darienwerfhorst Reviews

Anvil (2008)

Even if you don't like metal, you will like it

[9/10 · 4 May 2009]

This was probably the funniest movie I've seen all year and also one of the most poignant. The director could have really taken the pi&$# out of these guys and made us laugh at them, and I thought that that's what the movie was going to be about, but it wasn't. It's about two guys who never stopped following their dream and if that sounds corny, well, somehow it works.

I did laugh, hilariously at times, (The manager spelling the name of the town they are in in Sweden with her bad English was a classic) but I also really felt for these guys and wanted them to succeed....even as I realized that they were a bit delusional for keeping on the same path for 30+ years, I also had to admire their tenacity and passion.

I highly recommend this human, funny film.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Should have been great but not so much.

[5/10 · 7 April 2009]

Was just okay. What an amazing cast. What a potentially great story of a caper gone wrong.

I think part of it was the writing...I'm all for a non-linear approach but the way they did it it kept repeating segments, and not from a different enough perspective that it was interesting.

Another part was just the relentless humorlessness of it...every great tragedy has humor and every great comedy has tragedy. Don't believe me? Think of the toilet scene in Pulp Fiction.

The sound mixer should have been shot. The music was way too loud, dramatic and repetitive, and it muddied the dialogue a bit.

Okay yes you get to see Marissa Tomei naked and that's very nice and a great bunch of actors (Amy Ryan! Albert Finney!) ...but I had the sensation of being in a car with a bunch of people where I'm the only one who sees the imminent car crash and keep shouting and nobody's listening. And no, that's not a metaphor for the plot of the film itself, just the experience of watching it.

La Vie En Rose (2007)

Great Performances, but could have been better

[7/10 · 26 December 2007]

Firstly Marion Cotillard was great. She really moved like an old woman in the later scenes, and inhabited the decrepit voice and moves of Piaf. She will be nominated for an Oscar, but probably won't win because of the whole foreign language issue (only a handful of actors have won Oscar for foreign language performances) Having said that, Edith Piaf's life was such a great story and yet somehow the writers managed to botch it up. Events come up out of nowhere. Story lines are started and not followed up on. Stories come out of nowhere at the very end. Basically, every rule of good screen writing is broken, and if you are going to be using a format, as this director did, that is not linear and floats back and forth in time, you need to give your viewers some clues to hold on to.

As I said, spectacular performance by Ms. Cotillard, but the life of Edith Piaf has epic written all over it and that did not come through in this film.

American Beauty (1999)

Almost a Perfect Movie

[9/10 · 24 October 2007]

I just saw this again last week for the first time since I saw it when it came out. What a great film. Great cast, great writing, great direction, great character arcs.

It speaks to a lot of universal themes that we all experience, even if we aren't going to drop out, smoke a lot of pot and buy a fast car.

The people in Lester's life have stopped appreciating him and that distance leaves him depressed. His wife is cold, sterile and interested only in money. His teenage daughter is, well a teenager, and she's off to start her own life without her lame family.

His infatuation with the hot young thing seems pretty cliché until you realize that it's just that that is waking up and making him finally live for maybe the first time in years.

Throw in the mad genius philosopher-pot dealer next door and his spiritual awakening begins.

I won't give away the ending, but it reminds us that we should all be grateful for what we have in this world.

Rize (2005)

Great Documentary, Great Story

[9/10 · 26 September 2007]

Before the movie starts there is a note to the effect that none of the camera work has been speed-ed up. Once the kids start dancing, you know why this is mentioned.

The film starts with historical footage of the Watts riots in 1965, and then the Rodney Kind riots of 1992. Things are ablaze. People are getting beat up.

And then enters Tommy the Clown who is a hip-hop clown and I guess celebrity in Watts/South Central. He is a sweet man who has taken in kids who's parents are in jail, abandoned them, etc.

The dancing in this film is amazing, to be sure...you will wonder how people can move like that, so fast, so crazy, particularly when you see a 4 year old girl or a 300 pound woman do it.

But what was more astonishing was the kids in the movie. These kids have a right to be the most angry, aggressive, horrible kids ever. And yet they are generally thoughtful, generous, and very wise.

I realize some of this is in the editing, but a 20 year old kid who takes care of his siblings while Mom is in jail until she gets her act together is quite a human being, and most of these kids come across like that.

