Five characters of five nationalities in a country estate in Uruguay, struggling over the legacy of a popular one-book author, sounds like the setting for intriguing interpersonal relationships, if not a postmodern Chekhovian roundelay. Unfortunately, only Charlotte Gainsbourg and Anthony Hopkins inhabited their roles in a convincing manner, and too often the acting resembled an […]
Not much of a story – in fact, no story – just weak segues in Pierce Brosnan’s embarrasingly anthropomorphic and fey narration. There were plenty of “how-did-they-get-that?!” shots of whales, gannets, and stonefish, but without any common thread the “let’s-save-the-ocean” pitch came across as gratuitous.
I wish that the star, Thierry Guetta, had been more attractive and that he had been a better videographer, because the story of street art was inherently fascinating; I would have loved a movie all about Banksy, the nominal producer of this film (I have my doubts). As it was, Exit provided an inside, introductory look at one […]
If Martin Scorsese is such a great director, why does he cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the psychologically complicated role of Teddy Daniels? Or Mark Ruffalo as his sidekick, for that matter? Perhaps this was an unfilmable story, relying as it does on a shocking twist at the end that works far better on the page. […]
A very fine movie with beautiful stars, humor and pathos, engaging plot and a wonderful feel for the exotic Argentine culture. By telling the story through the prosecutor-turned-novelist’s eyes, director Campanella could mix fact, imagination and speculation in a way that kept us guessing, and a little enchanted, too. The “secret” in their eyes was a […]
It was fun to watch Woody Harrelson for awhile, but his characterization couldn’t sustain the whole movie, and there really wasn’t much else. The story of two Army men assigned to inform next-of-kin of a death in Iraq, the film thought it was deeper than it was: Sgt. Will’s struggle to regain his humanity after […]
I think something didn’t make it across the cultural divide here. From my Western perspective, this movie socred low on cinematography, acting, characters, plot, credibility and score (there wasn’t any). So far as I could tell, this was merely a love story without any romance.
[MSPFF] A Renaissance jewel of a film from French director Catherine Breillat. Almost every shot could be a museum still, and every character had a charming face that, Clouet-like, filled the screen. The dialogue and pacing were perfect for the fairy tale portrayed and the postmodern addition of two young girls from the 1950s added […]
[MSPFF] Perfectly lovely Mexican portrait of a grandfather-father-and-son living off and learning about the sea – a gentle sea over a coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico. The ruggedly handsome looks of the father and the way they caught fish and lobster made the movie fun to watch. The characters’ hermetic existence – “At […]
[MSPIFF] A repetitive and poorly edited documentary about a movie director in Nazi Germany, the anti-Semitic film he made and the current views of his descendants. There was no coherent point and we didn’t even get a very good sense of the underlying film. Just the same talking heads over and over, with nothing surprising […]
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