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Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont (2016)
A Comedic, Rose-Colored Glasses Version of a True Story
Summary: A medical student in Paris, originally from Africa (Zaire/Congo, to be specific), turns down the opportunity to return to his homeland and work for the ruling kleptocracy. Instead, in pursuit of French residency, he agrees to set up a practice in a small town in rural France. Hilarity ensues.
No, really. Believe it or not, the film is largely a comedy. The writers (including the real-life son of the main character) made a clear choice to make this film as light-hearted as possible. Frankly, that was a stiff challenge. The film could easily have been far darker. Perhaps it should have been - but that would be a different film.
Dr. Zantoko (Marc Zinga in an impressive, enjoyable performance) takes on xenophobia, racism, annoying in-laws, marital strife, parenthood, unpaid bills, and small-town politics, rarely letting any of it get him down.
Zantoko's family (Aissa Maiga, Bayron Lebli, and Medina Diarra) also turn in winning performances.
I was less enamored with the performances of the townspeople. But that is probably colored by the negative characteristics they were called on to exhibit. So maybe they gave great performances??? (FWIW, Jonathan Lambert did a great job as the smarmy, back-stabbing politician.)
If I'm going to criticize something, it's the redemption arc for the town itself. This film tries to pull that off, with some unlikely deus-ex-machina events bringing everyone together for the happy ending.
I get it - the makers wanted an upbeat, feel-good film. Thing is, I've seen plenty of films where the charming, off-beat townsfolk eventually come together with the heroic outsider. Here, the film only made half the sale - I bought the family, but not the town.
The townspeople here aren't charming or off-beat - they're just xenophobic imbeciles. And frankly, if they were anything close to what was shown here, they DIDN'T deserve Dr. Zantoko, in the film or in real life.
But don't let that criticism steer you away. All in all, this was an enjoyable view into worlds that you don't see in American cinema at all, and only rarely in French cinema.
Dood van een Schaduw (2012)
Very Good Film - Well Worth Watching
Having seen all 5 of the 2013 Oscar-nominated live-action shorts, my opinion is that this should be a two-horse race between "Henry" and this film, "Death of a Shadow". In the end, I give the nod to "Henry", but this film also is quite entertaining and worthy. I didn't love it QUITE as much as an earlier reviewer, but still - very good.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, and the overall concept was intriguing. The steampunk thing - I dunno if that added or subtracted - maybe both. Given the time constraints of the format, there was just a little bit too much going on to make this a great short.
Of the 5 nominees, this is the only one I'd really like to see as a full- length film, although the subject matter is so off-the-wall that commercial success would be tough.
Henry (2011)
Very Interesting and Well-Done Short - Great Use of the Format
Having seen all 5 of the 2013 Oscar-nominated live-action shorts, my opinion is that this should be a two-horse race between "Death of a Shadow" and this film, "Henry". Just like a previous reviewer, I have to give the nod to "Henry" by a nose.
I particularly enjoyed the approach this short took to the subject matter. The title character is suffering from Alzheimer's. (I guess that's a spoiler, but you'll figure that out 30 seconds in.) The interesting twist is that the film is portrayed from Henry's point of view. That means you get to experience his confusion, delusion, and memory loss first-hand. I thought the film was extremely effective in making the viewer feel, in some sense, as if he/she is suffering the effects of Alzheimer's - an amazing feat, if you think about it.
I also think this was a perfect treatment for a short film. Often, you'll read folks judging shorts based on which ones they'd like to see expanded to full-length films. I'd rather judge them based on which ones work best specifically AS shorts. This one fits that criterion perfectly. 90 minutes of Henry's struggle would be tiring and repetitive. 20 minutes is the optimal duration to get the message across.
This is a great short - well worth seeking out.
Tapetenwechsel (1984)
Pretty Lame Romantic Comedy from Germany - Not Recommended for Anyone
Yay! First comment! I saw this movie way back in 1984 in Germany. 25 years later, details are a bit hazy. I might have some things wrong. So sue me.
