One of the best films you haven't seen

Baxter (Jérôme Boivin,1989)


This has to be one of the most unique films in recent years. The story seems very over the top and completely stupid if you really think about it but yet it works and it works in such a way that left me amazed. Baxter is about a dog who wishes that he was a human, it's simple and very unique. Baxter is the dog voiced by Maxime Leroux but only through voice over narration. The narration is really beautiful and dark at times, he speaks of seeing the flowers and wishing that he was human so he can have sex with a woman. Yes, it seems really out there but it works.

"Baxter" also gives us very simple scenes that gives the audience time to settle with such a far fetched plot. The direction is straight to the point, nothing flashy, not huge crane shots, no intense close ups, very simple direction. It was a very original approach to a very original story. The filmmakers knew they had something on their hands that would either work really great or just horribly.

This is just one of those films that you have to see to believe. I deeply loved it, every single second of it. It also haves one of the great shot with Baxter in the middle of the frame and the title credit comes out. The ending is also very emotional and something that i didn't quiet suspect. By all means, see this film. If it wasn't for the John waters who put this film on his television show that runs controversial films then i would have never seen. Even if you don't like john waters this is a film that must be seen.

Grade A+

A wonderful Surprise

Bolivia (2001,Adrián Caetano)


Bolivia is a film that knows what it's doing. A very simple concept with wonderful direction. The film is about a restaurant and a bolivian man named freddy who works there. It's his first day on the job and the locals are against him due to mainly because he is bolivian. Most of the film except for about 2 or 3 scenes take place in the restaurant. The direction by Adrian is wonderful, we get all of the background we need on all the characters that roam around the restaurant and the best thing is that he does it in under 75 minutes. Something that most directors can't even do in a 2 hour film.

The acting is well acted and doesnt go over the top. Freddy is played by Freddy flores which gives a wonderful performance that suits him well. Oscar bertea also gives a stand out performance as Oso, a man filled with many problems and just can't get back on his feet. The actors dont go for this huge oscar tear jerking performance but just a simple one that makes the characters realistic.

I was pleasently surprised by this film because i had no idea what i was in for. Some people may compare it to clerks for reasons that are pretty idiotic. It's black and white and nearly takes place all in one setting. Well it's nothing like clerks which i also love. I've also been hearing that Argentina which this film is from is having a little new wave going on but im not really sure on the details of the filmmakers that are coming out from there. After seeing this film which most critics and film buffs say is the best argentinian film to come out in recent years then im all up for seeing more of there work. A great simple film that knows what it's doing.


Grade A

Disappointing...

The Good German (Steven Soderbergh, 2006)

Wow, what is there to say about this film. No one knows how bad i wanted to love this film. I remember sitting in the theater and seeing the trailer to the good german and was absolutely floored. Sadly, that brings me to the first flaw that i didn't expect at all. All the best looking scenes in the film are in the trailer. The lighting in every other scene is horrible. Everything is either to bright or just way to dark, it gives it like a muddy feeling which isn't film noir. Film noir is all about shadows and i thing soderbergh thought just darkening the room would be okay, well it's not. This was such a shock to me, my jaw was literally hanging. I sat there thinking what the hell happened. Every once in a while throughout the film we get a good looking scenes (which come rarely) and i applaud them but rest is just bad. The scenes inside the car feel like a student film which don't even come off as film noir. This was something i didn't expect.

The other flaw that this film has was something that i saw coming from way before the film's release and that was the approach to the film. Soderbergh had good intentions by wanting to make a film noir (great idea) that contained profanity and sexual content (bad idea). He said that he wanted to make the film that the original film directors wanted to. In the film noir era the directors wanted to put sex and profanity in their films but didn't because of producers and shock to audiences. This gave the directors a way to be creative and use metaphors for sex and give the leads great one liners instead of using words like "Fuck" and "Bitch". That's the charm of film noir, everything is hidden in shadows, the dialouge, the sex and the tone. Film noir's are so memorable because of the sexy dames that the actress protrays without having a single sex scene and the great bad ass male leads that don't have to say a single bad word while still keeping a bad ass persona. The way Soderbergh made this film and approached it was just a bad idea from the beginning. It had the slight chance of atleast being entertaining but comes off as awkward and doesn't have the same feel of film noirs.

I don't know what soderbergh did because he always stated that while making the film he would constently watch film noirs 24/7. It just goes to show you that you have to study these films and understand them, not just watch them and try to copy them. Soderbergh tried and when he did it right, he nailed it but that only comes about three times throughout the film. One more thing i have to say about Soderbergh is that he needs to stop experimenting and make a film again. I understand that he wants to try to break into new things and do everything but he has to keep a mind set that we can concentrate on and not jump to project to project. The only person that can do that and pull it off (occasionally) is richard linklater. Also with soderbergh's experiments such as bubble in this film, bubble only succeeds because it's something fresh, something original in it's experimentation and content. Where The good German fails is that it's trying to be something else and obviously from viewing the film Soderbergh wasn't ready because this film just blew up in his face.

