POMO

We spend eighty minutes watching a group of scientists and a group of soldiers in an underground bunker argue over who is in charge and whether it makes sense to conduct scientific research into the zombies that inhabit the surface. B-movie actors, B-movie dialogue. Actually, it’s not dialogue, but rather screaming. Constant screaming. The level of brutality is good, but the zombies themselves fall short of those created by Lucio Fulci. And after those eighty minutes of conversational misery comes a meagre reward. There is only one positive thing in Day of the Dead, namely the acting performance of the man hiding behind the mask of the captured zombie. If everyone had done their job with as much passion as he did, this film would have turned out better.

Anna and the King is a nice, delicate film, but it’s too long for the few quivers of emotion that it offers. The beautiful production design and the fluidity around the central duo triumph over the weaker narrative engine. Chow Yun-Fat is a charismatic king and Jodie Foster is great as always, though I would have preferred to see Cate Blanchett in the role of Anna.

If you once liked Rocky and you still haven’t grown out of it, you’ll enjoy 8 Mile. But I found it a bit boring and too simple. That’s not the fault of either director Curtis Hanson or Eminem, but of the system that rules in the gritty neighborhoods of America’s big cities.

Quills is brilliant in its visual aspect and acting, but inconsistent in its content. Cynicism and provocation conflict with dramatic romance and the credibility of the relationships. Mixed feelings from a haphazardly mixed cocktail. The filmmakers apparently thought that this contradictory content would ensure that controversy would inevitiably arise around the film. Maybe they succeeded in that, but it didn’t make Quills any better.

Kubrick embarked on several space odysseys because of existential questions, only to finally realise on the last one that the only thing that makes sense in life is a proper fuck. The question is whether he’s right. His brilliance and advanced age, and the not insignificant weight of the message – his last – confirm that he is. Eyes Wide Shut is three hours of psychological and stylistic ecstasy.

THX 1138 is a very distinctive and visually captivating depiction of an unhappy future in which microchips take command over human feelings, needs and desires. At first, the ubiquitous beeping, robotic voices and displays might get on your nerves, but once you get in tune with the story, a thrilling experience with a powerful conclusion awaits you, though it’s perhaps not as shocking today as it was at the time of its release.

Johnny English is an elegantly shot film, but it makes you laugh less than you would have expected. Natalie Imbruglia doesn’t know how to act with her eyes and John Malkovich is “terrible”! :-) Rowan Atkinson is fine and he looks surprisingly good in an elegant suit. I want to see him in a dramatic role!

The biggest problem with this movie is that it pretends to be a deep drama reflecting cruel actual events in the African jungle. And though it does depict those events in a really naturalistic way (I hadn’t had such a knot in my stomach in a long time!), it seems to lack credibility due to the combination of American bombast and Bruce Willis’s famous face. Tears of the Sun can also be seen as a pure action flick that wants to be something more, but because of the slow and boring screenplay, it’s not even a satisfying action movie.

Beyond the Darkness is a visually modest horror movie that takes place predominantly in broad daylight. Logic and the direction of the plot don't play a major role here, as Joe D’Amato focuses mainly on naturalistic massacres of victims, sexual perversion (old Iris/young Francesco) and elements of necrophilia (dead Anna/living Francesco). The horror scenes are underscored with pop music, while the band Goblin provides the romantic accompaniment for the sex scenes. The film is a remarkable perversion that – with better actors and darker music – could have become one of those films that keep you up at night even after the closing credits have rolled. Still, it’s a highlight of D’Amato’s trash filmography.

25th Hour is such a small film, and yet it’s so big! From every minute you can feel the intellectual charge and the director’s commitment and goal. The actors are fantastic, and Barry Pepper in particular is very surprising. The psychological tension in the dialogue could crush an elephant. It’s easy not to give this excellent, distinctive film a full five-star rating, but it’s impossible to reasonably justify why it doesn’t deserve one.