Change Your Image
mkucherov
Reviews
Return of the Moonwalker (2013)
OMG -- You have got to see this to believe it!
What blast! I saw this flick in Berlin last year and just downloaded it again from ITunes. Got to be one of the strangest, drop-dead funny art films I have ever seen. Picks up where the "MJ killed by Illuminati" internet rumors leave off. What would have happened if MJ had exploited his ability to seduce the masses for revolutionary political purposes? (MJ even uncannily compared himself to Hitler once in terms of popularity.) Or what if MJ himself was an undead, voodoo puppet controlled by a "punk circus" magician intent on overthrowing the "New World Order"? Watch and find out -- but have a joint and/or couple of beers first and buckle up for a "trip." Did I mention the cast of characters? A holy inquisitor with a switchblade crucifix, two sex-obsessed S/M dwarfs, the ghost of Hitler, etc. The original music and song/dance number are a hoot well, while the weird, funkadelic coolness and grit of Berlin really shine through. Right up there with "Liquid Sky," "Santa Sangre" or"Being John Malkovich"!
Das Boot (1981)
Theatre Version Was Better
I wholeheartedly agree this is one of the best war films ever, and one of my personal all-around favorites. However, between the 2 1/2 hour version originally relased in theatres and the 3.5 hour director's cut released on DVD, the shorter one is clearly superior. It strikes just the right balance between action and exposition, tension and release. While the director's cut is interesting for its own sake, it just drags on too long without really adding anything essential. Under 3 hours seems to be the ideal length for a great epic, whether it's opera, film, or theater.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Hollywood Distortion
The movie was well crafted, but what a whitewash of history! OK, so they wanted to go "mainstream" and didn't want to show Shakespeare's bisexuality. As any student knows, only SOME of Shakespeare's private LOVE SONNETS were written to the "DARK LADY." MOST of them, and the more famous ones at that, were written to a "FAIR YOUTH."
But to have Shakespeare amorously recite the line, "SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER'S DAY?" to his girlfriend when it was undisputably written to a man, really takes the cake. Only in Hollywood.
Crawlspace (1986)
One Of My Personal Cult Favorites
Klaus Kinski was one of the great underrated actors of our time. Perhaps because he was too wild, uncompromising and tragically self-destructive to play the Hollywood game. Sure, CRAWLSPACE is low-budget, and he did it for quick cash. But his performance as the tortured, enigmatic, and totally twisted Dr. Gunther corruscates with understated brilliance.
Scenes from this film will always stay with me: Kinski playing Russian roulette with himself after he kills each victim and announcing "So be it!" when fate spares him and he can keep on killing. Kinski's deadpan voiceover as he writes his demented philosophical musings into his madman's diary. Kinski's almost touching monologues to the woman who's tongue he has cut out and whom he keeps in a cage to ward off loneliness. Kinski holding his hand over the gas burner as he waits for a prospective tenant/victim to take the apartment. Kinksi with lipstick and makeup in full SS drag, saluting "Heil Gunter!"
I could go on, but then again I'm a diehard Kinski fan. Even though this movie is low-budget, I think it is well-written, well-acted, and successful on many levels. It's one of my sentimental favorites, which I have seen more than once. Deserves to be redone!!!