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Dirk's latest project - together with his French "partner-in-crime" Pascal Verroust in Paris - is the international feature documentary DOOMSDAY - PUSH BACK THE CLOCK. In our era of continuously increasing crises we must tackle the threats simultaneously - this is what "The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists" has been doing since its foundation in 1945 by Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and other world-renown scientists. DOOMSDAY analyzes the greatest man-made threats to humanity that are in the Bulletin's focus. And it presents actionable solutions to how we can control them. More information and a TEASER on http://doomsday.outremerfilm.com
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Reviews
Glass Onion (2022)
Boring. Expensive. Predictable. Did I say boring...?
One of the more elegant tropes of mystery thrillers that vaguely quote certain settings and situations from the Hercule Poirot "Orient Express" story is the rich eccentric loner who invites his friends (peers / collaborators / co-conspirators) on an island (that he usually owns). That's the premise of this film, too, and the execution in terms of SFX, camera, costumes, music etc is impeccable. But that's about it. There is not one line of dialogue, not one character, not one plot twist that is not foreseeable or predictable. The whole thing looks way too expensive and feels way too shallow. And the actors... in some rare moments they seem to have some fun, but most of the time they just deliver lines. No idea who greenlit this script, and even less an idea who allowed the director to simply go ahead with it as written (if that's what he did). Overall, this non-mystery film is a huge waste of talent, resources and time, including mine.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Bad plot, flaccid execution and total loss of time
No, even with all the premises - the setting, the heatwaves in the US this year, the murky secret that aliments the plot and that we're not told (and this is NO spoiler) and Angelina herself - this is a film that has almost no storyline, a so-so forest fire at its peak and that is underwhelming for so many reasons, and so much more of nothingness. Those Who Wish Me Dead does not even pay off the promise of its title. This really is a bad excuse of an action thriller movie that is not worth even downloading. Want to try anyway? I suggest you do yourself the favor and spend your time with something else. Really.
J.E.S.U.S.A. (2020)
A necessary film - especially after January 6
American flags, the christian cross - oh, the symbolism. God and country. A myth for anybody who did not grow up in America, such as the mythical belief that violence toward others is a "god given" right, especially if you're the stronger one.
The enlightenment seems to have given the USA a pass altogether.
As a European, watching this documentary makes me not want to travel to certain (United) states anymore. But then again, when I watch combat axes and assault weapons hanging on the walls of a bible-quoting police officer, I say to myself "sure, this guy is American". Because if that scene was filmed in Europe, I would call him a dangerous person, who dangerously separates the world between "us" and "them" - the righteous and the others, the wrong ones who are different and therefore can be "punished".
Almost nothing in this film comes as a surprise - religion and patriotism go hand in hand in a "country of immigrants" where government is considered a nuisance and pro-gun speakers talk about "god given right of self defense".
What does come as a surprise though is that most (not all, but a I'd say 9 out of 10) of the characters in the film are - white. And most of them are - male.
It took Kevin Miller great courage to make this film. I myself did films about religious extremism in the Middle East and Northern Africa. I'd feel queasy if I lived in those countries, because I know how much hatred is there especially from religious fanatics. So, Kevin Miller who lives in the United States is most of all, a courageous director. His film is so well done that it is almost unbearable. Watching it, sometimes I would have liked it to be worse - not as well researched, not as well filmed, not as well edited - to give myself an excuse to stop watching. Because watching it is HARD (did I mention I am European?).
Yes, this is a necessary film. Nowadays, people are not used to hear anything that is not in line with their own beliefs. So, I am afraid that people "on the other side" will avoid it. Like... the devil.
Locked Down (2021)
Elegant, smart and timelss (!) entertainment
Completely disagree with all negative critique. This film put a smile on my face that won't go off - "priceless". The first film in a very long time that made me feel good about these times. Great performances (Hathaway and Ejiofor are as madly entertaining as they are believable as Linda and Paxton). Flawless execution. Great settings. Madly, MADLY fitting score. Loved every scene and every setup and every line. And hey, I just checked - the smile is still there. Priceless.
PS: did I enjoy the Beethoven references? Of course I did. Poor Ludwig had almost no real party in his Covid-stricken anniversary year. LOCKED DOWN corrects this a tiny bit.
PPS: dedicated to the NHS? Why not. A heist movie dedicated to the National Health Service is wonderfully politically incorrect. EXACTLY what we need in these times.