They dance as an expression of their anger, as a way to create family, and an alternative to the gang families that pop up in the void of traditional nuclear families in places like South Central.

Yes, at the end there is a scene with a bunch of them dancing in slow-mo and it looks like they've been oiled up and their hair is fabulous and you know, so what? David LaChappelle has a background in photography, and if anybody deserves to pretend to be supermodels, it's these kids.

Great great movie.

The Astronaut Farmer (2006)

Great Cast, So So Film

[5/10 · 21 August 2007]

You would think with a cast like this, this movie is a sure-fire winner. Billy Bob Thornton is always great, comedy, tragedy or both. Virginia Madsen is some kind of luminous beautiful angel who never ages and yet is a great actress and Bruce Dern has become the goyishe Alan Arkin...go to guy for when you need a crusty old man.

And yet there are many holes in plot that you could drive a rocket through.

His name is Farmer and he's a farmer? If this was some early 20th century French play yes this would be clever, but here, not so much.

Too many obstacles appear in the film and then kind of fade away without being resolved.

People who hated Mr. Farmer and think he is crazy suddenly don't. And then suddenly do again.

Mrs. Farmer exhibits an unhumanly amount of patience with her husband as he throws away everything they work for. She gives him one angry speech about getting them into debt, and then she kind of forgets about it. I mean, I know she's angelic, but come on.

The kids, including the teenager, seem never to question that it might be time for Dad to take his meds.

Old relatives conveniently pass away quietly and quickly leaving giant bags of money.

In the end, everything was so unbelievable, and not even relevant as a parable or metaphor.

Somebody else invoked the "deus ex machina" and I agree.....The writer's should have to write on a blackboard a million times "I will not use the deus ex machina, I will not use the deus ex machina"

Sicko (2007)

His best effort yet

[9/10 · 24 July 2007]

Michael Moore's movies are not without flaws...he definitely edits selectively and stages some events with a publicity savvy worthy of PT Barnum.

Having said that, Sicko is a great, well rounded assessment of how our medical system falls down on the job here in the U.S. We have allowed our system to be privatized, when in reality like education, the police, fire, etc. it should be a public institution. (Can you imagine calling the police while you are being mugged and having them run your info through to make sure your taxes are up to date before sending out a car?) He also does a good job of deflating critics who say that universal healthcare doesn't work in other countries. It doesn't work perfectly 100% of the time, but on average it's working out a lot better for those people than it does here at home.

He shows that British doctors are well paid, that Canadian patients are treated fairly and that even that commie Fidel Castro manages to get good quality care for his people. He demonstrates how France walks the walk when it comes to "family values" by providing support and childcare for new parents. He shows how in general other countries treat their sick so they can return to being productive members of society.

I'm not 100% sure I buy into his premise that this for-profit system was created to keep us weak, docile and not voting....I think it was created for profit and if they really wanted us weak and docile, they would privatize the police, so we were prisoners in our own house and education and libraries, so we were illiterate. In particular I've come to believe that the Bush administration is so inept that they couldn't find eggs in a honchos, so the idea of a conspiracy on this scale, I'm not sure they could manage it.

This movie will move you from laughter to tears, often in the space of a few minutes. The end is upbeat, pointing out that we all have power (via our vote) to change the system. So...let's go!

Commune (2005)

Interesting Portrait of a Particular Place and Time

[8/10 · 19 July 2007]

This movie did a good job of illustrating a particular place and time in American history.

A bunch of hippies beg some money from some Hollywood types, including apparently James Coburn, and go off to Northern California to begin their alternative lifestyle utopia.

The first winter is harsh and tests them. The reality of hard work sets in. The reality of relationships and kids sets in, and yet they try to stick to their principles of free love, no possessions, and anti-establishment living.

It's easy to make fun of these folks now, but as Peter Coyote says, you can't imagine that kind of idealism that people had back then, that they could create a whole new society. They were trying something new and experimental.

It's fun to watch them try, and sometimes fail. The women begin to emerge out of the show of the men and take some control over the ranch. The reality of raising kids with no schools, and without one committed partner often falls by the wayside. The kid rebels by getting a crew cut. Adults rebel by only sleeping with one partner.

It is, as another reviewer pointed out, a portrait of a time when people thought that anything was possible, and tried to create a new society. That they ultimately may not have succeeded is less important than the journey they took.

