Change Your Image
Naoum
Reviews
Elysium (2013)
Far West once again
It is a great disappointment to watch an interesting story go down into a Far West movie where all is about shooting and killing... It seems that these keep us from finding some greater meaning in the story and what could be potentially a strength in the movie is flushed down the toilet. Sorry but I feel strongly about this - I see the potential for a great movie gone wrong with all the battles and video game action. I am greatly disappointed. On the bright side you get some good acting (of course) and some interesting script ideas. I think that I consider value for money something new - and this movie fails to deliver :(
A strength of the movie is the music which is carefully selected (or written). On the other hand, the technology of the future seems to be reminiscent of the past - forget wireless and wi-fi. You need that cord to connect... Yeah, right. Somehow, it seems that this was a few years late in production.
The emotions contained in the movie are also kind of thin. You can see some pity and some victimization, as well as a lot of dehumanizing but I could really see something of greater emotional depth. The relations that were investigates seemed one of the same. Could be different. Didn't enjoy :(
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Paying no respect to mythology and to the Hero's journey
How very unfortunate that this title pays no respect to mythology and to the archetypes involved :( The original myth has been devastated by the pretentious writers who are responsible for hubris to say the least. It is understandable to make alterations to the original myth for making a more attractive storyline for the audience, but changing the myth in such a way as to be barely recognizable is really an atrocity.
There is a reason why the hero has to go to the Underworld alone and there is a reason why the hero is moved by his love for a woman. An advice to the screenplay writers: If you have no idea about myths and myth-making, you can always ask a counselor from ethnographic or psychological studies. Putting all the mythological creatures that you have ever heard on the same story, won't work - except perhaps for CGIs.
By going off alone, the screenplay writers have made a big flop (probably not by money standards but by arts standards for sure).
Stardust (2007)
An unfortunate change of events (from the book)
Being a great fan of Neil Gaiman I expected something more like the book... Have to say this is my favorite book! However, the changes from the book were at many times distasteful to the original feeling of the book. From being a mastery of writing this movie left me unsatisfied with mainly the changes of the plot as to the end, the character of Una, the romance parts and the acting abilities of Yvaine... In some points towards the end it reminded me of the movie "Sweet November" in a "love conquers all" kind of way which trust me, was not good...
So, my main question is... why not trust the (original) writer? My hypothesis on that would be that nothing is to be left for thinking or implied - much like a "fast food" movie... What a pity for such a masterpiece of a book!
Just to be fair, I have to add that Robert De Niro is absolutely brilliant in delivering his character!
Ed Wood (1994)
It is OK to have monsters...
This is an interesting movie... The plot has to do with the real life of Ed Wood, a wanna-be director of b-movies and the people in his life. I found a parallel with "All about my mother" from Almodovar with the scene of Ed's (or should I say Eda's) dance. In the film from Almodovar it was Segrado's speech - here it was a dance. Both seemed to me very profound messages going something like - "It is OK to have monsters"...
I think that this movie would benefit greatly from a greater engagement of emotions since these where usually playing in sotto voce...! I think the relationship of Bela and Ed could be more developed and so could relationships in general.
I feel that Tim Burton's work (here and in nearly all of his movies) has to do with coming in terms with monsters within - these may or usually may not be as frightening as before approaching them... As such I am really interested in watching all of his movies!
Derailed (2005)
Derailed scenario and extremely improbable
OK guys... So you want to make a movie... Shouldn't you decide on the credibility of the scenario first? I mean this is totally too far fetched to be believable. An ordinary guy going to work who meets a girl can happen but the rest of it is kind out of proportions. WHO THOUGHT OF THAT SCENARIO? And who invested on it? It makes one wonder about where all the ideas have gone... There are great inconsistencies in the scenario the greater being that minor con artists are usually not brutal murderers!
Another association I made when thinking about my critique of the movie was the 'Real Men' song by Joe Jackson...
...Man makes a gun, man goes to war, man can kill and man can drink And man can take a whore...
And so it goes - go round again. But now and then we wonder who the real men are.
Crash (2004)
Lectures on Racism
This movie was an unpleasant surprise. Having acquired the Oscar for best movie and having good reviews all over the place, I was expecting something that would be exceptionally good... According to my view it wasn't and there are mainly two reasons for that: 1) It is a theme-oriented movie instead of a story-oriented one (this means that anything can happen in the film as long as it is racism related) 2) There is an ambiguous educational element in abundance...
