oslane Reviews

This Is England (2006)

oi oi oi, a lousy coming of age film

[3/10 · 11 January 2010]

Why is this movie getting so much praise? It's just another coming of age movie framed by the director's dubious knowledge of a youth cult. It's no different than 'Suburbia' or 'SLC Punk' or I don't know... It's also very pretentious because the back drop is the Falklands war, trying to give the scenario some gravity.

But seriously it's no better than a made for TV movie. Its one, single, unique factor is that it portrays skinheads in their original identity - a bunch of fun loving, ganja smoking, reggae listening kids who dressed in those funny Erkle pants and red suspenders - then things get ugly.

The events in this movie move along with no real purpose other than to move through a script and throw some heavy scenes in the viewer's face. And what's worse is that the facts are also off. The racist skinheads of 1983 were not just nationalists trying to get Pakistani immigrants out of their country. They were full blown neo-Nazis, in other words the interaction between Combo and Milky, never would happen or at least not in the order the film insists. It's complete rubbish.

Furthermore the romance between the kid and the older, goth/glam chick is really weird and creepy. It makes no sense! It's like 'The Tin Drum' only it attempts to be real! It's really gross! In total, I didn't like it. I felt nearly every single moment of this movie was embarrassing and silly. The Falklands war imagery was pointless. And constantly reminding us what decade the movie was set in was annoying - hey another 'Maggie is a c***!' reference, woo!

The Extraordinary Child (1954)

bizarre screwball comedy from Brakhage

[7/10 · 25 December 2009]

Fans of Brakhage might be surprised at this film, in which in Walter Newcomb, an early actor in Brakhage films, portrays a baby, who causes a bunch of mischief and grief to his parents and a visiting doctor.

One thing I didn't quite understand was the perspective; I couldn't tell whether Newcomb was supposed to be his own size or that of a baby, only with his features. There's a humorous exchange involving a whiskey bottle which is huge when Newcomb pushes it, implying he's the size of a baby but during the scene where he jumps on the bumper of a car, he's his normal size.

The acting is more comedic and over the top than one might expect from a 16mm film but otherwise the film humorous and enjoyable.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)

well Nicholas Cage isn't Klaus Kinski but...

[8/10 · 19 December 2009]

What really bugs me are the Werner Herzog fans who hated this movie. The best Herzog films are more about atmosphere rather than plot as most of his classics are extremely simple movies that take the viewer into the world and believe me he's a master of image and sound with a totally unique style.

Usually Herzog's films involve one very strange central character - Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, Kasper Hauser, the body builder in Invincible - and in this case, Nicholas Cage delivers. His performance is very over the top yet at times very funny and his character is a lowlife, degenerate who becomes endearing.

The only problem with the movie was that there were too many plot elements interwoven into the film. Despite it essentially having Herzog's naturalistic, atmospheric approach, the plot made it seem too commercial, which all of his Hollywood films tend to be anyway. Oh well, sometimes you just can't go back 40 years to the hand-held 16mm camera.

Dark Heart (2009)

what's missing in cinema

[10/10 · 17 December 2009]

clearly the person (if you can call him that) who wrote the prior review is an idiot and a philistine.

Agreed the performances were terrific as was everything else! This film isn't "slow paced"! That's called atmosphere but I guess people don't look for that type of thing when watching Michael Bay.

The inability to see ideas in this film reflects more a lack of ideas in one's self.

I've seen all of this director's films and hopefully will get to see many more but unfortunately the taste of the movie-going public (ahem, previous comment as an example) may not allow it.

Death Smiles on a Murderer (1973)

Joe D'amato trying to be Jess Franco

[8/10 · 16 February 2009]

My grade of 8 out of 10 for this movie is very inflated. I'm under the impression that the reason people say this is Joe D'amato film with some actual class is because Joe D'amato is generally known for making such sleazy garbage. But anyone who has seen films from Jess Franco, particularly that of the 'Venus in Furs' or 'Vampiros Lesbos' variety will see that this is no different from those Euro-trash pictures. Like Franco, D'amato employs something of a slow, atmospheric texture, a convoluted 'plot', copious amounts of nudity that somehow fit within the film, a few choice death scenes and of course, the strongest element of them all: Klaus Kinski!!! If you're a Euro-trash fan, especially that of Jess Franco it's definitely worth a look.

