Wiebke Reviews

American Masters: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005) Season 19, Episode 7

Not Just About A Person, But a Time in History

[9/10 · 26 November 2011]

It's a Saturday night and I just finished watching Part 1 of this and OMG, it is AMAZING. Above all the best part is hearing Dylan explain -himself- rather than someone else explaining -him-. On top of that, he is straightforward, not seeming to play mind games or be elusive. There are plenty of other great people brought in too, everyone from Allen Ginsberg to Joan Baez to Pete Seeger to Liam Clancy to Mitch Miller. And on top of THAT, there are musical performances brought in throughout, not just Dylan but people - country, folk, blues, rock - from the 50s and 60s who influenced him and the times. Overall the movie does a great job of taking you back to a particular time in history, so it's not just abut one person but the times. In this way it's quite a lot like The Nomi Song, one of my all-time favorite movies and another great, great music documentary - about the late 70s / early 80s in the underground NYC punk/experimental scene. Anyway, just great and I'll be speeding the Netflix envelope back on Monday morning so I can see Part 2 as soon as possible.

Bone Eater (2007 TV Movie)

Offensive to Everyone

[1/10 · 9 February 2008]

I agree with all the comments posted so far: This movie was a waste of time and energy, for viewers as well as those who made it. Terrible CGI, awful script, stupid plot and hey, the setting is Alabama but it looks like California. But the worst thing has got to be the Native American angle on this, which pulls in every stereotype you can think of, from the chief surrounded by smoke, the angry warrior, people speaking without using contractions ("Do not do this thing!"), Native American pipes playing in thin air, etc. It just shows such a lack of respect and understanding that I was tearing out my hair. A Native American with any ounce of self-respect would have tossed their TV out the window at this trash. So in closing, I'd say this movie is pretty much an offense to everyone.

Remember the Titans (2000)

American Sports Schlock Blocks Drama

[5/10 · 17 September 2003]

This was a seriously mediocre movie. It would be a good TV movie I guess. The direction was stupid, the screenplay incredibly predictable and clunky (esp. the first 1/2 hour!) and above it all, it was FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL. I just do not GET what the hell it is with football. At all.

I mean, watching it, I had a lot of questions, like "Is that guy's job being coach for a high school team? That's his job?" Now, forgive me, I'm a Yankee, football had not so much meaning up where I grew up, so I'm totally confused. Is that normal? If so, give me a break! I've never heard of a public school coach who wasn't a teacher FIRST. So that confused me a lot. Second, all those resources. For football. Why? Everything about the set up in the movie (and yeah, I know it's a movie!) screamed "Damn, this is a cash cow!" It was like going to one of those palaces in German with all the gold leaf -- sure, it's pretty, but the money from it came from the people's sweat and tears.

On the positive side, I thought "Sunshine," the gay quarterback was cool and noted that hell, overall that team had a LOT of sissies in it, which was an interesting sub-plot underlying in there. Of course I'm not so sure the fact that boy didn't get his ass beat in was very realistic but hell, OK, didn't want to see him with black eyes myself either.

Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

Wings of Despair

[10/10 · 13 June 2003]

Tonight I saw one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, at least of the "serious" genre: Lilya 4-ever. I read some reviews just now saying it's prententious but then again, lots of reviews saying it was one of the most moving, saddest films ever. I'm with the latter camp.

This movie, to me, is like a really, really unhappy, ugly version of Wings of Desire, where the angel doesn't come to earth for the girl, the girl is sucked into death. The plot of the movie, by the way, is Lilya is this Russian teenager living in a nasty barren apartment wasteland "somewhere in the former Soviet Union," her mom ditches her to go to America, her aunt kicks her out of the apartment to live in squalor, she ends up dropping out of school and selling herself and... well, she ends up in Sweden and let's just say, things get worse.

Despite the theme, this really is a beautifully done film and unlike say, Dancer in the Dark, a film that left me nauseous and angry for three days, I wasn't mad at the director, I was proud of him for putting together a portrait of the kind of despair that is all too common in the world. It's half documentary, a quarter nightmare, a quarter dream. And you care about this girl so much b/c nobody does except for one person and nobody cares for him either... Groan.

