A decent action movie with a political story: the message is powerful although being several years too late it's a tad predictable to make a real impact. Matt Damon puts on his Bourne poker face again, trades his fantastic Jujutsu skills for a regular US army weapon, and finds himself in the midst of political war games in Iraq, while director Greengrass once again decides to leave the tripod at home and drive his viewers dizzy with his camera-work. You'll be squinting through half the scenes in the movie either because it's too dark to see what's happening or because you're reaching for a bin to throw up in. Still a decent flick especially if you like Matt Damon or Paul Greengrass' frantic style.
Reviews
11 Reviews
Revolutionary Road
(2008)
Totally enthralling and painfully realistic drama
24 March 2009
This drama is so well made and both Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet are so exceptionally good in their dramatic interpretation that I often forgot I was watching a movie. Leonardo di Caprio really excels and you cannot avoid empathizing with his character.
The director of American beauty does another brilliant job at depicting the frustration of leading an ordinary existence and the devastating consequences that a desperate need to find a way out might lead to. This time though with an emphasis on drama and tragedy; there is no comic relief here to help you hide from the pain. Revolutionary road is a movie that explores the inner struggle of trying to reconcile the dream of doing something extraordinary with our lives with the perspective of inevitably conforming to what everyone else does. In the second part of the story all the way to the ending an ominous thriller-type atmosphere bleeds into the drama and by then you are totally enveloped in the character's lives, anxiously waiting to find out how they will end up.
This part might contain spoilers:
After the inebriation of finding each other, getting married and having children, husband and wife find themselves becoming the ordinary people they had promised themselves never to become. Leonardo di Caprio's character is an intelligent and imaginative man who has a job he hates and Kate Winslet's character is an actress turned housewife, suffocating at the idea that their dreams may have been lost forever in their middle class existence. In an attempt to escape the hopeless emptiness they feel closing in on them, she suggests a drastic change. They decide to throw caution to the wind and take off to start a new life in Paris, where people "really live". Their plan injects new energy into their relationship and into their dreams but the euphoria is short-lived, as life takes a series of twists that will change their future for ever.
The director of American beauty does another brilliant job at depicting the frustration of leading an ordinary existence and the devastating consequences that a desperate need to find a way out might lead to. This time though with an emphasis on drama and tragedy; there is no comic relief here to help you hide from the pain. Revolutionary road is a movie that explores the inner struggle of trying to reconcile the dream of doing something extraordinary with our lives with the perspective of inevitably conforming to what everyone else does. In the second part of the story all the way to the ending an ominous thriller-type atmosphere bleeds into the drama and by then you are totally enveloped in the character's lives, anxiously waiting to find out how they will end up.
This part might contain spoilers:
After the inebriation of finding each other, getting married and having children, husband and wife find themselves becoming the ordinary people they had promised themselves never to become. Leonardo di Caprio's character is an intelligent and imaginative man who has a job he hates and Kate Winslet's character is an actress turned housewife, suffocating at the idea that their dreams may have been lost forever in their middle class existence. In an attempt to escape the hopeless emptiness they feel closing in on them, she suggests a drastic change. They decide to throw caution to the wind and take off to start a new life in Paris, where people "really live". Their plan injects new energy into their relationship and into their dreams but the euphoria is short-lived, as life takes a series of twists that will change their future for ever.
The Bourne Ultimatum
(2007)
Too much of a good thing
28 October 2007
I loved the first two Bourne films, and had high expectations of the third especially because of the higher user rating here on IMDb for this final installment. Apparently there are many movie enthusiasts out there that like the relentless fast action and shaking camera.
The Bourne character is for me a much better version of James Bond. More real, more human. More vulnerable yet more lethal. And Matt Damon plays a great Bourne. It's these qualities and the realism of the fighting and chasing that really jumped out in the first two Bourne films.
The excessive camera shake and hasty flashing from one camera to the other in this third installment are over the top and don't contribute any more to these qualities. In fact they diminish them. It's just the director trying to grab your attention by force. The Bourne Ultimatum is a classical case of too much of a good thing.
What happened here is similar to what happens in many sequels: more effects, less character and less story.
Matt Damon is still worth watching though.....
