raimund-berger Reviews

Löwenbrüder: Wege zur Macht (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Great mini series about a Serengeti lion family.

[9/10 · 11 July 2023]

Doesn't try to beautify things but shows wildlife as it is. In particular, you do see lions go after prey in concert and eat, and receive some insights into their techniques and general approach to the matter.

A misconception I had, for example, was that male lions don't really hunt but let the females do all the work. Wrong, as it turns out, they do get into action, just not that often, but when they do it's quite the spectacle.

A documentary probably suitable more for grown-ups than small kids, though, because, at times, the imagery can be graphic. As said, the doc tries to be authentic, to a reasonable degree, considerably more so than many others do.

Phoenix Rising (2022)

Incredibly complex.

[7/10 · 17 March 2022]

This is a documentary about a number of things. E. R. Wood. Her family, upbringing and first career steps. Her relationship with Manson, the treatment she suffered there, and from an opportunistic, exploitive and occasionally vulgar press. How she got out of it, and, after a period of relief, couldn't ignore her symptoms anymore. Then her efforts to cope with them, on a personal level but also by making the story public. And then a number of agendas that emerge from there.

A change of legislation, for example, regarding statutory limits. Efforts to encourage others, to make themselves heard, and a desire to prevent others from falling into the same trap. And finally a wish and attempt to hold Manson himself accountable.

Much could be said about each of these items. Domestic violence. Abuse rampant in the entertainment business, and the constant hush-up due to the each-for-himself mentality and the money involved. Then, having gone through such an experience, the very tough question of what might actually help you, personally, in getting back on track and find some productive form of healing. The matter of the advice that you get, and if it's always good, considering that the priorities of parties joining you might differ. And so forth. It's endless.

Myself - and the documentary supports this approach when making her the main narrator - I simply focused on what she had to say about her personal experience, and her subjective view on it. In particular, there can be little doubt that what she tells is true. The description of the treatment she's been subjected to is all too familiar. Just as the description of her symptoms is. Fact is, you can literally see her still suffer from them right there.

Very saddening. The documentary, and she herself, try to put the entire matter into a broader context, to promote a cause. Of mixed nature, after all, when it becomes about the issue of holding the perpetrator accountable. Yet, at the center of it is still the individual, the pain and the damage. And for us, lots of food for thought, for discussion and reconsideration of ones own actions, as responsible members of our society and consumers of entertainment business and (tabloid) press products.

Kajillionaire (2020)

Genuinely lovely.

[8/10 · 10 March 2022]

Profoundly humane film, that doesn't try to judge but treats all of its characters with sympathy and understanding, even though at least some of them should be fairly disagreeable. Many touching moments, like when they try to take advantage of a dying man but can't entirely disown their human nature. The baby crawl. The "big one" in the gas station toilet, followed by the very same "crawl" that previously happened to become an item on a checklist. Seriously enchanting stuff.

Also, pitch perfect performances all around, the daughter in particular. With her hollow voice and.atonic body language, the combination of brusqueness and introversion in demeanor and facial expressions, while she constantly seems to mentally work on a question the precise nature of which she doesn't appear to have understood yet. And the timing, like in "six weeks the longest .... and the shortest?" Beautiful.

This was a movie I really liked. Lean. No distractions. Perfectly focused on what it wants to convey, and doing so. While exhibiting a very, very lovely kind of humor.

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Wow. The loser finally made a somewhat acceptable movie.

[7/10 · 21 February 2022]

Took a while. But, like with Tarantino, it turns out that these aging LA kids are perfectly capable of making good movies, once they're willing to confine themselves to all they know, LA, and their nostalgic feelings about it.

Loved it. Splendid humor. Likable protagonists all around. Didn't overreach, for once, trying to be what it wasn't. Maybe, if we're lucky, there's going to be another one.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Yet another declaration of bankruptcy.

[4/10 · 25 December 2021]

Or cry for help? Hard to distinguish. I mean, even US Americans should know, by now, that the troubles they have, with their system, culture, whatever you might want to call it, is not particularly revealing or interesting.