I know, I know, it doesn't sound like the kind of movie you WANT to see, more like one you SHOULD, but I swear, if anybody reading this has a chance to see it, you really should.

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

Trash

[4/10 · 1 September 2002]

I thought this movie was trash. It was gross, confusing, had way too many mixed messages and definitely slanders and exploits Haiti and Haitians. In fact, scanning through all the comments here, I find it surprising nobody says anything about this, as it seems obvious that the entire setting of this movie is paint in very broad strokes. As the for the horror elements, a few of them were scary but the more things happens, the more it was just laughable, like that zombie bride coming to get the scentist and that hand coming out of the soup. Yuck.

Cabiria (1914)

Tremendously influential over-the-top spectacle

[7/10 · 25 November 2001]

Silent films don't have much of an audience these days. Be that as it may, I would like to recommend this film as a hugely influential costume epic that had great influence over the likes of D.W. Griffith (who did Intolerence right after!), Cecil B. DeMille, and even Fritz Lang (when he did Metropolis). Sure, it's long and it's got one of those convuluted plotlines typical of the period and historically it's crap, but the sets and costumes have to be seen to be believed! The scale of things is just fantastic, with giant temples and houses, all sorts of huge rooms and decoration all over anything, and hundreds and hundreds of extras with fabulous costumes, all done in pastiche of styles that range from Egyptian to Babylonian to this whole weird Indian look, although it's all set in North Africa. Then there's the melodramatic acting, which really can't be judged by today's standards, as there are few subtitles of dialogue, only very grand and wordy intertitles summarzing the plot and offering odes to gods and goddesses. This movie is a must-see if you're studying the history of epic films, early full-length movie, Griffith, etc., and even if you're not, it's a hoot (at least until half-way through, at which point you may decide you've had enough of the plot and can guess the rest.)

Impromptu (1991)

Delightful

[9/10 · 28 November 2000]

This film is a little different than most "period" films in that its characters, although known historical figures, are real people and certainly not above swearing, throwing fits, drinking, smoking or carousing. A wonderful comedy romance with an outstanding performance by Judy Davis as George Sands.

It is also interesting to note how closely the plot of this movie resembles that of Renoir's classic "Rules of the Game": 1) group of romantically and socially inbred cityfolk go to the country, 2) romantic and social inbreeding continue in the country, 3) people slipping from room to room, 4) mistaken identity, 5) hunting in the woods, 6) big hunting scene, 7) gender-bending, 8) poking fun at the upper classes, and 9) climactic theater performance chock full of satire and causing some conflict. This similarity can be no accident.

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Bad but funny

[24 November 2000]

If you're looking for a bad Japanese monster flick that you can make fun of ala "Mystery Science Theater 2000" this is it! Featuring bizarre, disjointed plot, ripped-off disaster/war/destruction footage, bad dubbing, swinging 70s music, an annoying little boy, two Japanese guys in bellbottoms, strange people who live under the earth and wear white nylon... and of course there are monsters, including a giant cockroach, some sort of stylish bird thing, Godzilla (who really gives a mean drop-kick) and Jet Jaguar. One of the best scenes comes at the beginning when the little boy is paddling around a little lake when trouble strikes. If you can hear his cries and not be moved (to laughter!), you are a cold, cold person ;) Like I said, if you enjoy this genre, this is pretty good.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Way, Way, Way Too Depressing

[6/10 · 3 November 2000]

This film is unlike anything I have ever seen or heard and the acting is superb and there are some truly marvelous musical numbers but I NEVER want to see this film again. Why? The film made me sick. Not only do we have a hand-held video camera that seeminly never stops whirling about, but the emotional atmosphere of the film was the most unpleasant I have ever encountered. This film made "Erasurehead" and "Brazil" seem as happy as "Golddiggers of 1936" or some cheesy 1930s musical. I am the kind of person who knows what depression is and I tend to listen to a lot of unhappy, bitter music, so it's not as if I only like films when they're happy... but for me this film was simply too DOWN, too gut-wrenching, and the final half hour or so (from the trial on onwards) was sheer mental torture. By the end I couldn't help screaming in my head, "Just kill her, kill her, and made this END!" I felt nauseous, dizzy and just plain angry afterwards. The people with me felt the same way.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

