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Reviews
John Carter (2012)
The book is better
OK. I'll do it the other way around as on another movie site: The movie is nice to watch and the visual effects are good. Hence a 7. BUT I cannot understand why the infamous Hollywood script writers had to change so much compared to the book. Now we are left with a story in which hardly anything is being explained: How can John Carter understand the Martians? How do the Martians live (especially the green Tharks)? What kind of a person ("creature") is Dejah Thoris? How are her thoughts about John Carter? Why do the Heliumites live so different from the Tharks? How is it possible that on Mars there is air, so that life is possible at all there? These and many, many other questions remain unanswered. All these questions are being answered in the book. Now, why has this information been omitted from the script? Also the interesting relationship between John Carter and Tars Tarkas remains a closed book (Why and how do they change from enemies to close friends?). What remains is a state-of-the-art movie with lots of action, that is a feast for the eye, but in which much of the background remains unclear. After writing all this, I have changed my vote to a six. It is such a shame that the real story remains untold.
National Treasure (2004)
Too much Da Vinci Code
This movie, though very entertaining (hence my 7 out of 10) looks as if it a pre-release of "The Da Vinci Code". So many elements have been taken from Dan Brown's bestseller, that most of the plot felt familiar to me, having read (as we all have) the Dan Brown book. The main difference is that not ancient documents from biblical times are the basis for all the action, but the a more recent document. Furthermore there are so many parallels (the running from one clue to another, the Freemasons, the vaults beneath churches etc.) that it looks as if Disney wanted to pick some of the credit of Dan Brown, while he still could, before the movie of the Da Vinci Code is among us.
Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
Lack of violence is the strength
This movie shows us that not showing, but at most suggesting, violence makes a movie more powerful. It takes a great director and producer to decide to skip all violence from the movie. And this one shows how much stronger it gets. Thre is suspense and tension from the first to the last minute. The atmosphere in which the illegal foreigners in London have to live is pictured very well and is completely believable. The acting is - as we can expect from a British movie - more than excellent and extremely natural. Is the plot flawless? I suppose not, but the above element makes us forgive this. A 10 out of 10 is the only reasonable judgment.
Nawng mia (1990)
Thai real-life drama
Some viewers may see this as a weak story. I, being a frequent visitor to Thailand for more than 15 years now, know better. It is the story of a very poor family, living on a boat in the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Husband and wife, sister of the wife and a young child of the couple. The woman is beautiful and wants to have a better life. She leaves her family and meets people who want to bring her into prostitution, by saying she will get a movie career. Meanwhile the husband tries to find her with the "help" of a taxi driver who only wants to make money from the man. This indeed looks like a cheap story, but many people in Bangkok are very poor and these people believe anything if somebody promises a less poor life. Also the part of the taxi driver is taken from real life. The drama is filmed beautifully, completely on location. Thai movies do not show much sex and cruelties. They concentrate on the story. The acting is good to very good. Those who know Thailand should see this movie anyway. Others should see how life of the poor in Thailand is and how the poor are abused by the rich. I find this a brilliant real-life drama. I gave it 9 out of 10.
Signs (2002)
No tension, just boring
Night Shyamalan made a great movie with "The Sixth Sense". The plot was good, the tension and suspense built up as it should and the ending was unexpected. Then came "Unbreakable". I gave it a very low rating here, because the action was sooooo sloooow, there hardly was any tension and an unexpected ending lacked. Sadly in "Signs" Shyamalan follows his tradition of "Unbreakable". "Signs" lacks everything a good movie should have. If my wife had not wanted to continue, I would have switched it off halfway. Hardly anything happens, and the events that do happen are far from unexpected. No tension at all is being built up. One knows from the very start that the events have something to do with some kind of extra terrestrial life, and this suggestion is repeated so often that extreme boredom overcomes the viewer. It is clear that we get to see something of these ET's at some point, but when this happens at last there is no tension, no horror, no unexpected action, no drama, nothing at all that can grip the viewer. The (few) principal characters react frightened from the start to the end but what are they frightened of? And what is the plot? I don't know. There is no plot. So this was the last movie I ever saw by Shyamalan. He made one great movie ("The Sixth Sense") but he seems not to be able to reproduce even some of the fine elements of that one.