There is a possibility that cultural differences don't allow me to see the true value of this movie since it is located in L.A. and I leave some thousand miles from that. Maybe this movie can have a greater impact to the American Heart...
Cheonsamong (2001)
Could be a lot better...
It's a pity to throw away such a good idea. The main idea of the movie is travel into past lives which - fortunately - is not a time travel but a journey inside man which has nothing to do with the past or the future. (Maybe they shouldn't be called past lives at all in the film now that I think of it... Another minus, I guess). It's all in the present, in a different space... Very interesting without causing much religious distress.
However, the music is totally repetitive, melodramatic, sentimental and out of place (not to mention "western"!). There should have been more variety and more thought on where there should be music and where there shouldn't. The flashback romantic scenes take a lot of space and running time and are totally unnecessary. The acting is not bad although the language has kept me from understanding better.
I believe the idea needed a little more thought, developing and unfoldment. The inside scenes could have had better background settings because in many cases they seem unreal. As a whole, I would say that this movie leaves a lot to be desired...
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
What a masterpiece!!!!
I don't know how Peter Sellers does it but it's pure magic. It's like an ability to dive into the collective unconscious and take out gems. He plays three roles and he is absolutely brilliant in all three.
This is a dark comedy. I wasn't able to laugh since what was depicted was painfully funny and equally painfully true. The dialogues are absolutely brilliant although paradoxical but that doesn't diminish their value!!! Quite the contrary...
It's a milestone of an era (the cold war era) although it's not a reality that has come to pass. It's appropriate for this era also although the wars are of a smaller scale... Politics, the army, absurdity and lunacy all together in a worst case scenario! BRILLIANT!
Invincible (2001)
...Prepared for the worse so I found it OK!
Having read the bad reviews prior to seeing this movie I was prepared to stop seeing it in case it became unbearable. Well it wasn't unbearable, of course it wasn't good either. It lies somewhere in the middle ground and it is saved by the fact that it presents a fairy tale.
The acting isn't great since the characters are out of proportions and fail to present something believable. OK, so this is a fairy tale, you don't have to be sarcastic about it!!! I believe that the actors where quite distant from their roles since they were playing characters from a fairy tale. That isn't a prerequisite though...
What I really enjoyed was the narration by Billy Zane's deep voice. It's a powerful element of the movie.
It's a movie that you should only see if you can't find something better to rent and you are bored of searching through the selves!
Finding Neverland (2004)
The reparation of magic!
This was an excellent movie with all the cast working like a superbly orchestrated cast with magnificent performances especially by Johnny Depp. Depp never ceases to amaze me with his hidden power that captivates me. The young boys were also very good at playing their roles. The boys' relationship with their mother, Mr. Barry and their Grandmother is especially moving.
The movie had a very touching almost healing effect on me with me actually bursting into tears. That hasn't happened in years (well almost), me being a grown-up male and all that. So, those who have forgotten the magic of being a child and of the fairies that guide them in their every step should let this movie remind them of the magic they lost on their way to adulthood. Neverland is the most magical place of them all!
Allow yourself to be enchanted by the spell of this movie and you won't regret it... You might start seeing fairies afterwards! Who knows?
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
They should have left him alone alright!
Only minor spoiler herein...
The tagline for the movie is that they should have left him alone and that goes for everyone else (apart from who they are referring to) I guess.
The first movie was a suspense movie. It had its action pauses and the thing I missed was the intuition of Bourne to danger. In the first movie he was able to "foresee" into the future through interpreting the signs. Something would be missing from the big picture and he knew what was wrong. That only happens in the beginning of the movie and it doesn't feel right, as if there is something missing from the recipe of success. Bourne has changed which one might expect but I don't thing they truly knew what he was then and what he is now. A rather random shift...
I saw in the extras of the DVD that they wanted to make something of a documentary-like movie but that camera was down right hard to watch... I believe it was superficially or awkwardly experimental if you like.
There were some things in the plot that were hard to believe but I won't go into them not to spoil anything, but I can say this: "They make Russian cars very sturdy these days"...
Too much of a macho where it wasn't like that according to my opinion. And the "excuse me but I murdered some chaps" scene was laughable. Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase spare me Mr. Hollywood! Hey! Good action movie though!
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Humoresque of the Grotesque
OK... I have seen some Tarantino movies and I liked some of them. I enjoyed From Dusk Till Dawn better since the turn in the middle of the story was quite unexpected .
