wenweimar

Member since 7/21/2007, last signed in awhile ago.

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Interested in:Avant-garde / Experimental, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Culture & Society, Drama, Historical Film, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Visual Arts

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No Reservations

Angry Rant!
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"For the love of all that is good and decent in this world, someone please explain to me why they had to remake Mostly Martha, a nearly perfect film, into No Reservations (come on, title?) Wait, I know the answer to this - Americans are too lazy to read subtitles! Now for the reasons why this never should have been redone - Americans can't balance drama and comedy the way Europeans can. They also can't use common themes in a way that isn't a cliche, and they definitely can't make a point without slapping you in the face. And why isn't there any mention of the original film that NR was based on in synopses and press releases? Let's just take someone else's well executed ideas and pretend they're our own! Hooray for the USA! " [More]

13 Tzameti

meh
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"13 Tzameti was a difficult film for me to get into, which was a surprise to me because I eat these poignant metaphorical existential themes right up. No matter how pedestrian the execution seems to be, a movie like this will at least keep me entertained. Unfortunately, I have a visual standard to which a movie must comply if I am going to enjoy it, and 13 just didn't make the cut. The dialogue was fine, the acting moderate, and the plot enjoyably simple and concise. The "film" quality (you know, the director's digital camera) just got right under my skin. I can understand understatement and simplicity, but this was clearly a case of lack of expertise in the lighting and cinematography department. killedcat mentioned Intacto in an earlier post, and I also thought immediately of that film (one of my all time favorites), because it deals with similar themes but adds the oh-so-neccesary asthetics that make a well rounded piece. Intacto is actually a beautiful thing to ... " [More]

Re: 13 Tzameti
By wenweimar in Spout Mavens
"13 Tzameti was a difficult film for me to get into, which was a surprise to me because I eat these poignant metaphorical existential themes right up. No matter how pedestrian the execution seems to be, a movie like this will at least keep me entertained. Unfortunately, I have a visual standard to which a movie must comply if I am going to enjoy it, and 13 just didn't make the cut. The dialogue was fine, the acting moderate, and the plot enjoyably simple and concise. The "film" quality (you know, the director's digital camera) just got right under my skin. I can understand understatement and simplicity, but this was clearly a case of lack of expertise in the lighting and cinematography department. killedcat mentioned Intacto in an earlier post, and I also thought immediately of that film (one of my all time favorites), because it deals with similar themes but adds the oh-so-neccesary asthetics that make a well rounded piece. Intacto is actually a beautiful thing to watch. On ... " [More]

Perfect Stranger

Pleasant Surprise
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"I love it when I expect a movie to suck, and then it doesn't. Such was the case with Perfect Stranger. I'm not saying that this is a good movie, I just enjoyed watching it. Halle Berry has never impressed me with her acting "chops", and when she mangled the role of Storm in the X-Man series, I vowed never to watch one of her movies again. However, the combination of smoothe directing, understated dialogue, and an appropriately ambiguous character, Berry's corpse-like demeanor didn't ruin Perfect Stranger. Bruce Willis also played it cool while Giovanni Ribisi handled the heavy lifting with his usual finesse (I love that guy.) Director James Foley lulls the viewer into the pleasant world of the wealthy, beautiful, and creepy, providing pretty pictures such as swanky Manhattan bars, super slick office buildings, and roomy dream apartments. I'm sorry, but I sometimes like watching gorgeous people in gorgeous spaces doing naughty things. The plot did its little twis ... " [More]

The Dark Knight

Holmes Screws Up
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"While I am much happier with the choice of Maggie Gyllenhaal as the new Rachel Dawes (she is a great actress and adorable as well), I cannot believe that Katie Holmes had the cajones to weasel out of her contract after the first film! She should have never been in Begins in the first place, but to create an incorrectable inconsistency that will forever get under my skin is unforgivable. A series that had the potential to be nearly perfect is marred by some cult freak with no sense of commitment. I have faith that Nolan will deliver another great movie, but I'm sure he;s asking himself as I am: "Why didn't I cast Maggie in the first place?" Oh well. What's done is done. " [More]

