Change Your Image
Alberto-15
Reviews
Naked (1993)
"We're just a crap idea.."
'Naked' is one of those few films were you don't know precisely how to take it. It's certainly dark and there is also a certain amount of humour. But do we define it as a story of unrequited love or one man's alienation from himself or is it something all together fundamental. Is God simply laughing at us and is the end nigh? There are references throughout the film to Johnny's mother and other's to Ireland there is also the hint that Johnny is dying. But I'm afraid that I cannot explain why these things recur.
Both Mike Leigh and David Thewlis are on top form and I personally believe this film to be the closet to cinematic perfection they have ever been.
Thewlis brings his character to life and creates the epitome of the anti-hero, dirty, homeless, abusive and filled with existential cynicism. Someone who you know you should hate and yet you just can't and this is the way everyone else in the film seems to react to him. The only time he is ever mistreated is when he actually approaches civility and tenderness. Thereby hammering home the notion that everyone loves a bastard. Of course you cannot help but fall in love with his rapid-fire, caustic wit and gall but I still find it amazing that I admire him so much. I guess it's because Johnny is free and despite all the horror which confronts him he still endures until his occasionally hinted at death seizes him.
Then there is Mike Leigh's superb direction which creates a London within a London one of darkness and despair and hopes and nightmares.
This film is so rich that it can't really be fully appreciated with one viewing the dialogue alone is worth paying attention to a second time and so hat's off to Leigh again for scripting it.
All in all this film, from the moment it begins to the very end, is gripping and taut and the music is spectacular. I don't think that I have ever seen another film where the same piece of music is used throughout and nothing more, thereby giving it a certain weight. But then again we cannot overlook the other players in this tale of despair. Because would it be quite as perfect without the obsessive, love-struck and annoying Sophie or the snorting, scumbag that is Sebastian? I don't think so and that's why I would recommend this film to anyone who requires depth to their entertainment and sub-texts which are so complex that even I, after so many viewings, don't fully understand.
"Have you ever seen a dead body?"
"Only me own!"
Matilda (1996)
Waltzing Matilda
More often than not Americans fail to recognise the purity of other cultures and this is why Matilda is such a glorious film. Danny DeVito brings to the screen such a wonderful adaptation that it has never failed to make me weep with joy at the innocence and wonder of childhood. This film came from the fantastic mind of Roald Dhal and if any of you have ever read any Dhal then you will know how it can change your view of the world forever. This film is a masterpiece and will more than likely never be considered for it's apparent qualities. It has taken the conjuring of one of the world's greatest children's authors and made it real. It has encapsulated all that it means to be young and the power that we once felt. The direction is flawless and the acting of the young actress is spectacular. I think that if we all just indulged in films like this and picked up those simple messages then the world would be a much more glorious place to live in. But alas I think we all prefer to wallow in the hideousness of the world rather than what we can achieve if we only value our young. I can't really say much about the relative artistic merits of this film barring the fact that it is well scripted, acted and directed. I just know how it makes me feel and that feeling is an overwhelming feeling of joy and power. Now I have always considered art to be of a high quality if it evokes an intense wave of emotion in me. Matilda' does this and so I don't need to analyse it. I never question a Van Gogh painting when I look at it, I simply enjoy the vision. Dhal and DeVito evoke similar emotions in me and so I pay homage to them with this review. Thank you both for lifting the veil of cynicism and woe which so often hangs over me. Thank you for showing me that maybe life isn't all that bad.
Gattaca (1997)
Big Brother has changed his uniform.
