Reviews

"Dear Wendy" is about a group of young losers, who develop strength and backbone from carrying and firing guns. However their proclaimed pacifistic approach to gun control isn't shared with the rest of the small mining community…

From the beginning the movie's message is quite clear. Written by USA critic Lars Von Trier, the movie conveys a negative opinion of American gun laws. Regrettably this message precedes the credibility of the movie's plot and characters. No matter how hard the actors struggle, they remain mere stage props.

None of the actors are major stars. Best known is probably Bill Pullman who some will remember from "Independence Day" and "Lost Highway". However all roles are cast fittingly and the performances are satisfactory.

Another point of criticism is the constant voice-over that explains everything you're watching. The voice-over is reasonably justified; still the best scenes in the movie are the few that are allowed to stand on their own.

The splendid pale pictures are done by Anthony Dod Mantle, who worked on both Thomas Vinterberg and Lars Von Trier's latest movies ("It's All About Love" and "Dogville"). Sadly this excellent cinematography is the best part of the movie.

"Dear Wendy" touches an interesting and relevant topic. Still that doesn't make the movie an artistic success. It's more like pretty propaganda.

Director Alex Jones ought to be commended for bringing forth different opinions of the state of the American nation. Unfortunately "Martial Law 9/11: Rise of the Police State" is a lousy attempt at a documentary. Very few of Alex Jones's claims are ever proved or supported by more than glimpses of different web sites. Alex Jones spends most of the movie shouting allegations and pointing his finger at bystanders. That shouldn't convince or persuade anybody.

The attack on Michael Moore for not including all available information in his movie „Fahrenheit 9/11" seems ridiculous. Michael Moore succeeded in raising awareness of the lies that surround the terrorist attack. Moore's success appears to be envied by Alex Jones and also the sole reason for the criticism.

If all the unproven claims had been left out of „Rise of the Police State", and if the movie's director had concentrated more on supplying documentation instead of allegations, this might have become an okay documentary. The topic is definitively of current interest.

Ten years after her husband's demise, Anna (Nicole Kidman) meets a young boy (Cameron Bright) who claims to be the reincarnation of her husband, Sean. This claim is met with scorn at first, but the boy's persistence begins to worry Anna and her fiancée (Danny Huston). Anna's initial mistrust in the boy begins to give way and they spend more and more time together...

A sincere movie about faith and reincarnation is obviously no daily encounter, and 'Birth' is certainly not a mainstream Hollywood flick. The movie moves along a razor's edge to keep the story convincing. The director, Jonathan Glazer never spells out the movie's message, but leaves it up to people to draw their own conclusions.

With the slow pace of the movie the actors have plenty of time to create credible characters. Nicole Kidman delivers a strong performance in the leading role as Anna. Unfortunately the constant emphasis on the lead character is one of the movie's greatest shortcomings, as all other characters remain quite sketchy.

'Birth' is a true beauty to behold. It's one of the best-looking movies that I've seen recently. The high contrast and darkness adds to the general melancholic atmosphere. A wonderful soundtrack created by Alexandre Desplat runs like an undercurrent throughout the movie setting the mood.

'Birth' is by no means a born classic. It's not flawless, but it's beautiful and unique. And it might even make you think for yourself...

This attempt to speculate in a cult movie is so lacking in talent, that you wonder if it's a parody or another awful teenage horror movie. Acting all through the movie is so terrible, that I wanted to leave the cinema. Perhaps I should have left.

Suspense is limited to being stabbed with a machete. The most amusing scene involves a man slipping his genitals between his legs and dropping his pants. Both scenes are performed without any acting talent. This should to give you an idea of the intellectual level of this movie.

Sexism plays a major part throughout the entire movie. The movie has plenty of attractive young girls who are all willing to sleep with any man (or girl) on the island. Something some teenage boys might enjoy watching. However the prize of a movie ticket is too high just to see some naked breasts.

If you have any kind of taste you won't watch this movie. Instead you'll choose something truly amusing like "The Stepford Wives" or almost any of Woody Allen's movies. "Club Dread" has nothing to offer.