Movies

Steel Magnolias

Watched “Steel Magnolias” on DVD. I’ve seen it before, but for some reason my memory kept no record of this film.

IMDB suggests a “Comedy/Romance/Drama” categorization for this movie. I do disagree a lot with this. This as pure drama as it can get. I mean there are, of course, ways to laugh at diabetics woman who, despite all doctors’ advice, gives birth to the baby, than needs a kidney, which than provided by her mother, and than dies anyway… But this movie is not about laughing at these things. It is about how life can be tough sometimes. There are a few jokes, sure. But those are only used to help people to get through difficult times. There is no comedy in that.

I liked this movie a lot. It has nice character development and attention to details. Everything and everyone look so real that I got glued to the movie from the first few minutes until the closing titles. There is plenty of good acting too. And the story is good. Not very original, but good.

I think that a 7 out of 10 would do this movie justice.

Dogville

Next DVD in pile – “Dogville“. Either I am very sick or the movie was that good, but I don’t have enough words to reflect upon it – perfect, brilliant, amazing, excellent… You get the point.

Somehow, this film brings the same feelings in me as good photography does. It is a pure art without any commerce in mind. Moreso, its theatrical setting feels like black-and-white photography, which removes colors and anything that can distruct from the subject. Nothing fancy (except maybe for a couple of shots of an old groovy car) was in the film. Scene, about 20 people, excellent camera work (and editing too), great acting, and an interesting and original story.

I am very and totally impressed by this film. It is long (almost 3 hours), slow, but not boring by any means. It swings back and forward. It has a terrific ending too.

A solid 10 out of 10 and a ‘Bravo!’ shout. A definite must see. A definite must have DVD in home collection.

Against the Ropes

One of the good sides of being sick is that you can lay on the sofa all day long and watch movies. Which is exactly what I intend to do for the next couple of days. Here goes the first one…

“Against the Ropes” is your average “star desease” movie. This time it is around boxing and a white female (which is some sort of impossible in boxing world) manager of an unknown boxer. All goes as usual, unknown and underappreciated at first, than noticed, than on the pick, when all relationships go to hell, than appologies, and than happy ending. Nothing new.

The movie is just a little bit above average. Acting is average. Cast is average. Soundtrack is average. Boxing scenes are average. Everything is pretty average or slightly better.

6 out of 10, which came from 5.5 or somewhere around there. Whatch something else, if you have.

Boys Don’t Cry

I just watched a really good movie on DVD – “Boys Don’t Cry“. It is an amazing drama on the subject of homosexual relationships (specifically lesbian in this case, but what does it matter).

This movie is good in all aspects – story, acting, pace, soundtrack, attention to details. It really shows how screwed up some places … or better even, people on this planet are. I mean we all have our differences and all our opinions. But when we start applying violence to push through our own way of life – this is pretty much absurd and stupid.

I’ll rate this film as a 7.5 out of 10. A definite MUST SEE for all teenagers. And some adults too. Especially those who missed this one when they were teenagers.

Collateral

Olga and I went to the movies to see “Collateral“. We both don’t like Tom Cruise, but I’ve got kind of interested in Michael Mann‘s work.

The movie turned out to be pretty good. It is somewhat slowly paced, but good. The story is interesting, actors deliver, and there was some nice camera work. Face close-ups added to the feeling of a huge city, which was one of the intended characteristics of the film. I also liked the way police work was shown, as well as professional assassin perspective on it all. Jamie Foxx performance was excellent.

The movie does not require a huge screen or sound surround system, so you can easily watch it at home on DVD. I would rate is a 7 out of 10.