The American Side (2016)
Great potential, wasted because of too much ambition
God, what this film could have been. Solid actors, good and sometimes great cinematography, extraordinary locations and a plot around Nikola Tesla's secret inventions. And it is even decently produced. But man, why why why did nobody realize the script was not at that same level at all??? Why did nobody stop the film's development until it was??? I don't know the director but the old rule of cinema says that it is almost impossible to make a good film out of a bad script. "The American Side" is a textbook example to that rule. There are plot holes everywhere, the characters are all overdeveloped on some narrow aspects that make them "authentic" in the moments - mostly the scenes that introduce them - but not enough to render them credible. The male protagonist's motivations shift continuously and although we learn about many of his habits, at the end we have no clue who he really is and what makes him tick. The worst is that plot- and story-logic are both awfully flawed in so many places that to call this film a "thriller" would be an insult to the genre. Again, I am not saying this to be mean, but because it made me sad to see so much potential go wasted so badly.
A film about Nicola Tesla's secret inventions would have deserved a better story, a better writer, and probably a better producer (not sure about the director, see above).
There is not much more to say about this. No, this is not an indie, this is unfortunately not a film. And that is REALLY a pity. Really.
Survivor (2015)
bad writing and sub-optimal directing ruin a good premise
The header says it all and there is not much to add. I was honestly interested and therefore gave it all the chances but it did not deliver. Not many films with such a potentially good cast, an interesting premise and a decent exposition are so incredibly disappointing. As the film enters the second act, it becomes less plausible by the minute, while characters seem to evolve "backwards" and lose their credibility with every single scene they play, including protagonists. Then the finale is the peak of
nothingness, non-tension and absolutely not worthy of a political thriller. No, this is an accumulation of bad writing in the first place, clumsy staging / directing in the second place and mediocre acting by some thespians who usually don't disappoint, while here they do. Often visibly second-rate CGI does not do well either (the first three minutes have the look and feel of a 1990s fan movie). While Pierce Brosnan has some interesting moments in his icy interpretation of an otherwise unmotivated villain, the great Angela Bassett is totally wasted with the flat character of US ambassador. No development, no second level, no nothing. Ah, and Milla Jovovic is
what is she, playing dumb, following her instincts because the director left her no other choice, trying to make her character a little more less bi-dimensional? Whatever she does, it doesn't really work: she's unable to build a credible protagonist with this writing material.
Sorry but whoever green-lit this did not read the script or was in a hurry to get production go ahead too early. And whoever gave this film to THIS director also did not read the script, otherwise he/she would have known that only a good (at least decent) director could perhaps have saved the miserable writing. Overall one huge disappointment that fails to deliver almost everywhere..
This Ain't California (2012)
This is NOT a documentary
This film is great - but the producers find it OK that many websites continue calling it a documentary, which it is not. This is docu-fiction, very well-done docu-fiction, perhaps too well-done. Because it blurs the borders between what is real (documentary and archive material) and what is fiction. The main plot-line of the film is written and created, exactly as you would do writing a script for a feature film. The main protagonist - PANIK - is a composition of three real-life characters - and I am not inventing this, I am quoting the words of one of the film's producers. During a recent film and television festival, he and the film were heavily attacked by the jury of the documentary section, where the film was inscribed, for not revealing the truth and actually declaring the film to be a documentary. Ultimately, the film was excluded from the documentary category. What is so bad about this whole thing is not the film itself, which is quite brilliant. It is the tactics around it, and the fact that the producers are not at all forthcoming with the truth about their film. They prefer to feed the "mystery" around it instead of saying once and for all: "This ain't a documentary!"
Rubicon (2010)
Wow, what a show
The intricate plot of RUBICON tells the story of a complex conspiracy. Therefore, and very differently from most other shows of this kind, it has courageously chosen to be complex itself. The story lines, the characters with their intricate relationships and histories, are told in a great depth. Lives of people include boring or uneventful moments, yet in RUBICON, as in real life, those moments are not cut away, on the contrary, they are narrated at their full extend. And as in real life, as insignificant they might be, there is always some reference to the characters profiles and what they might do - or not do - next. If you look for an action packed spy story, RUBICON is probably the wrong show for you. But if you want to get into intelligence reality as it "really" might be, than this is a great series to watch. At episode 12 now, I have enjoyed every second of it and do hope that AMC does not let it die at the end of season one. Well done.