The Number 23

The Number 0
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"It is always unfortunate when a good idea is transformed into a bad movie, and that is what happened to The Number 23. Watching the preview, I actually got goosebumps. Concepts such as obsession, coincidence, delusion, and misguided homicidal rage are very attractive in a horror flick. Also attractive to me is seeing a comedy actor like Jim Carrey working outside of his usual realm and tackling another genre. Still, these components were not enough to bring The Number 23 above the level of a USA original movie. More important than casting and concepts are plot, dialogue, and cinemetography; none of these aspects of the film were handled with much finesse. The pacing was slow and frustrating, the direction trite and uninventive. Schumacher's attempts to express a mood through lighting and color produced the results that any film student with a big budget could achieve. The plot was insultingly predictable, and the acting mediocre. It's too bad. The poster looked so cool...h ... " [More]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Smells Good to Me
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"Perfume:Story of a Murderer, the latest film by German director Tom Tykwer (written colaboratively with Andrew Birkin and Bernd Eichinger) is an instant classic. Tykwer weaves the story of a serial killer using a sultry color palette, dreamy music, and gentle humor. Set against the backdrop of 18th Century France, the director utilizes rich imagery to show the relationship between flowering life and rotting filth. The ideas are not as much juxtaposed, as one mught assume, but more likened in the main character's obsession with all scents good and bad. The viewer takes in the exquisite beauty of maggot ridden meat in nearly the same breath as a field of lavendar in ful bloom. Where the difference between good and evil was as clear as the difference between hideousness and beauty, Tykwer has blurred the line. Ben Whishaw lays out a sympathetic performance as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, that leaves the viewer demanding justice but wishing for mercy. Also at the top of their game w ... " [More]

Transformers

More Than Meets The Eye
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"I admit that I was a little disappointed when it was annouced that Michael Bay would be directing the new Transformers movie. Now I realize that it was the film that he was born to direct. Never have his swirling camera moves, slow motion sequences, and almost absurd music choices been better put to use. The digital effects were impressively executed and left me gasping in disbelief. The action was exhilarating and intense, while the film maintained its sense of humor. Keeping relatively true to the original Transformers plot, the movie only left out a few fun details about the "robot" race that landed on our planet. Added to the mix was a playful teen romance featuring Sam (played by Shia LeBouf), which took up a bit too much time in the film, but wasn't entirely unenjoyable to watch. LeBouf executed the role with the charm and humor that is consistent with his increasingly numbered performances and his co-star, Megan Fox, served as more than adequate eye candy. If only Orson ... " [More]

Fay Grim

Fay Grim: Quirky Enough?
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"Hal Harltley, my favorite overworking and under-recognized director, decided to make a sequel to Henry Fool called Fay Grim. This film contains some of my favorite Hartley themes: international conspiracy, the unpredictability of the human condition, and the senselessness of love. In a way, Fay Grim feels like a sequel to all of Hal's films - a sort of homage to his own favorite moments. He includes his sexy but hopeless french girl, his seemingly clueless (but we know better) american suburbanite, and his multi-agenda ridden guru, to name a few. Parker Posey, as always, gives a lovable performance that makes the viewer want to wrap her up in a blanket and take her home. The formula seems to be there, but in the process of attempting to create a breakthrough work, Hartley loses the awkward cadence that makes his movies great. Perhaps it's an improvement on his earlier works, but personally I prefer the uncomfortable silences and almost stale delivery of The Unbeleivable Tru ... " [More]

Factotum

Dillon vs. Rourke: The Better B ...
By wenweimar in Wendy's Blog
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"First there was Barfly, starring Mickey Rourke as Charles Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. Then there was Factotum, with the surprising choice of Matt Dillon to play Hank. As a great fan of Bukowski's work, I was anxious to see each of these films, but only enjoyed one. Bukowski created powerful images in his stories that can never truly be translated onto film; he was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century and knew how to make you feel each punch, each drink, and each hopeless laugh. In order to come close to putting on a screen what Bukowski put in one's head, a filmmaker must be bold and brave in his/her decisions. Although he was much criticized for his portrayal (even by Bukowski himself), Mickey Rourke took the chances neccesary to make the viewer understand Bukowski's delicious depravity in Barfly. Rourke's Chinaski was a parody of himself, a joke, and a tragic genius. This interpretation of the role was expressive and conceptual and I enjoye ... " [More]