Trainspotting (1996)

oi, overrated hipster shite

[7/10 · 23 December 2008]

Judging by the 8 out of 10 overall score and the overwhelming strong reviews, you'd think this is the 'Citizen Kane' of the early 90s, Mirimax, not quite independent cinema movement! It's worth a good laugh watching Renton and his punky, hipster druggy friends shoot dope, go to pubs and clubs, attempt to get jobs, get in violent altercations and discuss being downtrodden Scottish folk through a bunch of gimmicky camera tricks. It IS a good, fun romp through through low-life land with a really good soundtrack, a few laughs, lots of Iggy Pop reference and a naughty sex scene.

But parents be warned! This is NOT an anti-drug movie! Yes there are those awful consequences but these are not the WORST consequences and judging by how the movie portrays dingy, low-rent apartments as 'cool' while Renton and crew load up on the good old H coupled with the relatively happy ending, this movie is very likely to insight a few copy cats who don't know any better.

D.O.A. (1980)

rare punk documentary that's worth a look!

[8/10 · 17 December 2008]

This film serves as a nice bridge between between Don Letts' 'The Punk Rock Movie' and Penelope Spheeris' 'The Decline of Western Civilization' as it mainly follows the Sex Pistols on their disastrous U.S. tour which lead to their implosion and was followed by the death of Sid Vicious and his girl friend Nancy (hence the film's title). Lech Kawalski captures some excellent footage of the band as well as the locals' reactions to the 'punk rock phenomenon.' Also Kawalski shows the social conditions from which the Pistols came from to give more back ground. And, to show some of the group's influence, has a good amount of live performances from other key punk bands like Sham 69, Generation X, X Ray Spex, Dead Boys and lesser known act Terry and the Idiots - not to mention a soundtrack which includes music from Iggy, the Ramones and the Clash! Good stuff! I was a little surprised as I thought I'd seen every punk rock movie from the era but this one seems to have fallen through the cracks. If you can get your hands on it, do so!

9 Songs (2004)

I think it would have been better without the concert footage

[7/10 · 26 June 2008]

I hate to sound arty or pretentious for defending a movie that focuses so much of its time on actual, real explicit sex as many have debunked this as art house porn. But it's too easy to write this off as porn. First of all eroticism is in the eye of the beholder. If you're a Vivid addicted, Jenna Jameson watching porn person or into Cinemax soft core, this won't be your libido raiser. The girl is honestly quite pretty and criticizing her looks or, the male character's, is not only a cheap shot but echoes of what people were hoping to see in this movie.

With that said, this is like many 'plot-less' movies. It's about human interaction in the moment.

As a Michael Winterbottom fan, it's not my favorite by far. There's too much live rock footage linked to the drama, 9 performances to be exact, and honestly, I'm no indie rock fan. I wish Winterbottom could have extended the drama, thrown in a little more naturalistic comedy, such as in other films of his like '24 Hour Party People' or 'Tristram Shandy...', and developed his characters more.

The trajectory of their relationship follows the typical excitement upon contact between two lovers, fighting, distancing, reconciliation and end pattern and it happens too quickly and mechanically.

Otherwise, I thought it was a neat watch.

Schindler's List (1993)

the Holocaust in three conveniant acts

[4/10 · 25 May 2008]

I know that the IMDb rating is 8.8, that this film won academy award for best picture (which means very little), that it was one of the earliest features to take an in depth, insider look at the Holocaust, that this film is nearly critic-proof because of its sensitive subject matter, but, if you take a look at who directed it and how the film comes across, wouldn't a person feel just a little offended?

