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Reviews
Laughter in the Dark (1986)
This film was never made
According to a Wikipedia article on the 1969 version of Nabokov's novel, "Laszlo Papas was slated to direct a 1986 remake of the film which would have starred Mick Jagger as Axel Rex and Rebecca De Mornay as the young seductress; De Mornay was replaced by Maryam d'Abo after disagreements with the director, but ultimately the project went nowhere and the film was never made."
The 1969 version, for those interested, also had it's share of casting problems and may be hard to view:
"Nicol Williamson was brought in as a very late replacement for Richard Burton, who had already shot several scenes. The director, Tony Richardson, found Burton's lack of punctuality intolerable. [...] The film drew respectable reviews, but for reasons that are unclear, it was subsequently removed from distribution. The film has only twice been shown on British television, (in 1974 and 1981 on BBC2), and has not been released on video or DVD."
Dancing Pirate (1936)
Rita Hayworth bit part unconfirmed for this film
Have fun looking out for Rita Hayworth in "The dancing Pirate", but don't hold your breath.
By 1936, Margarita Cansino was being groomed for stardom by Fox studios. According to one biography (featured in Gene Ringgold's "The Films of Rita Hayworth" of the old Citadel press "Films of..." series), her father then regrouped the remaining Dancing Cansinos under the name "The Royal Cansino Dancers" and appeared in "The Dancing Pirate" for an affiliate of RKO pictures.
The year before "Pirate" was released, Rita had already had speaking parts in Fox films like the Jane Withers vehicle "Paddy O'Day", in which Rita was the female adult lead. It seem unlikely she would then be loaned to another studio to be hidden among the Royal Dancing Cansinos.
I would say all this at least warrants an unconfirmed status on Hayworth's credit for this film. But, if you ask me, she is NOT in the film at all.
The Air I Breathe (2007)
The New Cliché
Some people might think filmmakers are starting to abuse the coincidentally intertwined multiple stories told in a jumbled time line format we've watched in the likes of 'Pulp Fiction', 'Crash', 'Babel' and 'Vantage Point', 'Amores Perros', etc. etc. etc. etc. I think it's becoming a cliché of sorts.
What sets this movie apart, however, are two inappropriately hilarious scenes, both involving Sarah Michelle Gellar's character, namely SPOILER: Trista's father tap dancing to death and Trista's attempted suicide (I felt I'd been suddenly transported to a Harold Lloyd movie).
I was very sad to see talent like Andy Garcia, Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Forrest Whitaker wasted in this film.
Chavez: Inside the Coup (2003)
Actually, the Revolution is televised on all channels
If you want to judge this as a film do so, but only count it as a documentary if you're comfortable with the fact that now and then a documentary filmmaker will let his personal views slip into the film. None of the images you see in this film are made-up, but they are definitely representing the government's side of facts.
Those days in April are full of events that neither government nor opposition can be proud of. But this film, as in most fiction, has a clear hero (Chavez) and a spiteful villain (the opposition).
Where, for example, is the transmission where Gen. Lucas Rincon announced to Venezuela that Chavez had accepted to resign? Oddly enough, this general who was the only person we heard say Chavez was no longer president, was awarded the post of Ministry of Justice once Chavez was back in power. One would think he should have been demoted for lying to the people, and even for possibly being part of the conspiracy to overthrow Chavez.
Facts like this, Chavez' declining popularity, his speeches which consistently divide Venezuelan society into two bands, increasing unemployment, and other factors which made millions march in April to ask him to resign are conveniently left out.
As for the title of this so-called documentary: "The Revolution will not be televised". According to this propaganda for Chavez, he has no control over the powerful media, and only one channel to transmit through. Chavez and every president I remember since the 70s has the power to interrupt all local programming on TV and radio and transmit his speeches. These are called `cadenas' or chains meaning you're linking all airwaves to one singular broadcast. All presidents have used them, but few have abused it the way Chavez does. We're subjected to weekly `cadenas' where we hear not matters of national interest but jokes, family anecdotes and even Chavez singing. I kid you not, with the proper footage of Chavez, "Not Televised" or `Inside the Coup' as it's now being called could easily be transformed into a musical comedy. These "cadenas" of his can go on for more than three hours. As a matter of fact, while people were being killed in the streets in April, Chavez hogged the airwaves. Local media bravely (and illegally) split the image and showed venezuelans the truth, the horror going on in the streets of Caracas. "The Revolution will not be televised"? We venezuelans could only wish! We are forced to watch, or turn off our TVs and radios.
The Shipping News (2001)
Another gem in Lasse's crown
"Shipping news" is another wonderful film experience from director Lasse Hallstrom. His films always explore human emotions, and he has consistently used top-notch actors to help him out in his objective, yet he rarely lets his actors pull obvious histrionic stunts.
Kevin Spacey's performance is an example of quite an emotional turmoil lurking behind a seemingly 'boring" person. But he's not the only actor to watch in this film. The performances are perfect down to the last supporting player.
The story is full of quirky and refreshing details. Just don't expect to be swept off your feet and, least of all, to use up your box of Kleenex, that's not Hallstrom's style.