I can't fully explain why this film made me so tense on first viewing and can only assume that it's because it's extremely telling of what may be. Despite this film's predilection with the 1940's, it remains throughout science-fiction at its best. It seems that the tidy suits and classic cars are a homage to books such as 'Brave New World' and '1984'. Though this time (as we are informed in the opening caption) that it is in the not too distant future and so, we, with our recent advancements in the field of genetics, can fully appreciate the horror of this 'utopia'. This time Big Brother doesn't need to monitor us with cameras when he can predict with an accuracy measured in percentages, what we may be capable of, where we have been and what we have touched. What I find especially astounding about this film is that it triumphantly uses a narrative by the main character. Which as we all know ruined 'Bladerunner' prior to its 'Director's Cut'. Instead of the voiceover being an annoying and patronising aspect of the film it allows us to sympathise with a character who is living in a particularly cold and antiseptic environment. Vincent's floating lamentations carry you along with his dream and I suspect that is another reason why I found it so taut with suspense, I wanted him to succeed. I won't go into the plot or the details of this film, as I always find it annoying when people do so, because if people are reading a review then they have more than likely seen it and if they haven't then it will only spoil the plot for them. So I will concentrate on the artistic and therefore subjective aspects, namely Andrew Niccol's direction and Slawomir Idziak's photography. The look of this film is absolutely enchanting, it always seems as if the sun is setting in every open-air scene and it's so very dark and clinical indoors. The colour of the film is very similar to that of 'Good Will Hunting', a sort of sepia sunset which, appears warm and yet, we understand it is so very cold. There is also the dreamlike swimming scenes, which only adds to the feeling that you are on another world. Also the setting of the GATTACA building with it's lines of perfectly, faceless, clockwork drones gives us the impression of another world, another time. Then there is the sublime acting of Ethan Hawke and especially Jude Law, who adds an element of humour to the whole proceedings. It's so hard to distinguish between good acting and wooden acting in this film, because the characters themselves are somewhat dehumanised and wooden. If you want a sci-fi film with space cruisers and intergalactic aliens then look somewhere else. If you want a tale of human determination and sacrifice which uses technology and the future merely as a backdrop then sit yourself down in total darkness and watch this stylish piece of cinema.
La vita è bella (1997)
Silence...
After seeing this film I was struck with silence. A rarity for me. It was, as some of the other reviewers said not an accurate depiction of the holocaust. But then it was never intended to be that, it was, as we were informed in the opening scenes a fable, a yarn. A conjuring of the imagination, and my what a wondrous conjuring. You cannot mistake this for reality. Benigni has ensured that we are not in any way decieved by the intent of the film. The sets are exactly that. Stage sets for one of the most touching tragi-comedies, I have ever had the pleasure to witness. Benigni was superb as the passionate and imaginative Guido who despite all odds captured the heart of his love Dora and shielded his young son from unimaginable atrocities. The humour was fantastic in its innocence. But what made this film truly shocking was the way Guido seems strained to make light of the horrors of his situation at times and yet he does it anyway so as to protect an innocent from horror. So why does Benigni use such a thing as the holocaust as a backdrop to a comedy? Because it works, if any of you have ever read Joseph Heller's 'Catch 22' then you will know what I mean. The way comedy and tragedy are juxtaposed to give a sense of bewilderment. Whereby the viewer or reader genuinely doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. A prime example of this is when he speaks to Dr Lessing and is under the impression that the Doctor is intent on helping him and his family out of the concentration camp. Instead he is given a quiz! I could deconstruct this film and analyse its merits and its failings, but that's not what the film is for. It is a transcendental experience. Something which can never truly be quantified or catalogued. You must allow this film to consume you and walk away feeling that there is some hope in this cacophony of madness.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Good doesn't describe it!
I am totally dumbfounded by some of the reactions to this film. I'm imagining that the people who call this film boring are of the frame of mind, that unless a film has at least three explosions then it's not worth the price of a cinema ticket. Then there are the people calling it unrealistic. Now forgive me but I come from a similar background to the central character Will and I believe myself to be intelligent, but I didn't use my intelligence until very recently. Instead I took to taking drugs and drinking and swearing! Only a few years ago I was working as a cleaner, but now I'm studying programming and media technology at the best technical University in the UK. Now if I can identify with this film's realism (and I live in England) why can't so many others? This film is a veritable jewel. The script is one of the best I've ever seen. The way it mixes thought provoking ideas and witticisms with the kind of colloquial dialogue which we have read in things like The Catcher in the Rye'. Now I agree with the sentiment that some people have put across, get in touch with your inner Robin Williams'. But thankfully the script or Gus Van Sant or whatever prevented it from going over board. Look at the final scene where they're hugging and saying their farewells. Now this could have overlapped into a typical slushy moment, but no the lines `Doesn't this contravene the Doctor, patient relationship?' `Only if you grab my ass' were uttered so as to diffuse it. Then bear in mind that you never actually see the reunion between Skylar and Will! I could go on forever arguing against people's criticisms. But what's the point if certain viewers can't appreciate the subtly evocative direction of Van Sant, the quick fire script and the superb performances by the cast. It's these same viewers who shall, until the end of their days sit and watch the vacuous outpourings of Hollywood mainstream. Let them watch this chewing gum for the mind' and we discerning few will lap up the droplets of quality cinema. I think a quote is in order here directed to all you viewers who deemed this film boring or unrealistic `If ignorance is bliss, there should be more happy people.'