The Ultimate Dysfunctional Family

[10/10 · 15 October 2000]

If you've ever thought YOUR family or YOUR relationship is messed up, you should see THIS family. Actually, this comment applies to most movies made from Tennessee Williams plays, but it's true. As usual, there are people with secrets, slightly hidden hints at homosexuality, people using morphine, people dying, deep relationship issues, yelling, backstabbing -- very healthy stuff -- and it all coalesces into into an exhilarating glimpse into the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Roma (1972)

Life Has No Plot

[8/10 · 16 September 2000]

Some people would complain that this movie has no plot, but does life have a plot? No, of course not! And so this movies goes, from scene to scene, through memories, collages, documentary footage, hallucinations, with only one continuous character but hundreds of faces, bits of conversation, music, all flowing around just like life when you are very drunk and everything in life makes sense, no matter how absurd.

This movie contains some stunning scenes: the "ecclesiastical fashion show"; the Roman traffic jam in the rain; the deli-style whorehouse; the family style meal; the discovery and destruction of Roman ruins during the construction of the subway system. You can walk in at any moment on this movie and it doesn't matter, you don't have to follow it to enjoy it. Perhaps this is true of all Fellini movies, I'm not sure -- certainly it's true of another favorite of mine, Satyricon.

Tom Jones (1963)

I fell off my chair!

[8/10 · 5 September 2000]

While my mother claims this is a "guy movie," I'm not a guy and find it one of the funniest, most charming movies ever made. The narration, music and just plain spunky tone of this movie makes it a unique piece -- you really DO have to see it to understand what it's all about! I highly recommend this movie -- as well as the book, which was published in 1749 but is just as funny today and highly readable, not "quaint" at all!

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

As Bad As It Gets

[3/10 · 8 August 2000]

My roommate and I refused to go see this in the movie. Nothing hyped that much could be good and besides, we heard it was bad. Well, finally, at long last, we borrowed a copy of it on videotape and we are now very proud of ourselves for being so on target.

This movie is an example of a lot of things that can go wrong in movies. Primarily it's an example of moviemakers being out of touch with their audience and with the notion of what makes a good movie. It's also an example of special effects becoming a total distraction, with F/X people seemingly obsessed with doing things just to show off. The dialog is often ludicrous and the characterizations are extremely shallow -- guess they were worrying about effects, not plot. This movie also employs a lot of bizarre, mismatched accents (including ones that are difficult to understand) and on top of that, they lay on the ethnic stereotyping very thick (are those guys holding down the Naboo supposed to be Japanese?)

On the positive side, I think the guy playing Obi-wan was very good. I loved the sets/stages used for the capital of Naboo -- looked like the Hagia Sophia. The pod race had awesome effects. I thought the Jedis' spacecraft was very sleek and nice. Overall, though, this movie sucks like a rotten egg.

Fellini Satyricon (1969)

Weird but authentic

[9/10 · 3 August 2000]

This movie is truly mesmerizing and, like Petronius' original novel, on which it was based, it one of a kind. This film is has bizarre dialog, repulsive images, many freaks of nature, strange music, scenes that don't make sense, and yet at the same time, repeated viewings will show that it does make sense... simply because the moral of this story is that it doesn't make sense, and life can go in a thousand crazy directions, we're all like dice in the hands of fate.

Other comments: Having read the original work, I can say that this is a very interesting interpretation. While not strictly faithful to the book and while sort of splicing certain events together and introducing some new scenes, this movie is actually pretty close in spirit to the book and as such, as I said, unique and really able to constitute its own genre. Comedy? Tragedy? Farce? Epic? Acid trip? Who knows!

The Matrix (1999)

Not to be pigeonholed

[10/10 · 1 August 2000]

This movie is the thinking man's action movie. In the theater I saw it, there were no thinking men and everyone liked the action scenes but the plot confused them. I was not confused.

