mst300012 Reviews

Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire (2000)

Name one film better than this

[10/10 · 17 May 2003]

As far as epic filmmaking goes, Yossi Wein has hit the nail on the head with this pitch perfect piece of trash movie. It has a certain surreal charm to it. Much like a David Lynch film, Operation Delta Force V: Random Fire leaves many questions open-ended and unanswered.

How come the enemy keeps bombing the same part of the complex in which the Delta Force is stationed...always appearing to have done the same amount of damage? Why is it that five men left the complex safely and yet only four board the helicopter? Why is Jafari bin Kasim's mouth not shown when he talks? If Brad Kennedy survived the missile launch on bin Kasim's hideout, wouldn't he have also taken the same US vessel his fiance was on? If so, why is she surprised when he shows alive as she's sitting down in an outdoor cafe, wearing a sweater, about to drink her lemon-enhanced drink?

All these questions are devices Yossi Wein uses to dangle the audience in his endless mind game. Like a fine wine, this movie gets better and better the more it ages.

10/10 I don't believe in ratings systems, but this film is so good, it deserves one.

Songs from the Second Floor (2000)

Bad.

[24 January 2003]

I saw Songs from the Second Floor at UW-Milwaukee several months ago and the movie still lingers in my head. Sadly, it does not remain in a positive way. Songs from the Second Floor is a confusing film that relies heavily on surrealism and an armageddon of sorts, which all winds down through a series of static vignettes. HILARIOUS? no. Anything but. I appreciated the follow up on the man who had been the victim of the magician's mistake, but the rest of the movie was so downbeat and irrelevant that it was impossible to enjoy.

I've seen critic upon critic praise this film, but I think all of it is unjustified and merely because the film is foreign. I love foreign films, but this one left me entirely lost.