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  • Review count
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    April 27, 2008
  • Last review
    June 5, 2008
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backrowreviews's Reviews
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great Character Study of Legendary General
on May 25, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
Co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, this 1969 biography of the man many consider to be the best American general ever is a fascinating and often thoughtful portrayal. Patton frequently got in trouble for shooting his mouth off, but there was no denying his effectiveness in World War II, apparently taking more ground faster than any other general in history.
Don't think that means you have to be a bloody-minded hawk to enjoy this film, though. George C. Scott makes Patton such an incredibly interesting man, flaws and all, that he's sometimes simultaneously appalling in his love of war itself and yet sympathetic as a tragic figure who can't imagine life during peacetime.
Very highly recommended!
What's great about it: George C. Scott's Patton is larger than life but always believable
What's not so great: None!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Fascinating and Engrossing
on May 24, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
As in writer/director Lars von Trier's 2004 "Dogville," everything in this sequel takes place on a warehouse-size, nearly bare performance space with only minimal set elements, limbo-darkness beyond the illuminated areas, and locations designated map-style by words painted on the floor.
And like "Dogville," it still manages to be fascinating and absolutely engrossing.
This is part two of von Trier's trilogy of films that began with "Dogville." Bryce Dallas Howard takes over the role of Grace, played by Nicole Kidman last time around. Howard does a good job of embodying a more crusading and "take-charge" Grace, a wised-up version of Kidman's character.
The time period is the 1930s. Grace, her father (played here by Willem Dafoe) and his henchmen have left Dogville and ended up at a southern plantation where slavery never ended. Grace tells her father to leave her and two of his men there, where they reverse the roles of the plantation's whites and blacks.
Don't go expecting a predictable "lesson" movie about equality and social justice, though. The movie has enough twists and turns to offend both the Klan and the NAACP by the time the credits roll.
As outrageous as "Dogville" was, "Manderlay" takes place in an even stranger reality. It's at heart a fairly simple morality fable gone very wrong, a world where even the best of intentions by those who don't know the full story can end up causing more harm than good. And man, is it ever interesting.
Highly recommended!
What's great about it: Bryce Dallas Howard does good job replacing Nicole Kidman
What's not so great: Minimalist sets work well, but may put off some viewers
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Bleak is Beautiful
on May 23, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
This stark, unsentimental and relentlessly sad biography of late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis is the first feature film by photographer and video director Anton Corbijn, best known for his work with rock groups U2 and Depeche Mode. Corbijn does a masterful job of making his subject fascinatingly human, despite the fact that Curtis ultimately is more pathetic and tragic than likable and charismatic.
"Control"'s high-contrast black-and-white photography gives it a 1960s British documentary feel that is is perfectly suited to the general air of doomed hopelessness here, even though the events covered take place in the late 1970s.
Sam Riley is remarkable as Curtis, a miserable teenager who marries young, has a kid, works behind a desk at an employment exchange, and writes gloomy lyrics for his struggling band's dirge-like tunes. He seems baffled and unsettled when he becomes a small-fame-without-money cult figure -- but this definitely isn't your typical "boo-hoo, the pressures of success" tale. His life and moods are further complicated by a case of epilepsy that numerous prescriptions fail to bring under control.
Samantha Morton is thoroughly convincing as Curtis' stoic wife Deborah, who sees her husband become increasingly detached and distant from her and their daughter but has no idea what to do about it. Curtis is torn between his obligation to his small family and his love for Belgian music journalist Annik Honore (Alexandra Maria Lara).
Refreshingly, neither woman is presented as a demon. Deborah clearly loves and cares about Curtis, and is hurt by his lack of attention, but she never comes across as a haranguing harpie who has driven her man into another woman's arms. Annik is undeniably more exotic and beautiful than Deborah, but is portrayed as a loving artistic soulmate who simply had the bad luck to meet Curtis after he already was "taken," rather than as a heartless, homewrecking groupie.
What's impressive is that "Control" works so well as a story that the excellent music performances in it almost seem secondary. Riley does his own singing on most of the songs, and is impressive at recreating Curtis' sometimes manic style and voice-of-doom vocals without doing strictly soundalike impersonations. I actually liked the movie versions of many songs here more than the real Joy Division's originals. (Heresy! Heresy!)
This is easily one of the best movies of 2007.
