Reviews

The fact that you are interested in watching this film and that it was even made should be heralded as a collective success, because Cloud Atlas is a thought provoking film. Your personal and collective philosophies will be challenged, and your emotions will be engaged. Each of the six stories address mankind's struggle against seemingly inexorable systems/oppressors, and resolve that love can help us overcome the worst hell. Cloud Atlas also requires that you have a super-trained memory because the six story lines are jumbled and unnaturally presented. I don't mind a thinking man's movie, just as long as my brain doesn't attempt to shut down after being exhausted by the editor's brutal film gymnastics.

Three of Cloud Atlas' story lines are wildly entertaining. That also means that three are also lacking. If you are willing to accept that you may have to either take a notepad with you to keep track of the story lines and trudge through some uninspired acting (sometimes Hanks & Berry are flat), or commit yourself ahead of time to watch this film twice, then go out and purchase your ticket. Otherwise, wait for the film to come out on Netflix.

All movies must be considered within their context, and The Musketeer is one that would benefit enormously if viewers were to judge this film on its own merits.

Given the tradition of wonderful Musketeer inspired films, this one has the best stunts and fight scenes I have ever seen. All of the sword fights are quite good, and some is absolutely brilliant. Furthermore, I challenge anyone to find a modern movie with better horse stunts.

The acting in this film is not as bad as some reviewers make it out to be. Justin Chambers (of Grey's Anatomy) is capable in his role, and one would be remiss to simply dismiss either Stephen Rea or Tim Roth's performances as anything other than quite good. Even Mena Suvari is entertaining in this film.

This film will never win any Academy Awards, but it is an entertaining film. If you happen to see it playing on cable or in your video store, give it a chance; you won't be disappointed.

Many countries face the challenges of oil reserves; they benefit from the money they gain, but pay a severe social cost for having oil. Mexico is not an exception to this rule, and the struggle of one family's fight against an oil company is masterfully depicted in La Rosa Blanca.

The acting, while a bit stylized, is quite good. (The film employed the services of some of Mexico's best actors of the time). Additionally, Roberto Gavaldon employs the use of two languages in the dialouge to create the disconnect necessary to understand the difficulties faced by Jacinto Yañez and his family.

La Rosa Blanca, directed by Roberto Gavaldon, is an exquisite work featuring cinematography by the illustrious Gabriel Figueroa. Originally completed in 1961, it was canned for eleven years because of its highly political nature. Mexico was suffering from the effects of a boom and bust oil economy during the early 1960s, therefore making its subject matter sensitive. It has often been mischaracterized as being anti-American: it is not. The film is, however, against the exploitative nature of oil corporations, a poignant fact that has significant value today.

My distaste for the final ten minutes of this film, where the film becomes a propaganda piece for the Mexican government, is the only reason this film does not get a ten.

One of Bruno Barreto's earliest works, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is a comical story about human desires and the need for balance. This movie is for everyone who ever wanted to mix and match the qualities of failed lovers into the perfect partner. You will laugh and see yourself in Dona Flor's struggles.

Cidade de Deus is a portrait of Brazilian life on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, in the most downtrodden of places. From the euphemistic reference to the "City of God," to the stark reality of gang life, this film shocks and inspires terror in the casual viewer, who is often far removed from the world portrayed therin. People wanting to escape reality, those favoring pedantic Hollywood escapism, need not view this film.

If violence and poverty are the result of social neglect, then the protagonists of this film are the innocent victims. When children become predators, spurred by their own pursuit of power to escape social irrelevance, society becomes the victim. Alternatives, as the film demonstrates, exist, but they are far less compelling to neglected children than the life of crime.

It is insufficient to say that the direction, imagery, and cinematography are breathtaking, though they are. It is also insufficient to say that this film accurately portrays the desperation of inner city youth (wherever they may be) and their limited opportunities, though it does. It is equally insufficient to laud the actors, because one would swear that nary an actor graced the screen; these actors became their characters in a transubstantiative process more divine than any miracle.

What can be said, with absolute certainty, is that the film will challenge your comfortability with reality. Too far removed from the problems of the inner-city, and you will cry outrage for the "excessive violence." This film will wrestle with you intellect and your emotions, and force you to think about the world outside your door.