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Joker (2019)
Boring and Incoherent
A good acting performance cannot save a mediocre movie. And I don't really have any problem with "the glorification of violence and the villain" as some liberals stated. It's just not a good movie, period.
The standards have really dropped on what people consider a good movie these days.
Dekapentavgoustos (2001)
It's all about Greek cinema being relevant again
Not ever since the late 1950's has Greek cinema managed to reach international audiences. And it's all for a reason as Greek cinema seems to finally becoming relevant again.. Giannaris has definitely played a part in that mini revival of sorts as he's definitely one of the most interesting of modern Greek filmmakers with a distinct vision and an edge. Dekapentavgoustos follows 4 parallel stories all taking place in the public holiday of August 15 and though I dislike comparisons, the film was constantly reminding me of something like Crash despite the fact that the film predates Crash.. It's all very well done though, the cinematography is lush, the performances are superb but I somehow feel that Giannaris has a bigger and more engaging story to tell, so I'm looking forward to the next work of this talented director. Check out From The Edge of the City, as well.
All About Anna (2005)
An experiment that ended up similarly to what was supposed to avoid
First things first: There are only few notable merits regarding this particular "experiment" but it is certainly not completely devoid of them: for one, the director attempted to create a counterbalance to what is universally considered as the problem of the mainstream pornographic motion picture, be it soft core or hardcore: the presentation of a mechanical, emotionless, unengaging, uninspiring and ultimately tiresome repetition of sexual acts aiming solely at the physical arousal of its viewers and probably achieving that in the first few minutes; rendering the rest of it as a distasteful and vicious circle.
The producers misleadingly labelled it as "pornography for women", perhaps acknowledging the fact that the scenes are not explicit enough to present it as the hardcore pornography they would have liked. And a large portion of it probably isn't as it seemingly provides to bridge the gap between hardcore pornography and erotica and create a film that would ultimately excite the senses in both a physical but also an emotional level as well as provide an engaging storyline that would justify the sex scenes as a meaningful entity of the whole. If that was the initial intention, as the producers of AAA claim it to be, it certainly wasn't given justice by the end result - in spite of the fact that that premise and intention was probably there in the offing. This is less evident in the actual producer's cut or even the director's cut of the film but a lot more evident from the outtakes of several of the sex scenes included on the DVD: they are long, varied, passionate, well rehearsed and acted and emotionally engaging; while the camera work is such that makes them appear both sensual and realistic. They're shot in a way as to provide a clue to the fact that most of the sex in the film is unsimulated; but with a more cryptic, more erotic vision, contradictory to the average porn sensibility.
It's not surprising that this film is described as a collaboration of a major mainstream pornographic production company and Lars Von Trier's Zentropa. But this dichotomy ultimately leans towards the side of the porn producers as they seem to win over the intentions of the director and probably some of the actors themselves who probably had a more concrete idea of what they wanted to achieve or rather what they wanted to avoid. As a consequence, although there is the actual "philosophy" of supporting the making of such a film - the existence of a "manifesto" in the like of Dogme95 that states the preferable and the avoidable - it all seems to escalate and ultimately fly in the face of that it was purported to be. Crudely put, there are facial ejaculation scenes; there is "cheap" music that is supposed to "complement" the sex - but in fact it is totally out of place. There is also a sorry excuse of a script and what is supposed to be a storyline but it is all done so poorly that can hardly conceal the fact that there isn't one. And most importantly: there is bad acting - which is quite surprising given the fact that some of the actors are allegedly unfamiliar with the territory and are earning their living from participating in more socially acceptable genres of film-making. However, judging by the actual acting in the film - give and take the sex scenes - either the levels of acting in Denmark are really low at the moment or these particular actors are hardly adequate in their chosen field. All the more so when particular emphasis is given towards presenting a story: the bad acting and lack of a meaningful plot to back things up create an even bigger problematic. Then there's the attempt to dress it all up with the addition of a supporting cast that comes straight from hardcore pornography; acting in more explicit and conventional scenes and overall giving a very uneven feel to the whole endeavour. Why add more characters and more scenes and "embroider" the film with what was supposed to be trying to avoid in the first place? Let alone make things even more complicated and disjointed when the leading characters themselves are so underdeveloped? It's therefore obvious that the initial intention was not shared by all of the people involved and consequently not sustained throughout the project - which is a shame and perhaps a wasted opportunity? The end product ultimately reflects those dichotomies: It's half-baked to such an extent that would equally disappoint both the fans of porn - because of the lack of enough explicit scenes they are accustomed to watching - but also those viewers who, deluded by the producers' promises, were prepared for watching something entirely different. It is different but not different enough to dissociate it from mainstream porn in terms of overall sensibility or production values. Finally some suggestions in case somebody else attempts something similar: give the director more artistic freedom to shoot what they like and present the film the way they like. Give them more time to work on it and have a more concrete picture as to what they aim to achieve. Lose the voice-over, especially when the script is so poor; get a decent scriptwriter to write a meaningful story, not an excuse for bad acting. Or perhaps simply give Lars Von Trier himself the camera and step aside...
Signs (2002)
Devoid of fresh ideas and slow
Sorry, but I found this film very slow indeed. Big on atmosphere and suspense but not much is happening until the final sequence. The Sixth Sense had a similar structure but worked better - in my opinion. Better luck next time, Night. (6/10)
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Worth Watching, yet...
Since so many people from Greece are commending about this film, I feel like there is room for one more 'unbiased' (?) opinion of a film that was heralded by some as 'the best martial arts movie ever'. First of all I have to say I'm a big fan of Chinese culture and civilization which to me comes second best only to the ancient Greek one ( lets be realistic ). Modern-day China continues to amaze me with the likes of Zhang Yimou in film-making or Faye Wong in music. So imagine my anticipation when I was about to watch 'Chouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger', especially after having read some of the reviews on this website. Nevertheless, I have to admit I'm not a great fan of martial arts films though I watch the occassional Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan film on TV. To set the record straight this film is definitely NOT one of the best films ever made, neither in martial arts nor in any other genre- nevertheless, it's a film worth watching.
The assumed strong aspects of the film ( plot, actors, direction, cinematography, choreography ) are all open to personal tastes. By that I mean that every person I asked who has seen the film gave me a diferent opinion of it, some liked aspects of it that I consider weak( such as the plot ) and others scorned aspects of the film which I liked ( such as, surprisingly enough,the 'flying'effects! ) All things considered, the strong points of this film in my opinion are definitely the choreography and fighting scenes ( almost like an arcade game ) - I nearly came close to believing the hype, that such people could exist- thus the fantasy aspect of it, in all. The leading actors are top-class too, especially Zhang Zi Yi, and, last but not least, the drama. Now the weak points unfortunately have to do with the story itself ( nice but too superfluous, and it can be summed up to the description 'a sword is stolen, retrieved, stolen and retrieved again' - not much for my liking ) and somehow I felt that the naivity of the whole thing does let down the movie ( it gravitated incessantly between realism and exaggeration, the latter maybe because they tried to mimic the occasional American blockbuster, action adventure- hey! snap out of it, China doesn't need that ) Overall, I grieve at how much better this film could be. If you like drama and romance don't miss out Zhang Yimou's 'The Road Home'. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is a worth-watching film, nonetheless, and features great performances overall and an exciting new talent in the person of Zhang Zi Yi. No matter if it shows sometimes the icomprehensible tendency of Chinese art to poise between excellency and absurdity.