Crossroads (I) (2002)

So bad that it's....still really bad

[2/10 · 18 July 2007]

Wow...this movie makes Striptease look like Citizen Kane. This horrible teen tale is full of every cliché you can think of and then some...runaway mom, overprotective dad, teen pregnancy, teen sluttishness, and in all of this Britney gets to be the guiding moral light. (You know how bad something is going to be when Britney is the "Good girl".) For 90 minutes (that feels like twice that) you watch their roadtrip complete with singing along to the radio, the karaoke contest and the obligatory "should she or shouldn't she" decision about S-E-X.

I had a couple of drinks while watching this, and I suspect the only way I could have truly enjoyed it was to either a) drink more heavily or b) Break out the chronic. Yikes. Yuck. Yowsa.

Running with Scissors (2006)

Train Wreck Appeal

[5/10 · 18 June 2007]

In the book Running With Scissors, Augusten Burroughs details a horrific adolescence, whether it's true or not is kind of beside the point.

He gets you into the head of his character, who is around enough messed up people that having a 35 year old boyfriend when you are 13 and having an insane mother seems kind of normal. The kid he was was strong enough to get through this and eventually come out of it into his own.

In the movie a lot of the focus shifts to his mother...but then again back to Augesten...then the crazy family. The problem being that there is no one point of focus.

As somebody else pointed out, there are no character arcs. Everyone ends up as bat-ass crazy as they started, except Augusten, who you kind of figured would be okay.

The director has managed to take a great story, and a great bunch of A list actors and make a soap opera....and not a good soap opera like Six Feet Under or Ugly Betty, but a really campy, MTV-like, video wanna be soap opera. Only with no payoff.

The climax scene where Dr. Finch is yelling at Bookman while Augusten and Natalie tear the ceiling down and Agnes talks to Deidre...you expect it will erupt in some major kind of plot point...

and then nothing happens.

Five points because of the great actors, the great ORIGINAL story, not this adaptation and the fact that it was kind of like a Train Wreck.

The Office (2005–2013)

The Best Show on Television

[9/10 · 4 May 2007]

Loved the British Version, own both series and the specials on DVD. When I heard they were going to be doing a US Version I thought, oh no, they'll mess it up.

Not true. After a bumpy start, each of the characters came out and it became it's own show. True, some of the themes are the same: Boredom, crappy narcissistic boss, romantic longing, but it's been very well adapted to the current cast, and I would say that in the U.S. version the supporting characters are even a bit better fleshed out.

If you miss it because you're a snob about the British version, well, then I say...your loss. Now go put your stapler in jello(y).

The Grey Zone (2001)

Excellent Film

[9/10 · 20 November 2006]

When I visited Auschwitz in 1990, I remember that my companion and I sat down outside the gates, once we were done, and cried for about an hour before catching the train back to Krakow.

When I saw the first few minutes of this film, and those horrible buildings and the piles of ash that were still there when I visited, it brought everything back, but told a story I didn't know much about.

It makes sense that the Nazi's would have used Jews to dispose of other Jews...they were totally expendable, and it's very logical, and perhaps that is why it is so horrible.

The dialog is a bit Mamet like, yes, and you definitely know that you are watching something that was once a play, based on the somewhat mannered dialog and direction. And yet, it's a great story, well acted.

Who is culpable? What would you do to survive? If you knew you were probably going to die, wouldn't you want to enjoy your last few weeks eating and drinking well? It's one of the very few films on the Holocaust I've seen that doesn't draw everything in black and white....what some of these men do to their fellow Jews is despicable, yet who amongst us can say that if he were hungry and desperate, he might not do the same.

Definite food for thought.....and warning.. I wouldn't eat during this movie. You may experience some queasiness.

Caché (2005)

Almost Compelling

[6/10 · 17 October 2006]

I wanted very much to like this film. I love both of the lead actors and I'm interested in the history of the French-Algerian conflict.

The story was interesting and it was great to watch parts of it unfold on videotape, as if it were footage caught in a convenience store.

I am American, but am used to the slower speed of European films. Having said that, I think this film could have benefited from a bit of editing....there is a fine line between asking us to be in the moment with the actor, camera, etc, and the feeling that we've been left behind while other movement occurs.

