frank.vandenblock Reviews

Under Fire (1983)

Not a documentary

[9/10 · 5 January 2001]

If you want a documentary about the Sandinista's, go watch a documentary. If you want a thrilling love-story set around a fast-paced, intelligent script about people who want to do the best they can under difficult circumstances, then this is the film for you. Good acting, superb music, a good use of locations and atmospheres. This must be one of Nolte's best performances. Of course Rafael did not exist, but this is a movie, not a portrayal of real facts. The story works perfectly in this movie, and that is what's important. If you're looking for a flick that entertains, touches you without being too sentimental, and you like some action, then Under Fire is certainly worth seeing.

Amores Perros (2000)

Lock, stock & a lot of smoking dogs !

[10/10 · 22 December 2000]

This must be the best movie I saw this year ! A brilliant story line, some of the best acting and filmed in true Tarantino style. But where Tarantino uses cool one-liners and beautiful set-pieces to make his mark, the director of Amores Perros uses his camera do disturb us, awake us, break us. This movie shows that we are all wolves among wolves, selfish, brutal and animal-like. This movie will definitely scare and disgust many people, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have never seen such brutality become beautiful. Try it, it is worth every single minute. It runs at over 2.5 hours, but you won't notice it (it's not Saving Private Ryan anyway)because there is so much to see, and it is unbelievable that this can be a director's debut. This guy knows how to captivate an audience.

Dekalog (1989–1990)

Don't read this review - watch the movie

[10/10 · 4 December 2000]

If ever there was a good reason to start learning Polish, the Dekalog series is the definitive reason. The extent to which Kieslowski goes to show us what it is to be human, cannot be compared to the work of any film-maker. Yes, Ken Loach is the master of the social drama, and Lars Von Trier is without a doubt the best experimental melodramatist, but Kieslowski just manages to outclass them both in 10 powerful, striking and breath-taking stories losely based on the 10 Commandments. It's a must-see, don't take my word for it...go watch it !

Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)

A small disappointment

[5/10 · 3 October 2000]

I went to this movie because I liked Barbet Schroeder's earlier work. But I was a little disappointed because the story doesn't seem to go anywhere and the actors were not very good. I don't really know what to think of this movie, it tries to be a tragedy but at the end I felt a large apathy towards the story.

Le dernier plan (2000)

Very entertaining

[8/10 · 3 October 2000]

The concept of 'a film inside a film' has been done before, sometimes with good results (Last Tango in Paris, The Player), sometimes with dismal effect (the Stuntman) The story sounds simple but remains intriguing : a young Romanian journalist goes to Paris to find a dissident writer Dolinescu who seems to have vanished after the death of Ceaucescu. What starts out as work becomes a real obsession and during the interviews with friends and colleagues, we slowly learn what happened to Dolinescu. The acting is simply brilliant, especially since many of the "actors" play themselves. The music is moving, the story is utterly captivating and only suffers slightly in the end because too many loose threads had to be tied up. A great little film, that I can warmly recommend.