the-ppfitzgeralds Reviews

Apartment Zero (1988)

An 80's Gem

[10/10 · 1 January 2012]

I don't remember when was the last time I saw it, a decade at least and then, a couple of days ago, two kids rented it and put it on on one of those super plasma deals. Wow! It captured me immediately. Colin First already then giving a performance that I don't quite understand why he didn't get an Oscar nomination. He is extraordinary! To my surprise Hart Bochner (Die Hard) holds his own in a sensational "mano a mano" with Firth. The film explores the interior of a guy without a real identity, who lives his life through film. That's the only thing he connects with. His portrayal of loneliness is devastating and yet Martin Donovan, the writer/director finds a cinematic and thoroughly entertaining way to tell the story. The humor is so sophisticated that I'm a bit surprised we haven't seen more of it in other films. I'm planning to see it again soon with the director's commentary. If you haven't seen it but love film. Don't waste another minute. Rent it, buy it or steal it.

Family Diary (1962)

Two Brothers

[10/10 · 11 December 2009]

I wept like I hadn't wept in a movie for years. Director Valerio Zurlini and his cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno gives us a visual symphony in browns and dark yellows. The faces of the brothers Enrico and Lorenzo played with shattering truth by Marcello Mastroianni and Jaques Perrin have made a home in my brain. Their reunion with their grandmother, played by the sublime Sylvie, is an image, a film moment that I shall never forget. As it happens more often than not, the Italians have released this gem in DVD without English subtitles - not in English or any other language for that matter. I'm grateful for speaking and understanding Italian well enough to enjoy this movie to the fullest. If you do as well, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Marley & Me (2008)

Memories of Old Yeller

[7/10 · 24 September 2009]

Wild horses couldn't have dragged me to the theaters to see this movie but I couldn't say no to my nieces and they are the ones that selected the DVD. What a surprise and how dangerous to pre-judge. "Marley and Me" has, at least, 4 or 5 elements that put it way above other movies of its kind. It reminded me (without being similar) to a favorite of my own childhood "Old Yeller" and that alone placed me on a very special frame of mind. Jennifer Aniston surprised me. Her performance feels and sounds truthful and thoughtful. The mother of three who left behind a promising career to dedicate herself fully to her family, reeks of a familiar kind of pathology that Aniston takes all the way without allowing the acting get in the way. I believed her and that makes things work on all levels. Then, Alan Arkin, he creates a fully fledged character out of a clichè. He's wonderful. And Marley? The series of extraordinary dogs who played the arch of this unconventional creature, is a triumph of sorts. Some of the music and Marley running I could have done without and I must confess I wouldn't have cast Owen Wilson but that's just too small a problem to spoil the surprise this movie provides. Kathleen Turner plays a cameo as a dog instructor that provoked a gasp in the audience. She's closer to Shirley Stoler in "Seven Beauties" than to Geena Davis in "The Accidental Turist" Use your kids as an excuse to see Marley. It works.

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

The Power Of The Truth

[10/10 · 13 July 2009]

It's more unique than rare that a film affects me this much. The center, the emotional center of Phillip Morris has entered my subconscious in a way that I can't quite describe. It changed my perception of things. This is the first time I see two men kissing that made complete sense. I believe and understood like never before the "normalness" of the feeling. I liked "Brokeback Mountain" too but in that case, the torturous path of self-loathing that the Heath Ledger character goes trough, kept me at the periphery of the story like a sympathetic, moved spectator. Here I was part of it, of them. I'm sure Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor have a lot to do with it. No cheap shots, no low comedy. They are so true that you can't help loving them and rooting for them, flaws and all. I predict "I Love You Phillip Morris" will become the sleeper of 2009.

Tetro (2009)

Francis Ford Coppola in Buenos Aires

[8/10 · 22 June 2009]

Thousand of miles away from Hollywood, the great Francis Coppola confronts something personal as a human being as well as a filmmaker. The story a young man looking for his older brother under the crippling shadow of a famous father. Hummm. Compelling, absorbing, mesmerizing at times. The younger brother is played with real magic by newcomer Alden Ehrenreich but for some inexplicable reason the older brother and title role is played by Vincent Gallo. He's an interesting guy but not at all the pivot that, clearly, the part required. I needed to feel things that Gallo didn't provide. He's just weird and even in the enormous emotional scenes (like the final one) he's not really there. I wonder why Coppola made this bizarre casting decision. The rest of the cast is fabulous and Buenos Aires breaths a life of its own even if, it didn't feel like Buenos Aires - I know that city pretty well - it looked at times like a border town in Mexico. Buenos Aires has an old fashion, seductive kind of elegance nowhere to be found here. I'm sure there is reason for it and I hope to discover it in my next viewing because this is a film I know I'll see many, many times. Another thing to cheer about, a strange and haunting score (it reminded me of "Apartment Zero" in more ways than one) and a sensational black and white Cinemascope screen. To be seen!