bjork-bjork Reviews

Mostly Martha (2001)

This film is of the highest quality in every respect.

[10/10 · 16 September 2002]

"Mostly Martha" has everything, including no violence, no car chases, and no explicit sex. (Tantalizingly implicit sex it does have, without teasing.) The filming is beautiful. It has humor, of a low-key kind, and that rare thing, subtlety, a good story and characters (all good people), and an exceptionally beautiful woman, lovingly and tastefully photographed. And finally, a generous director, who gives us a little dividend, like an encore, at the end. Though food and cooking are not really the point of the film, they are certainly the fascinating and luscious context. I will be seeing this movie again.

Bread and Tulips (2000)

A sweet, musical, beautiful movie

[10/10 · 16 September 2002]

"Bread & Tulips" is a film you can really love. It has beautiful music, a beautiful main character, fun, interesting, and likable other characters, and a happy and funny story with depth. Mainly it has Rosalba, a lovely woman played by an excellent actress, who, incidentally, really does play the accordion.

The Perfect Storm (2000)

Remember, this story is fiction; we don't know what happened.

[4/10 · 7 July 2000]

The producers of The Perfect Storm make a big deal of the fact that the film is based on real events. Well, the real events were: 1. there was a big storm, and 2. the boat Andrea Gail sank in it, plus we know who was aboard and a little about them. We don't know anything else about how it happened, so the story is fiction. As fiction, the movie is OK, with a lot of far-fetched action and a whole lot of big waves crashing on the boat. One problem is that, try as the movie-makers might have, they didn't make us care about the crew. I was more disturbed by the waste of the fish in the hold than the loss of the boat or the crew. If the facts suggest that they thought they could weather that storm and make it home the short way, well..., they certainly didn't use good judgement, and, sure enough, down they went.

The End of the Affair (1999)

Julianne Moore is so beautiful, it's worth going for her.

[7/10 · 3 July 2000]

Julianne Moore is so beautiful, it's worth going to see her. But the film ends up making a kind of religious statement, and we see far too much of Ralph Fiennes, both his body and his trademark intensity. The private investigator is very good.

Gladiator (2000)

A very expensive, very stupid, very unrealistic waste of time

[2/10 · 9 June 2000]

What a disappointment! Total unrealism, in every respect! Could have been great, with that budget, even with that idea, but, no, the director went for sentiment (but missed), went for gory realistic fighting (but missed), just plain missed. The story makes no sense. There are big holes in it that bothered me so much I couldn't get involved. The writer tries to impose mawkish modern sentiment on the Romans. A Caesar, and Roman population, that want peace. A Caesar who wants to restore power to the Senate. A conquering general (from somewhere in the stix, who has never even been to Rome) who just wants to go home. Sensitive gladiators. Come on! Once you start seeing the failures of this film, the lack of artistry, the lack of creativity, even the lack of originality of the story (see "Spartacus," for a start), you'll find little to like, nothing to admire. Crowe is nice-looking fellow, very poorly cast for the role, and cast is the right word; he has only one facial expression, sort of a sad-dog face. The producers spent a lot of money, obviously, but none of it was on research. This might as well be set on a distant planet as in Rome. There should have been ewoks. I was laughing at details at the most inappropriate times. I never felt an emotion. Trite. Tripe. Don't the people who give this film high ratings have any critical faculties at all?

American Beauty (1999)

A nasty film, and unoriginal, but with enjoyable acting

[4/10 · 9 June 2000]

American Beauty is not a good film. Its premise, that American suburban life is stifling of aliveness, is very unoriginal. And that kids sometimes have to find another way than their parents' lives. But in this film, one good way is to sell drugs and lie to your parents. There's also a good deal of fake profundity in the film. The boy finding a dead pigeon beautiful, and all he has to say about the plastic bag being blown around. Not from the heart. Some good characters, some good caricatures, some enjoyable scenes, some very funny ones. But not a serious movie.

High Fidelity (2000)

Very funny, seriously good.

[9/10 · 23 May 2000]

Quite a profound movie, but also very funny. Rob's two record-shop employees, Dick and Barry, are worth seeing the movie by themselves. There are some beautiful scenes, like Rob's soliloquy on the Top Five Things about Laura, and some scary ones, like when he tells Laura he has something he wants to talk to her about, and you are afraid of what it is.

The Muse (1999)

What a Let-Down! Totally Uninspired.

[3/10 · 16 March 2000]

This film must have been made without a script; it obviously doesn't know where it's going from one moment to the next. In fact, it goes nowhere and wastes your time. It had a good idea, but apparently no inspiration. Albert Brooks is like Woody Allen - he always plays the same character, and it's a boring, whining, one. Sharon Stone . . . what's the big deal about her? She's not that good looking, and in this film she is just an annoying princess, whose fabled ability to inspire has to be taken on faith, because it isn't in evidence. Andy McDowell has lost a lot of weight and has become horrible looking, plus she can't act. She's only good in roles in which she doesn't have to act anything but sweet. This was perfect for her. Give this one a pass.

An Ideal Husband (I) (1999)

Pure pleasure and a good story

[9/10 · 16 March 2000]

This has become one of my favorite films. I can't get enough of Arthur, Lord Goring, or of Laura Chevely, who are both wonderful to look upon, and the script is full of funny dry wit, plus it's a good story. In addition, the settings and costuming are beautiful. For pure enjoyment of a movie with high quality on many levels, I recommend this one.

