Amores perros (2000)

Mexico
directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
written by: Guillermo Arriaga
starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo
commented on 30th January, 2019

I don't understand it. These aren't three intertwined parts of one story, this is more of a composition of three separate stories. And I don't get what's it supposed to mean either way. And to write more than three sentences I will add a sinking thought as to why I don't even care to get the hang of it: None of the characters are good people. (I mean, Gael is on the best way to be one, but even his actions are problematic from the very beginning.) Why should I even watch a film about exclusively evil and bad people.

Schindler's List (1993)

USA
directed by: Steven Spielberg
written by: Steven Zaillian + Thomas Keneally (book)
starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes
seen on 27th January, 2019

Well, I don't know... In a world where films like "Son of Saul", "The Shop on Main Street" and "The Long Journey" exist I do have a serious problem to see "Schindler's List" like a pivotal work of world cinema. I have to "manually" remind myself that there is more than just one artistic approach but I also can't help myself but think less of some of them. I am screaming "Oh the humanity!" about three times a minute while watching this, but still... Just picture the often quoted scene of a little girl in a red coat. It would be so much powerful if it wasn't interrupted so much by editing. If it was just a long shot from a single perspective followed by a reaction shot of Oscar Schindler's face who "sees it all"... oh my. And the last twenty minutes... well, that was Steven's choice as well.

Dances With Wolves (1990)

USA
directed by: Kevin Costner
written by: Michael Blake (+ book)
starring: Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant a Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse
seen on 26th January, 2019

If the film didn't abuse the cliché of "the noble wild west", it could have been really something. Because it has everything in it. But it sure is all blockbustery, kitschy, and white-savior-like numb and dulled. Nevertheless, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant and Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse for presidents.

2023: Ok, I retract Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse's nomination.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

USA
directed by: Steven Spielberg
written by: Melissa Mathison
starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Pat Welsh
seen on 24th January, 2019

I like a lot of the imagery, the fascination with night and woods in the night, and with the starry sky and the mysteries of the universe. I like how the three siblings cooperate and show affection for one another (instead of the usual movie siblings rivalry). I love the bizarre bordering on surreal scene of freeing the frogs at school. I generally like the idea of an extra-terrestial trapped on Earth but I'm not sure if the film ever moves past this idea into some kind of a functional story. 

And the rest of the film also raises a lot of eyebrows. Firstly, Henry Thomas. I'm not sure if I'd call him a talented child actor, but I'm also not sure whether he only seems to be so annoying because of the screenplay being so weird and the story completely stopping midway without making any effort to move forward. (Why are the "agents" presented as villains and why they are accused of "hurting and killing him" when the film never shows their intent to hurt him or any connection between E.T.s failing health and their arrival?) There is also a ton of mentions of the absent father for it to be just a "coincidence" but the film never develops this theme and it plays no part in the finale, just as the relationship between Elliot and the agent also simply fades away despite tha fact the the first half was about them seeking/avoiding each other and the agent implying he know something more than everybody else. The character of Elliot's mom also bothers me. The film-makers make an effort to show that she has no personal life apart from taking care of her children, but she still fails to notice that something shady happens right in front of her nose. John Williams made the music too cheerful even in the scary and dangerous parts. My childhood alien visitations looked absolutely different, that's what I'm trying to say.

RoboCop (1987)

USA
directed by: Paul Verhoeven
written by: Edward Neumeier
starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer
seen on 22nd January, 2019

-"Good night, sweet prince."

Is it just me dreaming or is this film splendid, marvellous, brilliant in every possible way? And I'm totally in love with how Peter Weller moves in the costume.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

USA/Germany
directed by: Bryan Singer
written by: Christopher McQuarrie
starring: Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri
seen on 20th January, 2019

-"The man with the plan."

It's about as cool as a fireside story. Just after it finishes you might think "oh wow!", but if you start thinking about it for just a moment all the shapes start fading, the smoke and mirrors become apparent and the world within the story stops making any sense. 

I'd say the trouble is that Bryan Singer is probably the most overrated bastard, I mean director, I can think of, that is until I start saying it about somebody else. The story is very simple and has no other atributes than being cool and Singer still fails to 1) ground it in reality 2) populate it with characters with believable connections 3) make it self-aware. 

The film seems so outdated by concentrating so hard on this one gimmick up its sleeve. It forgets that we have to watch it even before the ending and that our attention should be misdirected and manipulated to look for something starkly different than the point it eventually makes. 

P.S.: Similarly mainstream films that do this misdirection the right way are for example The Prestige or even American Beauty to stay relevant. Try comparing these films and it won't be hard to see that The Usual Suspects are about "nothing". 

Goodfellas (1990)

USA
directed by: Martin Scorsese
written by: Nicholas Pileggi (+ book), Martin Scorsese
starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
seen on 18th January, 2019

The older I get the more sure I am that these kind of films are morally undefendable.

Dirty Harry (1971)

USA
directed by: Don Siegel
written by: Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, Dean Riesner, Terrence Malick, John Milius
starring: Clint Eastwood, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson
seen on 17th January, 2019

I can't remember if I ever saw any of the sequels so I can't write any fancy comparisons, but I can write this: I very much appreciate that Dirty Harry is such a clean (he-he-he), direct and straightforward film without any diversions, without dissecting the personal lifes of neither the inspector nor the villain and without explaining any political inclinations or interpretations. Even when the characters discuss some laws being or not being completely useless their dialogue remains businesslike and does not suggest anything to sway the viewer one way or the other. The viewer can independently decide whether to agree with the characters or if the message offends him, but the film itself does not want to preach. But there is a lot of crosses and Jesuses around so I hope I'm not talking nonsense. Another thing that pleasantly surprised me was the fact that the film is not sexist or misogynist, because I always somehow expect films to be that way when Clint Eastwood is involved. 

Rain Man (1988)

USA
directed by: Barry Levinson
written by: Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow
starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
commented on 12th January, 2019

I guess it's a good thing they reserved enough time to develop all situations... and that it's a less usual type of story... and that they moved Michael Caine to tears (who also discovered that he had a brother in an institution in his adult years)... But I'm not Michael Caine.

The Lion King (1994)

USA
directed by: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers
written by: Irene Mecchi, Linda Woolverton, Michael Baier
starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons
seen on 6th January, 2019

The beginning is all pretty and impressionistic, but then of course it stops being that way and the animation becomes truly boring. The best song is naturally sung by the villain in a shroud of green smoke but I still cannot remember it after a few days, nor any other song from the film. I also don't think I'll ever have a need to hear any of them again. And what in the name of Shakespeare is with all those fart and burp jokes? The gothic child in me is greatly dissatisfied.