But to then throw in a pop star performance, as to say that we, who are making this film, are suffering from the very same disease we mean to satirize? Seriously, what is that? A call for more medication? For a juicy burger, maybe?

There seriously is something wrong with these people.

Dune (2021)

Laughable escapist crap.

[2/10 · 29 October 2021]

Seriously, props to anyone who made it through and was not high on drugs. Maybe they should publish a dictionary first, that we may study to be put into a position where we can understand any of that rubbish they're talking about, only to conclude that none of that is of any substance whatsoever.

Okay, bizarre and contrived fairy tales may have been appropriate entertainment some 50 years ago or so, when peeps were still gladly dumping all their chemical waste into the seas. But know what, boys, the real world has arrived in he meantime.

And what's with the effeminate milquetoast, who constantly looks like the worst thing that has ever happened to him was that he was born? Is that seriously the trend right now?

Sweet Jesus, lads. Get a grip.

Army of the Dead (2021)

Has its merits.

[4/10 · 14 October 2021]

The writing is laughable, of course. All those contrived bits and pieces you've seen a thousand times before and they could plug in and out on a whim, depending on what budget or run time requirements allowed. Like the cheesy father/daughter conflict (Wrestler, anyone?) or that lady expressing a romantic interest all of a sudden. The stereotyped comic relief German. So sad, unimaginative and primitive altogether that you had to look the other way a good deal of the time if you meant to spare yourself the embarrassment.

The zombies were good though. And Lilly.

The Merry Wives of Windsor (1980 TV Movie)

Grahame fans will probably appreciate this.

[6/10 · 4 March 2021]

Mind you, it's a modest production, filmed in a 99 seat theatre, the Globe Playhouse, 1107 North Kings Road West Hollywood, operated by the Shakespeare Society of America for a while, after they had been evicted from their mansion in West Hollywood in 1972. Today the building houses a cinema, I believe.

As said, the production is modest but still enjoyable. Grahame fans in particular will probably appreciate this, as there aren't many recordings of her doing stage performances, and here we have decent rendition of a complete play at least. Myself, knowing that she would have liked to do more Shakespeare, I was quite glad to be able to watch this appearance of hers, made in her hometown and not long before her untimely death.

Babylon Berlin (2017–2025)

First two seasons okay, then it somewhat falls apart.

[8/10 · 13 December 2020]

Just binge watched this thing, and you can tell that the original planning only covered the first two seasons. Those are actually pretty good, a couple of narrative threads nicely tied together, interesting characters, all of them flawed, no dumb moral that's being pushed on you (except maybe that the first world war wasn't fun). Definitely a strong point is the film largely ignoring the Nazis, so you're getting a look at the Weimarer Republik beyond the angle that's already been covered aplenty in other work.

With the third season the story starts meandering though, and degrades into what can be described as conventional plot mechanics. Still enjoyable, but you can see that, with the continuation, they're basically just trying to milk the success. But then, everybody in this business does, I guess.

Blood Simple (1984)

Coens' best film.

[9/10 · 31 May 2020]

Saw this in cinema plenty of years ago and couldn't believe how much fun it was. Twisting the noir genre with abandon, while you never know which turn it's going to take, dead serious or full on parody, til the very end. All the misunderstandings. Him standing in the middle of a field almost next to a farm house after having taken care of the body (mind you, not quite just a body). Thinking it was her who shot her husband (due to the gun), while she insists she hadn't done "anything funny." The phone call from Marty, and Ray's reaction. How the talk never leads anywhere (Lynch style). Then the music. Plus many, many glorious shots (truck passing by a minute just after).

Back then when I saw it, if you got a taste for it and appreciated the film making context, this was the most lovable, profoundly engaging and beautifully crafted piece. Still is, decades later.

Seberg (2019)

Failure on all levels.

[3/10 · 18 May 2020]

Not only is the main actress a perfect miscast, is the sense that she's unable to convey what the original actress might have been like by nature. The movie also stops short of confronting her miserable fortune. Instead, we're being served with the conflictions of some dull, gum-chewing FBI agent, which is what that film effectively boils down to. A disservice on all fronts.