The Bourne character is for me a much better version of James Bond. More real, more human. More vulnerable yet more lethal. And Matt Damon plays a great Bourne. It's these qualities and the realism of the fighting and chasing that really jumped out in the first two Bourne films.
The excessive camera shake and hasty flashing from one camera to the other in this third installment are over the top and don't contribute any more to these qualities. In fact they diminish them. It's just the director trying to grab your attention by force. The Bourne Ultimatum is a classical case of too much of a good thing.
What happened here is similar to what happens in many sequels: more effects, less character and less story.
Matt Damon is still worth watching though.....
Babel
(I) (2006)
A web of human drama
28 October 2007
Babel is a powerful story told with superb direction and editing.
It is not a movie for everyone though: especially if you like a straightforward one-way story with a main character and a happy ending. You'll be rewarded though if you can look a little deeper at the multiple layers the director and actors want to show us.
Several stories alternate and interlace where human drama is the main focus. The beautiful music is subtly tuned to the storytelling.
The further into the movie you go the more dramatically the different stories connect and intertwine and the more emotional your connection with the character's plight becomes. The closer you look the more mesmerizing the journey becomes.
Just when you are on the edge of your seat, absorbed into the drama of one story, you are abruptly but skilfully thrown back into the drama of the other story, into another person's life, in another country and in another moment in time. And yet they all tell a different part of the same story, where people's decisions have far reaching consequences.
In spite of the construction, the movie is never too complex or too fast and is a joy to watch. Japan, Mexico, Morocco. No matter how far apart and how different in culture, people's lives intertwine and influence each other, and ultimately are brought together by their humanity.
Babel is one of those movies that tell a story about regular people in such a way that at the end you are connected to the characters, and it leaves you thinking about them and their stories even after the credits.
It is not a movie for everyone though: especially if you like a straightforward one-way story with a main character and a happy ending. You'll be rewarded though if you can look a little deeper at the multiple layers the director and actors want to show us.
Several stories alternate and interlace where human drama is the main focus. The beautiful music is subtly tuned to the storytelling.
The further into the movie you go the more dramatically the different stories connect and intertwine and the more emotional your connection with the character's plight becomes. The closer you look the more mesmerizing the journey becomes.
Just when you are on the edge of your seat, absorbed into the drama of one story, you are abruptly but skilfully thrown back into the drama of the other story, into another person's life, in another country and in another moment in time. And yet they all tell a different part of the same story, where people's decisions have far reaching consequences.
In spite of the construction, the movie is never too complex or too fast and is a joy to watch. Japan, Mexico, Morocco. No matter how far apart and how different in culture, people's lives intertwine and influence each other, and ultimately are brought together by their humanity.
Babel is one of those movies that tell a story about regular people in such a way that at the end you are connected to the characters, and it leaves you thinking about them and their stories even after the credits.
Syriana
(2005)
Too difficult to enjoy
12 November 2006
This movie requires you to concentrate very hard all the time and expects you to understand complex plots and dialogue very quickly.
The intricate webs of corruption in the oil industry could certainly make for an entertaining movie. Unfortunately in Syriana the filmmaker has chosen a complicated language to bring this to the screen and doesn't explain the connections between the plots clearly enough. At least for the average viewer. In spite of the subtle and intense acting, this film will probably fail to engage many viewers because of too many things left untold and to many loose ends.
Unless you are willing to study the story before watching it, or spend a lot of extra time rewinding every time you don't manage to understand what's happening on screen, this film will test your patience and probably leave you with the empty feeling you have just heard an important story without being able to understand or enjoy it.
The intricate webs of corruption in the oil industry could certainly make for an entertaining movie. Unfortunately in Syriana the filmmaker has chosen a complicated language to bring this to the screen and doesn't explain the connections between the plots clearly enough. At least for the average viewer. In spite of the subtle and intense acting, this film will probably fail to engage many viewers because of too many things left untold and to many loose ends.
Unless you are willing to study the story before watching it, or spend a lot of extra time rewinding every time you don't manage to understand what's happening on screen, this film will test your patience and probably leave you with the empty feeling you have just heard an important story without being able to understand or enjoy it.
