sgurgolo Reviews

The '60s (1999)

The sixties for dummies

[1 August 2004]

Oh well - this series is crap, i mean, absolutely. They should have been awarded for worst script, worst acting, worst interpretation of history, worst use of stereotypes, worst use of a fake mustache in an attempt to duplicate the Tom Cruise of the 4th July - but, miracle!, making him walk - worst cinematography, worst art directing, worst costumes, worst editing, worst leftism (i mean, this is how you lived your '68? You shoulda stayed home! C'mon dude, where's the politics), worst use of Bob Dylan clips (clips from the seventies in a sixties movie?). If you wanna be a die-hard nostalgic hippie substantially not caring about most of the political facets of it, if you can't read a book or you'd fall asleep, if you hate documentaries, if Woodstock to you is a little yellow bird, if you want to see some 80s haircuts misplaced in time, well this might be for you. I mean, Hair was a musical, a fantastic movie, it was not intended to be a portrait of a generation - but hell, it was 1000 times more realistic than this. Hey, if all the people in the USA during the sixties were dumb as the characters of this crap i think at least somebody had a good reason to fly to Vietnam: not hearing anything anymore from dummies country! I guess the sixties were definitely better than this, but, i mean, what was the worst year in the whole history? The less interesting year of all time? I don't know, but put that year in the hands of a medium-level director and he'll do something more enjoyable. Shame on whoever worked on this - none of you did a good job!

Round Trip (2004)

BERLUSCONI NO!

[29 July 2004]

Dynamic, fresh movie. Sometimes it makes no sense, still is so funny to watch. It reminds me some underground comics of the seventies. The scene in the taxi, when the driver explodes in a paranoid cry "BERLUSCONI NO!", made me laugh my eyeballs out. That scene depicts clearly the stressed state of mind of the average Italian citizen. Berlusconi? Heck, no! Libero De Rienzo is really starting to overact, not bad for his second big role, he's exaggerating in gestures and speech, playing a mock of himself, too bad we've already lost a good actor. Vanessa Encontrada on the other hand is a good surprise, i didn't expect that quality from a TV showgirl. Ponti's directing is strong and sometimes visionary, but i hope his next effort will make more sense. Funny but a little too silly.

L'amore è eterno finché dura (2004)

Why do we have to act strong?

[23 May 2004]

"Why do we have to act strong?" is what a shattered Laura Morante has to write on a paper (ok, an almost obvious symbolism for our inability to communicate properly) to let Andrea know her feelings. Maybe this was the most heartfelt line of the whole pic. This movie sees Carlo moving from his more comic movies and trying to reach a new shore of maturity, this was also noticeable in his previous effort. Altough he is not Woody, Carlo is still able to give us some interesting views about - as individuals - growing up, and growing old, and - as couples - falling apart. There were some good laughs too in the movie, but what knocked me out was the girl who played the daughter Marta, i guess this was her name. She was a really good surprise. On the other i liked Carlo's maturity in writing, but i have to admit i can't stand his mask anymore. He should try, sometimes, to step behind the cameraand let some others actors play the leading roles, this would help him to find a direction. Now he seems stuck in between two needs: to please his comedy fans and to grow up as a writer and director. When he's in the scene i always feel like "Oh, my gosh, if he wasn't playing that part the movie would have had a whole different appeal". When i see Carlo playing "the role of himself" (and this is definitely what he does in this movie) i always feel that he's empathyzing way too much with his character, a thing he could avoid slipping in the back, screaming "action" and then "cut" and letting some more believable actors play the leads.

Um Filme Falado (2003)

Great cast for a great script.

[9/10 · 3 May 2004]

This movie isn't going to shock you. This movie is not going to "entertain" you. This movie is going to softly talk to you, while cruising around the most beautiful places of the world, and will bring you to a sudden, explosive, unexpected ending. I never saw a De Oliveira movie before this, although he is considered by Italian critics one of the most important directors alive. Well i guess i should check his previous works (and there's a lot to see). This is a film for those who want to FEEL the script and listen to interesting conversations that sometimes can enlighten and other times, well, the viewer can feel the deep depression of a reality that gives us no choice but live as we are, no hope to leave our little selves to come to something bigger. And then again, who wouldn't want to sit and have dinner talking with Stefania Sandrelli, Catherine Deneuve, Irene Papas and a charming Captain Malkovich? (And the fact that they're all speaking in their own languages makes their pout pourri of philosophy and humour really UNIVERSAL). This filmed talked to me, while i could do nothing but sit still and wait and listen and watch and then give one of the most sincere applauses i ever could give to a movie. "You'd better grab a hold of something, it's simple but is true. If you dont stop to smell the roses now they might end up on you!" (HUSKER DU)

Cabin Fever (2002)

A Classic, somebody will like it in a few years.

