Reviews

...You didn't get what you expected doesn't mean you shouldn't appreciate what you got. This film will be a classic once the myopia of the present is put to rest by the passage of time. The film is a phenomenal study of the physical and mental deterioration of one of the most powerful men ever. Not a pretty film by any means and it's not for the quick cut crowd; careful attention is needed to follow the constantly changing mental worlds of Capone. If there were only a "heavier" cause for his situation, Capone would be a modern day Lear. Kudos to all for a fantastic film, most especially of course, to Mr. Hardy who turns in a bravura performance.

Looked forward to this version of Dumbo but sorely disappointed. I guess the more sophisticated can pick out Burton style but I think virtually any other director could have done as well...maybe better. As others have noted, DeVito steals the show pretty much making the rest of the cast look "cardboardy". The kids, especially the girl character, were not in the Disney tradition. Add to this obvious predictability and dullsville begins to loom large. But Disney doesn't care. It didn't make it's money back domestically but did very well thanks to non US viewers and that bottom line will keep Disney going screwing over the classics.

This is one of those movies that suffers from...lack of marketing. Maybe it made the Laemmle rounds, I don't know but if not, it sure should have. It will, of course, scare away a certain class of people who will not want to hear the harsh reality of living in certain cities and their domains. This is also one of those movies that nail the case for story and character both of which are in abundance in this film. (BTW, the tech specs say it was shot on a GH4 which is certainly capable of a much better image; I suspect the filmmakers wanted the look the movie has and I have to agree: I'm not sure brilliant colors would work.) The two main characters have relatively limited experience but are a phenomenal duo here. The twists and turns are well motivated as is the red herring in the character of Rio. Highly recommended if you are in the mood for a gritty well done exchange of viewpoints.

No, there are no spoilers in this short review. I have not the slightest idea how one would insert a spoiler for this movie. Tarantino's been on a revamp of late. Starting with Inglorious Basterds (a sorry revamp of the great original), wandering through Django Unchained (ditto), and, we hope, ending with Hateful Eight (sorry play on Magnificent Seven in title) he seeks to put his own spin on the greats of the past. While there is some stuff of interest in IB and DU, he sinks to a new low with Hateful Eight surpassing his penchant for violence as a moviemaker. However, in that sense, it is of his path of escalating violence in movie after movie; thus does dear Quentin ride the rim of paradox: escalation to a new low.

Critics went gaga. Some reviewers went gaga. Rented the movie based on gagaisms. Still trying to figure out why all the gaga. There are many slow movies that actually say something but this does not fall into that category. The movie is "held together" by the thinnest of "plots" providing an excuse to cruise Vienna in the wintertime (and totally discourage anyone from going there that time of year!) and cruise the KMS. Yes, it's nice that a friendship develops but we got that early on. It's fun to hear the museum guard reminisce about his job; at least there was some variety. As another reviewer has said, the most interesting part was the tour guide's observations and her rather snooty way of saying she was right even though she stated it was an "opinion". I guess "mesmerizing" has a new meaning: "challenges one to stay awake".

Now here is a slow moving movie with heart offering a distinctly creative turn in the noire genre. It's also a risk taker in that it may be a tough sell to believe a ruthless tough guy could develop a "soft side" and likewise that a victim could turn to love same said ruthless tough guy. It's a movie that requires a bit of thought to connect the dots and see whether you are convinced that the filmmaker succeeded in this ambitious and complex endeavor. While I admit I'm have some doubts about that, especially the victim turned lover side, it was an enjoyable watch in large part because one is led along by suspense that never culminates in the traditional way. Very much worth a watch unless you are expecting "traditional" mafia movie treatment.

Perhaps lost in translation but this film is basically a documenting of a day in the life of a family. The closest we get to any impact of the somewhat illustrated stress of that living (and what's unique about that?) is when mom looks like she might, just might, lose it. A plus though is the "feeling European" that comes through in mannerism and relationship. I grabbed it because it was my understanding that Bela Tarr was involved; turns out, he was, but in a relatively minor way (workshop, not class)that this film cannot be considered being done by one of his students. So count me among those who saw the film to the end but in the end, came away unimpressed. Unfortunately, the extras were a big disappointment shedding light only on the "source basis" for the film