Here I am puzzled. I like the way the stories get into one another and I like the "juicy" characters. The music is cool and the cast is superb. But for what? Maybe I am not into what I call the Humoresque of the Grotesque and if I was I would have thought it was brilliant, however it's a little sad to watch so much violence. I didn't find it funny to kill by mistake... The disrespect for human life was a little bit frightening for me.
Well, that's that and what is great for some is not so great for others... I think however that it's a movie that one should see to form an opinion with all the mythology that surrounds it.
Frida (2002)
Viva La Vida
I believe this movie fulfilled its mission as it was able to "move" me! The most profound thing about this movie is that it is able to deliver the most promising message out of a most painful biography.
The life of Frida Kahlo is truly inspiring as one can see how a woman can go beyond the pain of life that is inevitable for everyone to experience (maybe in smaller or bigger doses) and find the joy and passion for life. This piece of art made me ponder on how we can have it all and still not be satisfied with life. Here is a woman who has lost her body integrity and has more life in her than... me! I can imagine why any man would fall in love with such a passionate woman as Frida!
A story of pain... and yet out of pain the most gentle heart can flourish. I loved the music and the presentation of Frida's art which was done with respect and never taking more room than it was appropriate.
Bravo and... VIVA LA VIDA!
Being There (1979)
Mirror, mirror on the wall...
This movie was a most peculiar experience...
I had long heard about what a masterpiece this movie is. The movie left me speechless and with a feeling of utmost respect for life and for Peter Sellers.
What I came to understand is that when someone just speaks the truth and doesn't use words in order to protect himself, when he just "is", he becomes a mirror for all kind of projections. And what's the most important that surprised me is that didn't only happened to "Chance", the gardener who possessed such qualities but to this movie as a whole. I watched it with friends who were moaning about the stupidity of Chance. I felt awkward too but what was unbelievable and overlooked, was the stupidity of the intelligent guys who kept seeing what they felt most comfortable with. Am I like that? Do I hear what I want to hear? Unfortunately the answer is yes but maybe that's where change begins...
Till then...
I understand.
Impostor (2001)
Underrated film - Quite good actually
Impostor as you probably have already read in IMDb.com is based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick. For those familiar with Total Recall, the mood in the film feels the same. The only minus that this film has is that one can tell that this is a movie adapted from a short story. There are not many twists and turns and the movie progresses in a straight line. However, it had a lot of suspense and I didn't realize how quickly the time had passed by the end of it. The end is quite original although one can 'predict' it since there are clues left behind for those seeking to investigate...
Overall I would suggest this movie to every sci-fi fun although they shouldn't have too much of an expectation (Don't get me wrong it's very good, just not a masterpiece). Those not into sci-fi should be prepared for a film that lies into a war future where the hero can not tell if he is an impostor or not (this is actually quite philosophical now that I come to think of it!!!) Enjoy!
Liam (2000)
Stereotypical
I don't recommend this movie and let me tell you why...
This movie has sentiment but it is exaggerated. The characters become monsters for the viewer to hate them and distance him/herself from them. This is an everyday family in a difficult period for England. I don't know if people that could connect with the specific period could see something I didn't. However, the story is too instructional and stereotypical. The whole movie seems to shout:
"The Catholics miseducate their children" "Fascism is hatred that can be self-destructive"
Other stereotypical comments are there, which concern guilt, love and hate, money, pride etc. Frankly, I prefer being in class and preached with outrageous religious beliefs (which I detest), than being treated like a kid that should buy what it sees... I graded it with a 5/10 although I might have overestimated it.
The Last Samurai (2003)
Why do you have to explain everything so explicitly???
'The Last Samurai' was better than I expected, since the trailer made me think that Tom Cruise would be the Last Samurai which I found to be an offense to my logic!!! However, this is not the case and the film has the potential of becoming a masterpiece until the halfway of the movie, with an interesting plot and intense feeling.
The main problems start at about that time, when some logic gaps start to appear (according to my sense of logic that is...) and the movie cannot persuade me about the goal of protecting a culture from imperialistic influences when the origin of the film has already consumed much of that cultural elements that are meant to be protected by Tom. Hmmmm!!!
Anyway, another problem is the explicit statement of what the movie is all about and what message is meant to get across. We have to think by ourselves about the meaning and find our own, or not? This movie made me think about the 'Theatre of the Oppressed', a book by Augusto Boal, and why it is politics to make a movie... 6/10