Green Zone (2010)
Aligns with the best Middle East political thrillers
It's not important here to tell the - very compelling and nowadays very well known - story of this film, or to talk much about the - excellent - acting, or the - brilliant - production value.
This film keeps all the promises others - Bigelow's overestimated Hurt Locker and Peter Berg's terribly superficial and awfully banal Kingdom are just two examples - did not manage to deliver.
This film has hit me like very few others did, and it it should not stand shy in a row with such well written and well directed and produced films like THE SIEGE, CHARLY WILSON'S WAR and even my all-time favorite, Stephen Gaghan's remarkable SYRIANA. All films that manage to combine an urgent, politically relevant and deep-going story to a nail-biting and thrilling way of storytelling. Well done, Mr Greengrass, chapeau.
Watch it for yourself - it's really worth it.
2012 (2009)
Don't waste your money and your time, spend the 158 minutes better!
Good SFX are the only positive thing one could say about this piece of crap. And believe me, I am a fan of well-made popcorn films in general, and of Emmerich's films in general. I loved Independence Day and other stuff he did, even use scenes from his films as examples how to build a scene, a character etc etc. One for all is the president's speech on July 4th in ID4 which is a masterful example of writing, acting and subtle use of music - each time I see it I want to applaud Bill Pullman... But this awfully noisy and boring excuse of a film is just nothing else than a play-pool of special effects with an awfully negative plot, no irony whatsoever and more than stereotyped and surprisingly wooden characters and actors. Spend the 158 minutes in a better way. Watch Independence Day again.
Elegy (2008)
Touching. Brilliant. Erotic. The best film in a long time.
I can't say anything else now, that I have finished watching ELEGY just 15 minutes ago, than this: it has been the most truthful, enchanting, sensual, witty, beautiful yet at the same time hurting and dangerously close experience of storytelling I have put myself through in a long time.
To miss this film means to miss a masterfully told story of love, trust, courage, age - both young and old - and most of all, of "becoming", of time that starts going faster and faster the more we grow old.
Extraordinary. Period.
Deception (2008)
Too bad.
To keep it very tight and short:
The exposition is good. The first act is good and promising. The second act manages to make the plot more interesting, but first plot holes start to show. The third act is incredibly disappointing, with an end that make you cry out loud to the god of scriptwriters.
One or two thorough script revisions would have helped a lot here, but apparently were not made. So what starts like a thriller ends as a VERY predictable piece of boredom, that not even the nice guest performances and some (quite prude, sorry Yanks but we here in Europe ARE different on that matter) nudity doesn't help to take off.
The Rocketeer (1991)
I'd give it an 11 if I could.
One of the most perfectly written, narrated, lensed, directed, played films of the last two decades. I've watched it over two dozen times and still am not tired of it. And one of the very few films where James Horner did not spread his music over the whole thing like plaster, instead delivering a score that from the very first sequence enters your ear and never leaves it anymore. Delicious the characterization even of the very small roles (eg W.C. Fields in the second act). Timothy Dalton delivers a wonderfully "naughty and Nazi" bad guy in one of his best performances. Jenny Connelly is just delicious, Arkin the quintessential engineer-genius, LOST's Terry O'Quinn plays a charismatic Howard Hughes, and Bill Campbell a believable hero. Beautiful the overall irony about Hollywood of the thirties (bit not only).
A small masterpiece of popcorn cinema, a good alternative to the Spielberg-Lucas way of doing it. Pure entertainment at its very very best, really.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Marvellous Tribute to one of the Greatest Storytellers
I saw the film in London this week at a preview show and I loved it. It's not a film for all audiences, in fact at about 30% of the people walked out of it after roughly the first hour: you have to like Douglas Adams' sort of crazy / black / wicked / sometimes bizarre sense of humor, otherwise you will not appreciate the endless visual, dialogue and story gags and gigs the film delivers from minute one to the very end of the credits. To describe it would be too much for this post - and I do not want to add spoilers of any kind - for the sheer quantity of beautiful witty intelligent funny things this film delivers. It's great fun, visually amazing and packed with great actors (eg. Bill Nighy is absolutely gorgeous). Very touching the dedication at the end: "to Douglas". A tribute to one of the greatest inventors and storytellers in history.