Stylistically, the movie has a lot going for it. It remind me of several others favorites of mine, including Mimic and several dystopian films.

W

Incubus (1966)

Better than I expected

[7/10 · 22 June 2000]

This movie was a lot better than I expected. I thought it would only be a novelty, just a test to see if you could do a whole movie in Esperanto, but it was very well done for a low-budget movie. Good movie, William Shatner acting was way above his usual par, special effects were NOT cheezy. I would see this again.

North by Northwest (1959)

Seems Like It Was Made Yesterday

[10/10 · 21 June 2000]

I'd seen this on video several times but when it played on a big screen at Piedmont Park here in Atlanta, I got a whole new experience and a fresh look at this classic. This movie doesn't bore for a second and keeps on going with one classic bit after another. The acting is outstanding, there is great humor in the script, the locations are unique, and the special effects are seemless. Cary Grant is at his absolute peak in this one and I would highly recommend it.

As a side note, in the past year I've seen three Hitchcock films on the big screen (Rear Window and Vertigo, recently restored) and they've all been great. Hitchcock's work is so visual, it's great on a big screen and of course his soundtracks are worth a theater as well.

Little Women (1949)

Flawed, cliched

[8 May 2000]

I saw this last night on PBS and, frankly, it seemed a bit off key. One of the worst aspects was the way that events are compressed and happen so suddenly -- I turned my back for a minute and suddenly Jo was in NY and another time I turned my back and Beth had scarlet fever. Jo's European professor beau was nothing but a big cliche. The worst of the movie for me, though, was Margaret O'Brien as Beth. Her simpering whisper-voice drove me up the wall. All that said, I loved the costumes, the interior sets, some of the scenes... but overall I think there must be a better version out there.

Shaft (1971)

Peek at the 70s

[22 March 2000]

Yesterday here in Atlanta -- a city that's home to quite a few black men who still dress like the guys in Shaft -- a theater about a block from me ran a showing of Shaft in conjunction with an exhibit of Gordon Parks' photography at a local museum. The audience was about 80 percent black and loved it -- as did I. As the movie played, people were singing along and yelling out the lines in the movie. It was pretty clear that for the blacks in the audience, this movie was something special and probably had been since it first came out.

For me, though, the best part of the movie was the peek you get at the total seediness of New York in the early 1970s. Cities were so ugly back then and NY was probably one of the absolute ugliest. From the 20-times-painted-over rowhouses to potholed streets to tacky, neon-wrapped storefronts and hookers, the NY of Shaft seems real down to the last bit. You can smell it, feel it, know just what it was like. Watching it last night, I realized why my German grandmother moved out of NY in 1979 -- her apartment, which once had been in a "poor" neighborhood turned into the kind of ghetto shown here and the entire city became a giant cesspit. Thank got NY has turned around since then.

The Bishop's Wife (1947)

Discovering a Classic

[10/10 · 25 December 1999]

This morning I was home at my parents' house for Christmas and came across this movie on American Movies Classics. I became so enraptured I had to run upstairs to watch it on another TV because my family was being too loud and I HAD to watch it is peace. I'm 25 but a huge old movie fan and even a fan of Cary Grant, but for some reason I had never seen this before or even heard anyone talk about it. I really don't understand why this movie isn't on all the time -- it's really a hidden gem and beautiful in every way. I love "It's a Wonderful Life," but why not watch something different? And while "Miracle on 34th Street" is nice, it's awfully overwrought and too sappy for my taste -- "Bishop's Wife" is just right and Cary Grant is so handsome and sweet and charming, very restained. I would highly recommend this film.

The Name of the Rose (1986)

Realistic

[21 October 1999]

This movie is great for a number of reasons, but chief among them for me is the realistic portrayal of life in the Middle Ages. Usually movies set in the Middle Ages -- or even in the 19th century -- miss a lot of details and, above all, sanitize or gloss over the hardships of those times. Name of the Rose is different is this respect -- here is the Middle Ages in all its squalor, ignorance, but also in its glory. It's poorly understood in these times, but many of the scientific and intellectual achievements of the Renaissance were actually borne of the Middle Ages, often from monasteries like the one depicted in this film. Math, logical reasoning, history, machinery, art and architecture were all fruits of this time period. That this film captures this as well as the Inquisition, racism, and barbarism of the period is testament to its quality.

