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The Fountain (2006)
Quite rich (though slow) buffet of ideas
(Contains spoilers about the ideas in film, which where the main event here, not what characters said or did) (I.e. DEFINITELY contains spoilers)
Aronofski certainly has made this movie a worthwhile 1+ (2?) hours, as there are some ideas you can grapple with for even some time after seeing the movie: There's the idea of being immortalized through a work of art - like a book. There's the idea of living forever as one universal life-force through biology (the metaphor in the movie about a tree growing on a human grave, thereby being fed by human organic remains). There's the idea of death simply being just another disease which we have not found cure against yet. And also, more in today's context, there's the message for war against cancer.
Probably more ideas to be found.
The ideas or rather background for ideas and idea-inklings were developed as the movie progressed and brought on stage in the finale. If one is to quibble, the finale lasted too long, but what the heck. The director sure took its time with the narrative, which was for most of the time good, the ideas were not rushed in for enjoyable rides sake.
The ideas, plot or the movie as a whole progressed in three dimensions: 1. our real world and present day(ish), 2. world of fiction, 3. some metaphysical parallel universe. Now if someone would like to explain whether the flying in space bubble bit was the future and actual space-ride, I'm all ears.
The acting was great, by mostly Hugh Jackman, simply phenomenal. Weisz was ordinary self and Stephen McHattie made a great religion-nut.
Richard Pryor... Here and Now (1983)
Funny and surreal
"Here and now" is easily funnier than "Live on Sunset Strip", when it wants to. But also quite surreal. What makes it surreal is mainly the audience. In the middle of the show a middle-aged geezer hands Richard a crab in the water glass. Far out. Also, the heckling is quadrupled in this show. It was probably Mardi Gras time. But Man Pryor still made me choke from laughter, and the improv with the aforementioned crab was quick thinking too. Towards the end, it's Pryor's turn to crank up the surreal with his junkie-bit, which is also quite moving, if too much of a downer for a supposedly comedy show.
This show is something else.
Grafinya de Monsoro (1997)
"Anzhuiskii" and others. Great fun [and minor spoilers]
I caught this series years back on TV. It was aired one 45-minute episode per day, for some twenty days. And unexpectedly I was just at the edge of my seat, waiting for the next ep. It was a daily feel-good fix, just one of those things. Of course I can name the obvious qualities, that made "The Countess of Monsoreau" good: an excellent cast with swordplay-skills, top notch costumes, and music fitting like a glove - in other words the whole milieu&atmosphere. Russians know their French drama.
If anyone has read the Dumas' book, then you are a step ahead of me, for I have not, and cannot say how much justice the screen-version does to the original. *Tiniest of spoilers / broadest plot outline* The series talks about a love affair between a classical beauty (Mariani's Monsoreau) and a heroic aristocrate (Bussy). It all gets - or rather is already - complicated, for Countess manages to become a fixation for a couple of powerful men, despite being coy (you know how them beauties do). As a backdrop, there is also other kind of powerplay and politics going on around King's Throne. More so, than in the storyline, "Grafinja Monsoro" packs a punch in its characters. There's the eccentric King, the Top Man Bussy, the sneaky d'Anjou, the crazy-but-then-again-is-he? Chicot.. the general rivalry between the top dogs of "Navarskii" and "Anzuiskii". No one-sided characters here. *Spoilers end*
Whilst the majority of series has a positive and light feel to it, the ending suddenly turns on a more serious gear. Tragic finish, but nice.
Summing up, "The Countess of Monsoreau" is a semi-long Russian-made series based on a lesser-known Dumas' book. Which means it's a gem and most of the world probably misses out on it. Since it's not currently possible to cast a vote, I'll have to declare it right here: 10/10.
American Wedding (2003)
outlandish
putting all the raunchiness aside, american pie 1 was actually warm-hearted and true. i can't really remember what the pie 2 was all about, but that wasn't a bad one either. now in the american wedding there were scenes that were just outlandish, that made me think if i missed something. like that gaybar dance contest, where did that come from? or just about everything stifler did, it looked like seann scott was on speed or something, totally out of control. but i'm not quibbling, because there were some moments that made me laugh as hard as some scenes in "old school" did. just when you think they can't possibly get any nastier with the jokes... they bone the granma.
Serving Sara (2002)
Trust the rating!
matt perry tries to overact every scene he's in (apart frome the beginning, which was really promising), and also gets to do three accents... and can't deliver even the british one.
cedric the entertainer tries to ruin his funnyman-rep (see "barbershop") and succeeds.
liz hurley flashes. camera shoots from behind. so what's the point?
all in all.. 4.4 rating here sums it up.
Mallrats (1995)
sell-out!
before i'd seen this one here i had seen kevin smith's dogma, chasing amy and clerks... the works. now i could not believe my eyes with this pathetic flick here. the script was good-wins-bad fight-the-system disney-ish cooking that seemed to be targeted to let's say an 8 year old kid. except for the swearing. acting is really boring too. jeremy london and claire forlani make one inhibited duo here, scott mosier's been replaced for the role of willam by ethan suplee, affleck and lee are probably ashamed doing this movie and waiting for 2nd chance by kevin smith (chasing amy).
i don't know - maybe kevin the man smith got the shivers working for a big studio first time and all. or maybe the studio insisted to make the script more cheezy than cheezy. whatever. don't watch this one anyways. even silent bob & jay -gags are tame here.
thumbs down.
Blade (1998)
stylish outside / hollow inside
i read somewhere that the makers of this flick ran out of money and that's why the ending was as poor as can be seen... they could've saved money by not hiring that n'bushe wright chick, who was absolutely useless and awkward and served only so that through her they managed to make some kind of storyline. the story itself was lame and really gave no chance to kristofferson or snipes to make an impact of anykind. wesley's ju-jitsu was a pleasure to watch though... yet dorff managed to deliver some good lines in a stylishly cheeky manner. THE reason to watch this movie isn't the plot or acting but the style it's done (for most of time). the cameraman is a genius! the props and all that makes the mood are alright, really dark and sort of modern-gothic... and the music is really good. what about that "confusion" -hype in the internet, huh? the rave-scene was obviously dug by lots of people, i'd imagine, cuz next months everybody was looking for pump panel's "confusion". and a cool scene it is, indeed...
this is the kind of a movie that you'd recommend to somebody with the usual "...if you got nothing better to do".