Monday, October 7, 2013

Week 40 in film

Jeune & Jolie (Francois Ozon, 2013)
The synopsis tells us something about four seasons and four songs. This is not very original and should not be the selling point of the film. On the eye this is the beautiful lead girl Isabelle, but there is a bit more. The viewer gets a grip on the life and mind of a prostitute and how scary, lonely but at the same time moving it can be. Film fits in the oeuvre of the director, a solid psychological French portrait that never reaches extreme highs or lows.  7/10



Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013)
One hell of a ride! Front row seat, 3-D glasses on (not my hobby...), and after 1,5 hours I felt I was back on earth from a stunning space trip. Visually probably the best thing I've seen this year. The long opening take alone makes this film a treat you don't want to miss. I totally understand the hype and high scores for this production. The only thing that doesn't make it a five star masterpiece is the emotional core (forced but carried solidly by Bullock) and unfortunately the Clooney-character lacks the dimensions that are visually present. But this can be forgiven easily by the technical perfection. Thank you Alfonso Cuaron and Emmanuel Lubezki!  8.5/10

De boekverfilming (Eddy Terstall, 1999)
Terstall is trying to criticize the Dutch film industry by portraying a young talented director who tries to sleep with the candidates for the female lead of his next film. I couldn't find much to like in this film, unlike some other productions from the director. Tedious, lazy directing, unnecessary sex and nudity (really), overall very uninteresting characters and plot. 3.5/10

Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 2013)
Definitely not the worst example of the actor gone director. Gordon-Levitt directs himself with confidence as a porn-addicted macho man. He makes quite a convincing case when he prefers his porn over a super hot Scarlett Johansson (go figure!). In the end he gets a bit too confident, the third act demands so many improbabilities that I didn't buy it for a second. I do believe this guy has potential, though.  5.5/10

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