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Reviews
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Check out the DVD
Fahrenheit 9/11 opened the day I left on a summer trip - and I couldn't see it in theaters. I finally got around to seeing it shortly after it's DVD release and was surprised. What I found to be one of if not the most interesting thing was the deleted footage of the Arab American comedians dealing with 9/11. Moore's politics were not as evident and we were allowed to observed. I kind-a wish Moore and put that in or made a movie about them instead. Fahrenheit 9/11 is 'a movie of the moment' - it will live on but not the way we imagine it too today. I encourage you to go out rent the DVD and watch the extra footage, it's the best part.
De fem benspænd (2003)
One of the best
This is without a doubt one of the greatest films I have ever seen. It does what many other films don't - it engages you. This film also further proves that great documentaries are far better than most fictionalized films. Micheal Apted's "Up Documentaries"; Jeffery Blitz's "Spellbound"; Errol Morris' "Gates of Heaven"; Louis Pepe & Keith Fulton's "Lost in la Mancha" are just 4 other documentaries that I have had the privilege to view. Like "The Five Obstructions" I felt engaged in what the films were saying and in a move far better than any average Hollywood studio project after seeing each film I felt like a better person for doing so.
The Shining (1980)
Kubrick's Dropped Ball
Kubrick was famous for disappointing the author's whoose books he adapted to the screen. In many cases it didn't matter because he often improved upon the source novel. Not so in this case. His Morison of The Shining pales in comparison to the novel. While most films aren't as good as the novels that inspired them (some are better - see 'Jaws')this goes beyond failing to live up to. There is little character in the film. I didn't care for these people the way I did when I read the book. Their history was striped to the bare essentials losing all of the richness that could have been there. In all of this Kubrick manages to lose the one thing many film adaptations struggle not to which his the novel's central theme. On the page it is ones dealing with loving the parent that also beats you. On the screen I don't know what it is. Kubrick was a great director (see just about any other film he did to see this) but here is the dropped ball of his career.
The Last Samurai (2003)
Rent 'Seven Samuari' instead
If you have ever seen Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film 'Seven Samurai' you've seen a much better film that this one. If you haven't seen Kurosawa's masterpiece you need to. While 'The Last Samurai' is well photographed and contains good performances. Kurosawa's film deals with simular themes and issues in a more dramatic way. The final moments of 'Seven Samurai' make the pretty much the same statement I think 'The Last Samurai' was attempting to make through-out the entire movie. I was involved and intrigued by Kurosawa's film and simply wasn't by Mr. Cruise's. During 'Seven Samurai' I cared for the characters and during 'The Last Samurai' after I figured out how each characters would end up I wasn't even interested to see how they got there.