What's great about it: Stark, Unsentimental and Sad Bio of Singer Ian Curtis
What's not so great: If Curtis ever had a good laugh, you wouldn't know it
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Dreamers, Bernardo Bertolucci's sexually charged ode to the late '60s -- a time when politics, sex, and cinema intertwined and commented on each other in ways that shaped the new generation -- makes its debut on DVD with an anamorphic widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Bertolucci is widely considered to be one of the most visually arresting filmmakers of his time, and this transfer shows that his skills have not abated with age. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while Spanish and French soundtracks have been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by the director along with screenwriter Gilbert Adair (who also wrote the novel on which he based the film) and producer Jeremy Thomas. They are full of anecdotes about the conception of the story, the film, and the time period in which the film transpires. The history of the film is showcased in a featurette about the volatile events that transpired in France during May of 1968. A making-of featurette, the theatrical trailer, and a music video for lead actor Michael Pitt's cover of "Hey Joe," round out this excellent package from 20th Century Fox. Two versions of the film are available on DVD, this edition contains the original theatrical NC-17-rated cut.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Nostalgic Art-House Francophile Fantasy
on May 21, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
"The Dreamers" is a nostalgic art-house fantasy targeted at Francophiles and cinema lovers, full of references to films and filmmakers from Keaton to Godard. It's as elegant and beautiful as you'd expect a Bernardo Bertolucci movie to be, which is saying a lot. ("The Last Emperor," anyone?) And its plot is like a strange fairy tale, the off-kilter European kind with occasional dark patches and no guarantee of a happy ending.
Parts of "The Dreamers" definitely are erotic, which was how this movie was publicized. But there's so much more to like about it than those "hot parts" that it is almost a shame "The Dreamers" could be pigeon-holed by some as a "classy dirty movie."
Matthew (Michael Pitt of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") is an American student and film buff who is studying in 1968 Paris. He meets French kindred spirits Theo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green) at a demonstration against the closing of the Cinematheque Francais, with which they are so obsessed that they regard the place almost as a church.
The three spend most of the rest of the movie discussing cinema, revolution, music and love in the apartment they share, all the while remaining safely cloistered from messier riots and general upheaval right outside their window. Even when Matthew and Isabelle venture outside the apartment (to attend a movie, appropriately), they only become aware of a mountain of garbage behind them on the opposite sidewalk after seeing a news report about the strike on a shop-window TV. Arguments, experiences, accusations of hypocrisy, and a shocking intrusion gradually awaken the trio from their secluded world.
Most of the movie essentially is a highly improbable (but no less alluring) fantasy for the "Frasier" set: French free love and flowing fine wine among the articulately opinionated, featuring parents who are ridiculously lenient and tolerant even for the City of Lights. But that's the whole point; Michael has entered the lives of metaphorical dreamers who have no desire to wake, symbolic children who don't want to grow up. He becomes not only their conscience but a catalyst.
There's also a lot of humor in the movie, such as Isabelle's disastrous attempt to cook. (Regarding the burnt-black mess she puts on the table, she tells Michael to "pretend you are a visitor in a strange country, and this is the national dish." As Michael gamely puts a forkful of the stuff in his mouth, Theo says it's like watching "vomiting in reverse.")
The soundtrack includes lots of period rock (Doors, Dylan, Hendrix, Joplin) that sounds just perfect (although it's a shame that the Beatles' "Revolution" is not present, since it was inspired by the Paris riots depicted in the movie). "The Dreamers" also is peppered with clips from old movies both famous and obscure, including a wonderfully intercut scene of a foot-race through the Louvre.
A genuine five-star masterpiece.
What's great about it: For cinema lovers and lovers in general
What's not so great: Loved everything about it!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The big-screen adaptation a popular animated television show The Spongebob Squarepants Movie arrives on DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of the film. French, English, and Spanish soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1 while a second English soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. A handful of featurettes give people an idea of how the film came together. A preview of a Spongebob video game allows viewers to take control of their favorite underwater characters. Fans of the show will not be disappointed by this DVD.
 
Customer Rating
3 out of 5
3
Great for Kids and Adults
on May 20, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
Being too mind-bogglingly cheap to pay for cable, I never have seen the "Spongebob Squarepants" TV show. If you are in a similar situation, fear not. You don't have to be a six-year-old expert on all things Squarepantsian to love this movie!
