severin-3 Reviews

Shiner (2000)

a treat for michael caine fans

[23 August 2002]

michael caine is well known for accepting every sh**job that comes along. he´s in it for the money and he freely admits that. his recent films include plenty of stinkers (e.g. SHADOW RUN) so it´s quite refreshing to see him in a decent crime flick which allows him once more to show the wide span of his talents. SHINER is not a masterpiece, it´s a typical revenge story a la GET CARTER. this is a michael caine solo. all the other actors hardly have a space to breathe, caine just pushes them aside like the giant steamtrain he is. only the great martin landau can somehow compete with him, the others, frank harper (LOCK STOCK...) and andy serkis ( gollum from LORD OF THE RINGS, hihihi) do a good job but can´t keep up. all in all a very nice way to spend some time but I´d rather watch SEXY BEAST.

Clean, Shaven (1993)

this is it!

[22 August 2002]

one of my alltime-favorites!! I´ve seen it years ago and it still haunts me. this is what real film-making is about, this is how it is supposed to be. lodge kerrigan is a true master, and it´s a pity he hasn´t done anything in years, except CLAIRE DOLAN which is true genius as well. peter "zed" greene gives a landmark performance and it seems that he suffers the same fate like malcolm mcdowell after CLOCKWORK ORANGE: being one of the best but underrated actors of his time but without a second chance to prove it.

anyway, if you wanna "feel" - not just see - what mental illness is all about, check this out.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

10 out of 10

[10 August 2002]

WOW! as a huge fan of hubert selby´s writing I was somehow scared that they mess it up. but with THAT director and THAT cast, what can go wrong? right, nothing, and that´s why REQUIEM FOR A DREAM sits right up there with other masterpieces of the last decade like BAD LIEUTENANT, CLEAN SHAVEN, JULIEN DONKEY BOY, SEUL CONTRE TOUS, THE WAR ZONE, GUMMO etcetc...all movies that actually dare not only to touch sensitive subjects but actually DEAL with them. that´s a big difference. so, kudos to mr. aronovsky who had the guts to make this movie as unpleasant as it should be. no safety nets, every trace of hope or happiness is immediately crushed by aronovsky´s sense for reality. and ellen burstyn gives one hell of a mindblowing performance. see it and weap!

American Psycho (2000)

total let-down

[10 August 2002]

the book was brilliant, a great yet misunderstood satire. it was hilarious, violent and terribly boring at times, but always intense. when I heard that oliver stone or david cronenberg were supposed to do the job I thought "wow, that´s gonna be a great adaption." but, alas, mary harron took over and crashed the car right into the tree. christian bale gave a decent performance as bateman but under harron´s direction he´s too often a ridicilous jester rather than a frightening serial killer. harron mellowed everything out, watered it down, and I´m not talking about gore here. and the scene with the chainsaw was one of the most laughable scenes I´ve seen in years. but the supporting cast ( sevigny, dafoe, leto ) were pretty good. all in all I say: skip that!

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

an 85 minutes fart joke

[6 August 2002]

this is easily the worst movie I´ve seen in decades, and believe me I had my share. everytime you think it can´t get any worse it runs an extra-mile to show how degenerated "humour" can get. this is definetly not a question of taste, it´s one of character, and I sure don´t want to sit next to a guy who likes THAT. 85 minutes wasted on feces, vomit, urine etcetc...thanks, wayans.

Ichi the Killer (2001)

totally over the top

[5 August 2002]

I loved miike´s recent outbursts like AUDITION, DEAD OR ALIVE, or VISITOR Q, but this one really takes the cake. it´s a mindless romp that only affects your stomach, which is sad for it could have been a real gut-wrenching chiller. the gore-hounds will love it but they are easily satisfied anyway. a film for nerds or for those who want to become one.

The Believer (2001)

could have been perfect if...

[12 June 2002]

...it would stick to the true story it is based on. dan burros, a grand wizard of the KKK, killed himself after the NY times revealed that he was actually a Jew. burros was a pathetic loser, his whole appearance reflected the tragedy of his utter existence. in THE BELIEVER we have daniel balint (outstanding: ryan gosling), and he is articulate, highly intelligent and self-confident, so quite the opposite. he´s definetly troubled but you get no explanation what his REAL problem is. the flashbacks show him as a rebellious kid who permanently argues with his teacher like if he was "born rebellious". so, where are the roots of his inner struggle, what is the key experience? you get no answer, and that somehow takes the way the tension. you don´t really feel for him, or worry. but all in all, i would definetly recommend it, it´s worth checking out, the entire cast is great and there are some really intense scenes. 7 out of 10

Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)

it just blew me away

[3 June 2002]

i make this short for i haven´t much time. this is one of the gutsiest films i ever saw, it´s new, it´s original, it´s a masterpiece. of course, it´s nothing for the AMERICAN BEAUTY whimps who are easily satisfied or offended. there´s nothing glamorous or nice about it, it´s a gut-wrenching attack on everything. ewen bremner gives one of the finest performances in the last decade, herzog is great, sevigny and neumann as well. but again, you have to be in the frame of mind. if not, well...too bad.