For those with the patience to see it through it is an interesting, if confusing, story about guilt, racism, class, etc....but I did feel as if I had been left behind by the director, much as George had left Majid behind.

30 Days (2005–2008)

An Unannoying (Mostly) Reality Show

[8/10 · 18 August 2006]

Unlike most reality shows which dwell on the negative, or the shows where people have their "outsides" redone, I think Spurlock's attempt is to make a show where people can really walk a mile in other people's shoes...

I don't think he believes he will change minds...somebody like Frank, who lost one country (Cuba) and fears he will lose another (USA) is probably way too old to change his mind...but he at least understands why people come to the U.S., the economic need to immigrate, and can start to understand while people might be willing to break the law in order to better their lives.

It's very interesting to watch people to start to open up their minds (in most cases) and try to figure out what makes other humans tick. And the good episodes, where, for example, Christian Mom realizes that Athiest Mom is also a very good mother, are real breakthrough moments.

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Classic War Film

[9/10 · 28 June 2006]

This is a great movie, shot in "semi-documentary" style..It manages to maintain a very balanced view...the rebels are sympathetic, even as they blow up civilians and the colonel is clearly moved by their commitment to their cause even as he tries to stop them and save Algeria "for France." There are some really unforgettable moments: rebels being tortured against a quiet background, the look on one of the rebel women's face when she realizes that the child eating ice cream in the café may well be her next victim.

The number of characters can get confusing at times, but I agree this is a must see for everyone...especially if you are convinced that you can only be on one side of a war.....

Palindromes (2004)

Creepy, but Not in a Good Way

[2/10 · 20 January 2006]

I have liked or loved Solondz' other films...Yes, they are extremely creepy, but they are always well acted and well written, with a lot of wit.

That's why I was so disappointed with this film...Here is a master of black comedy and instead of doing black comedy...it's just black. Dark, Creepy, and seemingly for no reason.

I think having 8 different actresses play the role was an interesting experiment, but not one I'm sure succeeded. It came across to me as gimmicky and detracted from the plot.

The only part I liked was the speech at the end about how nobody changes. Had I known the film was as it was, I would have fast forwarded through the first 93 minutes or so to get at that part. Ugh.

I Am Cuba (1964)

Yes, it is the Best Cinematography

[9/10 · 12 January 2006]

That I've ever seen, and I watch a lot of movies. The story is propaganda, to be sure, and some of the acting is horrible, but WOW! I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Shot after stunning shot....I don't know how they did it, but I didn't mind all the rhetoric because I kept thinking, "Look, that's so beautiful" and "Wow, how did they do that?" I do recommend it also as a historical document of a time most people don't remember....I was born the year it was made and remember "the Communist Threat" but I think a lot of people younger than myself may not remember.

Not to mention that yes, some of the music was also amazing. A must see for any serious film buff.

Starved (2005)

Brutal, but Great

[9 September 2005]

Yes, it can be hard to watch, but it's great. Yes, people do have eating disorders. Yes, our culture is very messed up in terms of it's relationships with food. These folks lean on each other to help them make it day by day while living with their problems, and trying, trying to get better.

Every character on the show is despicable, and yet entirely sympathetic at the same time. They are written as humans, and humans can be very messed up creatures indeed.

I've struggled with eating issues, and I think this show is right on the money in terms of the self-loathing that comes with trying to attain body perfection. The fact that it's funny as well as touching is just a bonus. Great show.

Sex and the City (1998–2004)

Initially Wanted to Hate it, But Have to Say

[15 June 2005]

I ended up a huge fan. Yes, these girls can be shallow, and yes, they are obsessed with materials things, but...at the end of the day, they want to be happy like everyone else.

Get a clue! Sex is funny. Heartbreak is terrible, but if you didn't laugh you'd cry! The episode where Carrie realizes she's spent $40k on shoes isn't supposed to make you think she's a role model for financial investing, it's supposed to point out that she's flawed, which is why she's interesting.

I would never spend $15 on a cosmo or $400 on a pair of shoes...but what women hasn't had her heart broken, had disappointing sex, slept with the wrong guy, and then told her girlfriends about it? Nobody I'd want to know.

The acting is great, the writing funny, and the plot twists sometimes predictable. Like a girly drink, it's bittersweet and slightly intoxicating!

