eickhoff-jens Reviews

The Physician (2013)

Beautiful and entertaining

[9/10 · 27 December 2013]

If you have not read the book (like me) you will probably not be disappointed, otherwise you should probably read the review of somebody who read the book before.

This movie had a lot going for it: beautiful scenery (and a likewise beautiful Emma Rigby), credibility and oriental charisma. It was educative about the founding days of modern medicine/surgery and very nicely crafted overall. Ben Kingsley was grand as usual and the other cast was very convincing as well.

There are not a lot of negative aspects I can find here. Some parts in the late first half of the movie are not very suspenseful but it picks up very nicely from then on.

Another small issue for me was that there were a few too many saved-at- the-very-last-moment scenes (not as many as in The Hobbit II, which was a great movie anyways)

I just hope that this movie is as successful as it deserves to be (which I am not sure about since there were only 4 other people attending the Friday afternoon show in my hometown).

Great movie. I recommend it highly!

BloodRayne: The Third Reich (2011 Video)

70 minute, low-budget production without any soul

[3/10 · 27 May 2012]

As a German I cannot confirm that the German English accent sounded non German. That seemed actually quite accurate. I even thought that some of the actors, including the doctor, were German natives.

I doubt that it was a good choice to use that as a stylistic means, though. I suppose people would have preferred the Nazis to speak German instead as in 'Inglorious Basterds'. So would I.

The doctor's voice was obviously not the actor's real voice, disregarding the fake accent. It sounded highly unconvincing and so 'over the top' that it might have been okay for a theater performance but not for this or any movie.

-the whole movie feels very stiff and heartless

-the acting is partly okay but it is overall poorly directed and cut

-the action scenes are weakly executed, they are basically very short clips, filmed separately, assembled into one scene to convey the disability of the actors to perform believable moves

-the 'love scenes' are not terrible per se but do not contribute to or fit into the plot, especially the first one

-the heroine's costume and her typical Gothic red, black hair make her looks quite stupid and far from 'cool'

The most audacious part of this production is to turn it into a 70 minute movie (plus 10 minute credits). Low budget AND short? Uwe Boll is apparently making movies for money (not ripping of the audience but his financiers) and has apparently no love for this art form whatsoever.