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Reviews
August (2008)
no
this film was so bad i had to go out of my way to come here and tell others not to waste their time.
the lead actor is supposed to be a pretty boy but he's actually hard to look at and his acting so bad it's unbearable. his character is awkward and arrogant, but it doesn't work to the film's advantage at all, it just makes the part too hard to play.
there is so much mood filler of the lead walking around looking dreary and serious, so many meaningless one dimensional, totally uninteresting little vignettes of pointless dialogue, so little in the way of real conflict or drama between the main characters, the film is absolutely pointless.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Much more going on here than meets the eye
This film was primarily about the bros tweaking film conventions. For instance the scene where the villain cleans his wound (echoed in the end when he buys the boy's shirt, which in turn echoes Brolin buying the border guy's shirt). how many times have i watched a movie where a character is badly hurt, but then seemingly fixed in the next scene when some unstated amount of time has passed? instead of skipping that detail the bros. focus in on it uncomfortably close.
so this film is a meditation on the mundane nature of violence in the west (and the western genre). the characters fade in and out in an almost haphazard manner, the plot meanders in no particular direction, over the border, back again, characters entering as if important only to be cut short quickly (notably Harrelson) by death, the money becomes meaningless by the end and all that matters is killing and more killing. the bros decide as randomly as the flip of a coin whether to show a murder in close up, lingering on the bloody gurgling throat of a meaningless character in an office, or having major characters die off screen.
there really are no major characters in this film, just people waiting to die, and death himself. the film is a series of red herrings, and Brolin's death 3/4's in also evokes psycho. the scene with the two lawmen talking later that night even recalls the doctor explanation scene at the end of psycho, as does an earlier scene where the two cops discuss a murderous couple in California.
the bros. viciously play with audience expectations and desire. when Brolin threatens from the hospital that he's decided to make the villain a special project of his i felt satisfaction the same way i would watching the Bourne identity or superman, the hope of watching good triumph over evil in some way. but the fruition of this sort of resolution is stymied again and again. Brolin is killed before he ever comes face to face with the villain, and even the car accident which seems like it may bring some cosmic justice fails to do so, the villain just walks away. finally the honorable sheriff cannot do the deed, instead he retires.
no wonder many people on here seemed to hate this film, it's challenging and very mean to the audience. Fargo was much kinder with it's local charm. this is a finer film however, and will likely go down has one of the greatest American films ever.
Love Streams (1984)
the best film I've ever seen
having seen and studied all of cassavete's films repeatedly i must say this is my favorite and one of his very best. there is such a wonderful array of emotions going on here and complex character development. we have his amazing camera, the stunning long takes of faces smiling staring really in the moment like no other acting i have ever seen on the big screen. each series of decisions by the protagonists gets us further involved in their struggles and triumphs. this film is very challenging for first time cassavetes' viewers, but well worth returning to year after year. cinema just doesn't get this good. if you like to think and want something really unique and special check this out.
Primer (2004)
not particularly interesting, but has some moments
the premise is a good one and there are some moments of promise. the cinematography is pretty nice in parts. the main problem is not that the plot is confusing (a lot of it comes together really) just that it's not particularly interesting or suspenseful. there's no connection to the characters, yet it never reaches the level of horror film you might expect of something so devoid of any character motivation, personality, or humor. in other words, i was bored in spots and didn't really care what happened. the first 30 minutes are the hardest to get through. it's not that i hated this film it's just not something i would watch again. basically this film plays like an overlong episode of the new twilight zone. it is far better than memento and pi though which are both crap.
3 Women (1977)
hard to watch
I've seen most of altman's film including some not yet reissued on VHS or DVD and this one is pretty bad but nowhere near as awful as some of them. when it comes down to it there are only a handful of films by altman that are worth coming back to: nashville, California split, mccabe and mrs miller, the long goodbye. that's about it. the player and popeye are actually pretty good but not classics like the others I've mentioned. 3 women is too slow, the characters one dimensional and uninteresting, and the ending trite. i love cassavetes, i love godard, i love slower paced strange films that don't give easy answers, but this one is no good.
Chameleon (1978)
amazing
this is one of the greatest films I've ever seen. i saw it in a film class. jost has an amazing way with the camera, his cinematography borders on experimental, but the plot is fairly cohesive here. the acting is outrageous and outstanding, the characters are fascinating however unlikeable. there are wonderful expressionistic moments throughout, it really captures the narcissistic culture of the LA art scene of the time. but there's more there, there's the difficulty of trying to get ahold of his main character and really understand him. it's like cassavetes in that respect, no easy answers. chameleon is breathtaking and hopefully it will make it to DVD one day soon. it's sad that I'm writing the first review on IMDb, many more should know about this film. i know a VHS was available at one point... it's significantly better than all the vermeers.