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Great Story

[9/10 · 7 June 2005]

About a hero of the human rights movement. It's encouraging, even in these conservative times, to realize how much has changed for the good since this film was released just over 20 years ago. There are now more openly gay celebrities, politicians, and although the situation is far from good, it made me realize just how far the human rights movement has come. It's bad now, but oh, it was so much worse back then.

This is the story of an ordinary man who became extraordinary through his efforts to organize his district. With savvy political prowess, he picked issues that everybody could unify behind and won some surprising converts to his cause.

Anyone who is interested in politics, human rights, or San Fancisco history should check this out.

Betty (1992)

Very Interesting

[7/10 · 1 April 2005]

Psychological story of the friendship of two women and how one (and a nurse yet) comes to rescue the other.

It's a cautionary tale of the rigid social structure of a certain class of French family where children and wives are treated more like possessions than humans. Note how she isn't allowed to interact with her children..that is handled by the spotless Swiss nanny. Her husband buys her a mink coat, and rather than call it an expression of his love, he calls it an investment. No wonder she begins to drink! And yet she makes a lot of bad choices, which leads her astray from her family, which is maybe what she really wanted....

Marie T. was so sad..her eyes were so sad that I wasn't surprised to find that the actress herself had been killed. The pain in her eyes seemed almost unbearable.

I was disappointed in the end...it seemed to just drop off with not much explanation...I know European movies are much more likely to end this way, and yet I said "Huh?"...and yet I still enjoyed it as a portrait of an increasingly obsolete segment of French society.

The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

Style over Substance

[3/10 · 27 January 2005]

I thought this was a visually stunning movie, with a lot of stylized sets and the "look" was very 30's.

Unfortunately, not so much attention was paid to the script...not only was it all over the map, it was self-referential and self conscious...(Honestly, who in the Depression Era would use the term "Depression Era Dollars?" The plot wandered off, wandered further off, and finally went into the forest and died of hypothermia.

Most of the music that was supposed to be sad wasn't even, which was disappointing, and a bunch of terrific actors were wandering around lost in the wilderness as well, uttering lines that didn't make any sense at all.

On the other hand, it was completely original...but so is a shoe sandwich...and not a lot of people eat those..

I'd recommend turning the sound all the way down and playing some genuinely sad music and just watching..since the cinematography is the really interesting part of this movie.

Mystic River (2003)

I really wanted to like it but...

[6/10 · 25 January 2005]

With such great actors (What a cast) and a great book, I really had high hopes for this film. I think though that Mr. Eastwood encouraged his actors to overact way beyond what was necessary. Yes, what happened to Dave was tragic, we can tell that just by looking at him. But Mr. Eastwood managed to turn a lot of the characters into caricatures, which I didn't like. The usually fantastic Laura Linney basically was rendered into a dragon lady stereotype. Tim Robbins couldn't have possibly said victim more, unless he was wearing a sign around his neck.

Beyond the cliché heavy script, the camera work was dull, and there was nothing much to move this beyond a two-dimensional cautionary tale, supposedly about redemption.

A director is supposed to show, not tell. Mr. Eastwood should have shown more and told less.

The Prisoner (1967–1968)

The coolest show of 2004

[3 December 2004]

Who would think that the coolest show of 2004 would have been the rebroadcast of this 1960's British classic?

When I lived in the U.K. I heard about this show a lot, and when I went to Wales was told about the town where it was filmed, but I had no idea why people were so durned excited about it.

It can be murky and deliberately obscure, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a show as creative and bizarre....and you have to love the fact that No. 6 always looks so dammed serious!

Seriously, it's worth watching, if only to remember how important good writing and unique ideas used to be in television!

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Proto-Indie

[29 November 2004]

Yes, it's slow...yes, it's in black and white with minimal sets...and yes the acting is somewhat flat, but I still like this movie a lot!

Perhaps it's Eva's dryness and her deadpan quality as she comes to the fabulous USA for the first time. Maybe it's the mid-80's Reagan era hopelessness that I can still remember...Eva ends up taking her cousin on an adventure he didn't expect and pulling him out of his dull life (to an even duller Cleveland!).

It doesn't move fast, and it's not as witty as some films...but if you remember that this movie was made 10 years before the mega-indie rebirth.......Pulp Fiction, etc, it may give you some perspective...in 1983, amidst ET, the Star Wars Sequels, etc. etc. this film is a charming, if spare, breath of fresh air!