Dial M for Miscellaneous
This is a list of films that do not fit either on my top-list or on my list with overrated, disappointing or bad films. It is mostly intended for diary purposes, to write something about films I am lukewarm about, or films that are ok but not exactly good.
In no particular order.
In no particular order.
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- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsMichalis ZekeTania PalaiologouStratos TzortzoglouTwo children journey the long road to Germany to find the man they believe to be their father.This is by no means a bad film. But I expected quite a bit more from this, considering the fact that Angelopoulos is often compared to the likes of Tarkovsky. Landscape in the mist is obviously inspired by Tarkovsky, but although Angelopoulos knows one or two things about image composition he's not very gifted at creating believable drama. There were rare moments at which the film was touching, but it mostly left me cold and a bit bored. When adults in the real world see snow falling while they look out of the window, they don't start screaming their heads of en mass and yelling "snow! snow!" while running outside leaving everything important behind. Children do that, adults don't. The film is full of such unbelievable behavior and sloppy story-telling. A shame really, given all the potential the film had. But still, certain images are quite iconic and will linger in you mind longer, even though they seem to lack the meaning the director obviously thought they had.
- DirectorAleksandr SokurovStarsAndrei ShchetininAleksei NeymyshevAleksandr RazbashA father and his son live together in a roof-top apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world, full of memories and daily rites. Sometimes they seem like brothers. Sometimes even like lovers. Following in his father's path, Aleksei attends military school. He likes sports, tends to be irresponsible and has problems with his girlfriend. She is jealous of Aleksei's close relationship with his father. Despite knowing that all sons must one day live their own lives, Aleksei is conflicted; his father knows he should accept a better job in another city, perhaps search for a new wife, but who will ease the pain of Aleksei's nightmares?I was completely blown away by Sokurov's transcendent Mat i syn (mother and son). So what better choice than to watch Otets i syn (father and son), right? Well, to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. No it's not a bad film, but it just hit the wrong notes for me. The most important reason for this lies in the fact that the intimate relation between the father and the son felt homo-erotic at times, which - by implication - felt incestuous as well. This for me destroyed the atmosphere of the film beyond repair. Sure, it had some beautiful (though never spectacular) shots and it also had its better almost poetic moments, but the story didn't feel interesting enough either. I don't want to overreact here, because there were lots of positive things to counter those negative aspects, but they were just not potent enough.
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsZbigniew CybulskiEwa KrzyzewskaWaclaw ZastrzezynskiAs World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.Its more style than substance, but the style is pretty unique.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsKyôko FukadaAnna TsuchiyaHiroyuki MiyasakoMomoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.This is some crazy, cool, shallow and colorful Japanese *beep* with a rococo touch. Could have been more over-the-top though; it felt a bit held-back.
- DirectorAleksandr SokurovStarsSergey DreydenMariya KuznetsovaLeonid MozgovoyA 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.A film that seems to drift along elegantly, yet insignificantly for the most part, wandering aimlessly along beautiful paintings and sculptures with costumed people from different time periods walking around them, with two people having strange, unintelligible conversations that are melancholic and full of yearning but ultimately lead to nowhere. Yet in the end the film does make its point, very gently though: it longs for the glory, the artistic purity, the costumes, the music and the ballrooms of an older pre-communist Russia that is all but lost.
- DirectorBenjamin ChristensenStarsBenjamin ChristensenElisabeth ChristensenMaren PedersenFictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.Given my very high expectations I must say that I was a bit disappointed, because the film's inability to decide whether it is a documentary or a film makes it a bit boring at times. Nonetheless it is technically very impressive and innovate, and a historically relevant cinematic achievement.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsBruce GreenwoodElias KoteasDon McKellarA man plagued by neuroses frequents the club Exotica in an attempt to find solace, but even there his past is never far away.This film has good images and a Lynchian atmosphere, but its story is a bit muddled.
- DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.Can't say that its a good film strictly speaking, but I admire the balls of the director... now please don't take that statement out of context! ;)
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.Cool but not quite realistic.