Grade C

DOOM!!!!!....sucks.

Doom (Andrzej Bartkowiak,2005)


Every now and then i decide that i'm going to watch a movie that i already know i'll hate. The reason for this is to remind myself how bad cinema is right now and to not take for granted the good young directors out there. To name a few Gondry, Jonze, Chan wook park, Wan Kar Wai, Wes Anderson, Paul thomas anderson, tarantino, joon ho bong, the tequila gang trio and the other talented filmmakers that i'm missing out.

So "Doom", horrible lines, pretty bad acting, shit direction, bad movie. Not even an enjoyable popcorn movie. The only "cool" thing was in the beginning when a girl gets her arm ripped off by closing doors. Everything from there goes downhill.

Grade F

Peter O'toole is the film...literally

Venus (roger michell, 2006)

5 reasons to see this film

1. Peter O'toole and his two friends

That's basically it and some good little music every now and then. Oh and also the poster is cool but yeah, that's about it.

Venus, i can see why people talked so much about Peter O'toole's performance and not the film. O'toole gives a great performance as a loveable old pervert. Yes, he's kind of a pervert in the film...just a bit but his past tells us that he was a famous ladies man. The film starts off really great with O toole and his two friends just talking about people that they knew who have passed away. They laugh about things, call each other fucking bastards and clip each other's toe nails. The film also has many great comedic parts but only i can see O'toole pull off.

Yes, Venus starts off really great and has bits of greatness throughout the film but the thing that gives the film it's scretching hault is leslie phillips. The actress who is opposite of O'toole. It's obvious that we can't expect to much from someone going heads up with O'toole in acting but they should have atleast gotten someone better. Her acting is pretty bad and her accent which is probably her real accent is annoying.

Another flaw in the film is that the filmmakers are clearly trying to say something but they never get there point across. They try to give a little social commentary on how different the youth is from the old, well that's pretty obvious but yet they try. Also some of the interactions between O toole and Phillips are a bit awkward, maybe if they had a more experienced actress it would be passable but yet how the scenes are written out, it is still a bit odd and awkward.

The film is good, not a masterpiece, not great but just good. Leslie's character isn't that well thought out in comparision to O'toole's character. Great performance by O'toole and his two friends and a few great scenes but that's it. I recommend it just to see Peter give one hell of a performance.

Grade B

Evil is Amazing

Evil (Mikael Håfström, 2003)

5 reasons to watch this film

1. The way the camera moves
2. Great performances
3. Loved the source music
4. the intro
5. The interaction of the characters

Evil is a film that i had no prior knowledge of, i didn't know the director, the actors,the plot, nothing. I simply got it because of the name. It just grabed my attention so i decided to rent it and am i glad i did. Turns out it was nominated for best foreign film in 2004, i guess this was a film that i overlooked and im kind of pissed that i did because i simply loved it.

The film is about a male student named erik that is considered evil by his step father and his teachers so they send Erik to a boarding school. Erik is played by andreas wilson who does a great job and to my surprise has only been in a handful of films. The direction of the film itself is also amazing and same with adreas wilson the director has only directed a few films. One thing that i loved about it is the use of the camera. It seems that it's actually apart of the directors body. The camera is always on the move trying to reach the main character, kind of trying to help him out in a way. It's just something that i haven't seen before and just simply loved it.

Another note about this film is the director Mikael did a hollywood film, derailed, the clive owen film. Just goes to show that hollywood can break a director's career, hopefully mikael gets back on his feet but i heard that his new film 1408 isnt that great either. Hope the same doesnt happen with Wong KAi wai and my blueberry nights.

Grade A+

One of the best films you will ever see

Turtles Can Fly (Bahman Ghobadi,2004)


I'm not going to write anything on this film. I feel that writing a review for it just wouldn't give it justice even if you say hands down this is the best film ever. This is a film that excites me so much and from people that have seen it, they all say the same. Turtles can fly has a certain magic quality to it that so few films have these days. The last three that i can name are Pan's labyrinth, The host and Children of Men. The magic that im talking about isn't like a happy well rounded ending or uplifting characters but something more, something that i honestly can't put into words but this film has it. It's just a feeling that happens after you watch a great film. My three favorite films of all time have the same quality but are very different films, City lights, Citizen Kane and Aguirre the wrath of god. These films just make you feel like cinema was created for them personally.

Please, watch this film. It's beautiful on every level. The only thing i can say about this film is that it's a fairy tale caught in the tragedies of the real world. One of the best films that you'll ever see.

Grade A+