[10/10 · 19 October 2003]

The thing that sucks most of this movie is the comments about this movie! Most of the people really seem to loose the whole point of watching a movie. They expect to see something...

I hope they never go to watch a Bergman movie thinking they'll see a drama, when their idea of a drama is Titanic. They wouldn't really know what they're going to feel for the next hours, they'd feel sick!

There is a misunderstanding in the concept of genre. Ok, the distributors have to sell it. What should they say? "This is a movie that's straight forward in the future without losing its roots in the past"? They have to sell it as a horror movie, of course.

This is a horror-apocalyptic-end of the world-lost in the woods-menaced by rednecks-drama-comedy-grotesque... how can you define a masterwork? Well, this is actually not a masterwork, but sure a good attempt at.

I'm sure Scream-like fans (and i'm cool with Scream-like movies) will hate this movie, but this one is just in the line of 28 Days Later and My Little Eye, this is not a slasher movie! Don't expect your usual popcorn/girliesqueezing flick.

And ok, i have to admit the last minutes are pretty wack (but the last joke that some PC guy labeled as "racist" is a great piece of comedy). Anyway guys, c'mon! There's Deliverance in there (but without the obviousness of Wrong Turn - a really wack piece of crap), and there's Evil Dead, and there's The Night Of The Living Dead. A lot of inspiration but no copycat here, just the roots that a good tree need to grow (Nicotero and his team are some expert gardeners too!). This is a really good original movie, somebody will like it in a few years, this is a step forward.

If you are into horror movies only for the thrill of the moment, you should step back and get your gasp watching some Wrong Turn lookalike. My only regret is the photography turning red sometimes, without any visible reason (in the beginning is a first person view, but then...?). 8/10

25th Hour (2002)

Ten out of what?

[10/10 · 21 May 2003]

Well... 10 out of 10. I only gave Citizen Kane this kind of ranking, the absolute thumb up! I'm not saying this movie reaches Citizen Kane's majesty, but... what d'ya expect these days? The world's finally achieving European philosophy about hating hate... You see Bowling For Columbine, and you saw S. Penn's The Pledge... These movies show we're twisted people in many ways, but you feel so negative when you leave the theater, you feel sad for the human race and its behaviour. Well, Lee's latest movie is really positive, it shows the best of us. It shows how you can live your last 24 hours before the most important hour, the one you'll have to start from null, from point blank... No judgement on a single character, you'll understand it when you'll be really sorry for the traitor... You'll be really sorry when you understand that some people never betrayed the main character... You'll be sorry, because Spike is the nowadays leader in defining characters, so your expectations will be screwed, and you'll be sorry, and glad. Is very hard to explain it without spoilering. But you'll find yourself very close to tears, and you will never get into a big cry, because you won't be able to put the blame on anyone, there's no god over those characters, they chose what they are... This is the biggest achievement in Lee's career: You know all the characters you could tell anything about them, because you really understand them, and you sympathize with all of them. Most of all i loved Mr. Lloyd, the dog, i'm a f***ing animalist, but Mr. Cox gets a real 11/10 for his outstanding performance, while all actors deserve 5 oscars in the living room... And for most of them you already knew they're great. I gave a ten because I don't know if I'll be able to find such a work in my life. I don't expect too much from the future, i tought Clockers was it, for Spike. I'm lucky I was so wrong. I'm sorry, I'm glad. I'd say i'd avoid such a rethoric start as the lasers and Ground Zero for a movie, but i guess the whole 2 hours of the film get those things straight in their message. We're people, and people act like they do, and who's to judge? Peace, guys... And real peace deserves a big 10!!!!

28 Days Later (2002)

I'll kill you all!!!!

