Change Your Image
amsterdam
Reviews
The Merchant of Venice (2004)
If the man could still be alive?!
Fantastic. Yes. Michael Radford, the director, addressed us before the screening and very delicately already spoke wisely. He said: 'I thank my dear friend and collaborator, William S. in helping me making this film". "He had the screenplay, developed the characters, wrote the dialog and came up with the plot............I did the rest!" Well, how do you judge a film when you rest on the foundation of writings of possibly the best author known to man?! Credit must go out to execution. We've seen many adaptations that were terrible. Radford has done an excellent job shooting this film.....great locations, costumes, music, camera work, fantastic storytelling and most of all an exquisite choice of cast. They were all marvelous, Al Pacino in particular of course. Nonetheless, that foundation begs any film maker just not to be idiotic, and you'll then do just fine. Radford was wise and stayed true to what William might have envisioned. 8 out of 10.
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004)
Bigger is not always better.
It's a little tough to judge. It was one of the better films for sure. It looked great. Beautifully done. However, after Amelie, it's hard to capture an audience like that again. You can't help to want to be blown away again. And I wasn't. I wanted to love it, and I did like it, but that's all. A story of hope, yes. A love story, just a bit. You need two parties to fulfill that need. As the boy soldier was off his rockers, he was more a tool to the story. The story is not genius. The plot not unexpected. The characters were great, the visuals stunning, sound, music etc. But it takes many aspects too call a movie great. When you set out to tell such an epic story, you better get all your ducks in a row, and though many were, the film still was a 7 out of a 10 for me. I brought 16 friends to the North American premiere, and they all liked it. No more no less. Looking at this opposite of Amelie (which everyone will) I guess bigger is not always better.
Shi mian mai fu (2004)
Good, but not great.
Do you need to be a fan of this sort of movies? Perhaps! Is it visually stunning? For sure! Nonetheless, I was not blown away by it. As director Yimou took on an epic road of directing 'Hero', I suppose I wasn't expecting that high a production value, when I saw Hero, early last year. I was blown away by Hero. Everything about it was fabulous if you ask me! Now, as the novelty wears off, am I less caught off guard by 'Daggers'? I might be. Yes it's visually stunning, very poetic, the sound design and score are noteworthy, great performances, and again absolutely amazing choreography. However, does all that make it a brilliant film? Somehow it left me a little cold. Trust me, I wanted to love it, but I just couldn't. Nice character development, but there's just not that much sentiment in it as I would've liked. A 7 out of 10. Oh, and by the way, it seems to be all shot on HD Video. I'm not against that, but with a period piece, where you don't rely on much cgi work, it is I think a bad choice. It looked so clean, that I sometimes felt I was watching a TV movie or an episode of Xena, the princess warrior.
Ae Fond Kiss... (2004)
A fantastic inter-racial family drama
Seeing Ken Loach's film at AFI Fest, I was positivelly surprised. A Fond Kiss is a very effective portrayal of a love story surviving the toughest social dilemma's. This film dealing with the inter-racial relationship between a Muslim pakistani young man and a catholic irish woman all set in Glasgow, Scotland, does an excellent job in giving insight in the family values of pakistani and Indian muslims in a predominantly catholic British environment. Dealing with generation gaps between parents and children, it also puts the Muslim beliefs in a slightly different limelight, where destiny is not so much determined by faith but by family principles. A great set up has the audience warm up to the film's characters very effectivally and engages us into the story right off the bat. The acting is powerful, and the theme never is 'preached' to us. The director does a fantastic job pulling us in to a world which might be far away from our own beliefs and lifestyles, but has us all look beyond the apparent differences to see the true value of love. The theme and characters might not speak to everyone, but undoubtfully it is a great piece of film making.
Ying xiong (2002)
A modern fairy tale of grace and principles.
I truly believe Hero is a masterpiece. I've seen it only on the small screen and it already blew me away. I can't wait till Miramax releases it soon. It's a film I've watched close to ten times now, as an asian friend brought me this film from china. First of all you have to put Hero in context. It is a fable. It is almost science fiction. Therefor, you shouldn't expect a simple realistic narrative. As the story jumps around in time, it keeps the audience guessing what is real and what isn't. Early on in the film where our Hero, Jet Li, does battle with the first 'foe', we already are introduced to war fare of the mind. This continues throughout the entire film. To get to the aesthetics of the film, it's quite simple. It is absolutely one of the most beautiful films you will ever see. The cinematography is unmatched by Crouching Tiger...! The music is of another world. The choreography will pass for ballet. The costumes, which change in every scene, as does also the decor, is stunning, but never distracting. The film has such powerful grace, it will simply turn any viewer into a zen master.
The story is about faith. It's about change. Where, this being a period piece, it tells ancient times should not fear change, as it might bring progress. It's a journey of an undefeated warrior, who is set to bring down a monarchy. But as the story unfolds, and the same journey is told from four different standpoints, the Hero and King are exposed to a truth that might result in an upsetting change of heart. As another critic on this site commented, some battles are highly imaginative. Nevertheless, there is truth of shifting perspective in the Hero in all of them. Every scene upsets the Hero's beliefs, and makes him question his task as he continues his journey. The result is that Hero becomes a tale of the ultimate sacrifice for the prosperity of an entire nation. All our internal or external victories should not only benefit ourselves but should also guide humanity. Hero is foremost a tale about unity, equality and the love of the human race. Go see it, and don't forget to adjust your everyday mindset to fully enjoy.
The Commission (2003)
A screening with the actual commission present gone wrong!
The big premiere at AFI fest. Martin Landau present, Corbin Bernsen present and a handful of other trustees, but the screening went all wrong! I had looked forward to this 'special movie' about the commission that was put together to investigate the actual facts around the assassination of JFK. However, after the director addressed us all, also announcing that he added a sepia tone color to the print, oh and by the way, he hasn't seen this print yet, so please comment afterwards! Well, the sepia tone was distracting, the editing was wrong, the sound mix was very poor and except for the opening 3 minutes, the rest was all titles and talking heads. Don't get me wrong, because Landau, Corbin, Martin Sheen and the rest of the commission are all very charismatic and a joy to see talking, to a certain extent. The pacing though was student film like, the information presented ambiguous and thus a great topic executed so inadequately that it became unbearable. But here comes the best part. Reel 2 kicked in and suddenly everything is out of sync! No seriously, it was not the projector messing up, 'cause we're watching an answer print, or at least a hazeltine. No, it's just pure stupidity that as a director you allow your film to premiere at such a big event, with a packed house filled with celebrities, but you can't seem to make/take time to check your print first before screening. A travesty! That, and the fact that there was a lack of visual and oral storytelling, it all looked more like a projection of a vanity fair article, at best. I beg your pardon, but this was not film-making.