Knight of Cups (2015)

Embarrassing watch.

[4/10 · 12 May 2020]

Nice vistas, decent (albeit pretty much constantly wide angle) camera, good music choices. But the inner monologues, dear Lord. Meditations over supposedly eternal question (father/son conflict and whatnot) executed in the most hollow, craven fashion imaginable. A constant string of dumb phrases, really.

Additionally, while Bale's taking lonesome strolls through LA and Vegas works okay, human interactions look staged. Acting class, that's what one seems to attend. While everyone appears to be uncomfortable.

They should have skipped all the voice parts and made better use of intertitles, and the movie would have been fine. As a wide open projection screen for your own imagination. But the way it's been made you just can't avoid the realization that the purpose driving it is a profoundly immature one. An emotional black hole, effectively, that's also lacking self-awareness. Painful.

Triangle (2009)

Intriguing.

[8/10 · 20 February 2020]

I've seen the movie when it was released and liked it, even though I felt that I hadn't fully comprehended its logic. There were also a few minor points I was not so enthusiastic about, like the CGI and the overall color grading of the outdoor shots. Either way, I did remember it as being special.

Now, about 10 years later, I've come across it again, and, with fresh yet more mature eyes, I do better understand what made it look special to me. Which isn't so much the "looping" construct of a story. But rather the main character, its two sides and how it's being forced through a process of (self-) revelation.

The single mother with the handicapped child. Obvious signs of distress right from the start. The sense of isolation, the absence of family and friends. Where she appears to be alone even when in company of others. Then the entire "deja vu" and "I seem to have been here before" process, during which she begins to realize both, what's happening to her and who she is. Until the very end, when she - and we - finally come to see that other side of her, by the way she treats her child. And then, it seems, another round of split personality and amnesia.

That's, to me, the actual, human core of the story, and for some reason it really becomes alive. It's presumably the acting. The mixture of distress, aggression, forlornness and even sinisterness Melissa George believably projects. What maybe also helps is her apparent contentment with the more physical acting, like when she fluidly speeds through a rather confined set.

Unique film. Not necessarily a masterpiece in a particular manner you could immediately point at. But none other ever gave me a comparable feeling.

Edit: I mean, one thing that doesn't sit well with the team is that all the sailing shots are bogus. Machinations, visibly so. That's particularly distressing since I've heard somebody say that Dead Calm supposedly was an inspiration. Obviously, minus the digital photography rebate, even, this film does not compare. Which is saddening, given that the acting was so great.

Edit #2: The audio reverbs are another problem, apart from hardly any camera shot looking genuine. Maybe they shouldn't have made it sound like, over the canned engine hum, as if they were having talks in the midst of the Sistine Chapel.

Edit #3: Fact is, after a couple of viewings you have to acknowledge that Melissa George not only saves but pretty much creates this otherwise very much defective movie. Just look at her 3 second reaction to when she killed Vic. She does that all the time. Squeeze the very most of her into practically nothing.

Edit #4: It's when you begin paying attention that you realize that, compared to the acting, all the fancy gimmicks turn out to be almost pitiful. Just see Jess looking for stabbed Sally. Sally is here, camera looking at her. "Sally?" Pan, then suddenly Sally is somewhere else. I mean, this sort of cheap stuff contributes literally nothing to the overall effectiveness of the movie.

Edit #5: I mean, the director's mirror shot he said in the commentary track he was so proud of - I never happened to notice. Why? Because the acting was so overwhelming. For comparison, I did notice the mirror shot in Contact the first time I've seen it some 20 years ago. That much I can tell you.

Edit #6: Man, if they had taken the trouble, shown us some real sea and shot this on film. And would have spared us a few of the gimmicks. How much of a glorious movie this could have been.

Edit #7: A real tragedy. Obviously, everyone was fully committed, sans reservations. Mrs. George in the first place.

Edit #8: It has to be said at some point, the cinematography here is as much of a complete disaster as you could possibly ask for. Any random shot of any Star Trek original series episode looks infinitely better than any random shot of this. Guess that's your typical case where a film maker could try to secure a few extra $ to provide for the extra mile, at the expense of him/her having a career to look forward to or not.

