TimG-2 Reviews

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Brilliant mind-teaser which leaves you spellbound

[10/10 · 9 January 2002]

Well, where do I begin? It's hard to describe my view on David Lynch's latest works without revealing too much of what's going on in it. A lot of people have already written out their theories and analysis of "Mulholland Dr." - so I won't bother with something like that. Just one thing: Some folks claim that the film doesn't make sense. They're wrong! When you try hard enough connecting all those seemingly chaotic strings, images, fragments, then almost everything makes sense - although there may still be a couple of "red herrings" left …

For me, there are three main reasons why no one who likes films like "The Usual Suspects" or the French movie "Viva la vie!" by Claude Lelouch should miss Lynch's masterpiece:

a) The tension: There are only a few movies which make me clutch the upholstery of the seat. But a couple of scenes in "Mulholland Dr." do - although the ideas behind them are rather simple: Sneaking into a dark flat or around the corner of a fast-food restaurant …

b) The mind-teasing: Sometimes it isn't too bad when you already know some essential things about it before you go and see a movie. In case of, e.g., "Memento" - and "Mulholland Dr.", too, you should know that everything you see might be important to fully understand the film. With the consequence that you'll definitely keep your attention for more than two hours - sort of spellbound …

c) The acting: It was a wise decision of Lynch not to cast any blockbuster stars for his movie but entirely rather unknown faces. Otherwise, we couldn't see those brilliant performances by Laura Elena Harring and especially Naomi Watts (who is gorgeous in every which way and would well deserve an award for her role).

To come to a conclusion: Even if you finally don't get what it's all about, this movie might fascinate you. Or, as a friend of mine said when we left the cinema: "I didn't understand anything of what was going on - but let's go and watch it again". 10/10

Top Gun (1986)

How silly can a movie be?

[2/10 · 26 March 2001]

It took almost fifteen years until I watched Top Gun for the first time. I clearly remember that this movie was very popular when it ran in the German theatres in 1987 and I heard a lot about this mixture of action, adventure and romance. I never expected Top Gun to be a masterpiece. However, I always thought that I had missed something, not having seen it. But when I actually watched this movie one week ago it occured to me that I was wrong.

Action and adventure? A bunch of guys that want to be heros doing nothing but cracking stupid jokes and flying around in jets all the time, finally fighting (and of course winning) against a nameless enemy (i.e. the Soviet Union). No thrill at all. No explanation of the Cold War background at all. Dialogues as silly as can be, leaving me helpless whether to laugh or cry. Romance? Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in something that is meant to be a love story but fails to convey the slightest touch of romance. Acting? Cruise and Kilmer in their ridiculous "Who gets to perform the broadest grin/the ugliest sneer?"-competition. The single funny aspect is the music score, a synthesizer sound emerging from the deepest depths of the 1980s, this very strange decade.

Let's face it: Top Gun is nothing but a commercial for the US Navy (just think of the jets starting from and landing on the carrier in the warm, red light of sunrise or sunset) and a perfect example of the hyper-patriotism of the Reagan era. The movie depicts some sort of unreflected militarism that is not my cup of tea.

Only in terms of technique (cinematography, editing …) this work is quite all right. So Top Gun isn't exactly one of the worst but surely one of the silliest movies I have ever seen: 2 out of 10 - period.

The Man Who Cried (2000)

Visually stunning drama with some weak points

[7/10 · 27 February 2001]

Sally Potter's film about uprooted people searching for something like a home during the 1930s and 40s is worth seeing, although not completely flawless.

To begin with the positive aspects: The first 20 minutes or so are brilliantly filmed and absolutely fascinating. Short scenes, almost without any words (except some short dialogues in Yiddish) show how a little Jewish-Russian girl gets to England (where she is called Suzie) although she is supposed to follow her father to America. More than one question remains unanswered during these scenes but strangely enough that doesn't matter. Those sequences resemble fragments which seem to emerge right from Suzie's childhood memory: Crucial moments are kept in mind, not everything can be understood by a kid. The main part of the film portrays Suzie's life as a singer and dancer at an opera house in Paris and her love to a Gypsy horseman (Johnny Depp). Christina Ricci (more beautiful than ever before) is great in her role as Suzie: Her minimal yet intense acting successfully keeps the viewer's attention on her face.

But unfortunately the film suffers from a couple of logical mistakes (just to mention one of them: Why is one of the subordinate characters arrested before the Germans have reached Paris?). Furthermore, in my opinion the Nazi threat to the Jews as well as to the Gypsies is depicted in a far too superficial way. Yet the sudden but touching end of the film compensates for some of those weaknesses. On the whole, I have rated this film 7 out of 10.