Unlike the egregiously awful, insultingly witless "Shark Tale," this undersea comedy actually is amusing and clever, in an ironic-but-sweet fashion. Spongebob and his pal Patrick the starfish go on a quest to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown, encountering everything from knee-slapping porch-sitters to biker-bar denizens to a trench of monsters along the way. I liked the combination of Spongebob's wide-eyed innocent goodness juxtaposed with offbeat, and occasionally flat-out bizarre, humor. Example: Spongebob accidentally steps on a little green bad guy named Plankton, scrapes his shoe on the road to get off the resulting slime, and wonders from whence a resulting blood-curdling scream emanates. After a pause, he blithely does the same thing again, causing more screaming from the sole of his shoe. Okay, maybe that doesn't translate well to the printed word, but I laughed out loud in the theater.
Jeffrey Tambor (as King Neptune) and Scarlett Johansson (as kindhearted Princess Mindy) supply guest voices. Both are perfect. And there's a surprise guest star near the end, playing himself in his second movie role this year--and doing a great job of it!
Don't turn off the DVD until all the credits finish, or you will miss a little bonus at the end.
What's great about it: Funny stuff, even if you've never seen the TV show
What's not so great: You'll laugh until your funny bone breaks.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
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Customer Rating
3 out of 5
3
Not-bad dysfunctional family drama
on May 19, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
If you're dying to see a really depressing movie about a miserable brother and sister who put their elderly father in a nursing home, this is the flick for you.
The title is misleadingly inappropriate. Instead of referring to a tribe of violent primitives, "Savages" is the family's last name.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is the sad-sack but cruelly pragmatic brother, who sets sister Laura Linney straight about the fact that they are putting demented old dad in a place that smells bad where people die. Amid the bickering, lies and shared misery, they develop a deeper relationship with each other -- and with the father who wasn't around for most of their lives.
All of which sounds like a total drag, and it's certainly no laugh riot, but "The Savages" is surprisingly enjoyable as a slightly dysfunctional family drama.
What's great about it: Mostly unsentimental look at nursing-home care decision
What's not so great: Misleadingly bad title
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Buena Vista Home Entertainment spared no expense or extra in the double-disc DVD creation of the animated, Oscar-winning Spirited Away. The remarkable aspect of these special features is how educational they are, providing much insight into this award-winning Japanese film. To begin, Spirited Away is presented in flawless 2.0:1 widescreen, enabling the richness of the animation to explode onscreen. The sound, presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Japanese Surround, is flawless. A French Dolby Digital 2.0 track is also included. The featurette, "The Art of Spirited Away," is a must-see. It offers insight into the interpretation of the quite-symbolic film as well as stories about the trials and tribulations encountered during the translation process. Other extras include a feature on the dubbing process, a lengthy and star-packed Nippon Television documentary special on the film and how its key players worked to create the final product, a storyboard-to-scene comparison and 30 minutes of Japanese trailers for the movie.
 
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Animation Classic for All Ages
on May 18, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
The plot is deceptively simple--a little girl journeys to a spirit world--but the execution is incredibly imaginative, surreal, surprisingly touching and hauntingly beautiful. Many of the images in this film are truly stunning, ranging from the elaborate and action-packed to the transcendentally serene, and the characters are both odd and fascinating. Director/writer Hayao Miyazaki has created a masterpiece that is a genuine classic for all ages.
In the first few minutes of "Spirited Away," you will think you know exactly where things are headed. Boy, will you ever be wrong. Many of the twists and turns in the plot and the characters Chihiro meets are truly bizarre. And even with a running time of more than two hours, the movie seems to end too soon--like a wonderfully strange, other-worldly dream from which you don't want to wake.
Already the highest-grossing film ever in Japan (beating out "Titanic" there), the US version has been dubbed into English by voice actors including Daveigh Chase (Lilo of Disney's "Lilo & Stitch"), who does an excellent job. It also boasts a terrific, frequently moving score by Joe Hisaishi.
Very highly recommended!
What's great about it: Surprisingly touching and hauntingly beautiful
What's not so great: Ends too soon!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Woody Allen's Best in Years
on May 14, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
Writer/director Woody Allen isn't in it, and there's not a laugh anywhere to be found, but "Match Point" is easily the Woodman's best movie in years. Lots of years.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is excellent as a subtle but Steerpikishly snakey social-climber who marries into money despite being in love with his new brother-in-law's fiancee. That object of desire is the radiantly golden Scarlett Johansson, but Allen doesn't exactly put her on a pedestal. Her character is somewhat crass, slightly shrewish, and possessed of a few unseemly secrets.
Everything about this suspenseful love triangle is enjoyable, especially the delicious tension of waiting for the, ahem, "tennis ball" to hit the fan. As always, Allen the director adamantly refuses to move the camera, but this static approach does a good job of reflecting the constricted husband's quiet desperation in his too-comfortable new surroundings.
