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Reviews
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Kermit's finest work to date
A fascinating insight into the lives of a variety of talking animals and the trials and tribulations they face in the human dominated New York, this film deals with the age old tale of frog meets pig in a mature, contemporary fashion. The director, late great Mr Henson, pulls no punches in his gritty treatment, and the viewer is left with no doubt as to the authenticity and integrity of the bold statement this film makes; in truth, "peoples" really is "peoples". Shocking at the time, the film may now seem clumsy in comparison to modern epics such as the highly charged "Toy Story" or more violent bloodfests such as "Antz", but Henson's meisterwork is nonetheless worthy of acclaim. The foolishness of the Academy in witholding an Oscar in fear of controversy was later exposed by an older and more embittered Kermit, in his 1993 director/writer debut short entitled simply "Pondlife", an autobiographical return to form which revealed the story of his consequent lack of self esteem and alcohol problems, leading to his eventual divorce from manhattan co-star Miss Piggy. Piggy herself has since written a series of well received self-help books.
Week End (1967)
over indulgent cut and shove job
It's not easy to criticize an "intelligent" french film, but this one deserves a beating nonetheless. This film has a certain wonder about it, simply for the effort put behind it- the ten minute panning shot through the traffic jam, the scattering of smouldering wrecks across the field, etc; but ultimately the effect is not so much Wow! as Why?
If anyone knows of a point to this overlong jumble of missed opportunities, I'd love to hear it.
Perhaps the best, and most ironic part, is Godard's savaging of the poets and philosophers. It's ironic because, after attacking them for their pomposity and arrogance, he proceeds to commit each and every same crime in his film. The only difference being that his own irrelevancy is utterly transparent.
When someone you know tells you that you "have" to see this film, ask them to explain why.