My rating: 8