[21 May 2003]

This movie is great! You say "LIving Dead" because you obviously never saw the Omega Man... Well i feel there's no place on earth for me so when i see deserted cities in the movies i feel like, "Well, there might be something out there...". This movie travels in between of many influences: There is the old BBC series "Survivors" which obviously affected Boyle in his very youth. There is ol'daddy Gilliam with his 13 monkeys, from the very beginning. There is Living Dead and Omega Man for every one who recognizes the recall in every damn second. And still, this is a good seventies movie in the 00's. In the Seventies you'd never expect such a big terrorism on animals as you might do now. In the 70's you'd never take Orwell for serious this much! This is terror, and not the way they're telling you in the news... Mind the problem that every single damn government might have some human-deleting virus in its secret but accessible hidden places. Bomb em, but they'll reproduce... and most of all, you bomb foreign places but somebody's building a real BIG ONE under your comfortable ass. Somewhere, near to your home, somebody's really thinking about it. Big deal, if you get it this way. Boyle's a pretty good director, he went down the B-Movies sewer and probably now he smells like a rat, but hell if he didn't come up with a great terrorizing movie about state terrorism. And the 2nd half, which most of you hate, is pretty good to make some people realize who's got the damn weapons through the countries. Helluva Hell!!!! I love the *_° ARmy!!!!

The Pledge (I) (2001)

Chapeau to Jack and Sean

[8/10 · 30 June 2002]

So much suffering, so much anguish led me briefly to anxiety, and i fell in love with Jack once again, and in a more intense way than i felt with masterworks like "The Shining" or "Cockoo's Nest". This movie really touched me, while some watcher argued Jack fishing, contemplating, reflecting was boring to see... I'm seeing one of the best actors in the world giving us all his emotions, and we have a director who is actually able to paint a beautiful and miserable picture for us to see. I feel this movie is like a painting, and i understand some people don't like paintings, cool with that, but you can't disrispect a piece of art just because you don't understand it!! I love this movie, but i'll give it only an 8 out of ten just because i'm always expecting something better and so i'm saving those final two votes! Chapeau!

Almost Blue (2000)

Watch it twice

[7/10 · 30 June 2002]

Worst acting ever, i mean, even worse than the couple Dionisi/Caselli in Argento's NonHoSonno. Even Santamaria who is a good actor is totally unfit with his role. But if you look at it again, even if he is not directing actors at all, Infascelli took his chance on making a movie with a very strong visual impact, and there it is!! The cinematography is neat and hard. Alex should work on his big skills by making a more solid thriller/horror movie, this was just a decent first try. 6 out of ten

We All Fall Down (1997)

Nice movie in a sad scene

[30 June 2002]

Tutti Giù Per Terra is one of the few worth watching italian movies in the last five years. Not that the storyline is so different from the other italian crap of those times, but the nihlism of the main character fits well with Mastandrea clean acting, Valerio really kicks ass in this pic, Manni playing the father is fun as always but also very dramatic, and he gets the best last line in an italian movie ever, just before he kicks the armadillo!! I laughed for like an hour! Ferrario did also a good job with his next corageous effort "Guardami", but this movie was way better. 7 out of ten.

Together (2000)

Nice portrait of what my family could have been

[8/10 · 9 November 2001]

Conflicts of feelings, searching an identity, escaping the world. And mostly the discovery of love. This is what this movie is about. Sometimes it turns a little cruel, and tries to take some tears out of your eyes (in my case it worked), but i felt this movie is absolutely honest, never pulling it to the limit like Hollywood does. The children in this movie made me think about how i was, how my family was and how my friends families were. I grew up in the seventies, when everything was possible. And i had a drink too when Franco died! If you're a libertarian you should watch this movie.

8 out of ten

The Others (2001)

the turn of the screw

[16 September 2001]

SPOILER ALERT I've seen this movie in Venice during the Film Festival. Lots of people surrounding me were disturbed because of the similarities with "the sixth sense". Ok, i'll serve you some examples... Is the Fantastic Four a ripoff of Superman just because the Human Torch flies? Is The Night of the Living Dead a ripoff of Dracula just because the dead walks? There's some topics that have seen birth the same day humanity was born. The dead without knowledge... Let me think... As long as this movie is a ripoff of Shimalayan's great movie i bet Shimalayan himself had some big influences.... Did it ever happen to you, to watch a movie called "The Innocents", which was adapted from the Henry James novel "The turn of the screw"? I can even try to imagine Shimalayan watching another english movie called "Voices". The accusation of ripoff is pointless. Case closed.

