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laelia123
Reviews
Les quatre cents coups (1959)
Maybe good if you study film, otherwise very boring
This movie bewilders me. It may be that I'm just a stupid American, but I really just don't get 400 Blows. Everything I've read about this movie has been a total rave, but I just couldn't stay interested. I'm sure that it was as revolutionary in film-making as all the critics say, but when it boils right down to it, it's just really really boring. Maybe it's the language barrier, may I'm just not "sensitive" or "artsy" enough, but whatever the case is, I hated this movie. The story itself isn't bad; it's about a young French boy who is treated unfairly by his parents and his teachers, and eventually he ends up in a juvenile facility. That in itself ought to be interesting, and it was, at first. There was nothing wrong with the dialogue, but then again it's hard to say because half of the conversations weren't subtitled and for no apparent reason, so I didn't always know what was going on. But for the dialogue we could understand, it made enough sense. The actors were believable enough, but it's hard to say what a real person would do in these situations. So you feel for the main character, but only in the sense that when he gets into trouble you think, well that sucks. The plot isn't even your typical plot. Each time he gets in trouble, he gets into more trouble than the last time, but the reasons never vary too much. And through the entire film you realize that there's nothing the main character can really do about it. So it's more like just waiting to see how it ends. The ending, by the way, was completely over my head. It's way too artsy for me, and I just didn't get it. Leading up to the end was easy enough to follow. The structure was certainly there, and it made sense as well, but everything was really drawn out. For the amount of dialogue and significant moments, the movie could have been an hour shorter. It just didn't end. Part of it was the unnecessarily long shots, none of which were especially memorable; for example, the ending was a clip of the main character running down a country road that lasted a good thirty seconds. Now, I'm sure that had some deeper meaning in it somewhere, but for the average viewer, I'd rather have gotten up to get some more food during that time. Or at least done something a little more useful than sit and watch this boy running, like doing my laundry, or taking a nap.
Final Verdict
The feeling throughout the whole movie was that this probably would be very moving and just amazing and that it would teach me some great life lesson, if I could only get what the director was trying to say by his
unique decisions. As it was, I just felt cheated out of a good two hours of my life.
Freaks (1932)
Disturbing, but interesting
Tod Browning's Freaks is a very effective movie, even almost seventy years after its original release. At the time of its release it was taken out of the theaters and even banned for thirty years in England. Freaks was met with revulsion. Freaks brings the audience into the world of the circus freak, attempting to provide a glimpse into their lives. It tells the story of a "freak" named Hans, who falls in love with Cleopatra, a "normal" woman. Cleopatra learns of a fortune Hans has, and marries him with that in mind. She conspires with the "strong man" to poison Hans and get his money. But when one freak finds out, the code of the freaks kicks in, resulting in ten minutes which have been described as "the most harrowing in all of cinema." With an average plot, below average acting, and a run time of just over an hour, as far as film goes this movie is nothing special. But all of the freaks are played by real side-show freaks, which gives the film its controversial status. Freaks attempts to sympathize with their lot in society, but at the same time exploits their abnormalities for the entertainment of the audience. For instance, there's a scene with a man who has no arms and no legs lighting and smoking a cigarette. Now, this had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie, and is merely something for the audience to gape at. Some of the depictions are less than empathetic; the conjoined twins are each getting married to different men, who remark to each other that they must come over and visit sometime.
Final Verdict
The movie tends to neglect some of the day to day struggles of the freaks, but concentrates more on the code of the freaks, which is, essentially, if you mess with one of them you mess with all of them. The movie is about how people treat each other. Freaks is, although at times slow moving and very difficult to find, worth seeing. I wouldn't necessarily encourage you to run out and find a copy, but if the chance pops up you might not want to turn it down.
