Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Antichrist (2009)

Something as unique as this is always a bonus. Writer/director Lars von Trier's film gives a slightly more scrutable David Lynch experience. See it in the theater or on a plasma screen (which I don't have because the buggers eat ridiculous amounts of power. )

Antichrist's intellectualism is authentic, not postmodern. I therefore expected the themes to travel along familiar lines, being wise to the tired stumblings of both enlightenment rationalism and Adorno's anti-everything. But it's not even about that.

Stupid that this is being shown as a Halloween movie on cable.

(Metacritic rating: 48)

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Nothing Is Private (2007)

A configuration of minor flaws here - in casting, writing, direction, photography, editing - add up to something that is the opposite of enjoyable. It's as if the man or woman who makes it a movie was out sick.

Hint to filmmakers: with source material that is good but unavoidably politically incorrect - the commercial title was Towelhead, the film's reechoing epithet - you must not freakshow the characters. They can't be sometimes real and sometimes cardboard cutout.

(Metacritic rating: 57)

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Amores perros (2000)

I believe the title must translate as When Terrible Things Happen To Terrible People. It's a Dogme-esque film set in "Iberian America." Karma: former college professor, 20 years before, had dropped out, leaving wife and child, to become a guerilla. Now living outside society but in it, he saves a nearly dead fight dog. But while the man was away from his hovel, the recovered canine has killed or maimed most of the other dogs he cares for. The vicious dog represents violent radicalism which ideological belief allows to flourish - with devastating results.

(Metacritic rating: 83)

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