because i'm tired from my day i can't muster any kind of creativity so here are some quick reviews of the films i've seen in the last 24 hours.
MATCHSTICK MEN :: Ridley Scott :: 2003
smaller film from Ridley. couldn't tell you how it's a Ridley film, though. and the screenplay kinda loses it towards the end. and Nic Cage kinda plays his quirks a little bit too funny for my tastes. but -- there are amazing qualities hidden in this film. first - Alison Lohman. i actually found out today that she was not a 14 year-old girl for real. she was 21 when she made this film. i know i'm not being original but she is one amazing actress. consider White Oleander to be rented real soon. the other big performance comes from, no surprises here, Sam Rockwell. and it even feels as though he's being underused. he's so alive, his scenes look as if they were adlibbed. Nicolas Cage is also very good but playing those "quirks" for kinda-laughs didn't endear him to me in this film.
THE DREAMERS :: Bernardo Bertolucci :: 2003
my mind was not blown. sadly. because i was ready for it. i was ready to be transported, ready to be in love, ready for the sensualty. maybe it's not that kind of film. or maybe it is and i just didn't go into it right. i mean loads of reviewers found it awe-inspiring.
although not the main point, the film is erotic and sensual. in a raw way. and i loved that about the film. i would've wanted more, though. and more of a drunken feeling.
and i would like to tell Bertolucci that if he wanted Leonardo DiCaprio then to cast him and not Michael Pitt. after the middle of the film i could see Pitt, but before that it was Leo from The Beach all along.
there are other themes running through the film, though - cinema, for one. and as such, i would recommend this one for lovers of cinema. (others please refrain.)
OSAMA :: Siddiq Barmak :: 2003
what to say.
first off, i don't know a thing about Afghanistan. and that sucked. i felt like i couldn't get everything that was in that film because i didn't know enough about the culture other than the burkas. and that's just a caricature of daily Afghan life, i'm sure.
but, that being said, i thoroughly enjoyed this film. i went through it, most of it, like a child being led. a refreshing experience. and i've heard that the actors were all non-professionals. is that true? if it is true, then they blew me away.
and kudos to the lead, Marina Golbahari. she was around 12-13 when she did this film and she's a fucking natural.
go see this film (it's actually not about Bin Laden :) rent it when it comes out. do what you can to experience a little bit more of these people's lives than what we are shown on tv.
a striking and breathtaking tale.
Posted by Anonymous | 10:56 PM