Edit #9: To conclude, minus Mrs. George this would very probably have been a rather sterile, somewhat cheap and really not so much engaging technical exercise. And i keep wondering if we could have made better use of what she was willing to bring to the project.

Edit #10: Seriously, I can't get over this. When she steps out of the door in her dress, into the sun, to soon ask her neighbor if he had seen anyone ringing the bell or her door. What a miserable, lifeless, uninspired, 100% digital, in the worst imaginable sense, cinematography. The yellow tint, presumably applied in post production, plus the overbright, to make her blonde hair light up amongst all those mushy, meaningless colors. All this is is a pain to look at. And it doesn't get any better.

Edit #11: Then look at the ridiculous red hairdo they had to supply Rachael Carpani with, because they knew already that, visually, and except of Melissa George's fair skin and blue eyes, nothing much more was going to happen.

Edit #12: Seriously, this could have been a great movie. Starting with Rosemary's Baby style "la la la" and Lynch style lawn sprinkler. The actors certainly were fully committed, seeing how they ended up carrying this effectively clumsy thing over the finish line.

Edit #13: I mean, it really hurts, when you know the slightest thing about water, then see them supposedly sailing and immediately know that it's all bogus. What a major, majestic crap fest in the visual department.

Edit #14: And again, the one, single reason why I would wonder is because the actors threw this thing a lifeline. I mean, the script, well yeah, thanks, but on the reading level I couldn't care less if it ever did happen or not. Meaning, minus the execution it has no purpose at all.

Edit #15: I mean, like the Sisyphus story. The director didn't want to confirm that it was exactly that, because it's been already told like 2000 years ago.

Edit #16: So it has to be here and there, this and that. blah and blooh, and in the end you're none the wiser, simply because our sweet writer/director isn't entirely sure of what he's talking about.

Edit #17: Which is perfectly ok, as long as he's fully committed to the mission. Like, par example, David Lynch always is.

Edit #18: Of course, seen from the other, the production side, why would it even matter if I asked or criticized. I'm a mere consumer, and did not contribute the slightest thing to the final product.

Edit #19: To which I respond, that's entirely true. But at the same time, you can't say how good it was without also saying how good it might have been in your imagination.

Building Star Trek (2016 TV Movie)

Doesn't quite click.

[6/10 · 12 February 2020]

Matter of fact is, only a fraction of this film deals with "building Star Trek." Much time is spent on comparing today's technologies to what was shown in the original series (thus allowing various institutions and organizations to, implicitly, make a plea for funds). Actors of current movies (Pegg, Urban) contribute various sound bites, in the style of a making-of and thus also resembling a marketing effort. And then, thankfully, there actually are a few original contributors and one cast member who get a few little things to say. Nothing particularly new or revealing though.

A key problem this documentary has to deal with is the terribly sad state of the original series' props they try to assemble for various exhibitions. There's the USS Enterprise model itself of course. Kirk's commander chair. The navigator console. And various bits and pieces, including some costumes. But whenever a piece arrives and is unpacked, what we're confronted with are various degrees of decay which effectively produce an ongoing sense of frustration.

Accordingly, with the exception of the Enterprise model, they don't really show what's going on during the restoration work, because that would have revealed how many parts exactly they had to recreate or replace. And thus made it clear that the final exhibits, to a notable degree, aren't really "original" props anymore. An illusion, on the other hand, the exhibitions obviously depend on and which they would not want to completely destroy with this documentary.

So, altogether, a sufficiently decent effort but somewhat bound to fail, because the core material they had to work with was in such a desolate state. But then, real fans will probably be able to appreciate these kinds of insights, too.

Hitler's Circle of Evil (2018)

Edutainment.

[4/10 · 9 January 2020]

This is about the careers of some of the most prominent Nazi figures around Hitler, namely Hess, Himmler, Goebbels, Göring, Heydrich, Bormann and Speer. The audio track is governed by a narrator telling their stories, against a general background of development of things in Germany from 1918 to 1945, interspersed with commentary from historians, and pretty informative. The video aspect of this (attempt at a) documentary amounts to a thoroughly wasted opportunity though.

