Thursday, 12 August 2021
The Woman (2011)
When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy.
This well-made horror films starts off as a disquietening and disturbing tale of female suppression and toxic, fascistoid male dominance till it culminates in a wildly gory and shocking finale with some twists and an ambiguous open ending.
Tuesday, 10 August 2021
Yao a yao, yao dao wai po qiao (1995)
A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
A carefully and beautifully staged period gangster drama reveals - behind all its splendour - the true deprivations of high-end crime, especially the exploitation of women; the ending is rather depressing.
Halliwell**: "A skilled and colourful account of corruption and betrayal, which avoids on-screen violence for the most part in order to concentrate on its devastating aftermath."
Maltin***: "Absorbing tale...An intriguing companion piece to American gangster movies and another dazzling showcase for leading lady Gong Li."
Immortals (2011)
Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
Sensationally exciting visuals meet lackluster storytelling in this star-cast mythological action romp; are there any Gods who would approve?
Maltin*1/2: "Clunky, boring film...There's nothing Olympian about the screenplay or the artificial setting in which all the action takes place. Tarsem, noted for his visual innovations in other films, succumbs to the excesses of CGI here, to minimal effect."
Monday, 9 August 2021
Epos Dei - Die geheimnisvolle Ordnung hinter den Dingen (2010)
Several researchers get explain their look at their work and the related findings.
Pseudo-scientific documentary claims to reveal some hitherto "unknown" or rather "ignored" sensational scientific findings, but basically mixes some well-known facts with wild speculation and lets some self-acclaimed experts babble about their half-baked insights.
Saturday, 7 August 2021
Trouble Every Day (2001)
Two American newlyweds in Paris experience a love so strong, it almost devours them.
A cannibal film with a pretense will irritate both genre fans and art house audiences with its unnecessarily slow and elliptical narrative, cold and distanced atmosphere and lots of gore; great soundtrack, though.
Halliwell (no star): "Bloody, risible, emetic movie with an emaciated narrative that has Vincent Gallo looking moody while Beatrice Dalle literally consumes her lovers."
Maltin BOMB: "So bad it's almost funny. Atrocious French concoction...One of those woebegone cinematic mistakes that make you wonder. Tindersticks' score and title song are so good they belong in another movie."
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