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Idi i smotri (1985)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre of war movies
War is hell, and so is this movie. This was over-the-top violent without a great deal of historical context, character development, or deep meaning. I wouldn't call it realistic, more surrealistic. It's an interesting cultural artifact and has well-executed sequences, but I'm not sure it should be this high on the list of great war movies, or movies generally. It's definitely pretty high on the list of most unpleasant experiences in the IMDB top 250.
Two of Us (2000)
Has some things going for it but flawed
The cast are strong but we can never quite suspend disbelief they way you can in the best re-enactments ('Ray' or "Man in the Moon"). Maybe we know Lennon and McCartney too well. Maybe 30% of the time they have real chemistry. The movie is more serious than one might expect. It might have been better emphasizing the zany moments and the comic interplay, with dramatic tension at the beginning and end. It's heavy on McCartney probing Lennon's issues and insecurities. It may be historically accurate that Lennon went off the deep end with drugs and narcissistic provocations, artistically and in personal dealings, but presenting him as a sad sack and tragic figure and stripping away the charisma and brilliance takes away from the drama. It attempts a deep portrait but nobly falls a little short. Feels like an award-winning school play. There's material in here for a pretty great movie like 'Mozart' meets 'That Championship Season' but ultimately falls a bit short.
Hero (1992)
a near-miss Capra-esqe classic
Would be a classic if they had cast Danny DeVito or Joe Pesci, or anyone who could do lovable villain in the title role.
Instead Dustin Hoffman hams it up something awful and turns a would-be classic into a near-miss.
Dustin is an all-time great, but something went awry with this performance (or with the direction).
Geena Davis is pitch-perfect, and Andy Garcia is well-cast as the bum with movie-star looks and the heart of gold.
Chucky the camera-man is classic.
Blink and you'll miss Danny Baldwin foreshadowing Backdraft as a firefighter.
Awaits a remake, I think.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
interesting but flawed
I have a feeling a lot of wannabe auteurs identify with the filmmaker and a perceived 'searing indictment' of business and organized religion.
There are a lot of parallels between leaders of successful businesses and religions - they're good at selling shared desires and dreams, and creating organizations that meet human need for belonging.
It is not the case that entrepreneurs and religious figures share ambition, ruthlessness and lack of scruples crossing well into the psychotic. Or at least not the successful ones.
And when the protagonists go over that line they're hard to identify with or even believe.
Some interesting twists, good performances, but ponderous and ultimately flawed.
Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)
A great film of South Africa
A powerful, deep, and complex story of an interracial crime in 1940s Johannesburg. As in The Grapes Of Wrath, the spotlight is on the human struggle and heartbreak of a racially divided society instead of the inevitable political and moral overtones, and the result is the story of a generation.