12 Angry Men (1957)
As tense as an elastic band around the moon!
'12 Angry Men' is what good, quality film making is all about. It doesn't rely on lavish sets or special effects. It is a dramatic piece which needs no more than a stage. Though it is the script and performances which what carry it along. Performances by two of these actors, Henry Fonda and E.G. Marshall are unrivalled. Now I won't bother telling you what it's about. That's for you to find out, but what I can tell you is that this film despite its low budget gives us more than a few things to think about. What is justice? Could we in deciding the life of another remove all our prejudices and resist the herd mentality? But as well as a superb script, which gives the film so much intensity and passion, there is the amazing camera work and the little known trick whereby throughout the film the director (Sidney Lumet) had the walls of the already cramped set moved in very gradually so as to increase the tension. It is all these things which makes this film so good and relevant even now. I have as yet not seen the remake of this film and so therefore cannot comment on the quality of it. But as far as I can see how can anyone improve on perfection?
The Jackal (1997)
Burn Hollywood Burn
This should be a quick comment because I don't intend to get repetitive strain injury writing about a cack handed remake of a great film. I haven't even seen 'The Day of Jackal' but I assume it's good or else why would anyone bother to remake it. The thing is this film is so full of holes you could catapult an elephant through it. Why would the FBI allow a convicted terrorist to wander around doing his own thing and telling them how to catch an assassin. It's patently ridiculous. The FBI have years of experience tracking down criminals, but instead of using their tried and tested methods to catch the Jackal they employ Richard Gere and his dodgy Irish accent. Please give me a break and stop it with the happy endings. Not all people are emotional retards who need to walk away from a film glad that the good guys had won.
Withnail and I (1987)
This may be the last island of beauty..
This for me is the greatest film of all time. How anyone couldn't laugh at it is beyond me. For some maddening reason this film was overlooked for so many years and I saw it when it first aired on Channel 4. At that time my television was broken (a dark patch obscured the faces of the actors) and yet this still didn't stop me thinking this as an hilarious film. These people were meant to appear pretentious that is what was so funny about them, the fact that they thought themselves to be the greatest actors with so much potential when in fact they were deeply sad and empty individuals. The script of this film is fantastic with some of the most caustic dialogue I have ever heard. Then we have the underlying story of Withnail's repressed love for Marwood which is so subtley delivered by Richard E. Grant that it is easy to miss. This film has given me friends whom I would never have met had it not being for my constant quoting of the film's dialogue. Also we must take into consideration that this was the first film Bruce Robinson directed and that it was the first script he wrote and yet it flies high above the sanitized American trite we are usually force fed. Please watch it, then watch it again and if you still haven't fell in love with the saddening madness of this film then watch it again.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
A fun flick with some silly flaws
I remember first seeing this film late one night and just happened upon it. It was for me at that tender age a life shaping film and I remember spending a time dressing like John Bender for a while because he was the character which I identified with the most. I still love it in a way but I know that the some of the characters are a little stereotypical and Emilio Estevez's jumping around when he is high is just laughable (everyone who has ever smoked dope will tell you this kind of energetic outburst will never happen). But all in all this is a superficial film but can really get you crying if you are a teenager who feels the whole world's against them. Watch because it did indeed shape a generation. It should also be noted that Ally Sheedy Looked much better before she is made over into a bland American highschool sweetie.