![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
movies - quick reviews
Mar. 25th, 2006 08:31 amin increasing order of recommendation
Kitchen Stories: supposed to be funny. Instead, dull, with a few slices of wry. Has a scene near the beginning that does show one thing I've always wanted to see: what actually happened at the Swedish-Norwegian border in the days when Sweden drove on the left.
Junebug: sorry, the only word I can think of for this one is "pointless". Reminded me of Mrs. Bridge (the book more than the film). The sort of mainstream literature that gives it a bad name among us lowbrow SF fans. Characters veer between behaving inexplicably and utterly predictably: when the sophisticated city woman gives her redneck brother-in-law a big warm hug, of course he interprets it as a come-on. And of course she's shocked when he does.
Thank You For Smoking: in this comic film about a tobacco industry spin doctor, nobody smokes. Not once. Isn't that weird? Did they pass the law against showing smoking in films after Gandalf's smoke rings in The Fellowship of the Ring, and why did I miss it? Reproduces much of the book, which I'd liked, but badly underplays the kidnapping scene. And at no moment does Aaron Eckhart look like a man just out of a life-threatening illness. The ending is more solid and less over-the-top than the book, though.
Milwaukee, Minnesota: idiot savant tries to keep his money out of the hands of two separate slimeball grifters. In the snow, which causes some to describe the film as "Fargo's little brother." Extremely little, ensign. Kind of intriguing to watch, though.
C.S.A.: Confederate States of America: alternate history, good. Satirical alternate history, better. Satirical alternate history full of digs at real history, best. TV mockumentary (complete with the most amazing TV commercial parodies this side of SNL) recounting a history in which the CSA won the Civil War, took over the North, reintroduced slavery there (by giving tax breaks to slave-owners), and went on from there. Could have dug deeper, but couldn't be more audacious.
Downfall: or, "The Last Days of Hitler." Takes place mostly in the bunker, which according to the film was extensive. Really gripping movie, splendid German actors. Reminded me of Das Boot. This one has to be viewed in context. If you don't keep in mind what Hitler really was, you're apt to start feeling sorry for the old reprobate, rants and all, or start wondering why his associates don't just gently put him in a rubber room.
Kitchen Stories: supposed to be funny. Instead, dull, with a few slices of wry. Has a scene near the beginning that does show one thing I've always wanted to see: what actually happened at the Swedish-Norwegian border in the days when Sweden drove on the left.
Junebug: sorry, the only word I can think of for this one is "pointless". Reminded me of Mrs. Bridge (the book more than the film). The sort of mainstream literature that gives it a bad name among us lowbrow SF fans. Characters veer between behaving inexplicably and utterly predictably: when the sophisticated city woman gives her redneck brother-in-law a big warm hug, of course he interprets it as a come-on. And of course she's shocked when he does.
Thank You For Smoking: in this comic film about a tobacco industry spin doctor, nobody smokes. Not once. Isn't that weird? Did they pass the law against showing smoking in films after Gandalf's smoke rings in The Fellowship of the Ring, and why did I miss it? Reproduces much of the book, which I'd liked, but badly underplays the kidnapping scene. And at no moment does Aaron Eckhart look like a man just out of a life-threatening illness. The ending is more solid and less over-the-top than the book, though.
Milwaukee, Minnesota: idiot savant tries to keep his money out of the hands of two separate slimeball grifters. In the snow, which causes some to describe the film as "Fargo's little brother." Extremely little, ensign. Kind of intriguing to watch, though.
C.S.A.: Confederate States of America: alternate history, good. Satirical alternate history, better. Satirical alternate history full of digs at real history, best. TV mockumentary (complete with the most amazing TV commercial parodies this side of SNL) recounting a history in which the CSA won the Civil War, took over the North, reintroduced slavery there (by giving tax breaks to slave-owners), and went on from there. Could have dug deeper, but couldn't be more audacious.
Downfall: or, "The Last Days of Hitler." Takes place mostly in the bunker, which according to the film was extensive. Really gripping movie, splendid German actors. Reminded me of Das Boot. This one has to be viewed in context. If you don't keep in mind what Hitler really was, you're apt to start feeling sorry for the old reprobate, rants and all, or start wondering why his associates don't just gently put him in a rubber room.