1. Steven Spielberg made no attempt at separating his "serious", "grown up" film from this "entertainments." The Nazis in 'Schindler's List' are like the Nazis in the Indiana Jones movies

2. For such a harrowing subject, he uses some fantastic showmanship. The cinematography is a wonder, a joy to look at. There's even a tantalizing nipple shot, seriously, in a movie that's supposed to seriously look at the Holocaust?

3. The cruel joke/ thriller element to the old man who is nearly executed but is saved by the sheer chance that a gun jams twice! The scene had the same potential to keep an audience on its seat as say, an actual thriller!

4. The overly simplistic view of the Nazis as completely evil. This one I can understand. I wouldn't expect any Jewish person to even attempt to see Nazis as nothing more than aberrations of humanity.

5. An incredibly manipulative collection of closing scenes; first the "I could have done more" speech that Schindler gives as he's inundated by those he saved is tailor made for emotional assault, as he's praised like a strangely Christ-like figure.

6. Final shot of the actual Schindler Jews paying tribute to his grave. What about the other six million?

7. And finally, the worst of the worst - the girl in the red coat. In order to fully grasp that the Holocaust is bad, really bad - because otherwise Jews and gentile alike would not be able to grasp this - he displays a girl in a washed out red coat and then shows her red coat on a cart of dead bodies. If that isn't cheap, exploitation, then honestly tell me what is.

In the end the movie is typically well made - excellent cinematography, seamless editing, strong acting, entertainingly fast paced - in other words a Hollywood movie. Should that be the definitive way to represent the Hollocaust?

L'Age d'Or (1930)

people take it too seriously and Bunuel wouldn't want that!

[9/10 · 25 May 2008]

If you're knowledgeable about Bunuel's body of work, then you'll see pretty much the blue print for his future films, with all of his views on religion, unrequited lust and love/hate for the bourgeoisie. I agree with those who loved it yet, at the same time, I feel people missed Bunuel's point. Bunuel wanted a complete affront to the senses of that audience. If that sounds childish, well... Anyone could argue the easiness of taking shocking images and filming them and then claiming to be a genius is really dumb. But there is a sense of flow and rhythm to the images; this is not just a disparate collection of things to look at.

Yet still one does not have to scratch his/her head in bewilderment as to what it all means. Does anyone complain about a Dali painting and his skewing of reality? Maybe, I don't know. But it's the same thing here. There are lots of grotesque, funny and sublime sequences. And though it doesn't necessarily flow as a cohesive narrative which has a straightforward, underlying message, it's clear which social mores that Bunuel/Dali are criticizing. If you're versed in Bunuel, he'd be the first to tell you that his images are not supposed to be symbolic. If you see a peasant on a horse and carriage riding through a Marquis De Sade castle, then that's exactly what you're seeing.

As such there is an image of man executing his son, an image of another man brutally kicking a blind man, a cross with human scalps, a toilet making sewer noises cut between images of a man rolling in mud, which looks a little too much like...

Irreversible (2002)

like 'Funny Games', it makes a comment uses its audience as guinnea pigs

[5/10 · 25 May 2008]

I, for one, have no idea what the point of movies like this or 'Funny Games' is, aside to make a viewer think about something that the viewer probably has dealt with and moved on.

The movie's sequences are placed in reversed order (like 'Memento'), clever title right? Yes, every technical aspect about this movie is really good, particularly the seamless editing during the (unfortunately) limited conversational segments.

So I don't think it constitutes a spoiler to reveal that this movie has two of the most grisly, violent acts committed to the DV it was shot on. At least the grotesqueness of one is removed since it's been made public that a dummy was being hit with a fire extinguisher, but the other is just vicious and cruel. To whom is this movie making a statement to? Like Michael Haneke, Gaspar Noe feels his film isn't to entertain but to make the audience guinea pigs to his sick experiment on what we view as entertainment. Most people who see this movie already know rape is wrong and most don't delight in it when it's in other movies. So again, my question is, what's the point of this movie?

Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

truly amazing first film, like Bunuel meets John Waters

[8/10 · 25 May 2008]

The only reason I give it an 8 out of 10 is because a couple jokes here and there fall flat. Otherwise this is a terrific first film and I'm glad my fellow IMDb commentators are progressive enough to up the score for this film that was way misunderstood when it first came out.

Roger Ebert, in his 1 star review said, and I'm paraphrasing "in 50 years this may be considered a surrealist classic but it will never be funny." He got half that statement right.

Tom Green's humor is not necessarily funny what's on the screen so much as the absurd motivation behind the incidents, best example the restaurant scene where Green puts on exaggerated display of anger at a fancy restaurant just to prove to his girlfriend he's an important CEO of some company. My telling does no justice to this brilliantly composed scene.

Plus Rip Torn is top notch as Tom Green's dad. But don't ever tell Tom Green how much you like this movie if you run into him. He's still sore that it did so bad, especially to people who saw it for free, because he'll never make another movie in Hollywood.

The Bikini Carwash Company II (1993)

see the UNRATED version.

[8/10 · 25 May 2008]

I'm not going to go too far into this. The reason for the low scores based on this film's (good god, I'm referring to it as a film!) relative value (boobies) is because most folks have only seen the borderline PG-13 but still R rated version. Avoid that one. If you're looking for shots of Kristi Ducati's mammary glands, the unrated version has plenty.

It still has that god awful 80s hair metal as well and, unlike the first one, things heat up in like the first ten minutes during the office scene where they celebrate ownership of their carwash company; truly enterprising young women!

SLC Punk! (1998)

if you're a punk fan before watching this movie, you will hate it!

[4/10 · 24 May 2008]

Sure the film is marginally entertaining but if you were into punk rock music before seeing it and are familiar at all with the culture of punks in general, then you really will feel this movie is more like a stupid hipster version of punk culture than a good comedy/drama depicting it.

If you want a strong account of punk from the 80s, then watch a movie from the 80s like 'Suburbia.' This is more like a Mathew Lillard vehicle which allows him to make a bunch of smug remarks and observations. And where the movie could fly as a hilarious punk satire (because punks DO take themselves to seriously as this damn movie proves) instead becomes phony punk 101 for a bunch of 90s hipsters.

The only redeeming factors are a few funny moments and some good songs in the soundtrack. Like any outsider looking in, the subject is completely generalized. If you want to see a marginally entertaining movie that becomes overly sincere and melodramatic about halfway through, fine, see it. Otherwise just read 'Please Kill Me' or 'American Hardcore' or see the MULTITUDES of punk films. They are WAY better!

Higher Learning (1995)

not mortified, just annoyed

[2/10 · 20 May 2008]

I haven't read a single IMDb comment for this movie that mentions how the Jewish character in this movie jumped up and down like a little baby as a gun is pointed in his face by a racist skinhead while the movie's lead black character looked in sternness down the barrel of a gun.

I don't know how anyone could perceive this as a balanced account of university life. I agree universities are not bastions of tolerance like they are supposed to be and the title would be fitting if Singleton didn't make his characters such broad caricatures.

On the surface he tries to portray Ice Cube's character as a bad guy, provoking Remy to become a racist skinhead. But who graduates at the end in the movie's redeeming epilogue? It seems Singleton points at white as either unable to empathize (I didn't say sympathize!) with his fellow black student OR only able to take the path of a racist skinhead. Many people who have been bullied by people of another race do not turn to extreme bigotry.

Nor do women who have been raped immediately turn to lesbianism, which is portrayed more as a cult than a lifestyle. Quite honestly what was the point?

Anything Else (2003)

like a revisionist Annie Hall...and good!

[5 January 2007]

It takes a viewing of other Woody Allen films to really appreciate this but, I feel that this is a very male oriented movie and not a very PC one.