Next. The movie itself.

This is a darn good movie. Nicole Kidman is a portrait of a woman, even more than with Jane Campion. She acts like a real diva and she is pregnant with the seed of GOOD acting. She is the attraction of this movie, she captures attention and gives her feelings to the audience, literally. She is a goddess and rides the camera and the viewers in a state of constant paranoia. The kids are acting well too, and the story works good 'til the big final explosion. Hey, detractors, didn't you jump and "ooooh"ed at the first appeareance of the medium? I felt my heart running straight to my throat. Amenabar writes, directs, and also writes the music for an underrated picture that suffers this "ripoff" sensation, while it deserves big respect as long as is a picture from a young talented crazy spanish guy that is gonna kick some asses in the mainstream, and i really hope this. This movie can scare you and stress you 'til the light comes. Is sad that this ripoff bullsh*t had the only effect of telling viewers the end before they saw it. The ripoff is people spoilering around. This movie is a good eight out of ten! And.. don't miss Open Your Eyes, another coooool Amenabar effort.

City of the Living Dead (1980)

people love guts

[26 July 2001]

Maybe Fulci might win the award for senseless guts. You can see a chicken kidney coming out from an open head... hey i didn't know i had this sh*t in my head. Fulci is an open minded director, when working on the script, then he is definitely predictable in making the movie... Even more, the use of zoom might be disturbing, the lighting is real bad, and also the blood doesn't look like blood, it seems to be orange juice. This is a truly poor film that will satisfy the biggest gore fans, but the lack of script and acting makes this a f*cked up effort. I still think mr. Fulci is an overrated director, but nowadays i feel a little sad thinking that Italian cinema is all about romance, and no one dares anymore to slaughter his neighborhood. He did. Honour to the man.

The Easy Life (1962)

Tragicomedy at its best!

[10/10 · 11 May 2001]

Italian movies are all the same. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry. No thrills, you never really HANG to your seat. This is an example for what italian cinema was meant to be but never was. This was avant-garde, with powerful acting and a great script. This was universal cinema, while nowadays is all partisan movies and mafia movies and tragic movies, even the world famous benigni gives a poor image of the potentials of Italian cinema. This is one of the BIG movies from italy, and even if Risi filmography aint full of masterworks, this is a movie that can make his name a BIG name in Movies History. Gassman and Trintignant and even Catherine Spaak dominate the scene and the country roads of Lazio and Toscana play their part as well. The tragedy is way before the final, and is all found in the unsatisfying way of life both main carachters are living. Italian tragicomedy at its highest peak, no competition at all! 10 out of ten.

Charlie's Angels (2000)

fun and chicks

[6/10 · 10 May 2001]

Ok this movie is totally nonsense, and ok this ain't a movie at all, but this film is not pretentious, doesn't want to be seen as a classic. And most of all is really fast and funny. And who could resist to those three chicks in action? I cant. I give this movie 6 out of 10

Zora the Vampire (2000)

A good effort...

[10/10 · 30 April 2001]

A good effort to represent Italian Hip-Hop and the Roman underground in a different way. Manetti Bros tried to "keep it real", while describing the adventures of an old fashioned Count Dracula. The vampire will learn how hard life can be when you're discriminated twice: as a vampire and as a stranger. But he will also fall in love with a suburban graffiti writer named Zora. Will the rapper Mc Zombie and his fellow Lama be able to stop the curse of the vampire, before it reaches their friend Zora?

In the cast literally shines Lele Vannoli as the vampire's servant, Ivo Garrani playing the role of the mad priest works well, and the rappers Chef Ragoo and GMax work well as a kind of nowadays Abbott and Costello. The cast is also full of musicians from the Italian scene like James Senese from Napoli Centrale, Tormento from Sottotono and lots more. The soundtrack is also full of good hip hop beats you can move the head to while watching the movie. Definitely worth watching.