Magnolia (1999)

Touching, fascinating - and irritating

[10/10 · 30 April 2000]

Nine persons and what's happening to them during one day and one night in Los Angeles; all persons and stories in a way being connected to each other; a film running three hours and nine minutes: Regarding these facts, P.T. Anderson's movie strongly resembles "Short Cuts". But Magnolia is different: It is more irritating, more touching and somehow more fascinating than Robert Altman's work.

It begins with the prologue, three short, bizarre and brilliantly presented episodes which are supposed to show that nothing in life happens accidentally - neither the death of a diver on top of a tree nor the murder that should have been a suicide. Nor what happens to the nine persons in L.A.

The following episodes, in one way or the other, deal with the search for love and recognition. I won't give a summary of all things occuring - things often both tragic and humorous - because that would take too long. But the episode I liked most was the "kind of a" love story between the lonely (and also a bit clumsy) policeman Jim (John C. Reilly) and the drug- addicted Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters).

In the end it's raining - not cats and dogs, but frogs. A strange idea indeed, but I liked this surrealistic component (as well as the way Jim gets back his lost gun…). Finally, there is more than one question remaining unanswered which might disappoint some viewers.

All in all, Magnolia is not that masterpiece some critics claim it to be. However, it is one of the few movies that require a further watching to discover all its facettes and to better recapitulate it - so that one might see the film in a different light. Until then: 8/10

American Beauty (1999)

Got what it takes to become an all-time classic

[10/10 · 20 April 2000]

Is there anything left to say about this movie, after all the awards, after all the approval and, yes, also after all the disapproval ("Hated it"; "Don't believe the hype!" etc.)

Listen folks: Believe the hype! For American Beauty is a masterpiece – for various reasons of which I'd like to mention a few. First of all there are just a couple of movies that contain so many "magic moments": Scenes to remember for a long, long time after you left the cinema. Scenes which instantly come to your mind when thinking of a movie. Scenes like these:

Angela lying in the bathtub full of rose petals. Lester driving in his car, smoking pot and loudly singing "American Woman". Colonel Fitts, soaking wet, entering Lester's garage. The love scene between Lester and his "object of beauty", ending with Angela's confession. And so on and so on.

Not to forget the plastic bag dancing in the wind, a magic moment that might make film history. And finally the movie's last sequence, Lester's last words – an ending that is sad and beautiful at once.

Apart from that, American Beauty shows us the dark voids that lie under the squeaky clean surface of the middle-class homes. It opens our eyes for the beauty in life. It makes us think whether happiness really lies in an Italian designer sofa and a bungalow with a swimming-pool or maybe rather in the golden brown leaves falling from a tree on an autumn day. Or in the faces of the persons we love.

When Lester has spoken his last words and the screen is dark, you do leave the cinema but don't necessarily leave the movie. Maybe you never will. In this impact on the viewer lies the strength of American Beauty, not to mention its other qualities like great acting, directing and cinematography.

This movie is one of the 20 best I have ever seen. It has got what it takes to become an all-time classic. 10/10

Viva la vie (1984)

Underrated highlight of the French cinema

[9/10 · 19 April 2000]

After four minutes of this enigmatic French movie its director Claude Lelouch himself appears on the screen. In a radio interview he insists that one should watch his new film without knowing anything about the story. So I won't tell either what is exactly happening in "Viva la vie!". Nonetheless, I'd like to give a few hints: It is a mixture of thriller, mystery and sci-fi. In a broader sense it has to do with the fear of a nuclear holocaust which is quite typical of the 1980s. This movie is a strange puzzle: Not before the end titles you will be able to put the pieces together which Lelouch has scattered in front of you during the last 105 minutes. After circa one hour you might ask: What on earth is it all about? Don't worry, you'll find the answer in the end. But to recapitulate the story which you'll then see in a different light, at least one further watching will be necessary.

Considering the baffling story as well as the row of good actors (Piccoli, Rampling, Trintignant…), "Viva la vie!" is an underrated highlight of the French cinema in the 80s. 9/10

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Perfect synthesis of European and American cinema

[10/10 · 15 April 2000]

This story about the friendship between a professional "cleaner" and a 12-year-old girl whose family has been killed by a gang of drug cops is one of the few movies that get better and better the more often I watch them. Luc Besson's masterpiece has everything a good movie needs: Thrill, excellent timing and cinematography, a touch of romance and, above all, outstanding actors. Jean Reno, between coolness and melancholy, acts brilliantly as the killer (a profession that he already performed in "La femme Nikita"). And Natalie Portman, this hugely talented (and beautiful…) young actress, maybe the best in her generation, is stunning in her (one can hardly believe it) first appearance on the screen. Everyone who is a fan of this movie (or wants to become one) should watch the "Director's Cut" as this longer version gives the relationship between Léon and Matilda more depth and emphasis. All in all, "Léon" is a perfect synthesis of European and American cinema – a modern thriller classic. 10/10