Enigma (2001)
Brilliant acting
In this movie I highly enjoyed the brilliant acting of Kate Winslet, who proves here that she is up to much more than "Titanic". She plays her part so very natural. The rest of the cast is good also, but Kate really stole the show for me. I found the plot, brilliant as it may be, a bit too difficult to follow the first time one sees the movie, and for that reason not really satisfying.
The setting is great and the atmosphere is very British and very much wartime. I gave this movie an 8 out of 10. It could have been as low as 6 out of 10 without Kate Winslet. Again, she steals the show and as soon as she appears there is no weak moment or difficult plot to worry about.
Mue peun khia (1977)
Brilliant police movie
Thai movies are not very popular outside Thailand, but this one deserves better.
The story is about a man who has a -seemingly- quiet family life, but as a side-job he is a hired killer. Because he is limping, he is called "the lame killer".
Why? He was a soldier and he was left at the battle field with one leg partly missing. That gave him a trauma. The man responsible for his being left behind at the battle field is the police inspector ("the black hand") who's duty it is to find the "lame killer". Obviously there is a conflict of interests with this police inspector. Eventually the inspector is more or less forced to try to arrest the killer. He reluctantly prepares the arrest. This gives the movie a high psychological tension. You should find out the rest of the story for yourself. Apart from the strong and believable story line, the filming is very good. The movie was completely filmed on location and one also gets quite a good impression of everyday life in Bangkok, which makes the movie also worthwhile. A must see (if you can). I bought the DVD with English subtitles.
Grease (1978)
The ultimate fifties movie
This movie, although made in the late seventies, recreates school life in the fifties superbly. To me everything looks as if it was made in the fifties. No weaknesses to speak about at all. This review should therefore be kept as short as possible. Acting, dancing and singing are first class. The fun the actors had splashes from the screen. Even now (2002) almost 25 years later one of my top films of all times.
The Others (2001)
Very Surprising, but too slow
This movie really has a very unexpected ending and, so, a very good plot. I didn't know what to expect of the ending while watching the movie, and I was greatly surprised by it indeed. Of course I cannot tell anything about the plot without spoiling your viewing pleasure! Anyway, for the plot only my mark would be close to 10/10.
Sadly the story develops very slow. In fact I believe that the first hour or so could have been told in half the time. That could have created extra time to raise the suspense or to put us even more on the wrong leg. The last half hour gives us what lacks in the first hour, however. The plot moves fast towards the climax then. Acting (especially by Nicole Kidman) is great. Photography is beautiful and the plot -as said- is very good. Didn't the makers see the flaw in the movie or did they lack some more creativity to repair it? My mark: 7/10.
Brassed Off (1996)
Brilliant movie
In this movie the British show once more how good they are at making movies. The movie has aspects of a comedy as well as of a (social) drama and is highly entertaining, as well as moving. It is about a coal mine in Northern England that is about to be closed. The local miners have a brass band and they consider it logic that the band has to stop as soon as the mine closes, however wonderfully the band plays and however much fun they may have from playing in the band. All the characters are worked out well and the story is believable. It contains some romance as well, which is one more ingredient that makes it worth watching. Before the story gets a chance to become too "heavy", some comedy or romance enters. Everything is carefully balanced. And who can watch the final scenes without being moved? I guess nobody. A movie one has to see!
Music by the (real) brass band from the village where the movie was made. The music alone is worth to watch the movie.
Vidocq (2001)
Confusing and disappointing
This movie is highly acclaimed by other users of IMDB. I found the story very confusing and -even worse- most story lines are not worked out properly, which is a basic requirement for a good movie.
