harrywhogivesasheet Reviews

Intelligent Life (2012)

Some excellent films have come out of Israel, but this isn't one of them.

[3/10 · 7 September 2018]

This is an extremely low budget short that utilizes the majority of its full 12:31 min run time (sans opening and closing credits) to create a buildup for the ending climax that is not only anticlimactic, but confusing in that the final conclusion(s) that we are to come to about this "alien" are essentially all too broadly open to our own interpretation of what the directer/writer MIGHT have intended, but not at all necessarily what WAS intended (ie. the "alien" appears to look like a very well known historical/religious figure, but was this intentional? etc.).

Improvements on acting, scenery and writing could have actually made this impressive, even within its time limitations, but unfortunately you're likely to be thinking more about that than any part of the film, or message that might be intended to be conveyed.

Though it will only take 14:25 minutes of your life to view from start to final end credit, you might want to invest it in any number of other far more superior full length films that have been exported from Israel such as, Defamation (2009 documentary), or the 2004 drama "Or" (My Treasure), to name two.

Room in Rome (2010)

Motel 8 with a Rome Hilton facade.

[5/10 · 10 May 2012]

For those who live or have actually traveled to Italy; imagine you are walking towards the Rome Hilton (which was a very elegant and plush establishment, as I recall from so many years ago), or the Waldorf Estoria, for those not familiar with the aforementioned Italian high end hotel. You walk up to what appears to be a beautifully built and lavish edifice that echoes of history and prestige and as the doorman opens the door separating the outside from the inside, you realize as you take those first few steps that you've just walked into the lobby of a Motel 8, or any of those "budget inns" that while functional and serve their purpose, are a far cry from what you might have expected by looking at the exterior. That experience would be the best way to describe this film.

Everything from the title to the setting, to the cinematography and the two main characters, bespeaks of a grandeur to come. However, its never delivered, or even left at the door and what we are relegated to is not unlike the menu of a hotel lobby vending machine. All the staples are there; the clichéd and contrived desperation you might find in a first year film student's production; where they are so anxious to get their "message" across, even if there is no actual message. The dull and frequently over dramatized allusion of a passion that simply isn't convincing, as well as the dialogue that makes attempts at "art house" depth, but is actually closer to a 1970s Giallo b-grade script; where the characters hang on every sentence as if promising a clue of what's to come, but their empty words only end up being a painful and constant buildup to that which never does.

Now I didn't walk into this expecting it to be a soft-core sex film, nor was that what I was looking for. Which is fine, because its actually closer to feather-core and based on the remaining content of the film which simply put, consists of two fit and attractive women who remain predominately naked throughout the picture and unconvincingly attempt to make us believe in their increasing affection for one another, perhaps the former option would have been more successful for all parties involved.

The film tries. It tries to create a depth to two women who are essentially having little more than an overnight fling. It tries to deliver eroticism and sensuality. It tries to be something that (as one previous commenter mentions) "panders to an American audience," but it also tries to provide for those who might be looking for more high-end "accommodation." It tries and tries, but in the end when that hand is extended with its palm up and waiting, all I could manage to think was, "for THAT kind of service I could have done without the bags."

A Room in Rome is about as deep and interesting as hotel closet and left me feeling as satisfied as if I'd just checked into one.