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Reviews
Les femmes de l'ombre (2008)
Gritty WWII mission drama, ala the Dirty Dozen
I saw this film at this years Seattle International Film Festival, and other than the bizarre choice of "Female Agents" as the English title, I loved it. I think a more direct translation of the title as "Women of the Shadows" or some such would have been much more evocative.
The film itself is a gritty WWII espionage drama in the classic mold, with the team of misfits being assembled to do the job that only they can do. Only in this case, they are women. The film does not shrink from the grittiness and danger of the mission, especially when it extends to several gutwrenching interrogation scenes. There is no chivalry in this war. Moritz Bleibtreu is especially effective as an SS Colonel who believes himself to be a decent man, doing only what he must, yet in reality committing atrocity after atrocity.
Special effects are well used to give us occupied Paris in great detail, and the whole look of the film is quite stylish. A recommended film!
Monster House (2006)
Technically proficient, but lacking in art, Monster house fails to engage
The computer animation technology used in this film is some of the best I have seen, nearly photo-realistic in the case of inanimate objects, but it left me with the question "why was this animated?" Frankly, live action would have at least had some, well, life to it. Unfortunately despite the technical proficiency, the overall feel is very cold, and the characters are unlikeable and poorly developed. The tone is very uneven, swinging wildly between trying to establish a sense of real peril, and cartoon goofiness. For example, twice a very realistically animated character is struck by a moving car, but the character bounces back utterly unharmed ala a Warner brothers cartoon, which leaves one with a weird disconnect. The voice acting was good, but the character animation fails to convey much physical emotion, and leaving one feeling disconnected. Ultimately the movie was loud, shrill, and mostly boring. Pixar need not fear any competition just yet.
Chavez: Inside the Coup (2003)
Amazing to see the other side of the story
I remember the relentless media drumbeat in the US when this happened, about how Chavez was destroying the country, and using the army to repress dissent, etc, etc. Amazingly, a pair of Irish filmmakers were on hand and were able to film key moments. An amazing story of how the people in the street were able to take back their democracy, with surprisingly little loss of life, even when it was taken from them by force. Very inspiring!
Titan A.E. (2000)
If only the aliens could have destroyed this movie...
...along with the rest of the earth. Had I not been seeing it with friends, I would have left the theatre about half way through. This is only the third movie of my life I've actually wanted to walk out of. Granted, the computer generated visuals are spectacular at times, but the story and the dialog consist of a string of random cliches, thrown together without meaning or purpose. Character and motivation are not implausible, they are non-existent. And where did they find that HIDEOUS music? I don't feel bad that I payed 7.50 to see this movie, I feel bad that I sacrified 2 hours of my life to it. I may not be able to save the human race from destruction, but hopefully I can save a few poor souls from subjecting themselves to an experience this horrific!