Open Your Eyes
(1997)
Abres los ojos or Vanilla sky: great Science fiction Psychological thriller
4 August 2006
ABRE LOS OJOS
Whichever you chose to watch, the original "Abre los ojos" or the Hollywood remake "Vanilla Sky", this is a great Science Fiction Psychological Thriller and if you like this genre, the first time you watch it you'll often be on the edge of your seat with your eyes glued to the screen waiting for something unexpected to happen: and it will.
Vanilla sky (2001) and Abre los ojos (1997).
While most people rate the original "Abre los Ojos" as a being a better film than the American remake "Vanilla Sky", both movies have their pros and cons in spite of being nearly identical in the plot. Abres Los Ojos feels more natural, more realistic, and has that plain, gritty feel of many European movies. The characters feel more real, but the cinematography is also less spectacular than in Vanilla sky.
Vanilla sky while containing plenty of drama and thriller elements, has also more space for humor and playful synergy between the characters. The overall feeling is that you are in a Hollywood fantasy. This lends a lightness to it but it also robs it of the realism that Abres los Ojos has. Abre Los Ojos sticks to the drama, to the story, and the interaction between actors is nearly always serious: the filmmaker wants you to believe this is actually all happening and it's no joke. The acting is in any case good in both movies. Whichever movie you chose to watch first is going to diminish the experience of watching the other version. If you're not a Hollywood fan the choice is easily made!
Whichever you chose to watch, the original "Abre los ojos" or the Hollywood remake "Vanilla Sky", this is a great Science Fiction Psychological Thriller and if you like this genre, the first time you watch it you'll often be on the edge of your seat with your eyes glued to the screen waiting for something unexpected to happen: and it will.
Vanilla sky (2001) and Abre los ojos (1997).
While most people rate the original "Abre los Ojos" as a being a better film than the American remake "Vanilla Sky", both movies have their pros and cons in spite of being nearly identical in the plot. Abres Los Ojos feels more natural, more realistic, and has that plain, gritty feel of many European movies. The characters feel more real, but the cinematography is also less spectacular than in Vanilla sky.
Vanilla sky while containing plenty of drama and thriller elements, has also more space for humor and playful synergy between the characters. The overall feeling is that you are in a Hollywood fantasy. This lends a lightness to it but it also robs it of the realism that Abres los Ojos has. Abre Los Ojos sticks to the drama, to the story, and the interaction between actors is nearly always serious: the filmmaker wants you to believe this is actually all happening and it's no joke. The acting is in any case good in both movies. Whichever movie you chose to watch first is going to diminish the experience of watching the other version. If you're not a Hollywood fan the choice is easily made!
Vanilla Sky
(2001)
Vanilla sky or Abre los ojos : great Science Fiction Psychological Thriller
4 August 2006
VANILLA SKY
Whichever you chose to watch, the original "Abre los ojos" or the Hollywood remake "Vanilla Sky", this is a great Science Fiction Psychological Thriller and if you like this genre, the first time you watch it you'll often be on the edge of your seat with your eyes glued to the screen waiting for something unexpected to happen: and it will.
Vanilla sky (2001) and Abre los ojos (1997).
While most people rate the original "Abre los Ojos" as a being a better film than the American remake "Vanilla Sky", both movies have their pros and cons in spite of being nearly identical in the plot. Abre Los Ojos feels more natural, more realistic, and has that plain, gritty feel of many European movies. The characters feel more real, but the cinematography is also less spectacular than in Vanilla sky.
Vanilla sky while containing plenty of drama and thriller elements, has also more space for humor and playful synergy between the characters. The overall feeling is that you are in a Hollywood fantasy. This lends a lightness to the movie that Abres los Ojos doesn't have. This is also a reason why people might like it less than the original: Abres Los Ojos sticks to the drama, to the story, and the interaction between actors is nearly always serious: the filmmaker wants you to believe this is actually all happening and it's no joke. The acting is in any case good in both movies. Whichever movie you chose to watch first is going to diminish the experience of watching the other version. If you're a Tom Cruise fan, the choice is easy!
Whichever you chose to watch, the original "Abre los ojos" or the Hollywood remake "Vanilla Sky", this is a great Science Fiction Psychological Thriller and if you like this genre, the first time you watch it you'll often be on the edge of your seat with your eyes glued to the screen waiting for something unexpected to happen: and it will.
