Reviews
Warrior (2002)
A remarkable film
You have read, I'm sure, of the theory that movies can be so bad that they are good. The logical extension of that premise would posit that beyond a certain point, the worse the film, the better it is. This is a classic example.
It is, in fact, so bad that I have mentally placed it in the Top 10 films I have seen in the past year, along with Adaptation, Minority Report, The Two Towers, and the other better known candidates.
It may be the best comedy of the year. It's just a delightfully loopy entertainment that will have you howling out loud throughout the film. In its own way, it's a funnier film than Blazing Saddles, although perhaps it did not intend to be.
My only reservation in recommending it is that it may not be as funny if your mind is not ... um ... completely relaxed ... if you catch my drift.
The Last Days of Disco (1998)
Extraordinary
In many ways, this movie could be argued as the worst movie ever made.
It is supposed to be about a group of bright people who are trying to find a moral center. It takes place in discos.
Yet it is obvious that the people who created the movie have never been in a disco, and have never heard intelligent people speak.
These elements make it rather difficult for them to create the right ambience.
Given a choice between this and "The Postman", give Costner the nod for the brighter, more realistic script.
Stalker (1979)
This is the second version
Just in passing, it is interesting to note that this effort is the second time Tarkovsky shot the film. The first version was completely destroyed in a freak accident, and Tarkovsky had to re-shoot everything in a short time with almost no budget.
His artist's eye is so acute that he was able to produce this stunning film with a budget about equal to what the average Hollywood film spends on Doritos for the Key Grip.
The original was made with a much larger budget, and one wonders just how good it was, because even this version is so good.
One of the great scenes ever filmed is the scene where the train comes from the opposite direction from where it is expected. Just a great effect. Tarkovsky is so good at setting up his camera to use everyday objects and settings to create scenes that other directors would create with special effects.
In effect, he asks if all "special effects" are in one's mind ... which is the ongoing theme of all of his work.
Another point in passing: From some angles, Alexandr Kaidanovsky, the stalker, is a dead ringer for Woody Harrelson.
Powerful filmmaking. Such a shame that Tarkovsky died so young, before he got a chance to make films with the highest-grade lighting and technology.