The title translates as "Carpet Switch". The main plot is this young guy who is having a devil of a time finding a place to live in Munich. He also was having no luck with his love life. A variety of events happen, leading to shut-downs both with the ladies and with leads on apartments.
He eventually lands a room to live in. Unfortunately, shortly after moving in, his landlady then delivers the bad news: The landlady has a relative moving to town, so the protagonist will have to move out.
It's not all bad news for our hero, as he finally scores with a young lady. Even better, she's going to be moving in to a new place very shortly. A bedmate AND a bed! Bonus! Our man and his new babe go back to his apartment and get busy. The landlady walks in on them in flagrante delicto, and we get the big twist. You see, his new girlfriend IS the landlady's relative. He doesn't have to move after all! HO HO HO! The acting is fine, but the story is silly and illogical, the jokes aren't funny, and the quality of the production is pretty low. Frankly, this was essentially a TV movie (financed by the German network ZDF) that was given a brief theatrical release.
Proud American (2008)
World's Most Expensive After-School Special
If you're reading this review, you are probably aware that this film has the lowest opening box office of all time among wide releases. I believe the weekend total was around $120/screen, or about 15-20 tickets per screen. That's one or two tickets per showing.
That would jibe with my experience. I was hoping to see if the theater would show a movie to a single patron. I ended up sharing the theater with an elderly couple, with the husband clearly in the early stages of Alzheimer's. His occasional loud comments, such as "I don't get it", "Firetrucks", and "This is stupid" actually added quite a bit to the otherwise minimal entertainment value.
Is it, as the box office would seem to indicate, the worst movie ever made? No, but giving this thing a theatrical release has to rate as a pretty bone-headed decision. Then again, I suspect that what this proves is that the super-rich are not like you and me. If you are H. Ross Perot or the president of Coca-Cola, then you can not only pay to have an homage to the American Way made, you can also pull strings and force theater chains across the country to clear 750 screens for a film that plays more like an extended ABC After-School Special. Since this is such a business-oriented movie, I kept thinking about all the lost income for all the theaters showing this film to such minuscule crowds.
Well, I guess I should move on and actually review this flick. The film opens and closes with some very nice panoramic shots of various places all across the USA. I enjoyed those parts - not enough to pay for 90 minutes of that, but they were clearly the best part of the movie.
In between, the movie has a series of documentary-style vignettes. There are 3 long ones and maybe 2 or 3 shorter stories, along with about 8 or 10 30-second success stories. The 5 or 6 extended stories ("based on true stories") all feature actors, rather than the actual people. They were all designed to celebrate one facet or another of America - perseverance, opportunity, tolerance, etc.
Me? I thought they were all very ham-handed. There was distracting music overlaid on the stories, meant to underscore the particular lesson being taught, and everything wrapped up so nicely. The whole thing seemed much more appropriate for a school classroom than for a theater. I would bet the producers are already heated up the presses for "Teacher's Guides" for this movie. Given the extreme corporate backing, I bet this gets distributed for free to schools. For something like a middle-school classroom, it wouldn't be that bad.
P.S. I loved the product placement for Coca-Cola and American Airlines throughout the film. Also, Yakov Smirnoff makes an appearance in this film for no good reason.
Overall, seeing this film was good for a laugh, but I cannot recommend it.
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
Our 5 year old son LOVED this movie!
Farewell to Piglet's Big Movie, Treasure Planet and the like... We have now identified a movie genre that excites our 5 year old son AND is much more acceptable to Mom and Dad. Cody Banks was great fun for our whole family. Not once did our son ask to leave, tell us 'this is boring' or ask for additional snacks to keep him occupied during the film. Instead, he jumped out of his seat on several occasions exclaiming, "Cody Banks is the coolest ever!" After the film, he told us that he loved the movie more than everything on earth or outer space - quite a statement for a 5 year old.
Career Opportunities (1991)
One painful movie to watch
This is far and away the worst of Hughes' teen movies. Poor casting and a weak plot doom it. Don't let the appearance of John Candy in this turkey fool you. He is only in the film for a few minutes. Avoid this one at all costs.