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Zaantje
Reviews
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Awful, absolutely awful
I had expected much of this movie, as I love ALW's music and the story is full of drama. However, after 10 minutes of watching I needed to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't having a nightmare. Did these people actually think they could sing? I'm all pro-'doyourownvocals', but in this case someone should've walked up to them (especially Gerard Butler) and said "Look guys, we appreciate the effort and realize that it takes a lot of courage to do this, but really, you shouldn't be doing this". It's off tune most of the time, singing technique is completely missing in almost all actors and, which brings me to the next problem, it doesn't add to the story - it's just a big pain in the ... When you've seen West Side Story, you realize how musicals should be put on screen - I don't know how it's done properly, all I know is that it's hard, as PotO shows. The actors just start singing out of the blue, and as they do it so poorly, it becomes torture to listen to them (and mind you, the film is a full 180 mins) I found myself screaming to the television "please start talking!" whenever they began to sing and being very relieved once they stopped. Besides the awful singing and direction, the set dressing is OK and so are the costumes - not much wrong there. Please let someone take up this wonderful musical and make it into a movie worthy of the music and narrative.
La liste de Carla (2006)
Choose, for heaven's sake
Having read and seen a lot about both the ICTY and the war in Bosnia already, I was really looking forward to this documentary. The only interesting thing it offers, however, is a meager inside look in how Carla del Ponte thinks (the word 'justice' is mentioned so frequently it bugs even the most ardent idealist) and the few people she allows to work with her. You cannot but admire her resilience, a true pitbull, but the real error is with the makers' inability to choose what their documentary is about. Is this about Carla del Ponte personally? Is this about law vs politics? The ICTY? The massacre in Srebrenica? The mothers of Srebrenica? By highlighting all these different aspects, the documentary never becomes a profound criticism or depiction of how the Office of the Prosecutor works. It all remains shallow, made more out of consideration for the Srebrenica victims than a factual report. For those already knowledgeable in the field of international law and/or politics, this documentary has nothing new in store. Moreover, the filmmakers' tendency to dramatize becomes annoying - not to deny the drama of the Bosnia war and the difficulties of the ICTY, but because of the over-dramatization this becomes a documentary about Sad Events and Sad People. A proper documentary wouldn't need a voice-over to create a feeling of injustice or wrongdoing, but requires only image.