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Cassiel
Reviews
BBC2 Playhouse: Caught on a Train (1980)
Superb - an old favorite which still holds up
I first saw this movie on television in the States in the early 1990's and loved it. Then I saw it again when the DVD was released around 2004. Finally, I've seen it yet again in 2023 and this film holds up. It remains just as good as I've remembered it on previous occasions.
The plot details can be read elsewhere, but a big part of the appeal of the film to me has to be the late night atmosphere it captures while traveling. Mike Westbrook's excellent jazzy (and at times, avant-garde) soundtrack certainly further adds to that. Indeed, I think that the atmosphere of this film is perhaps even more important than the plot itself.
Beyond any of that, the film does a fine job of capturing the international flavor of what it's like to travel in European train compartments while crossing borders in early 80's Europe.
I expect that I will continue to love this film when I see it again in the years to come.
Doors Open (2012)
Very Underrated
I'm surprised that this is so low rated. I saw it when it first came out, and then again nearly a decade later. I love this small and fun little film, part heist, part love story. The plot is decent, the acting is good, and the directing is inventive (note the shot looking straight down from the ceiling as the tourists are forced to exit after the fire alarm).
I gave this film a 9 out of 10, though am perhaps tempted to give it a full 10 out of 10. Love it!
The Rockford Files: Love Is the Word (1979)
One of the Best Episodes of the Series
The entire series of "The Rockford Files" is wonderful. I've always been profoundly moved by this particular episode, despite the fact that it's an atypical episode of the series, I still consider it one of the best.
It is certainly a more serious episode than most. Sure, the episode has its share of action plot elements which move the story right along, but all of that is really secondary to the personal emotional drama.
We've seen Jim's broken heart before in Season 1's, "Claire" and in Season 2's, "A Bad Deal in the Valley," but neither of those can compare to the crushing blow Jim's soul must endure in "Love is the Word." The scene of Jim storming through his trailer in rage after learning Megan's news speaks volumes.
David Chase must be commended on his outstanding writing of this episode. Some of the dialog between Jim and Megan is perhaps the most sensitive and poignant of the entire series.
And wow -- that final scene of the freeze frame of Jim standing as Megan and her new husband walk away, is such a simple, small scene -- but so superbly done. An appropriately touching and powerful ending of the episode.
I suppose, if a viewer has never had to endure a broken heart (and come on -- who could ever really say that?), then this episode may seem kind of bland as at least one other reviewer implied. But for those of us who do know that pain, we can relate all too well to what Rockford is going through.
In that sense, viewing this episode can be a comfort.
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
Bad - very bad
Wow... This was bad. Even the 70's music that they chose was mostly bad. Even the watered down version of the classic "Gotcha" theme song was bad - how could they mess that up?
I loved the original series, and this movie was a major, major letdown. The only highpoint for me were the "two cameo appearances" towards the end. Still, although that was a thrill, it does not redeem a truly awful and unfunny film. Thankfully, it is so bad that it doesn't ruin the experience of the original series. Save your money and time on this horrible film and go buy the DVDs of the classic original series.
The End of Violence (1997)
A Fine Film
Although there are some flaws, (some of the scripted dialog will make you wince) this is a beautiful film worthy of tremendous respect.
With "The End of Violece" Wenders continues to bring a transcending warmth to the big screen and in doing so, he beautifully takes the hero down the mythic, archetypal hero path of "separation, initiation, return."
Each scene in the film is strikingly beautiful and gorgiously shot in the widest aspect ratio that Wenders has used to date. It must suffer greatly if not seen in the "letterbox" format.
Not perfect, but with forgivable flaws, "The End of Violence" is surely one of the best films of 1997. Certainly one of the best films to come out of Hollywood in quite some time.
In weiter Ferne, so nah! (1993)
A Wonderful Cinematic Experience
Although it has received mixed reviews by critics, this follow-up to "Der Himmel über Berlin" (1987) is a deeply moving and beautiful film. Wenders explores the polarities which exist in a newly unified Berlin and in so doing examines some of the polarities which exist in life itself. As "Cassiel," Otto Sander has given us another endearing Wenders protagonist who learns all too quickly about what life (and time) can present upon an individual. Laurent Petitgand's stunning musical score enhances the sublime images photographed by Jürgen Jürges. Although "Der Himmel über Berlin" (1987), is an almost mandatory pre-requisite, "In weiter Ferne, so nah!" (1993) is a vastly different film which proves itself in its own right.
Cinema has produced many wonderful films over the past century or so, but when looking at the various elements of film combined here, there is no other movie which touches me quite so positively, quite as deeply as this one.