More precisely, about 70% of the video consists of reenactments sans any text lines bearing no information value whatsoever. Merely meant to keep your eyes busy, and edited and filmed in exactly that way - almost action movie style. Meaning fast edits, shaky camera, out of focus shots, all the nonsense you could possibly ask for is to be found here. Historic film material is sparse and comes across as haphazardly thrown together. At times its even hard to distinguish which is what. The rest is shots of the talking heads of the historians.

So what this series effectively boils down to is a pretty decent audio book. Other than that though, on the visual level, it's actually pretty stupid and borderline annoying.

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

Brilliant.

[8/10 · 21 December 2019]

In some ways inspired by Lynch's Eraserhead, I presume. Even the milquetoast from the Twilight thing seems to have grown up, and demonstrates some extra serious ambition. Also Willem Dafoe in the best form you would be able to imagine him in. One tasty morsel, this film, like they are hardly happen to be dished out these days.

The Nightingale (I) (2018)

Lingers on.

[8/10 · 10 December 2019]

Admittedly a sober film, which I presume is what it wants to be, about one of the many European colonialization efforts.

Quite narrowly focused on the story of its few protagonists, the film nevertheless constantly projects a broader view. On the lives and treatment of natives and convicts, On how little a life was worth, and people could be killed on a whim. And on the general appalling viciousness of the affair.

True, there are a few fairly grueling depictions of violence, but thankfully, and in contrast to what we're used to see, they're never meant to sensationalize. But rather presented in a "matter of factual" manner. Like it might have happened in reality. Also, strong, committed and convincing performances from everyone involved.

A film, I happened to find, that leaves an impression and lingers on. An unusually honest one, too, it seems to be.

Edit:

Upon second viewing, quite possibly the best film I've seen in quite a while. Both in terms of film and of story it sets out to tell. Just look at the white boys turning on each other in the absence of anyone else. Which is only the tiniest bit of a quite elaborate mosaique.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Old Quentin finally found his purpose.

[8/10 · 24 November 2019]

What we always knew he was: a mirror. And here he comes, sans a stain. You got to love the guy, the only one left who knows how to make movies. Or pretty much so I guess. Or at least takes an interest in them.

Diego Maradona (2019)

Long overdue tribute to quite possibly the best football player ever.

[10/10 · 17 November 2019]

Actually focuses on his career, which gravitates around Napoli. Lots of footage from the time, covering all the ups and downs, magnificently put together. What a player, on the field, one we're not going to see that soon again.

Chasing the Moon (2019)

Fun documentary about 1950/60s space race.

[9/10 · 17 July 2019]

Covers the period from, and beginning with, launch of Sputnik until, and including, the Apollo 11 mission. Lots of excellent contemporary footage accompanied by current-day voice-overs from people who were involved back then.

Includes some detail about the programs that preceded Apollo, Mercury and Gemini, plus some of the politics involved in the decision making. Also, one of the very few documentaries trying to pay due credit to the creator of the Saturn V beast, Wernher von Braun.

Very well made, highly entertaining and strongly recommended to anyone having only the faintest interest in the history of space flight.

The Favourite (2018)

The return of the wide angle shot.

[5 January 2019]

Three character leads, all female. Quite a feat in itself. There's the queen. Two competing females surrounding her. Two male characters supplementing those functions. Plus a lover. Which makes for a nice geometrical figure, a hexagon one might say, and the narration balances it out very nicely, in the natural top-to-bottom way. Thus making for an intellectually and aesthetically pleasing experience.

The film employs a few techniques you would normally consider gimmickry, like the application of very wide angle shots, but here they're effectively not. I.e. where wide angles are often combined with closeups for the distortive effect, in this movie they actually do provide you with panoramic views of even small places, and organically blend into an overall coherent visual concept.

