Cover via Amazon
Sergei Bodrov of Russia has a penchant for making pictures concerning distinctly important, as well as interesting, matters. His “Prisoner of the Mountains” (1996), for example, deals with friendship and survival in the war between Russia and Chechnya. “Mongol” (with English subtitles) deals with Genghis Khan’s ascent to power in the thirteenth century, i.e. an arduous climb. Khan’s name is Temudgin; the words “Genghis Khan” mean “universal ruler.”
My bro Dean D. Gives his hip review of 2 movies. “Revolutionary Road” and “Taken” Que em up at Netflix and see if ya agree 🙂
Did you know American suburbanites of the 1950s were often
Image by onkel_wart via Flickr
desperately unhappy? It’s true.
Know what else?
People today are often desperately unhappy as well, and many, many of them are secular liberals. What’s to become of them?
The frustrating Sam Mendes directed this movie. It’s even worse than his “American Beauty“ and “Road to Perdition.” Not only is it dated and banal and leaden, it is also written in such a way that it’s impossible to care about the characters. Pity those poor American suburbanites.
For a suspenseful action flick, Taken, which pits Liam Neeson against sex-slave traders who have kidnapped his daughter, is inferior to the TV series, “24.” This doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting or well-made, though.
It’s both. However . . .
Most of the violence the criminals receive at Neeson’s hand they absolutely deserve. On the other hand, the film glorifies a murderer.
Image via Wikipedia
I didn’t find Sam Raimi‘s “Drag Me to Hell” entertaining. It is an intelligently directed, edited and photographed horror flick with some canny moments, such as the weirdness at the dinner party. But those scary jolts can be clunky if not silly, and the writing is spotty, concerning as it does a young woman who is cursed by a Hungarian crone when the former declines to further extend the gypsy’s bank credit. “Lamia” time. As a Christian I believe in damnation, but I don’t believe in this film. It handles the subject of “eternal burning” too lightly, too frivolously–and, needless to say, with bad theology. Also, horror movies with abysmally dark endings stick in my craw. They’re not fun. As if all this weren’t enough, Alison Lohman, though lovely, gives a superficial performance as the cursed gal.
Reviewed by my bro Dean.
Watch the DVD Secuestro Express… A review
You haven’t seen squalor and crime until you’ve seen Venezuelan squalor and crime. And don’t ever trust a drug addict. This is what Jonathan Jakubowicz’s taut Venezuelan picture communicates.
Carla, a rich man’s daughter who does volunteer work with poor children, is kidnapped by lower-class thugs coveting ransom money. Her druggie fiance is kidnapped as well, but later escapes after turning unexpectedly treacherous toward Carla. Life is strange, Carla has to admit. The only good thing going on here is that the thugs decline to rape her.
“Secuestro” could easily have been tedious; we’ve seen all this Latin American ugliness before. But tedious it isn’t because it’s a vivid thriller. Mia Maestro, who plays Carla, is magnificently comely and histrionically hard-working and affecting. One hopes to see her in many future roles.
I chose to see “SE,” available to me only on DVD, instead of such American films as “Munich” and “The New World” because of possibly false reports that these two movies are boring. What if it’s true? CRITICS have made this charge. Can it be that U.S. filmmakers are ceasing to interest us? (Yes, it can be; you’d better believe it.) As I said, “Secuestro Express” could have been tedious, but Jakubowicz prevents it from happening. That’s meritorious filmmaking.
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