Wonder Boys (2000)

A boring, phony, film, without character development or interesting action

[2/10 · 13 March 2000]

Sometimes an author creates a character so realistically that you feel you know him. His actions, however strange and illogical, nevertheless seem true to his personality. Sometimes an author fakes it, hoping that his readers (or viewers) will take the strange, illogical, "zany" actions of the character as "creative," (showing how zany and creative he, the author, is.) In the second case, he has missed the point; he should have created the character, not just his actions. That's what's wrong with "Wonder Boys." There's no character development; just a set of not-very-interesting, not-at-all-believable, characters, doing uninteresting and also unlikely things. James, the professor's gifted student, the plot spark that the author and director thought would ignite the mixture plays the part basically as a deadpan zombie. Michael Douglas plays the part well, but his character is not developed enough to give credibility to his actions.

The cute little happy ending is the final piece of improbability, and must be quite an embarrassment to the director. It can't have been in the book.

American Movie (1999)

A shoddy movie about shoddy people making a shoddy film

[1/10 · 5 March 2000]

This is an Emperor's New Clothes situation. Someone needs to say "That's not a funny and original, (etc., etc.) film; that is an inferior film. Don't waste your money on it." The film is trashy, and the people in it are embarrassingly inferior trailer trash. They are all-too-realistically only themselves. They have no lines, they don't act. The American Dream is not to create shoddy no-quality films or anything else shoddy and of no-quality; it is to achieve something of quality and, thereby, success. Only people who are desperate to praise any film not made in Hollywood (it can't have been made in Hollywood, can it?) would try to impute any kind of quality to this film. It's worse than "Ed Woods," another film about a film-maker without standards. These films shouldn't have been made, and you shouldn't go see "American Movie."

Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)

This movie is fake profound and fake artistic, and genuinely phony.

[1/10 · 5 March 2000]

What a dreary movie, but a safe one to say you "loved." Because it has Irish or Scottish scenery (yes, that's good) and because it has Meryl Streep in it (phony badge of authenticity - she is soooo pure!). If this movie were authentic, it wouldn't have needed the famous American actress in it to bring in the viewers. And its previews would have included a hint of the other dreary 90% of the story, instead of the very few moments of life it had.

Streep is no stranger to phony films; look at "The Deer Hunter."

Ed Wood (1994)

Why would you want to see a film about such an inferior person?

[1/10 · 5 March 2000]

Ed Wood made inferior films. Why make a film about him? Why go see it? He wasn't trying to make quality films; he didn't care about quality. He is the kind of person, and especially of movie-maker, who should be forgotten. What a waste of time to make a movie about him. And this movie doesn't have anything else to compensate for its poor subject. Miss this one.

Angels and Insects (1995)

This is a wonder, underrated movie.

[9/10 · 25 February 2000]

This movie is terrific on several planes, but especially the sensuous. Imagine Kristin Scott-Thomas in a plain role! But, just as there are undercurrents throughout the movie, there is an undercurrent of her as a woman that surfaces late in the movie and very satisfyingly. Good acting, wonderful settings, good story.

The Grand Highway (1987)

Wonderful cast and acting, beautiful setting, sweet story

[9/10 · 23 February 2000]

This is one of the rare movies that combine all the elements to tell a meaningful story in a light, pleasant, funny, and very touching way. Very French in the best sense. At the end you know how the future will be, how the story will continue, and you are happy.

La Chèvre (1981)

This film has a wonderful concept and hilarious execution.

[9/10 · 23 February 2000]

These two actors are great together, and their three films are all funny (La Chevre, Les Comperes, Les Fugitifs), but this one is the best because of its concept that it will take an unlucky detective to find the missing unlucky girl. But he is more than unlucky; he is also a deluded jerk (though not a mean one)who doesn't even know he is unlucky. His partner, a very competent realist (and perfect straight man) has to rescue him time after time to follow his unlucky course toward the girl. Great French humor.

The General's Daughter (1999)

The story is too far-fetched to accept.

[4/10 · 22 February 2000]

You have to make too great a leap of acceptance to buy in to the story. It is very unlikely, in more than one respect, so what's the point? I guess it's an atmosphere film. The acting is good, and there are some exciting scenes with great intensity, but the story should have been better.

Underground (1995)

A weird but fascinating film with an excellent point

[8/10 · 22 February 2000]

This is a strange film, with strange music and a different kind of acting from what we are used to in the US. It is an analogy in the form of a clever story that sometimes gets too far out for itself. You think about it a lot for a long time afterward, and the music echos in your mind.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

This is a dishonest mish-mash of loosely connected raw sentiment.

[1/10 · 22 February 2000]

This movie moved a lot of people because of its intense sentimentality, but it is a dishonest movie, a piece of extreme self-indulgence by a director without the ability to discriminate between feeling and fact, or between schlock and art. There are some wonderfully intense scenes in the movie, but they are invalid, pure phony manipulation, because the kinds of things they represent did not happen. This is the worst film I have seen, because of its dishonesty and bad taste.

King of Hearts (1966)

A funny, sweet, artistic film with a serious point

[10/10 · 22 February 2000]

King of Hearts has been my favorite film since it came out in 1966. It deals with the insanity of war in a whimsical, light, very delightful way, with lots of humor, wonderful acting, and yet a serious and valid point.