Jason Biggs is like a young Woody Allen living today and Woody Allen is himself, of course. Christina Ricci's character is basically out of Prozac Nation but viewed through the Woody Allen scope. In other words, he treats her as he thinks he should, a manipulative nut. And Jason Biggs is sort of the young guy without the "wordly" Woody Allen experience to kind of take charge and not buy into the Ricci character's bullshit.

Again, a very non-PC, guy movie... plus Woody Allen as the paranoid, gun toting, near Zionist adds an extra level of hilarity. Forget the bad reviews saying this is a lesser film. Yes it's formulaic but then, what Woody Allen film isn't? (Except for his Bergman and Fellini rip-offs.)

Straw Dogs (1971)

Not misogynistic, great satirical farce, black comedy, A+ film!

[18 January 2006]

I don't know why people call this film misogynistic. It has one female characters who acts on a whim. It has one male character who's failure to act on a whim makes him look like a fool. If anyone has seen Godard's Contempt, that might shed light as to the motivation of the female character. Sure SHE is a weak character but that isn't saying that women are weak. Peckinpah is showing the contradiction between the apparently weak American male and his supposedly liberated wife when in actuality, they are both human characters thrown in a situation where political correctness and proper social behavior are thrown away and that purely human, animalistic urge explodes. The rape scene was pretty controversial, if only because it seems like Susan George partly enjoys it but to criticize her is to criticize people in general for following their gut feelings of excitement. This is obviously the most extreme way to portray such a thing but, hey... Dustin Hoffman being too controlled led to the opposite affect and of course, you know how he reacted... it might seem sick to call a film with rape a comedy, but this is clearly social satire... the bear trap? Come on, laugh at humanity... seem nihilistic? Hardly, human nature still hasn't been able to control it's animal side. This is like a pre-cursor to Taxi Driver.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

great technique but brutally manipulative, I love Lars Von Trier but felt cheated...

[18 January 2006]

Truly, I believe that Von Trier scores purely on originality alone. The hand-held technique, the mix of Bjork's music with the rhythm of machines in a factory, etc. The whole thing falls apart at the two main turning points in the story: the murder of the cop, a complete manipulation that Bjork just couldn't explain her way out of . This strikes me as fake. The other being the courtroom scene leading to Bjork's sentencing. The prosecuting attorney acts like a completely soulless jerk out to ruin someone's life with accusations and the entire American judicial system is made to look like it's out to crush people with "alternative" views (communist) and outsiders. This all leads to the depressing and deceptive conclusion. I love Lars Von Trier but was sorely disappointed with the simplistic attack on the U.S. without the comment on the cruelty of human nature as a whole.

Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)

cold and brilliant

[10/10 · 5 December 2005]

Fassbinder's debut feature seems to be strongly influenced by early Godard films like Breathles or Band of Outsiders in both its gritty black and white style and references to the gangster/noir genres. But where Godard's characters have a playful sense of humor, trying to act their gangster fantasies wearing fedoras and poorly executing non-thought out crimes to the tune of a swinging soundtrack and beautiful woman, Love Is Colder than Death does all with a fridgid, robotic sense of cool. Every shot is like a black and white photo where the acting is like posing in front of mirror before the action (or one of the characters)gets executed. The film is pretty avante-garde in using mostly completely static shots and the characters pretty much act "too cool". They just stare at you as you're supposed to react, then when there's an action, you get surprised and realise it's still in the movie. Forget that the plot is simple, threadbare even, this is an atmosphere piece.

Crash (1996)

I thought it was kind of erotic

[29 November 2005]

Since I was drunk, I have a little bias about the movie but I watched it with my friends one Saturday night and I'll be honest, it was a pretty sexy movie. One of the actresses is really cute and I didn't mind the subject matter. This is one of those "challenging" movies, fine, a mirror to society if you will. But then aren't all of Cronenberg's films. I don't think I'm sick for finding the dog style sex atop automobiles and during accidents to be erotic. So what? People indulge in S&M so what's the damn difference? Seriously this movie isn't really shocking, it's just a character study of alternative peoples. This movie seems especially tame after the following night's viewing of Gaspar Noe's Irreversible.