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Reviews
Summer Love (2006)
Know what to expect
The first thing anyone should know before watching this movie is that the "western" actors have thick Polish accents. It might seem like a mortal flaw, but I got over that by assuming the setting was an Eastern European settlement in Texas.
The thing that always amazes me about so many foreign films that make it to the American market is the vast descrepancy between the movie's pros and cons. On one hand, you have a rough plot that seems to drag on while offering a series of shocking yet in their own right interesting scenes. Again, how can you overlook cowboys with Polish accents? On the other hand, the cinematography was beautiful. In some places, quite creative and all together very well filmed. The soundtrack was a quirky throw-back but used in a way that made it feel dark. On a scene-by-scene basis the editing was more Hollywood than retro despite the fact that as a whole it didn't seem to flow as well as movies we're used to. And again, if you can pretend the actors are supposed to have accents, they do a very good job of playing their roles - disgusting, every one of them.
Bottom line: if you're into quirky, unpolished movies that lack plot flow but excel in cinematography and creativity (and don't mind copious amounts of realistic gore) this movie is quite an offering. Otherwise, it's unlikely to satisfy.
The Missing (2003)
Pretty good, that's all.
I'm not a big Ron Howard fan, but gave this one a shot because the trailer really got me. I like TL Jones, and his character did not disappoint. In fact, all major characters were well portrayed. The villain is exceptional.
Too bad the script was predictable. I'm not big on movies where you could pause at any time and deduct from similar cinematic plots, what is about to happen. This is Ron Howard and this is The Missing. Aside from that, the setting was breathtaking and the action gripping. If you're one of those people like me who looks too much into scripts, you'll be disappointed. However, I expect most people will be satisfied with this thriller.