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Reviews
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Common Lynch dream-like experience
I have never watch any episode of the Twin Peaks show, and as a consequence I could hardly foresee any of the plot's elements. This movie, just like Mulholland Drive for example, is closer to a dream than to the common film plot. The point is not so much what the film is about, but mostly how it translates feelings into video and music. Although I mus admit that I did NOT linked all elements together to build up an overall understanding of the movie, I still really got entertained. I gave the movie 6/10 because I found it harder to link these together: although I really love Lynch movies, this movie is clearly the one I had the most difficulty to understand. For those who find the courage to embark onto a Lynch journey, this is a must. But beware: reality and dream are mixed together into some sort of frightening feeling that what you think is coming up will eventually happen. The central scene in Laura's bedroom is expectable, but still not easy to foresee for those like me who have never seen the series TPeaks ahead. As a consequence, the viewer feels like he expects something but still wonders (and hopes) he's not right. As usual with Lynch, please do not stop the movie: this must be a one time experiment. Stopping the movie would spoil the entire thing. ENJOY!
Monique (2002)
A pretty good movie
I watched the movie yesterday and must admit that this is a pretty good one, although not the best ever. First of all one of the good arguments in favor of the movie is the very fact that this tackles the common issue of midlife depression in a very different way than it usually is dealt with. Second, the "carpe diem" feeling is very strong. The scenes with all of Alex's wife's friends coming to see him and convince to give up the molded doll is extremely funny on the one hand, and added to this it is sooooo true, so close to what reality would bring such a situation to ! After all, the movie is all about going blindly the way you want to, without paying attention to common society safeguards. Alex does what he wants, although everybody think his having a relationship with a doll makes him some sort of perverse ans sick guy. Even more, he eventually decides to take his doll out, and show everybody that he doesn't feel guilty nor sick. He's even proud of this relationship with the doll, and therefore proves his friends' and wife's feeling that their "common normal life" is very good. You'd first think that he's the one who might consider himself sick, but in the end everybody around him gets interested into his new silicone girlfriend, and all of a sudden everybody seem to realize that their common lifestyle and everyday life is as boring as ALex first considered his own life. Everybody needs a Monique, that would be the last word of the movie.
Rear Window (1954)
True Hitchcockian suspense
I rated the movie 10 because I consider this as the best one he ever shot, although Psycho reaches the same grade according to me. There isn't much to say after all about this movie, which suspense is only based on the viewer's expectations of what will come next. The tension starts on the relationship between the two main characters and builds up on what they think they understand of their neighbor's strange attitude. All their theories about murder and death first seem absurd until they eventually turn out to be profoundly true. This movie is different from most other Hitchcock movies in the sense that the viewer is usually told what will happen at the very beginning of the movie, and only has to see and discover how and why. Here, you can't really expect what is going on in the neighboring apartment aside from the fact that there is "something" going on. The plot makes the main character sound paranoid, and the viewer therefore cannot first believe what this character seems to be sure of. Only the very last scene of the movie makes the story come true, because of the fact that only a couple of characters had spent time in the main character's apartment during the whole movie. As a consequence, the villain entering the apartment feels like the aforementioned apartment was being violated -even raped- by some man you have never really seen, and who you strongly hoped you'd never see. For those who never saw this movie, I shall really ask you to see it before many other of Hitchcock's movies. I would even recommend seeing it first, and save Psycho for later. This is a must you just cannot miss.
United 93 (2006)
Not heroes just common people
I've just read a couple of the previous comments and I'd just like to add that I don't agree with the whole American heroes thing. For those who consider the movie is an additional movie dedicated to showing how great the American ideal is, just consider being on board for a second. I've seen the film as a real documentary plus the fact that following the people on board makes you feel the tension even more. Yes they were common people just trying to save their lives, but who wouldn't have ? Considering the events and the fact that they all knew two planes had been hijacked and thrown into the WTC in Manhattan, I think this is something normal that they tried to act and not wait for their death to come. To conclude, the movie doesn't show them as heroes because what they did (for their own sake) doesn't make them heroes. It is the context that makes them heroes. And heroes they probably were !
Oldeuboi (2003)
A complicated plot for a useless ending
Too bad most Asian directors all turn towards the same violence like movies. The idea of such a scenario was pretty good, but I expected much more from this movie. I had heard great comments about it, but please stop comparing this movie to other ones like Memento, Irréversible, or Seven. The movie's plot is actually good, but the explanation of the whole thing is really shallow. In this sense, I agree with many comments that were previously written about this "Old Boy": why wait all these years to revenge from a common high school event ? Nice try, but disappointing explanation. I would rather have only watched the 1st half of it !