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Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
Heaven's Gate II meets Deadwood
Yep, I think this film is attempting to correct all the wrongs of Heaven's Gate from 40 years ago.
Expansive, wandering plot, impossible to follow timelines, some good action here and there, nice photography.
It's also politically correct. We refer to them as Native Peoples and Aboriginals instead of the words they actually used back then.
I also think this would have played better if it was a series like Deadwood, which I also think it attempts to ape.
I also long to watch the movie hinted at in the closing 5 minutes of montage. Looks far more attractive than the prior 3 hours of relatively slow moving, aimless, storytelling with leaps and bounds in time worthy of science fiction.
But you know, out of sheer curiosity, I'll watch the next installments of this series. If only to verify that all green trees captured in the background have been digitally turned an unnatural gold! One of the many tropes you'll find.
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Never has a plot followed the music so well! Chopin - Tristesse
Chopin's Prelude, op. 28 #4, if you listen to it and reflect on the film, it's as if the film was the story told by the prelude itself.
Starting off sadly, asking musical questions of itself, wavering between sadness and breaking away from sadness, never quite resolving to anything.
It is well chosen to go along with this quite sad story of a couple at the breaking point, the whodunit, and the conclusion of the film which is not a climax but simply a return to perhaps a better routine.
I admit I was confused about the French court proceedings, and how they differ from the usual American trial procedures, so well known in so many similar movies. The vicious, clever prosecutor, the timid, overwhelmed defense attorney. Objection overruled! Objection Sustained! All that usual business is not explicitly a part of French criminal process.
Holding the suspense between "did she do it" or not, crossing the line and going back again as new revelations are made, totally made this a compelling watch.
I'm going to suggest this story is a lot like the films Presumed Innocent, which questions the guilt of the protagonist to the very end, with many twists along the way, and The Conversation, in which snippets of surreptitious candid recordings, discovered after the suspected homicide, either convict or acquit based upon a turn of phrase.
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)
It's basically Heaven's Gate in outer space
I was properly entertained, I must admit that. But there are so many boring scenes of the little space Irishmen dancing and singing and congratulating each other. This put me to mind of the other magnificent flop movie Heaven's Gate, which had musical and dance sequences way out of proportion to the main body of the film at hand. So many heroes and we must also sit and listen to their backstories which go on endlessly. I'm glad they didn't have a DOZEN heroes, or the movie might have been 4 hours long.
The final battle was capable, though. There hasn't been quite so much slow motion since 1999 (Matrix). The battle CGI was of higher quality than some of the other places where, like the resuscitation of Noble (which looked like a Residents video, incidentally), it seemed added as an afterthought. They don't scratch film any more, you know.
The plot is quite turgid and people formerly though killed keep reappearing healthy, including a princess (we learn at the end). Clearly a device to make a 3rd episode possible.
It's clearly worth a watch just for all the ultimate noise and commotion. My one disappointment is that Anthony Hopkin's robot doesn't get to do a whole lot in the 4 hour runtime of the franchise. I was hoping he'd turn out to have unexpected powers or hidden secrets, but he's just another cast member of a too large cast.
I will watch the next one, if it shows up. Once.
Spaceman (2024)
Diet Tarkovsky
If you dig things like Solaris (either version), you're gonna love this one, except it might be a little shallow and entertaining for you. If there are 2 things I don't like, spiders and Sandler, in this film (make that three, any resemblance to Tarkovsky), I somehow braved watching it. If you are horrified by spiders, fear not, this one is fairly cuddly and never shown for more than a split second in full body form.
Sandler does a wonderful job in a dramatic role here. He's left his wife to go gallavanting off into the stars, leaving his pregnant wife alone back in Czechoslovakia, and she's up to there with his lack of empathy for her. The wise alien spider psychoanalyzes him en route to some space anomaly (no, not the planet Solaris, but close), and one thing and another (spoiler alert!), love is regained.
Rather tender ending. I'm pleased to say this film is not another hairball coughed out by Netflix. It was plenty entertaining to watch and had you never heard of Tarkovsky, you'd say it was brilliantly original. Be warned, it does lack the usual space opera action like meteor storms, EVA's gone bad, astronauts with wrist mounted LED flashlights peering into smoky caverns, that sort of thing.
Just a solo astronaut, going nuts alone on a year long solo mission, at the half point.
Martin Eden (2019)
Reminds me of the story arc of Rocky
This plays like Rocky only, substitute writing for wrestling, and Italy for Philadelphia. I enjoyed it up to the 3rd act, where things got a bit confusing. Did he imagine his future, or did he actually win acclaim as a writer?
Watched this after so many "art touts" on Kino Lorber about how good this film is. I avoided it because I thought it was going to be another pedestrian romance. I was wrong.
Like Rocky, the protagonist rose from poverty, followed his dream, and apparently cashed in appropriately. Good enough entertainment for the efforts.
Complete with lovely location shots, interesting characters and faces, and an affable protagonist.
