Reviews

A good story is not its storyline, a story is its theme. The theme may hide behind the plot and only gradually show up.

This movie tells a good story. Its storyline follows a father who is looking for his runaway son. The theme behind it is the structure of the Brazilian society, the separation of the bourgeois class from the poor, the destitute, the hopeless. You should see it, even if it's only the Portuguese version. No, you should try to see it just because it IS the Portuguese version.

In the reviews above no one says anything about the superb acting of the two young men. I especially liked Kevin Gottschalk's performance. Look at the way he moves. Listen to his creepy voice. Rarely have I seen a better bad guy in any other neo-noir movie. You have to be rather courageous to gather all these disgusting, stupid, childish, beastly parts of yourself in order to depict a character so depraved and pitiful at the same time. I'm sure the director Kent Lamm had a large share in this. The other actor, Chris Fornataro, did a very good job, too. His task was almost more difficult. He had to play this torn, broken, lost young guy pretending to be evil, brutal and hardened by crime.

The ending of the film shows how good its plot has been devised. If this had not been an independent production the ending would have been ruined by some studio boss or some other one-track-minded idiot. But Fornataro and Lamm have found the right mixture between credibility and suspense throughout the action of the movie and have sustained it till the end.

A really simple, simply real love story, sometimes a bit too real, sometimes a bit too simple, but all in all turned out well.

Good acting by the three young adults. They seem to be able to embed parts of their personalities into the characters they impersonate. We watch them getting to know each other as if we were sitting in the car with them. There were certain moments that reminded me of the atmosphere in "Before Sunrise", a film I find unsurpassed regarding the believability of a love story.

Of course, there's always the verdict of repetitiveness that looms over films like that. Why should we watch something at the cinema or on television that is probably happening right now next door or in one of the cars out there in the street? Well, you don't have to. But if you want to remember the moments when you fell in love with someone you might remember them watching "Wild Blue".

Oh where are the snows of yesteryear...

This is Peter Yates's tribute to the spirit of films by Truffaut, Godard and Rohmer. With Mia Farrow as Anna Karina and Dustin Hoffman as Jean-Pierre Léaud.

A movie that radiates a wonderful atmosphere, at least for those who like feeling with the hearts and thinking in the minds of lovers - and sometimes denigrate their feelings and then regret what they denigrated and then denigrate it again...

But it's an American love story all the same. With American actors who do not try to imitate their French role models. Mia Farrow is Mia Woodhouse from "Rosemary's Baby" and Dustin Hoffman is Ben Braddock from "The Graduate".

This movie doesn't need a plot and in fact it hasn't got one. So, for once, the flashbacks and the interior monologues thrown into the dialogues and the inserts from thoughts and dreams and memories, all of these cinematic devices that are designed to keep the viewer interested and mostly just confuse him, here they contribute to the movie's ambiance.

You should watch it with your lover by your side.

This is a mystery movie with a drama beginning, a family middle and a science fiction ending. It takes the loose ends of UFO news and alien stories and weaves them into an interesting, sometimes even exciting plot but, unfortunately, leans on some stereotypes that come with the different genres, too. Well, what else do we expect from this kind of movie, I said to myself having watched it.

If we take this thought as a question the answer is: We want to be entertained, okay, but we want to be taught a little lesson, too. The film provides us with some nice tries in this direction but these don't get beyond the early stages. The best attempt, in my opinion, is the one that tries to explain the strange things happening in the town and worldwide with mankind's fear of itself. This idea, expressed in the talk between Tom, the protagonist, and Ezzedine, the mysterious oriental character, reminded me of William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies" and Simon, its strange saint figure, who says: "Maybe it's only us". This could have been a worthwhile motif for "The Coming" if it had wanted to be more than enigmatic.

But all in all, this movie is entertaining in a thoughtful way. That's why I give it seven out of ten points.

I know, I know. The movie version of a novel doesn't usually meet the expectations of the reader resp. the viewer. Especially if the text is as masterfully written as the Henry James novella "The Turn of the Screw". But shouldn't a good film stick to the main idea of the novel? Which in this case is not only the nature of certain underlying motives for the main characters' actions but also the ambiguity of these motives. James's novella is not just a simple ghost story. It's a subtle psychological probe of a person's state of mind, using literary means. This can also be achieved with cinematic means if the screen writer and the director and the editor of the film are up to their tasks. The best examples for successful achievements in this area are Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". But you don't have to be a genius to make a good mystery movie. You should just avoid the usual stereotypes and the cheap tricks and the obvious traps that come with the genre.

So, if you have read the novella and liked it don't watch this movie. If you just want to watch a simple horror movie this one might be a good catch. But don't pretend, in one of your next party small talks, that you've read James's novella. You might get psyched out.

One of the funniest movies I've ever watched and I've watched a lot. No wonder, there's John Cleese in the cast and a very funny Woody Harrelson, too, as well as a hilarious Pomeranian, as gifted as the one in "The Big Lebowski".

But I suspect the Wein brothers (story) and Gavin Grazer (director) are the real perpetrators. They, along with the actors and the actresses, walk the fine line between slapstick and Pythonesque absurdity here.

Throw in some moments of suspense, a well structured plot, a good job at editing and a score that contributes to the feelgood atmosphere and you've got a classical comedy.

What a thoughtfully, minutely elaborated plot! This movie delivers everything you would expect of a contemporary drama but without giving in to your expectations. It is a by the book three act drama with introduction, intrigue and denouement. Do not read any external reviews before watching this superbly molded film if you want to enjoy the suspense it provides. Its main theme, as I see it, is the impact of sexual and erotic urges on our lives and where they will take us under certain circumstances. Its style is sound, solid, down to earth, not in the least arty or over-ambitious. Its figures are believable and psychologically thought-out.