Vanilla sky (2001) and Abre los ojos (1997).
While most people rate the original "Abre los Ojos" as a being a better film than the American remake "Vanilla Sky", both movies have their pros and cons in spite of being nearly identical in the plot. Abre Los Ojos feels more natural, more realistic, and has that plain, gritty feel of many European movies. The characters feel more real, but the cinematography is also less spectacular than in Vanilla sky.
Vanilla sky while containing plenty of drama and thriller elements, has also more space for humor and playful synergy between the characters. The overall feeling is that you are in a Hollywood fantasy. This lends a lightness to the movie that Abres los Ojos doesn't have. This is also a reason why people might like it less than the original: Abres Los Ojos sticks to the drama, to the story, and the interaction between actors is nearly always serious: the filmmaker wants you to believe this is actually all happening and it's no joke. The acting is in any case good in both movies. Whichever movie you chose to watch first is going to diminish the experience of watching the other version. If you're a Tom Cruise fan, the choice is easy!
Birthday Girl
(2001)
Underrated romantic comedy
9 June 2006
This is a good example a film that in spite of the low rating is more than worth watching. The story is engaging and it doesn't take long before the chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin grabs your attention. The acting is first class and the characters are represented well. Sometimes it feels like the director couldn't decide himself between drama and romantic comedy. Ben Chiller's portrayal of the law abiding and shy Englishman with porn S.M. magazines hidden in the bedroom creates plenty of moments for laughs! As does the look in Nicole Kidman's eyes when she is offering John his first taste of intimacy in a long time... Other times the actors and especially Nicole Kidman give this comedy quite expertly a dramatic slant.
Kundun
(1997)
A great Story that you should hear - but not a great movie.
20 May 2006
You would expect more from a director like Scorsese on an epic story such as this one. The Chinese occupation of Tibet and the escape of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are certainly stories that have the potential for great movie-making. These are also important parts of human history and of the way our leaders deal with conflicts. In this case Non-Violence is a constant theme in the film. Scorsese has instead obviously wanted to concentrate on the story of the life of the 14th Dalai Lama as a boy and young adult and not on the Chinese occupation of Tibet, or the spiritual message of Buddhism. Either of these last two might have been better choices. In spite of this effort, character development is actually quite poor. One of the reasons this film tends to be boring at times is the fact that the characters are not played by professional actors. Perhaps it is for this reason that their characters are not being allowed to develop. Keep in mind though that these actors are actual Tibetans, closely related to the real story and to the Dalai Lama himself in real life. The decor is beautiful, and you often can't tell that the film was not shot in Tibet but in Morocco! This is a great story, but it is more a dramatised documentary than an entertaining movie. I would still recommend seeing it.
Seven Samurai
(1954)
Intense emotional and visual spectacle
30 April 2006
This is quite rightly regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. Considering the movies we are used to nowadays, realized with enormously expensive equipment, effects, sets and actors, I'd say that here we see how a movie can be elevated, simply by the vision of the artists making it. The cinematography is fantastic and often ahead of its time. This is no surprise if we consider Kurosawa's early training as a painter. Some of the shots remain in your mind long after the film has ended. The intensity of the main actors is sometimes nearly overwhelming in their portrayal of the emotional spectrum of human beings. Anger, doubt, courage, disillusion, humor and friendship are among the emotions that we are confronted with continuously throughout the movie. In spite of the length of the film, the director keeps grabbing our attention and the only break allowed is a formal intermission mid-movie. This movie is not about swords cutting off body parts and blood spraying in all directions, it's about humanity. A movie you must see.
Into My Heart
(1998)
Want to watch reality?
30 April 2006
If like me you often enjoy watching a movie just to see the artistry of the actors, then this is a movie to watch. No impressive action and effects, or a particularly original story. Just reality...and a sober, painful one at times. The actors/actresses dragged me into it without me noticing. Of course the fact that one of these artists happens to be one of the most beautiful women alive, makes it even more worth seeing! I had seen Clair Forlani previously in Joe black and was impressed by her beauty and charm, but in this movie she has more space and shows how deeper her acting can go and impressed me even more. I agree with one of the other comments on this movie: unless you are a action or adrenaline junkie, this film is definitely worth watching.
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