The third act goes into territory you won't be expecting (unless other reviews have ruined the surprise, which unfortunately is quite likely). And something that happens by an incredibly lucky coincidence seems a little too handy, but fits nicely with the movie's theme that it's better to be lucky than to be good.
Recommended!
What's great about it: Suspenseful, Delicious Tension
What's not so great: No flashy camera moves, but it doesn't need them.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Fascinating vision of a very bleak future.
on May 13, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
There are lots of impressive things about this dystopian vision of a near-future in which no babies have been born for 20 years. The bleak locations, including city streets running for entire blocks in 2027 England, are convincing right down to the rubble, dead bodies and burned-out buses. Clive Owen gives a very believable performance as a former activist who has become numb to the disintegrating civilization around him, without going the usual deadpan-ironic Nicolas Cage route. And the screenplay, adapted from the novel by mystery writer P.D. James, takes at least two interesting plot turns that audiences won't see coming.
But the best thing about "Children of Men" is something that sounds like a filmmaking gimmick but which works amazingly well: lengthy takes -- often several minutes long -- in which a handheld camera follows the action without any cuts. When that action consists of following characters who are in the middle of running gun battles between rebels with rifles and RPG launchers versus military men with tanks, the result is grippingly "you are there."
Director Alfonso Cuaron deserves a lot of credit for executing what sounds like an ostentatious technical stunt -- think Scorcese's show-offy nightclub tracking shot in "Goodfellas" -- in a way that genuinely serves the story instead of drawing attention to itself. (One frustrating exception: The camera is a little too close to a character who gets shot at one point, and several drops of "blood" stay on the lens so long that you can't help wishing they had been digitally erased -- or that Cuaron had gone ahead and used an edit earlier than he finally does. When an edit finally does come, it is so seamlessly executed that the shot still looks like the same take, except the drops are gone.)
The aspect of "Children of Men" that may inspire the most discussion is its portrayal of how future Britain treats unwanted war refugees and other illegal immigrants (namely, by locking them in brutally inhumane camps until they can be forcibly deported).
Michael Caine gives an interesting performance as a very aging hippie who lives in his own isolated world way out in the woods. Julianne Moore is a rebel leader protecting a certain very important refugee. Danny Huston is Owens' brother, curator of a London art museum that has rescued major pieces of art such as Guernica and the statue of David from apparently conflict-overrun countries. The sight of David with a steel rod taking the place of part of his missing marble leg is even more jarring than seeing Pink Floyd's inflatable pig moored outside a window.
Recommended!
What's great about it: A directing tour-de-force by Cuaron.
What's not so great: Terrible title for a great movie.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Imaginative and Dreamlike
on May 10, 2008
Posted by: backrowreviews
Brilliantly imaginative director Michel Gondry ("Human Nature," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and many of the greatest music videos ever made, by artists such as Bjork and Kylie Minogue) is back with his best film yet. Which is saying a lot, considering that Charlie Kaufman wrote both of his previous movies and Gondry scripted this one himself.
"The Science of Sleep" is a bizarrely dreamlike yet often genuinely human story about what goes on in the quite confused head of a creatively frustrated artist (Gael Garcia Bernal), who can't quite connect with the sweet but distant girl he wants (Charlotte Gainsbourg). His dealings with his very weird coworkers at a calendar publishing company are absurdly hilarious.
The movie takes place in Paris and the dialog is mostly in French (with subtitles), but there's also some Spanish and English. That's appropriate, considering that Our Hero's mental state -- Does she like me? Am I being an idiot? Why can't I just stay in bed and live with her in my dreams? -- are pretty universal.
The visuals are amazing, sometimes in a thoroughly charming "less is more" fashion. Instead of a zillion-dollar CGI mindscape, we see things like cars made of corrugated cardboard and streams of water made of cellophane. Sounds cheap, but it's incredibly effective -- the difference between something lovingly crafted by an artist's hand rather than mass-produced by machines.
This is one of those movies with a plot that I don't want to describe too much, because it's so interesting and fresh and weird that you're better off going in "cold." It's also so offbeat and disjointed and unlike anything else you're likely to see this year that you may not connect with it right away, but hang in there and you will find yourself under its dreamy spell.
Very highly recommended.
What's great about it: Offbeat, weird and wonderful
What's not so great: Maybe a little too challenging for the "dinette set"
I would recommend this to a friend!
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