Take the nonsense of Inception, multiply by about 1000, add some soap opera moments and you get Interstellar. I don't have to check the spoiler box because there is nothing to spoil, or, rather, there is everything...to spoil. But there isn't time enough to call out the instances of bad dialog, poor acting, lousy hair jobs, words strung together that sound interesting but mean nothing, contradictions galore, real black holes (aka plot holes), one liners designed to emotionally hook the audience 'cause there ain't no substance, visuals to distract 'cause there ain't no substance, deus ex machinas as needed (and they are too frequently needed), etc. and so on, oh, did I mention bad evil mixing?. And for those of you whiners about "hate", no, this isn't about "hate"; it's about the lack of sound movie making. The only "sound" movie making principle followed is...you get a hap hap happy Hollywood ending. In sum, a Shakespearean epitaph is appropriate: full of sound and fury signifying nothing. P.S. I did enjoy the music but, my bad, could've gotten that for a lot less investment of time and money.

Other reviews have more than adequately covered the excellence in this film. There are only a couple of observations to be made that will, hopefully, distinguish this review from being simply a rehash. I don't hold with the blithe accusation of the Mac character as being a 'racist'. After all, his son was killed by a black person so of course he's going to have strong feelings about that especially give the very strong memories that he carried for Toby years after his death. Whatever feelings there might be re "race", they played a far distant second fiddle to this. The second item of note is that the movie was shot on a Red camera! This digital beauty shows how far things have come in the digital age: it isn't obvious that this is a digitally based production. Finally, special nod needs to be given to the, yup, special features. The "making of" is itself a mini drama and Memphis is to be heartily congratulated for its unusual support, dedication and just plain unselfish giving.

No surprise that such a movie would be made outside the studio system. Innumerable surprises from virtually perfect casting and top notch A++ acting throughout. Garcia's script deftly treats of the psychological brokenness of its characters - and most are broken to varying degrees. But despite all of that, the characters' struggle to continue on, to not give up, to be open and willing to try things (even Karen eventually writes a letter) is totally believable because it happens with the influence of another. As a result, healing does occur but also in varying degrees. This is not to say that a perfect world emerges from the characters' struggles: far from it. It merely says that in this imperfect world it is possible to not fall into the murk of despair as long as the human spirit retains and acts on what is best in what could be called its primal drives. (While Garcia possibly attempts to "inform" these drives with a Higher, Outside Existence, it is one of the weak points of the film as, in the end, there is no real connection. Perhaps he intended that there not be an overt relationship which, if so, is a subtly that would be difficult for virtually any audience to grasp.) Kudos to the courageous production companies that went out on a limb to help make this film. It's a shame that a studio level marketing budget isn't possible for a many levels above studio production. Highly recommended for those inclined to view excellent: drama, acting, directing and storytelling.

Critics raved but had nothing to say - not a bloomin' one of 'em - of substance about why they thought this was such a great film. Yeah, I checked here & RottenTomatoes before this post just to be sure I didn't miss "the point". Made me feel good 'cause I thought it sucked...big time. Road trip? Sex orgy for sure, "road trip" flimsy excuse for it, at best. Learn anything from the "sights"? Nope, missed it all. Deal with cancer? No life change here, just the statement that since there is nothing after death why bother with such trivia. No, leaving hubby ain't a life change, just cowardice. (BTW, this single event highlights the problem with the film that repeats endlessly, i.e. what evidence is there that he deserved such treatment? The opinions of two adolescent booby bumbling drug soaked hormone ravaged teens? This is supposed to make us sympathetic with the anti-heroine?? It's one thing to see life, events, situations interpreted by the protagonists and quite another to have those interpretations foisted on and be explanatory of another character's behavior. Can be done but only by an experienced master.) Want to see the utter banality of materialistic modern civilization? Want to see a wife who cannot communicate anything to her husband? (Hey, he may be drunk when he calls but he went way beyond her lack of verbal interaction.) Want to see promises that are lies even as they are being made? Want to see the acclaimed "two Mexicos"? Duh, every country has at least "two". And far better drug busts can be seen on TLC or Discovery or... Want to see infidelity at every turn? Want to see two realities running in parallel but never meeting? You know, the reality of the world presented by the unknown but omniscient narrator and the other one already fully adjectived. Want to see the film 99% critics pander to what they think will be PC? Then see this film. Shame on you Mexico for pandering to American tastes and aiming for one-upmanship on tripe. You succeeded. P.S. the one positive point, if it can be called such, was the hugely clear gulf between parents and offspring. Positive in that it showed how little parents often know what their kids are really doing or understand their kids or take any time to learn. Negative in that it was done in the same trite manner as the `political commentary'.