fayruzi Reviews

Contact (1997)

Awful waste of space?

[8 November 1998]

To tell you the truth, I have my own doubts about extra terrestrial existence and I also have a minor religious conflict on whether God exists or not and what constitutes that. This film addresses these issues and that's why I like it. It's relevant. I have to say that it starts out great, even though it's all done in computer graphics which I am not a big fan of. But it shows us how insignificant Earth is, let alone one having a bad day. Overall it's a good film.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

Great early Woody Allen work.

[1 November 1998]

This film is made into a number of segments that have a common theme but with different characters. All of the segments in this film are funny but some are unbelievably great especially the last one about how ejaculation works. There is also a crazy scientist whose laboratory explodes and a gigantic bosom escapes and starts to attack and kill people. The first segment have some great lines. The Gene Wilder segment is also funny. All in all, this is one film that I enjoyed watching.

Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

Tribute film to late Peter Sellers.

[23 October 1998]

I've been watching Pink Panther films since I was very young. Peter Sellers is probably one of the early names I got to fix with a face on the screen, he and Roger Moore. I really like Sellers and this series is one of my favorites. However this isn't really a new film. It's Blake Edwards' tribute to Peter Sellers. It could have worked out great if it was a television program because it's a mere collection from old Panther films shown as the characters who knew Clouseau from the old films narrate about their relationships with him. It was fun to watch though. But makes you sad as it makes you nostalgic to Sellers and the old films and the "baameb".

The Omen (1976)

A scary tale about the AntiChrist

[15 October 1998]

To really get scared from watching this film, you have to believe that there is in fact an antiChrist. That alone will keep you shivering throughout the length of this film. It's about this invincible creature who drives to death all who try to destroy him or his evil. I think that's what he really does in real life. I think he's alive. I also have a strong belief that he is going to come out next year 1999. I also know his whereabouts. His identity is .... AHHHH PLEASE NO. By the way great performance by Gregory Peck. Great music and direction. Also, great sequels.

Rumble in the Bronx (1995)

C'mon People, Wise Up!

[13 October 1998]

Is there anything worse? Definitely there is, but this is unbelievable. I've been watching Jackie Chan movies for a long time and I've stopped watching them long before he started laying blockbuster hits in the United States. He was, probably still is, huge here in the Middle East. So eventually, I picked up this film to watch one evening. And Lo and behold, I was speechless. The acting, if there was any, was very bad. Almost all major characters were over dubbed even though the movie was produced in America. Predictable storyline with an anti-western view. Fat blacks and white outlaws, poverty and corruption, gangs and dirtiness, etc. The good characters are Asians. What if they were Arabs instead of Asians? In the end, Chans gaining popularity because he's new to the public and what he makes is different. As for myself, I prefer Bruce Lee films.

The Godfather (1972)

A Classic

[13 October 1998]

The Godfather is my favorite film of all time. I like all three parts. I like the second one because I like Robert De Niro and I like the first one because Marlon Brando was greater than ever. I like them all because I like Al Pacino. The most ground-breaking about this film is the cinematography. I have to give it to Gordon Willis, he made it look like an epic which it is, the shading, the colors, everything. Mario Puzo is a great storyteller. Coppola is at his finest moments even though his original plans was to make ‘Apocalypse Now'. He gave all his devotion to this picture and it shows. I like that he insisted on his cast, I don't know how it could have been without Al Pacino or Marlon Brando. Great dialogue. Great music, the best ever made for a film by the late great Nina Rota. It's simply amazing.

Network (1976)

A great film with a hidden/obvious political message.

[23 September 1998]

I can say that I have enjoyed this film thoroughly. It's fun and enjoyable and is considered of the greatest work done by the collaboration of Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky which didn't last any further than this picture. Having said that, the only problem that I have with this film is the supposedly truth implied behind the paranoia of Howard Beale. The anti Arab sentiments asserted in this film are obviously part of Chayefsky true feelings. They could have been part of the general American people's feelings at a time when an ally (or a homeland to Chayefsky) was defeated at war, but it probably was because of the Arab refusal to be treated like camel and tried to take control over their own oil and raised the prices after cutting its production for several weeks. The assertion that Arabs were on their way to own America through buying the big companies is laughable. If Arabs could have thought of buying an important television network in the 70's or even in the 80's, I don't think that would have helped distort "the real thing", but on the contrary, it could have helped on making some sense or balance in evening world news. However this film is not specifically about this certain political agenda. It's about the power of media, the new world order, future of governments and the "one vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock, all necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused." It's about the fear of the future that is caused by today. In the end, this is a solid film with some of the greatest lines ever written.

Goodfellas (1990)

It's the real thing.

[10/10 · 7 September 1998]

This film is a instant classic. It documents the life of Henry Hill and how he got into being part of the Mob. The amazing thing is that it's no fiction, even if it was, it's still beautiful. It's based on a book called Wiseguy written by Nicholas Pileggi. He met the real Henry Hill and made his story into a best selling book. Scorsese worked with Pileggi after liking the fast pace of the book, and they wrote the script. It was developed into this film. Casting is another great thing about the film, it seems that all the actors fit perfectly in their roles. It also has some really funny bits. Pileggi worked with Scorsese on another great Mob film, Casino.