Pecker (1998)

True to Life

[10/10 · 20 October 1999]

I first saw this movie about 6 months ago when my roommate managed to buy the video. He had seen it at a friend's house and thought it was one of the best comedies ever made. I was sceptical but after seeing it (about 5 times, including this past weekend), I would have to agree. Reading the outside reviews of this film as well as use comments, I find it very strange that others don't think this film is as funny as I do. One reviewer complained of "stiff, forced dialog" and a lot of people complained that this movie was too "tame" for a John Waters film. Now I like John Waters, but why do people insist that directors have to keep making the same kind of movies over and over?

To me, Pecker is a film that captures a real slice of life. The characters in this film were caricatures, but so are some people. And the situations were silly, but, you know, I've seen sillier things in life. Overall, the film was very much about the kind of life me and my friends live, not just when were in college, but even now that we've graduated. The buses, the houses, the fun and games in the supermarket, are all the sorts of things you find in real life and the screwy thing Pecker and his friends and family do are the kind of things you do when, like the central character in Pecker, you ENJOY life and don't care what other people think and aren't out to impress anyone.

Naked Lunch (1991)

Double Bill w/Eraserhead?

[8/10 · 20 October 1999]

This movie is excellent but, be warned, it is seriously freaky and not for the squeamish or those who need their plots to be straightforward. I think a good indicator of this is that in this movie, a typewriter turns into a giant, slimy beetle who then rapes and kills another (female) typewriter/beetle one another. There's also a lot of talk about sniffing insecticide, not to mention that the plot takes place in a sort of neverworld half-way between Morrocco and a city out of one of those 1940 film noir films. Did I mention this is based on William S. Burroughs?

While the film is excellent, as I said, and has great acting, INCREDIBLE set design and a unique feel, one drawback is that is gets pretty draggy after a while and seems overlong. Several scenes and plot points seem to repeat themselves, giving the viewer a sense of bad, unintentional deja vu. It's for this reason that I give the film an 8 and not a 10.

Depeche Mode: 101 (1989)

David Gahan is so hot

[10/10 · 20 October 1999]

I think this film is great as a documentary and as a musical event but for me one of the BIGGEST selling points PERIOD is that David Gahan, DM's lead singer, is at his absolute HOTTEST in this movie. Not only is he looking incredible in those white jeans and black leather jacket, but his singing performances are all-out awesome, especially when you consider that most people think of DM as leaning heavily on electronics, when in fact's Gahan's voice has been one of the main carrying forces. If you're a DM fan, especially if you were one during this particluar late 80s time period, you MUST see this!

Wings of Desire (1987)

Tale of the Human Soul

[10/10 · 20 October 1999]

Ever since I first saw this film it has been my favorite film. Seeing Wings of Desire is for me like seeing my innermost soul -- and the innermost soul of humanity -- exposed on the screen. The tone of this film and the insight it gives into human hopes and fears and the overall beauty of life (even in its ugly moments) is one I have not seen reproduced anywhere except in literature, and even then such portrayals are rare. This entire film seems to exist as an attempt to capture those fleeting moments of happiness and clarity we achieve in our lives, those moments when we feel in tune with the world, when we feel like we're floating in time, when we revert back to the days of our childhood and see everything for the first time.

The topic of this film is not the only reason to watch it, of course. The acting is suburb and the CINEMATOGRAPHY is absolutely stunning. The way this film has been shot is quite unique and the way the vision of the angels has been captured, with the camera seeming to float about with its own wings, is miraculous. The music is also a big part of this film and I would strongly recommend the soundtrack, which brings back the feeling of the film, a film which is a very, very difficult film to get on video. If you can see this in the theater, I would DEFINITELY do that because the bigger this film, the more watching it will be AN EXPERIENCE.