Elias Riman Reviews

Independent's Day (1998 TV Movie)

Inspiring for new filmmakers

[8/10 · 13 March 2000]

I bought this video from amazon, and thought it was a sample of trailers of Sundance Film Festival, but I was surprised to find a more interesting documentary, with interviews to newcomers as to independent big names. I saw all kind of filmmakers, and that is important, because each of them talked about their work and their points of view about the festival. That gives you an idea of what it means to go to a festival, what it takes, what you leave. The video was shot in 1997, when the Digital Revolution had not begun yet, and the production of a film was very expensive for independents.

I suggest to director Marina Zenovich, to produce Independent´s Day 2, so, we can see the difference the Digital Revolution has made.

Don't Tell Anyone (1998)

A good production with a cheap exploitation of homosexualism

[1/10 · 25 November 1999]

I didn´t like this movie, because of the malicious intention of a reaction in the public, based in a cheap exploitation of homosexualism. Using great actors, with the excuse that an actor has to do whatever the screenplay says, and doing scenes that went against they will, only for the pleasure of the director.

Maybe the producer and director wanted to scandal the audience using unnecessary scenes, that didn´t contribute to the plot. On the other hand, the deletion of those graphic scenes, would have made a great movie, because the intention of the book writer, was to show the subtext behind homosexual behavior, not the behavior itself.

P.S. I use to watch Jaime Baily´s TV show every night, and once a caller asked him if he was gay, and he responded no. When he wrote the book, he also said that was not an autobiography. So, I don´t know why a commenter said the opposite. The answers are in the recorded video tapes of his show.

The Rose Seller (1998)

A cheap exploitation of a hard reality in Bogotá streets.

[9 November 1999]

I did not like this movie because it shows in a cheap way, the suffering of the homeless, and the children who have to work in the worst circumstances to survive day by day. It would have been the best colombian movie in years, if it had left some space for personal recovery of us, the viewers.

Guajira (1996– )

A mistake of writer Fernando Gaitán.

[25 October 1999]

After writing blockbuster Soap Opera "Café", Fernando Gaitán became one of the most respected "Novela(Soap Opera)" writers, of Colombia. But I really don´t know why he changed so much in this new project. The actors were great but the characters were weak, the story got lost several times.

The script writer failed in trying to catch the audience, because there was not a guiding line in the plot. It seemed as if he did not know where to take the story, and made wrong experiments with it, and of course, improvisation, even from a great writer, usually ends in a crash.

Águilas no cazan moscas (1994)

A comedy with a touch of charm, the kind of a little town.

[8/10 · 19 October 1999]

This movie is composed of two movies. The first is this very movie with new footage and the other is called "Técnicas de Duelo" (1988) of the same director, Sergio Cabrera, who took footage of the movie, with the same actors but six years younger, where the kids now are teenagers. Then he alternates one shot of the older movie with the new one, and produces an interesting result. The viewer can notice the difference between the two reels, because of the quality of the image, and for the quality of the production. A Sergio Cabrera, more experienced, utilized better camera movements, superior sound, lighting, etc... It was a nice experiment with a nice story, because it makes laugh of the violence as a resource for conflict resolution. And is more notorious because the director was a "guerrillero", who probably thought before, that a gun was the appropiate way to save the country. For that reason the movie is a great manner tho show that Cabrera also was changed from the inside.

P.S. Sergio Cabrera is now a Congress man in Colombia, and probably wants to make a better country without the use of weapons...I hope so.

Air Force One (1997)

Great actor Harrison Ford, not credible as the President

[2/10 · 30 August 1999]

I did not like this movie, because the plot is weak, almost innocent. Trying to portrait a President-hero, they showed a weak acting Harrison Ford. I never saw in him a President, not even a Senator or a speaker of a President. And as his acting was weak, the weaker plot fell down.

I really love the other movies of Ford, but this... absolutely not.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

The best Robbin Williams acting, an Oscar he did not win

[10/10 · 22 July 1999]

This extraordinary movie, with excelent cinematography, is one of my favorites. The inspiring story about a revolutionary teacher in the early sixties, who take his students into the world of thinking, instead of the world of memorizing rules. The truth shall make you free. Carpe Diem, Seize the day, the phrase that became popular with this movie. Carpe Diem, a latin phrase which means to live our days as if they were the last ones, living fully, plenty of joy. Looking for our dreams and get them, it does not matter what the world says, if we want them, we will achieve them. Carpe Diem.

Elías III

Melody (1971)

Excelent, original, romantic, the best!

[10/10 · 22 July 1999]

This is a really original movie, well thinked, excelent production, an even original story. The inocent relationship between Daniel(Mark Lester) and Melody(Tracy Hyde), two eleven year students, who become to act as grown ups, scape one day to the beach, as a way to react to the rules imposed for tradition to the children, make of it a must see for everyone really interested in movies. There are many situations for all tastes. The unjust teachers, the families, the friendship. And the unexpected ending. This is a mix of fantasy, utopia, and reality. Rent it or buy it now.

Regards, Elías.