- DirectorGert de GraaffStarsBart KleverDevika StrookerRick de LeeuwIncredible optical illusions in a story in a story in a story helps the surprised viewer finally to find out that he has been watching himself all along.This is one of the more interesting films to come from my native country of Holland. Its about a Buddhist guy trying to get rid of his own ego but is struggling with the fact that every conscious attempt to get rid of his ego will always fail, because its always an attempt of that very same ego trying to get rid of itself, which therefore always already presupposes the very same thing it wants to get rid of in the first place. This attempt to deconstruct his own ego is symbolized in the film by breaking through visual illusions, and the fourth wall. It is an original film, although I agree with his girlfriend that the thing he needed to let go was not his own ego but his own Buddhist dogma, the very idea that he needed to let go of something at all.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsWerner HerzogBarbara WeetmanA plastic bag, thrown out in the trash, attempts to find his way back to his owner and along the way discovers the world.It might look a bit derivative of American Beauty, but its doing its own thing. Its not brilliant or anything, but its a nice short.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsYoshitaka ZushiKin SugaiToshiyuki TonomuraVarious tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.A more or less failed, yet touching story about people living around a pile of waste.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsGeoffrey RushKate WinsletJoaquin PhoenixIn a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor.In contrast to Pasolini's Salo, Marquis De Sade plays a sympathetic role in this film as a man far ahead of his time, liberating us from sexual taboos who was restrained by religious morons unable to appreciate his art with an open mind. In fact it is Marquis De Sade romaniticized for Hollywood. This depiction of him is based on a lie: to say that Marquis De Sade was actually a pretty nasty guy would be an understatement. Now I won't say that De Sade deserved what was coming to him, but if you have seen Salo and know that it was actually not nearly as brutal as the book, and that De Sade actually condoned a libertine attitude of 'letting the beast out', you will have lost your sympathy for him and for this film as well. Still it is not a bad film. In fact, it is a fine example of good Hollywood entertainment, but compared to Salo it is laughably insignificant. Yet, despite all this, the film still does raise an important question. If Marquis De Sade was indeed despicable, then why are we still occupying ourselves with him? Why do we continue to read and appreciate his work? Why do many consider it be a form of art? It appears that the preoccupation with this man reveals something important about the human condition: the darkest side of the human consciousness should not be swept under the rug, but should be understood and explored. Although this film's teddy-bear version of Marquis De Sade does not help a lot in that regard, the necessity of both rejecting his work for its moral depravity, which goes way beyond the mere 'naughtiness' this film makes it out to be, and of appreciating it for its relevance to our understanding of the human condition, does represent an important conundrum to be pondered over, and in that sense the film's contrast to Salo helps to keep this reflection from becoming one-sided.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsJoseph BoudreauxLionel Le BlancE. BienvenuThe idyllic life of a young Cajun boy and his pet raccoon is disrupted when the tranquility of the bayou is broken by an oil well drilling near his home.A nice film about a Cajun boy, living as an organic part of nature. This concerns both nature as idyllic, and nature as frightening. The technology of an oil-drilling installation both interrupts idyllic nature, while taming its frightening aspects.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsMatt DamonGwyneth PaltrowJude LawIn late 1950s New York, a young underachiever named Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.Constantly rooting for the villain is a very private matter of anxiety.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Braveheart is very cheesy and highly overrated. The story, the romance, the acting, especially that of Mel Gibson, are all pretty bad. Yet there are also good things. The costumes, the landscapes, the Scottish atmosphere, the epic scale and the rough action are still worth mentioning.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.It is creative and imaginative, although hardly a masterpiece.
- DirectorHarrie GeelenBjørn Frank JensenBert KroonStarsFred BenaventeTrudy LibosanLuc LutzBumble the Bear (Olivier Bommel) finds an egg that, it turns out, has a cute little dragon in it. However, this dinosaur grows huge every time it is upset. As this causes a lot of problems, Ollie Bommel has to face a difficult dilemma.Pure nostalgia: as a child I always watched this on new years' morning.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PriceMark DamonMyrna FaheyUpon entering his fiancée's family mansion, a man discovers a savage family curse and fears that his future brother-in-law has entombed his bride-to-be prematurely.A decent horror/drama with good acting.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsTom CruiseJeanne TripplehornGene HackmanA young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.A respectable film version of the Grisham book.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.Not one of Tarrantino's best, but entertaining nonetheless.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.overrated but entertaining.
- DirectorPete DocterDavid SilvermanLee UnkrichStarsBilly CrystalJohn GoodmanMary GibbsIn order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.Even the lesser films by Pixar are entertaining.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsJohnny DeppHeather GrahamIan HolmAfter five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.The story of Jack the ripper with a polished atmosphere.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.I am unable to tell whether it is a a dumb exploitation movie or a smart social commentary on exploitation movies. Could it perhaps be that it is both at the same time?