I have made similar comments about other movies here at IMDB. A good story, properly worked out, is essential to me. In this case the movie still gets a 4 (out of 10) because of some good photography and the high quality of the (digital) images. Another strong point of criticism is that not only the story, but also the characters are not worked out as they should. Psychology and motives for the crimes remain as obscure as the atmosphere in which the story is set. I read that Vidocq really existed. Well, I would be highly interested to learn something about him. This movie failed to do so. There are some good effects, but there is nothing special about these any more. We can see them in almost every movie nowadays. For me the reasons for the commercial flop are obvious.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
You really need disk 2
The movie is very good. No doubt about that. But the editing is too fast for me. Take for example the wonderful tango sequence. In my opinion that wonderful sequence is so much over-edited that it looses most of its impact. On disk too (DVD version) you can see the sequence as it should have looked. This goes for some other sequences too. The cutting is so fast, that one can hardly see what happens and many shots get lost in that way. That really is a pity. That is my criticism. The story, the music and the acting are first class. Nicole Kidman, who has impressed me since "Bangkok Hilton", is better than ever. The costumes and sets are fantastic. (Everything was filmed in Australia; the crew did not even see Paris!). One can hardly believe this.
I have to see this movie again and maybe yet another time until I think I have really seen everything. But I don't mind. It is a feast for the eye.
I would never have given an Oscar for the editing, however, but I have started with that criticism already. With a bit more restrained editing I would have given 10/10, now it is "just" 8/10.
Bangkok Hilton (1989)
Superior work from Australia.
This is the ultimate TV mini-series. Everything is right. The story, the acting, the filming, the length, the locations, what not?
It looks as if even the prison scenes have been filmed in a real Thai prison, although one might doubt if permission would have been given for that by the Thai authorities if the script was known to them. All the other Bangkok scenes are definitely filmed on real locations. Also the airport scenes. They were definitely filmed at Bangkok Airport. I can guarantee this, knowing the place well. In this series Nicole Kidman broke through as an actress and she would deserve an Oscar, if there were one for this category (TV movies). Her acting is so perfectly natural and it looks as if she is going through the events herself, like in a documentary. One seldom sees such superior acting in a TV mini-series. All the locations have been chosen extremely well. I happen to know Bangkok quite well and I would not have been able to suggest any better locations. The movie last for about 4.5 hours, but this is not one minute too long. One needs every scene in the movie and it never bores. One can hardly believe that 4.5 hours have passed when the end credits appear. Time flies and if one looks at a video or DVD version it is impossible to interrupt it.
This one clearly shows that a TV mini-series can be of high quality and can be far superior to a movie, made for theaters. We can be happy that there is a DVD version (at least there is one in Europe). Everybody will want to see this one more than once. Superior work from Australia! Without any hesitation: 10/10!
Madame Butterfly (1995)
A believable and great opera movie
This really is a great opera movie. All the actors have the right age and -when it comes to appearance- the right "beauty". Butterfly is a young girl in the story, and in this movie she looks as one (and she is only in her early twenties). Nevertheless she does all the singing herself. She has won prizes in opera competitions and is very convincing. She is from China, not Japan, and has the perfect voice for the part. Who would ever find this story believable with a 40-years old soprano? Now with this young Asian actress/singer one is moved as one should be. Not only the singing, but also the emotions are clear and real. This could never be achieved in play-back from a different singer. All the other main characters are (very) good actors and sing their own parts (very well). The setting is beautiful, though not in Japan, but in Tunisia (I read afterwards). The orchestra plays well (under James Conlon). In fact everything is good. Only a few minor parts are sung by different persons than the (Asian) actors. Summarizing: The best Butterfly I have ever seen and probably the best I will ever see from now on.