There's some sources the film appears to draw from, like The Draughtsman's Contract and Barry Lyndon, but it confidently implements its own handwriting throughout. Locations, costumes and production design are superb. Music fitting. The color palette leans more towards a natural tone. Lighting is great. And personally I very much appreciated what seems to be a complete absence of steadicam photography.

Overall one of the very, very few contemporary films actually worth the price of admission.

Searching (III) (2018)

Excessive actor placement.

[23 November 2018]

Sorry, but when I go to the movies I want to see products left right and center. Exclusively. And while this one does deliver in the former department it didn't quite in the latter. As I happened to spot one or the other actor in between.

Thankfully, the paper thin pretense of a story - dad doesn't know the secret lives of his kids, ever heard of that one before, he probably didn't pay enough attention - was sufficiently lame to never pose any danger of being a distraction. As was the guy's hairdo, perfectly styled at all times regardless of the amount of disarray he was supposed to be in. They never told us the brand of hair gel he was using though, so that's a huge disappointment either way.

So next time, please, just spare us the actors. And all the other unimaginative, hollow, redundant stuff. So that we may, undisturbed, focus on and take enjoyment in the endless, exuberantly boring display of stupid products. Thanks.

Victoria (II) (2015)

Great film yet a slight letdown story wise, maybe.

[9/10 · 21 November 2015]

This film certainly shines in a number ways. The single take, visuals, acting all amount to an impressive achievement, and I can only imagine the amount of planning that went into it, seeing how movements appear to have been choreographed to much detail. And, as far as technicalities go, there's been various moments I kept wondering about. Like, did she really drive that car or did they have a rig they could easily move out of the picture once it got parked and we had a full view of it? Because having her drive live while acting, doing her dialog and whatnot would have been a little risky, wouldn't it, considering that a single slip-up could have ruined the entire take.

Also, since the story plays out in real time while featuring a good deal of action, it's very immersive. What we see happening there would, in any other film, normally be spread out over a markedly longer time period, several days at least. Making for a very compact experience that never really loses its grip on you.

Still, there might be one minor problem I took a little issue with: the story, or rather the individual parts it's comprised of, isn't really that original. The socializing, heist, crisis and resolution, all those are pretty straightforward narratives in a manner we've seen them a number of times already I guess. With, I dare say, no real surprises.

So that's what I felt was a bit of a letdown. That it all really boiled down to the unique and - admittedly highly - engaging presentation while leaving you with fairly little to think about. Except, as already said, the technical obstacles they must have faced and the characters themselves maybe, which all had a very vivid, almost tangible quality to them.

Yet, definitely an extraordinary film overall featuring some great moments, too (piano!). Very recommended particularly to the savvy moviegoer.

Youth (I) (2015)

Redundant.

[3/10 · 14 November 2015]

Dialog shallow, stereotypical and a bore. Cinematography a string of static, draped up shots you didn't have already seen elsewhere. Yet, admittedly, good enough to quietly read your newspaper to.

I'm giving points to: Jane Fonda, for commitment. Paul Dano, for failing again. Luna Zimic Mijovic, for providing this listless, sterile exercise in nothingness with a little hotness.

Harvey Keitel and his team were a particular drag. Rachel Weisz totally out of her depth (taking a leap of faith here and assuming there ever had been any). Otherwise just the usual, constant source of embarrassment we're accustomed to since what's been a while.

Did I miss something? Oh yeah: highly recommended in case you're suffering from sleep disorders and aren't easily offended.

Houston (2013)

Unimaginative play on Kafka's Castle.

[5/10 · 29 August 2015]

K. (Clem) coming to the village (Houston) trying to somehow contact the powers that be (Ringer) from the castle (Houston Petrol) while being hassled by unwanted companionship (Arthur and Jeremias collapsed into Bob). It's pretty clear where all the ideas are coming from. While being reduced to a bare minimum (women pretty much absent) and stripped off nuances and color.

Bit of a pity that they couldn't muster the courage and make it an entirely abstract location. Specifically that stereotype of the exceedingly talkative yet somewhat naive American strikes me as boringly lazy. Even though very (!) charmingly done by Garret Dillahunt.

Not a bad film, by no means. But in no way original or memorable either.