myshkin90
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
24 years
Reviews
The Last Castle (2001)
You have to be American to stomach this movie.
This is exactly the kind of film I dismiss without a second thought when it comes out. Unfortunately, I was forced to sit through this one strapped to a plane seat. The nationalist fervor this movie is meant to invoke is about as subtle as a Nazi propaganda film. It starts and ends with a billowing American flag. And all throughout it seems to chant the glories of the US military. Ra ra ra! Well, only an American could begin to stomach this crap. Anyone honest enough to call a military propaganda film a military propaganda film will be nauseated. On technical merits, the film is a flawless rendering of classic Hollywood narrative. In many ways it is a well made film, but one whose underlying nationalistic theme is so revolting that only a true hypocrite could feel good viewing it.
Before Night Falls (2000)
Unframed life in every frame.
There's a lot to be said for a film that tackles many great themes and yet can not be said to represent any of them. It is something more than its parts. It is beauty.
I love the fact that this is an unapologetically gay film, yet not a queer film. I love that it shows the poverty and abuse of law in communist Cuba under the revolution, yet doesn't reflect an opinion on these conditions. I love its presentation of the exiled, rejected, persecuted artist, without any comment on his plight. For in this film, we are faced with the truth of a man's life, and the beauty of ours.
This is a film that would have the same effect on queers and homophobes alike. On Jesse Helms, as on Fidel. On the criminal, as on his keeper. On the street kid, as on the millionaire. On the artist, as on his audience. For it has no value of its own, no place to belong. As Arenas himself recounts coming to America as a "stateless" citizen, so too this film lives "in the air."
This is one of those films you search for in the haystack of cinema, disappointed more often than rewarded. It is not pretty. Not glossed up. There are no FX, animatronics, or other trappings of technology. Not a single blue screen was used in its making. At every step it presents truth and beauty in the real. The trees, sky, grass, dirt, rain. The body, naked though clothed. And everywhere the sea, that most steadfast of truths; The vehicle of salvation for many, of finality for many more. Unframed life in every frame.
Quite a different undertaking than "Basquiat," Schnabel's other feature. If this one comes to a cinema near you, jump at the chance. You won't even notice that Johnny Depp and Sean Penn are in the film, though they both give great perfomances. There is simply no room in it for the pretense of celebrity. In fact, the only unreal presentation is the opening credit roll. At first I was baffled by this obvious display of clunkiness. But even this makes sense now: if the film must be accredited then so be it, but let the audience make no mistake that this is superficial to the art, and only grudgingly consented to.
For its ability to make the personal universal, and more so for accomplishing this without a frame, Before Night Falls earns *****, and a permanent place in my heart.
I love the fact that this is an unapologetically gay film, yet not a queer film. I love that it shows the poverty and abuse of law in communist Cuba under the revolution, yet doesn't reflect an opinion on these conditions. I love its presentation of the exiled, rejected, persecuted artist, without any comment on his plight. For in this film, we are faced with the truth of a man's life, and the beauty of ours.
This is a film that would have the same effect on queers and homophobes alike. On Jesse Helms, as on Fidel. On the criminal, as on his keeper. On the street kid, as on the millionaire. On the artist, as on his audience. For it has no value of its own, no place to belong. As Arenas himself recounts coming to America as a "stateless" citizen, so too this film lives "in the air."
This is one of those films you search for in the haystack of cinema, disappointed more often than rewarded. It is not pretty. Not glossed up. There are no FX, animatronics, or other trappings of technology. Not a single blue screen was used in its making. At every step it presents truth and beauty in the real. The trees, sky, grass, dirt, rain. The body, naked though clothed. And everywhere the sea, that most steadfast of truths; The vehicle of salvation for many, of finality for many more. Unframed life in every frame.
Quite a different undertaking than "Basquiat," Schnabel's other feature. If this one comes to a cinema near you, jump at the chance. You won't even notice that Johnny Depp and Sean Penn are in the film, though they both give great perfomances. There is simply no room in it for the pretense of celebrity. In fact, the only unreal presentation is the opening credit roll. At first I was baffled by this obvious display of clunkiness. But even this makes sense now: if the film must be accredited then so be it, but let the audience make no mistake that this is superficial to the art, and only grudgingly consented to.
For its ability to make the personal universal, and more so for accomplishing this without a frame, Before Night Falls earns *****, and a permanent place in my heart.
The Last Waltz (1978)
You've got to be kidding!
I can't believe anyone would give a positive review of this film. This is nowhere near one of the best documentaries, in fact it's one of the worst. The concert footage is terribly shot. But the worst part is the interview segments (which are a measly 20-30 seconds each). I was shocked to see how bad a job Scorsese did. If The Band was so interesting, why not show it? All we get is a few minutes worth of useless rambling about "psychedlia" and groupies. This is supposed to be illuminating? Give me a break!