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Reviews
Alice et Martin (1998)
a film of two halves
ah its not bad. There's a moment in every French film, where you suddenly think - but how can they afford all this. Thankfully, it does not come till half way through in this one, when Martin has spent up his modelling money and is going mad on a Spanish beach.
Luckily the best part is come at this stage, as Alice struggles to unravel Martin's messy past. The family especially Carmen Maura as the mum are excellent. You get a real feel for the bitterness and intimacy that a big family filled with secrets and lies generates.
You will have a bad time if you don't like Juliette Binoche though. The camera lingers on her in every shot. She is a good actress, but nowhere near as pretty as Techine (and many others) think.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
crude, foolish soporific
Lucas has spent 20 years perfecting the technology and forgotten that the film needed a script.
The "characters" are slapped together from the offcuts of 40s melodrama. Jah Jah Binks is pathetic, a sorry version of a comedy negro in the Butterfly McQueen tradition. The heroes are given wild costumes, when they should be given thoughtful lines. This film is all look and no substance. Don't waste your time with it.
The Blackout (1997)
darkness visible
Lots of people seem to hate this film, but I think it is one of his strongest. Modine and Hopper are a great team. Ferrara does a fine job of summoning up the brooding menace of suppressed memories and bad love. Dennis Hopper takes time off from being a pantomime villain, and becomes genuinely scary for sheer decadence instead. The sunshine and sleaze of Miami are perfect counterpoints to one another.
Claudia Schiffer lets the side down a tad, being only nice but dim. Oh, and the Schooly D title song is not really all that. But mostly it hits the spot.