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Muidhond (2019)
Great idea, but the execution is lacking
The movie is an adaptation of the book by Inge Schilperoord. Muidhond tells the story of a young man who is struggling. He's fresh out of jail. He has no friends. No life outside a seemingly monotonous job. He lives with his mother in a house where the only form of entertainment appears to be staring at a fish tank. He is shunned by the community.
He takes a liking to the neighbour's nine year old daughter, who is mostly neglected by her mother. What starts out as an innocent friendship quickly turns into a temptation that he cannot resist. He tries to stay on the straight and narrow, but ultimately has to admit to himself that he can't.
On the positive side: you can't help but being touched by the movie. You feel sympathy for Jonathan as you watch him struggle. You will feel very awkward in scenes where the little girl is seen through his lustful eyes. In that sense, the movie manages to reach its audience, and you are guaranteed to walk out with mixed feelings . "He should know better", "he can't help it", things like that.
On the negative side, the performance of most of the cast is lacking. Julia Brown (the little girl) is probably the only one who manages to bring her lines in something of a natural way. Everyone else's lines sound overly rehearsed, awkward and unnatural. Tijmen Govaerts' (Jonathan) performance is pretty good, especially the physical side. He manages to look conflicted and troubled. His dialogue with the little girl is pretty convincing. But his dialogue with the other characters is both poorly written and mediocre in delivery.
All in all, this is a pretty decent movie, but it could have been a lot better.
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
A masterpiece that aged remarkably well
I was fortunate enough to watch this movie with live accompaniment from a brass band. This added a layer of entertainment to an already very entertaining movie.
Unlike many movies from its era, Sherlock Jr. aged particularly well. Buster Keaton's signature comical stunts are no less hilarious today than they would have been nearly a century ago. Knowing that they were accomplished without CGI or green screens, and with nothing more than practical effects and a lot of guts, makes it amposible not to be awed.
The characters are easy to identify and they needn't any words to have meaningful dialogue. As a consequence, this movie can be enjoyed by anyone, in any language, of any age.
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Doesn't hold a candle to the original ...
Its beautiful visuals are its only redeeming feature. It's almost impossible to overstate how stunning everything is. This was the first time I enjoyed the 3D experience. Much like its original and sequel, the scenery and backgrounds are incredibly detailed.
I was pleasantly surprised by the recycling of some of the original scenes. The music, while again not as nice as the original, was cleverly inspired by it. These winks and nudges aimed at fans of the original did not go unappreciated.
Unfortunately, that's where I run out of praise. My biggest gripe is with the story. It looks like the story was cobbled together by someone who watched the original but didn't really understand it. Some of the concepts survived, but are almost rendered meaningless on account of a lack of depth.
Orochi (1925)
An amazing experience
I had the good fortune of watching this movie with live piano music, narrated by the wonderful benshi Kataoka Ichiro. The experience as a whole was easily my favourite movie-going experience in recent memory.
The (anti-)hero of the movie, Heisaburo, is a young samurai. He tries to do good by upholding his sense of bushido, while pining for the attention of the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, his sense of honour keeps getting him into trouble, and public opinion quickly turns against him.
Heisaburo writhes like a snake -- Orochi means snake or serpent -- while trying to stay alive, down on his luck.
Unlike many movies of its time, the fight scenes are nicely choreographed and fast. They manage to convey Heisaburo's prowess as a martial artist, without resorting to either camp over-acting or slow kabuki-style action.
The movie caused some minor controversy in 1925 Japan. It was banned for a time, and forced to change its title from Outlaw to Serpent. It was deemed "improper" to have an outlaw as a hero. Apparently universal male suffrage in Japan (1925) was a large political hurdle. The more conservative members of government wanted assurances and compromises. Cracking down on "improper behaviour" was a sad side-effect of that.
If you can watch this movie with a narrator, then I strongly encourage you to. It's a wonderful tradition that is on the verge of extinction.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Bad movie, awesome sound
This movie is a beauty to my ear. Anyone who is something of an audiophile needs to watch this in a theatre with a decent sound system. There's a whole bunch of wonderful sound effects -- including the iconic transformation sound. Not to mention Peter Cullen's wonderful voice as Optimus Prime.
That is, sadly, the only good thing about this movie. The plot makes no sense. A third of the cast is pointless and contributes nothing to the plot whatsoever. In spite of its length, there is no character development whatsoever. Instead, there is tedium. And lots of it.
My suggestion to you: turn off the video, and enjoy the audio.
The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)
So much potential, but ..
The film tries to be a powerful emotional drama, brightened by beautiful bluegrass music. For the most part, the film really delivers on its emotional promise. Unfortunately, some of the most emotional scenes seemed to be out of the lead actors' emotional ranges. This results in an unnatural, woody feel to some of the scenes, which is more reminiscent of a high school play than an Oscar nominee.
The support characters (with the notable exception of the bluegrass band) delivered bland and unnatural performances. Especially the medical and paramedical staff. This doesn't necessarily detract from the story, but it does make it harder to get emotionally involved with the film.
The last negative point is that the film contains several scenes that really should have been dropped on the editing room floor, but sadly weren't. GW Bush delivering his 9/11 speech on TV is a prime example. It detracts from the emotional drama that the film tries to be.
In spite of these negative points, it is a really good film. The music alone makes it worth while. Some of the cinematography is truly beautiful. And the drama, if you can get it in to, is powerful and painful.
Consider yourself blessed if you don't speak Dutch -- watching the movie with subtitles will at least cover up some of the woodier line deliveries.
Ostrzhe sledované vlaky (1966)
One of my favourites
This is one of those movies that I recommend to anyone who consider themselves to be movie buffs. It's probably the best product of the Czech New Wave.
In part it's about a boy discovering his sexuality -- while performing the least sexy job in the universe: watching trains. Instead of being all rosy and sexy, the tone is very dark and grim. If you bear in mind that this movie was made in the 1960s, in the middle of the "sexual revolution", you can see why a less-than-ideal take on sexuality was so refreshing.
In spite of being dark and gloomy, the movie is very funny. Czech humour is like that. There is war, violence, death and disappointing sex, and yet you will find yourself laughing quite heartily.