Neptune Frost (2021)
Unambiguous Goldmine
Take Sun Ra's Space is the Place. Update it to modern day Africa. It runs like Powaqaatsi if that movie had an actual plot. Combine liberally with costumes and makeup reminiscent of Liquid Sky. Add in a teaspoon of 2001. A dash of Viridiana. Fold in liberal amounts of Marxist poetry. Beware, it's a musical. Probably the only sci-fi-ish musical ever attempted. The musical parts often drag on in parts, especially the anti-Imperialism poetry jams. However, it's well worth the watch for all the color! Contains enough gender bending to qualify as a product of the 21st century. WTF did I just watch, will be your reaction upon the conclusion. Tunes reminiscent of Aphex Twin, Deep Forest, and the Red Army Choir. Destined to become a cult favorite in 20 years or so.
Ratched (2020)
It's like Twin Peaks and High Anxiety chopped up and served up cold as a jello salad
I got annoyed with this at first, all the unnecessary gore and sex. I had a different idea of Nurse Ratched's personality based solely upon the movie. However, the incongruous nonsense began to play on me. I decided to suspend my belief entirely and just float in the semi-comic tone and surreal situations. The wooden paneling in the featured Motel = The Great Northern Inn of Twin Peaks. That centered me in interpreting this series as taking place in a Twin Peaks kind of universe. As I drew my recollection of Twin Peaks into comparison with the nonsense story and quirky characters, I began to enjoy it more.
To be sure, this is junior league Lynchian. However once you give up the idea that the plot makes any sense at all, well, roll with the quirks. The costumes and colorful photography add a lot of appeal, too. So let's say, after initially almost giving up, I'm hooked. I'll ride it to the end. I get belly laughs sometimes, just like I did with Twin Peaks, at the improbability of many scenes. It's wonderful.
Incidentally, where on earth did they find a kid actor that looks like a younger version of Will Sampson, the Indian Chief in the original Cuckoo's Nest? Excellent casting here.
One other observation. The theme music contains a musical phrase that sounds to me like a horse neighing when Ratched's name appears on the title. I was immediately reminded of the neighing horse every time, in Young Frankenstein, that Frau Blucher's name was said. Somehow I was also reminded of Nurse Diesel from High Anxiety. Indeed, Nurse Bucket looks quite like Cloris Leachman in both of those films.
Ah yes, call this High Anxiety meets Twin Peaks. That's the approach to enjoying this series! With a side of Hannibal Lecter. Yes, that's it.
Keyhole (2011)
Manitobans Tax Money at Waste
While I'm definitely a Maddin fan, make no mistake about that, and I recognize his hat tips to Lynch and Von Trier and Harmony Korine, and I love any movie with Udo Kier in it, clearly this is a take-the-tax-grant and run flick.
Meanwhile, I'm going to strip naked and go to the antique mall and make some foggy black and white videos for YouTube and see which government wants to bankroll me for more! The 3 rating is strictly for how well this stacks up with other Maddin predecessors. The uninitiated, unless chemically altered, would probably strain to give it a zero.
IMDb here is insisting I go on at length in my review. I'm so glad there is governmental support for the arts, but sometimes it's just a siphon into a drain somewhere. For once, I am going to call this out. I will have to do so extensively, or I won't pass muster for my review length.
I did think some of the bric-a-brac props in the movie were cool. I like to shop antique flea markets myself, and some of the stuff was really prize. OK, I think I have filled up the text buffer to this website's satisfaction.
Bubble (2005)
Lars von Trier, you are 0WN3D!
Just finished watching this on HD NET, in HD. I've seen most of the Dogme 95's, Harmony Korine's, and much Herzog...this fits into the genre very nicely with the added touch of HD, and resonates particularly because the locations are just a couple hours from here and well known to me. I'm especially thrilled to see HDTV used to premiere some original material, at last, rather than waiting months for them to recycle something out of Hollywood. Besides, the popcorn is cheaper in my living room and I can sit in my sweats and bunny slippers and enjoy a crisp viewing experience without the endless previews and ads and in far greater comfort at home.
While the ending was quite abrupt, I must say that after watching it, many of the things I questioned about the plot became much clearer in retrospect. I was amazed at the emoting which the non actors were able to convey. This is quite an achievement.
I think we are on the verge of a new method of distributing programs, and I'm in favor of it. True, the only thing left is if one could download it on demand in HD, but that day is near.
Compared to expensive films which are 50% or more CGI, the ultrarealism of HD is even more compelling when handled like this little gem. Looking forward to MORE.
Æon Flux (2005)
Aeon Flux Rox - if
If you liked Logan's Run, Minority Report, and Equilibrium, and are quite familiar with the original animated series, you're gonna like this one. It's a perfectly worthwhile sci-fi action flick, high in style like a music video. Relatively faithful to the original in many spots...what was so much fun was to see a lot of Aeon's stunts done with live people. And the classic moves, including the original opening schtick which I won't give away, will have you hooting if you are a fan of the original AF series. Highest marks for some of the most creative and surreal thingamabobs and the faithful high collared costumes from the original. Granted, it's no Gone with the Wind, but it doesn't deserve the bad rep the professional critics are giving it. It's pretty clever and sumptuous...don't just wait for the DVD, it's good mindless entertainment with a lot of WOW moments for the hard boiled sci fi fan. Charlize Theron does a good job though she's probably clearly out of her league here, and if anybody gets an Oscar Nom, it should be her hairdresser.