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Reviews
To kako (2005)
Flaws aside, it surprisingly comes out as a fun and very contemporary movie
First of all, let's make clear that from the technical viewpoint, this movie isn't even close to what we might call "a decent attempt". The acting is in general horrible, the directing (a few scenes aside) ranges from inadequate to disturbing etc. In a nutshell, there seems to be a mix of very low budget and talentless crew that add up to poor performances and visuals.
However, the story is worth noticing for the way it handles contemporary Greek capital city characters. The group of survivors trying to hold on to life is a mixture of everyday people one would definitely come across if one hanged around Athens for a day or two. That keeps the (otherwise simple) story going and serves as a comical relief Greeks can easily respond to.Furthermore, the movie's ending offers a great visual and also a very satisfying conclusion.
To sum up, this is a rather poor attempt towards a decent Greek splatter film. Even with a low budget, there is no excuse for some of the shortcomings of it. However, it really DESERVES a viewing, because 1) it will make you laugh, 2) the characters will make you feel right at home and 3) it's a Greek splatter horror film, and you won't find many of these (it's the only one I've come across so far).
Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)
Pure nature sets us free
Truly, a masterpiece dealing with freedom and the ability an individual has to live totally free in the real world. A somehow slow-going movie, definitely unsuitable for action films fans, Blue is the touching story of a woman, whose family is killed in a car accident. However, she survives and decides to move on and tries to set herself free from her past, which proves a very difficult thing to do.
The direction is wonderful and Juliette Binoche is absolutely terrific. What I really loved about this film, though, was was the heavenly classical music throughout. Juliette Binoche's husband was a composer in the film, and she also has a thing for it, so we get to listen to some beautiful pieces that classical music fans will enjoy very much. The music sets the perfect mood, and is so brilliant that points to the real meaning : freedom does not come by denying your surroundings and living anonymously. Freedom is achieved through doing what you feel like, through not turning your back on your nature. A free person is the person that does everything he likes doing. Which, in this case, is composing wonderful music.
A must see film for all meaningful movie lovers.
Adaptation. (2002)
Well adapted, Mr. Kaufman!
It seems rather ironic, an adapted screenplay narrating a writer's inability to produce an adapted screenplay. Yet, this screenplay has been hailed as one of the smartest this year, and has rightfully been awarded an Academy Award nomination. Indeed, the film's main advantage is its plot. It is an extremely intelligent trip through a writer's job, who faces the usual : writer's block. Charlie Kaufman seems such a fascinating character, his ideas, beliefs and talents intrigue the audience. Beautifully directed, the film leads the audience to utter agony about the outcome of Mr. Kaufman's frustrating attempts to all directions, and the most wonderful feeling of all at the end, the pleasure of creation. Truly spectacular performances by the lead actors add to the general feeling of perfection that surrounds this movie. Nicholas Cage delivers in the lead role, both as Charlie and his identical twin brother Donald Kaufman. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper (Academy Award winner for his role as John Laroche) are also flawless. The theme of flowers can be quite confusing throughout the movie, yet in the end it becomes clear and it is binded perfectly with the theme of the movie. That is what makes the movie so brilliant. The adaptation of the book is very successful at the end, Charlie (and Donald?) Kaufman has managed after all to put his dreams, his ideas, his wishes into this screenplay. This is the ideal film for everyone who's interested in all the conflicts and ordeals an artist has to go through before he delivers what gets eventually known to the wide audience. My sincere and delighting congratulations to Mr. Kaufman for bothering to deliver a masterpiece of such class and beauty. We are grateful.