More movie reviews and a silly video
December 3, 2011 Leave a comment
First, the silly video. Here’s a cat on a turtle.
Now, back to some movie reviews for Netflix titles. I love Netflix, and my wife loves to sleep. This could cause a lot of problems, but thankfully, Netflix has a large gallery of foreign films with English subtitles, which allow me to play the movie low and not miss dialogue. Not all foreign movies can be watched this way though and still have a decent enjoyment level. So, in this series of reviews, I also add a Sleeping Roommate Score (SRS) to indicate the likelihood of being able to watch the movie with a sleeping roommate or spouse in the next room and manage to not get yelled at and perpetual evil looks the next day.
First, the good. Max Manus.
From its interesting and casual storytelling of the work of saboteurs to its emotional and epic cinematography, this is a movie that keeps you interested and guessing. It’s a hero’s tale and though much of the story can be predicted, it was so well crafted that even predicting the plot felt rewarding. The dialogue mixes between languages so you’ll have some subtitles. Mixed with the action sequences and explosions, this means you cannot really watch this with a sleeping roommate nearby. But my wife stayed up to watch this one with me. It’s worth a watch.
Title: Max Manus
Rating: 5 stars. Excellent movie.
SRS: 2 star. You should not try watching this with a roommate sleeping near you.
Now, the unusually surprising. They’re not five stars, but they’re 3-4 stars and worth watching as a cinematic experience. And just me admitting to this is something that brings up very mixed emotions. Uwe Boll… has managed… to direct… two decent films. Yes, the director of Blood Rayne and Blood Rayne: Third Reich (both very terrible, btw).
Now, a warning. Apparently, the only thing Uwe Boll appears to do decently right now is extremely graphic violence. So, keep in mind that I have an ability to try to look past gory scenes, especially if there is a purpose in it.
Title: Rampage
Rating: 4 stars. Not a perfect movie, but for Uwe Boll, wow. It’s important to remember that this is a heist film and an interesting perspective on society. If you can get past the slow build and the insane psychopathic rage, you may actually say “you know… that’s actually ingenious.” And then you’ll realize you just said that about a Uwe Boll screenplay and directorship. Worth a watch.
SRS: 1 star. Under no circumstances will you get away with watching this on Netflix, hear the dialogue, and not anger sleeping persons.
WARNING: Language and Extreme Violence
Title: Attack on Darfur
Rating: 4 stars. Again, not a perfect movie, but it is a powerful portrayal of the conflict. From what I’ve read, real Darfur survivors were cast in the movie and much of their parts were unscripted–Uwe Boll listened to them and let them re-enact things that had happened to them and their families and friends. The plot of the Americans? Very fantasized. But, it is a movie and the American presence may help ground the story for most viewers.
SRS: 3 stars. Mixture of English and subtitles for the Sudanese and Arabic dialects. The good news is that the loud parts will become very obvious to you. There’s a huge battle scene, and almost everything after that point can be watched and not heard (or heard softly).
BOTH of these movies were started before I realized they were him. I’ve picked up a few others after I find his occasional success. The successes are a rarity though.
Title: The Warring States
Rating: 2 stars. Mostly bad. I love Asian movies. I’ve seen pretty much every movie set in the Three Kingdoms period that has ever been made. This movie tries to romanticize the historical setting of a possible author of the Art of War back in the Warring States period, but it is no Three Kingdoms. The CGI battles look very cheap. Some of the fight scenes are good, but I didn’t use the word “great” and I certainly didn’t say “All”. The death scene was just ridiculous. You’ll know the one I’m talking about when you see it. It’s not the fact that the person died. It’s that they’re even able to interact as they did. And it happens at the end, which is 9x worse than this happening in the middle or somewhere less memorable and lasting.
SRS: 5 stars. You can totally watch this with the subtitles on and volume down.
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