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I Know This Much Is True (2020)
A real paranoid schizophrenic here
I've had a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia for 20 years. When I spent time in hospital I knew others with the same diagnosis; and over the years I've met a few more. None of us are like the Ruffalo depiction, except that we're pretty much all overweight due to anti-psychotic medication.
I only made it halfway through the first episode, but looking at other negative reviews the problems I had with this continue throughout the series.
We have someone seemingly incapable of intelligent thought, brandishing a large knife, scaring librarians and children, a real dumb psycho. Yeah, thanks for this Ruffalo and co. The realistic anti-psychotic fatness, something Ruffalo obviously worked at, is totally undermined by the fact that if this guy were on medication then he wouldn't be trying to mutilate himself in a library while screaming incoherently. In fact he most probably wouldn't be doing anything of the sort off his meds either.
I have never met a schizophrenic like this. OK it's Hollywood fiction, but schizophrenia is totally under-represented in a media world full of depressives, bipolars, OCD people etc. A modicum of research would have been nice prior to creating this.. monster of a lead character.
Heartworn Highways Revisited (2015)
What fresh hell?
This has only 11 ratings at the time of writing this, but I caught it on a Sky Arts streaming service in the UK, so more people might see it. If you're a fan of the original 70s documentary.. be warned.
I made it about halfway through. An aged Guy Clark pops up and there's input from David Allen Coe (maybe not exclusive to this doc), but most of the film follows performances and downtime of a few young, modern Nashville musicians. All of them forgettable.
After a couple of songs by two of these perps, I had coined the phrase "Coldplay country" in my head and it really got no better. The songs are weak and whiney in a way that their 70s forebears were not, interspersed with bizarre U2-esque howling; played by off-the-peg hipsters with bad tattoos and Asos denim; all of whom have a smug yet self-conscious, quiet arrogance that make them eminently punchable. There's a low point where one of these goons talks about how easy it has been for him to buy a fairly large house, and how he intends to become a landlord off the back of the purchase.
I do not think Townes Van Zandt was ever a landlord. You have been warned.
5 to 7 (2014)
Definitely worth seeing but syrupy ending drags
Starts off a good 7/8 out of 10 (I don't give many films an 8+), with some moments of genius. Then the last half an hour drags ever longer. The film ends up slightly disjointed because of this, not totally like you're watching a different film but still a bit "hmmmm".
Some great performances however, particularly the two leads, particularly the French actress, who is strikingly beautiful. Disappointed not to see more of Eric Stoltz, who was kinda why I decided to watch it. Also, his role and the milieu he commands is just plain weird. The depiction of the atmosphere of high literary society in NY seems rather forced; granted this fits in with some of the themes going on. Still, worth a watch. If you like the synopsis in the main IMDb page and think it'll be your sort of thing, it probably will.
The Sheik and I (2012)
One awful review? Gotta set things straight
Seen so much about this movie being exploitative.
It isn't. At least not with the information given. And Caveh gives a lot of self-deprecating personal information in relation to the film. While making it clear that if anyone explicitly asked for a scene they were in to be cut because they thought they were in danger then he would. No-one did. Going by the closing credits no-one got in trouble.
This is unique. In a good way. Essential viewing for lovers of off-beat cinema. And know this: I greatly admire the director but had major moral problems with his "I don't hate Vegas anymore", so it's not like I'm blindly supporting the guy here.
Check it out. The IMDb write-up is bunk. There's no fatwa threatened and Zahedi does not cheerfully set out to annoy the establishment in every way he can think of. Instead he's out for freedom of expression, which includes admitting his own possible faults, and getting the film made. When the Arab spring hits in tandem with the hypocrisy becoming apparent of the arts department who invited him over, he releases it anyway. As he makes clear, no-one in the film explicitly told him not to because of danger to themselves. And the main players mostly end up in a much better situation. There's no evidence on film of exploitation as I see it.
See this. No-one knows about the country depicted. Which makes this so interesting. It's an honest, brave film that does (despite what people are saying) retain its integrity and furthermore entertains in a way no- one but Zahedi can.