robot_sex Reviews

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Utterly, Utterly Brilliant.

[16 June 2004]

"Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind" is probably the best film I've ever seen.

Just see it.

Seriously.

Watch the film.

It's incredible.

I was moved.

I was entertained.

I was amazed.

You'll never forget it.

Hobson's Choice (1954)

undemanding fun

[28 October 2003]

A far cry from the pomp and spectacle of Lean's later, grandiose productions, this gently romantic comedy of manners is based on Harold Brighouse's 1915 play, and sits alongside Great Expectations and Brief Encounter as one of the best films he made in black and white. Lean's restrained direction allows the sparkling scripts pithy banter plenty of room to breathe, whilst deftly avoiding the static wordiness inherent to most stage for screen adaptations.

At its core, Hobson's Choice has a towering performance by Charles Laughton, whose Henry Hobson is a marvelous mixture of snarling brute and whimpering child, huffing and sputtering his way through scene after scene of delightfully sexist dialogue. Crucially however, Laughton resists the temptation to go over the top, instead keeping his Hobson firmly on the plausible side of caricature, thus ensuring that the pathos of this potentially unlikeable character remains firmly intact, and whilst we eagerly await his comeuppance, we never lose sympathy for the curmudgeonly old fogey. Also outstanding is Brenda De Banzie as the long suffering but incredibly strong willed Maggie, an amazingly strong female character, made all the more remarkable given that the film has its origins in a text now 90 years old.

The crisp black and white photography, courtesy of Jack Hildyard(who also collaborated with Lean on his epic Bridge on the River Kwai) is stunning, beautifully capturing the grimy charm of its Victorian setting, and giving a vivid sense of gritty imtimacy to the dank interiors. Scenes featuring a drunken Hobson are gloriously realised, and gives rise to one of the films most enduring images, that of Hobson attacking the moons reflection in a puddle. Likewise, production design is impeccable, the crews recreation of Victorian era Salford even stretched to Lean throwing rubbish into the river Irwell(the council, on hearing that a film was to be made on location there, spared no expense clearing the riverbanks and water of any such refuse the week before cast and crew arrived, oblivious to the fact that this disarray was precisely the reason Lean and co. had chosen to shoot there).

This amiable comedy is often overlooked in favour of Leans more epic works, but to dismiss it out of hand as something the director cut his teeth on before moving on to better and brighter things would be a grave error. Its unassuming nature, and admittedly slightly saggy third act aside, it's a film with considerable charm, wit, eccentric characters and some hilarious set pieces.

Metropolis (1927)

Fundamentally flawed, but arresting.

[28 October 2003]

Fritz Lang's seminal vision of a dystopian future is widely regarded as a masterpiece of science fiction, an unassailable silent classic, unquestionable both in its greatness and in the breadth of its influence. Some aspects of the film have, it must be said, aged less gracefully than others. However, for the most part it remains a monumental achievement in the history of the moving picture.

Metropolis' sheer stylistic punch cannot be overstated. Indeed, it is a punch still heard and felt today. Referenced by filmmakers from Ridley Scott and George Lucas and Stanley Kubrick to the Bros Wachowski and Cohen, it is almost impossible to fault the film from a visual standpoint. Lang's previous employment as an architect is extraordinarily apparent in the in the sleek deco of Neubabelsberg, but he was not alone in his efforts. Its futuristic cityscape is a testament not only to Lang's vision, but also production designers Otto Hunte and Erich Kettlehut. Likewise, photographer Eugene Shufftan's remarkable ingenuity led to some of Metropolis' most startling images; it was he who perfected the `scratched mirror' technique of combining live action and miniature footage. One would be hard pressed to imagine what Ridley Scott's or Luc Besson's respective future visions might have looked like without Lang and his team having blazed the trail for design and visual effects some seventy years earlier.

Metropolis' design truly excels. Indeed, aesthetically speaking, the film is in many ways superior to the many which followed in its footsteps, and the many more which continue to do so. It is most certainly not a film without its faults, however. Gustav Fröhlich's performance, all furrowed brow and wild gesticulating, whilst typical of the leading men of the time, serves as a jolting reminder to the viewer that they are in fact watching a seventy five year old film. If the films visual remains timeless and youthful, Fröhlich's uneven, lumpen portrayal of Freder is clearly its Dorian Gray portrait, gathering dust in the attic, gradually becoming more and more outlandish with each passing year.

But whilst the performances can be excused, the script cannot. Lang, and his then-wife Thea von Harbou(who later joined the Nazi party) co-wrote the script, which, in veering between muddy social commentary and audacious Grimm-esque fairytale, cannot truly be read as either. Its characters, too loosely sketched to function in any true political context, instead exist within the confines of the naïve central allegory, that of the heart mediating between the brain and the hand.

In conclusion, Metropolis is a flawed masterpiece, a doomed, extravagant, hugely influential cacophony of ideas and images, and when viewed as such, more than stands the test of time. Its failure to engage the viewer on any level other than the visceral, however, is ultimately, its downfall.

Magnolia (1999)

Sorry folks

[23 September 2001]

Magnolia is one of the most shallow and cynical attempts at making a "great film" I have come across in some time. One can almost see Anderson sitting down with his rented copies of The Shawshank Redemption, It's A Wonderful Life and Short Cuts, studiously taking notes on what a "great film" should be. Instead, the finished product ends up more like Cocoon: The Return, only more manipulative.

The film is one that bears all the hallmarks of a bona fide "great film".....various interwoven storylines, lots of talking, lots of "emotional" scenes, lots of crying, some interesting plot turns, and so on. However, bearing the hallmarks of a "great film" does not neccesarily make it one!

In my humble opinion, anyone who has watched this film and enjoyed it(which is a lot of you by the looks of things) has fallen victim to an absoloute sucker punch. The whole film reeks of emotional button pushing by numbers.

A small footnote: Julianne Moore's performance was one of the most annoying things I have seen in my short time on this earth.