Shrek (2001)
My reservations against computer animation are gone
I have always had reservations against computer animation. It seemed too easy. What could only be made in months by classical techniques can be done in seconds by new techniques. In other words, computer animation is the end of animation, I thought. It would only improve the quantity but not the quality, I thought. Sadly Disney has shown us some examples of this. (Every Disney classic suddenly got a number II sequel of lower quality on video and DVD, to give an example). But in Shrek Dreamworks have taken animation up to a higher level and it really is amazing. They did not simply let the computer take over most of the work. They developed new techniques, not to save time, but to open new possibilities. Shrek took three years to make, the same period of time a classical animated movie took to make. The result is amazing. We see a new world, not just filled with cartoon characters, but with also with (almost real life) humans! As far as the movie itself goes, it is fantastic! The story is good, the jokes are good, the tempo is good. In other words, buy it and see it again and again! This is the new world of animated movie.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Not good enough for Disney
Let me say first that I am a Disney fan. No doubt about that. I own most of his "Classics" on DVD. But this one simply is not good enough for a Disney movie. The story is far too thin for a movie, the humor is not as good as we normally see from Disney, there is no really bad villain. The music is good, however. That is one positive point. While watching this movie I wondered more and more why Disney made it at all and after that why he decided to release it. It would better have stayed on the shelves, for later revision or for eventual placement into the dustbin. Recently I read that the script had been re-written several times and that most of the movie was re-made because Disney was not happy with it. So what what we see now is the second or third trial, that for one reason or another was released. The main problem with this movie is -as said- that there simply is no strong story line. It is a collection of events, some of which are funny but most not funny at all. Nowadays Disney makes two or three movies a year, whereas in the past he made one in every two or three years. Maybe that is the main problem. The show must go on and on, with more and more output. So see it, if you are a Disney fan, but don't buy it. Luckily Disney can do better, as recent movies like "Tarzan" and "Atlantis" show!
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Entertainment, nothing more
This movie is not boring, it is entertaining indeed, but that is all there is at it. There is no tension, no suspense, the relationships are empty and not worked out and even the main theme (where do the apes come from and how did they get in charge?) is hardly worked out at all. In short, I wonder why this movie has been made at all. There was an older -better- one already. Why had this one been added? Of course, special effects are better now, but that is no reason for a new version. The makers did not use the challenge to give the movie the tension and suspense it really needs. They did add some -misplaced- humor, which really almost makes the film a kind of cartoon.
Where is the time when SF films were full of suspense? "Alien" is an example, although that one has a bit too much of suspense. But was Tim Burton not able to make something better of it? In that case he should restrict himself to animated movies, like "The Nightmare Before Christmas", which was brilliant.
Babe (1995)
Top movie for every age
This, partly animated, movie is so sweet, that you will probably not want to eat pork for some time, if you want to do so at all, after having seen Babe. The idea is very original. The pig Babe, who is intelligent (which pigs really seem to be, by the way) achieves everything he wants by being extremely polite. An example: he goes to the rooster and asks: "Excuse me sir, would it be possible for you to crow a few minute early today?". Brilliant! The main plot (the pig wins a sheep dog trial) is not only well worked out and original, but also touching. And how about Babe, the pig, who suddenly feels that he should sing a few lines of "Blue Moon". This really is a scene I can't forget easily. Finally, all parts are well-casted, with a top choice for the voice of Babe. See this movie again and again (I appreciated it much more the second time) and regard pigs as more than just meat afterwards!
Unbreakable (2000)
Most disappointing!
After having seen "The Sixth Sense", I had high expectations for this new movie by the same team. Seldom have I been disappointed more by a movie than by this one: There is hardly anything surprising in the plot. What it is all about (why is the main character "unbreakable"?) is not explained or even suggested and many of the scenes have hardly anything to do with the story line. And what has the strange relationship of the main character and his wife to do with the rest of the plot? Furthermore I had problems to keep my eyes open. The "action" is so slow. Can it be that I did not understand anything about it because I am not a fan of comic books? I doubt it. Any movie should at least be interesting by its action, photography, acting or whatever else. This one isn't. I have seen enough films I did not really like that were at least interesting to watch. But this one is simply boring.