Black Beauty (1994)
Visually arresting, but boring and underdeveloped
Black Beauty is a visually beautiful but in the end disappointing movie. Based on the classic novel, it was fairly highly regarded by critics, but didn't prove itself at the box office. Black Beauty has no problems with visuals. Half of the movie is taken up with wide sweeping shots of the location and endless scenes of horses running. I realize that it's about horses, but watching them run around is not what I had in mind. This movie is saturated and oozing with running horses. I also understand that you can't really get inside a horse's head for a movie, but the voice-over is below average. The voice of Black Beauty is not distinctive and only expresses certain emotions, like fear or anger, which are only demonstrated by raising his voice and talking louder. It gets very old, very fast. The acting done by the humans in the movie is adequate, but they aren't given the chance to become full characters because we're herded through the horse's life at a rapid speed. The plot moves too quickly to be as lavish and rich as the scenery. It gives us no chance to feel for any of the characters, even Black Beauty. Maybe if we didn't have to watch the horses running laps in the English countryside for an hour, there would be time to develop both plot and character. A novel concept. A warning: there are violent scenes of animal cruelty which may be too strong for some young children. The birthing scene was too much for ME to handle, let alone some wide-eyed five-year-old clutching her My Little Pony.
Final Verdict:
The movie is, essentially, pretty horses running around pretty trees, and random spots of hurried plot. If you or your child is not REALLY into horses, I wouldn't bother with this one.
The Evil Dead (1981)
Evil Dead - terrible, and that's why it's great
Evil Dead is a terrible, terrible movie. No one can possibly argue against that. That having been said, it's the best and most entertaining terrible movie I've seen. Evil Dead was filmed by Sam Raimi on a budget of $350,000 and it shows. Everything about this movie is terrible - except for the end result. The acting sucks, the special effects are laughable, the dialogue is the most stiff and unrealistic I have ever heard. At one point, one character turns around and is suddenly dead and possessed, with gray rotting skin and white eyes. She floats up into the air, explains to the others that they are all going to die, flies across the room and into the fall, and then falls down. The reaction of the others? Nothing. Eventually one asks "do you think she's alright?" That's just a sample. The makers of Evil Dead wanted to make the most gruesome and scary horror movie ever, and tried to push the envelope as far as they could. But their serious treatment is what makes it so funny. Everyone in this movie appears to very committed and serious about the movie, and the result is laughable. The actors seem to have no idea how bad they are, or how simply ridiculous the entire movie is. Had they known, it wouldn't have the same effect. Naturally, critics panned this movie across the board, but it found its audience in younger people who could find entertainment in bad movies. Eventually it developed such a following that it is now a trilogy, including Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, all staring B-movie kind Bruce Campbell. Sam Raimi went on to direct Spider-Man 2, which had a special effects budget that soared into the millions. So they all lived happily ever after
except for everyone else who was involved in the movie.
Final Verdict
The best terrible movie I've ever seen. The acting can be summed up in two words: cue cards. The movie leaves many questions unanswered, doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and provides plenty of laughs. An altogether enjoyable, but at the same time painful, movie experience.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
One of the worst movies ever!!
There are some movies you walk out of thinking, well that could have been better. Sometimes movies are just pretty bad overall. Others are so bad it's funny, like, say, Evil Dead. Battlefield Earth, however, is several steps below them all. There is nothing funny about how bad this movie is. You have to wonder, what were they thinking? How on earth could anyone ever even imagine that this might be even slightly worth making? There is not one redeeming feature in the whole freakin' movie. The dialogue is so incredibly lame, the only time it evoked any emotion in me at all is when I laughed at it. It wasn't the kind of laugh where you go, ha! This is so awful, I love it! It's the kind of laugh where you go, Ha! I'll bet the writers are sleeping in cardboard boxes in some alley somewhere! The movie is really just embarrassing. How could this slip past all the production heads? This movie has nothing going for it. The characters are as cartoonish and one-dimensional as the Road Runner, and their dialogue is about as good; they could have gone through the entire movie saying only "beep-beep" and it would have had the same effect. The countless noble self-sacrificing scenes are emotionless and just annoying after a while. The only direction evident is in the awfully consistent scene transitions. The director could have made this entire movie using only his butt and a pencil sharpener. That goes for anyone else involved in this movie as well.
Final Verdict
Completely useless. An embarrassment to society. It should be rated U for unwatchable.