Citizen Dog: comedy with one-dimensional heroes and disappointing plot
Wisit Sasanatieng, “Citizen Dog” (2004) Living in Australia with its huge Hollywood fixation, even though Hollywood’s output of films has declined a lot since the Global…
nausika
To Catch A Thief: there’s fluff and then there’s fluff, Hitchcock-style
Alfred Hitchcock, “To Catch A Thief” (1955) A clever light-hearted comedy crime caper set in southern France, this was one of Grace Kelly’s last films before…
Superego and Id meet slapstick in Oristrell’s breathless “Unconscious”
Joaquin Oristrell, “Unconscious” (2004) An amusing and vivacious romance comedy set in Barcelona, 1913, “Unconscious” starts off as a search, possibly whodunnit, mystery and winds up…
Empire of Passions: pedestrian story saved by beautiful visuals and psychological character study
Nagisa Oshima, “Empire of Passions” (1978) By coincidence, when I saw this film the first time early in 2010, I had just finished reading “Therese Raquin”,…
Throne of Blood: a fine film let down by truncated plot and mostly sketchy characters
Akira Kurosawa, “Throne of Blood” (1957) Often referred to as an adaptation of the Shakespearean play, “Macbeth”, this historical drama by Kurosawa is a fine film…
Fair Game: Naomi Watts wastes her time as an unappealing good-girl CIA agent
Doug Liman, “Fair Game” (2010) Picture Source: Melinda Sue Gordon for Warner Bros Pictures, www.hollywoodchicago.com A few weeks ago (early December 2010), I went to a…
French and French-language Films
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran: easy-going road trip with lessons on life and living
François Dupeyron, “Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran” (2003) This is an easy-going coming-of-age story based on a novel of the same name set in…
German and German-language Films
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (dir. F W Murnau): rich in themes and technical artistry
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol : powerful Western-style film about an obsessive pursuit
Lu Chuan, “Kekexili: Mountain Patrol” (2004) Not often that you come across a film bearing a strong conservation message combined with a package of stunning…
Monsters (dir. Gareth Edwards): likely to be a minor cult classic but lacking in refinement
Gareth Edwards, “Monsters”, Vertigo Films (2010) Some time in the not too distant future, a NASA space probe has gone and collected some alien…