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Reviews
Europa: The Last Battle (2017)
Both a Must-Watch and Serious Faults
Some things in the film are just not true.
And, I'd never heard of Moses Hess before, although I thought I'd had a good grasp on history.
So the film is like the rest of life, don't trust anything without verification, then take what's worthwhile.
Today, entire sections of history are false, purged, written by the victors, or are unquestionable. We find again and again we've been lied to- Last week, last month, last year.
With such censorship, comes those who write what they will when given the chance, that's one price of authority not being honest in the first place.
You definitely need to watch the film.
And don't invade Russia on June 22d.
Richard Jewell (2019)
Essentially Lost Honor of Katharina Blum in English. But Real
Same nasty press, same scummy law enforcement leaking to the media.
I don't believe Katharina Blum was based on a true story, though.
It is extremely concerning events like this must occur with frequency, only this time it got into the open. If you haven't seen it, do so.
Winterschläfer (1997)
Plot elements a bit too cheap
Based on a freak car accident ... An injured child ... The quirqy hous in the woods ... The cheater, of course, gets his comeuppance ... Successful films get the viewer to suspend disbelief- this one didn't succeed for me. The characters really aren't consistent enough to be believable. Our boorish cheater suddenly becomes the film's philosopher. The car thief, who leaves the injured horse, girl and father, turns out to be the wonderful father.
I also had the feeling it was forcing 'I'm an art film' on you.
Blown potential
They Raid by Night (1942)
Worth Watching
A couple of twists make it worth watching; The Quisling surprisingly - unpredictably - Gives his life for Norway, and not, so typical of Hollywood, when the situation is forced on him.
and- As mentioned by truerock74 , the Nazi isn't predictable. He totally disses the fiancé after she turns on her former- It doesn't conform the 'evil to the core' Nazi's of most films.
There's also good humor with what makes humor good: timing.
True, sets are almost funny in their crudeness, there's scenes that totally shoulda been re-shot, I can't imagine what some of the accents are supposed to be, and everyone good gets shot in the arm.
But it's likable as your grandfather's mutt.
Banlieue 13: Ultimatum (2009)
Disappointing Compared to the First
I was champing at the bit, when I found out it was out, and at my neighborhood theater none-the-less!
The story line in fairly lame, the fight sequences are less and seem much less inventive, and there's not enough women. The guys that get beat up are like storm troopers in Star Wars, they just keep coming- In fact the uniforms somewhat resemble them! Just about everyone is corrupt, I guess echoing what they think is a common belief nowadays.
************Spoilers************** There were some great scenes, when dude gets nailed in the kahunas- not the typical Hollywood ending where the arch villain has to 'die' harder than everyone else after a protracted fight.
Then there's all the gang losers banding together and taking the president's word- These were the ones who profited by lives of crime that the district allowed- Then they trust a politician?! Wouldn't have flown in the US. Good that the president turns out to be the only honest one among the leaders, though.
And the solution is to do what they'd set out to prevent?
National Treasure (2004)
Grouchy Pessimist Liked It
I saw the film after reading the negative reviews of people that are obviously more grouchy and pessimistic than myself. I liked it. Now I don't think being grouchy and pessimistic is necessarily bad
.
The film doesn't explore any deep moral questions; you know who are the good guys and who the bad guys are right off, and stealing the Declaration of Independence is OK if you're doing it for good reason
:)
What the film does do is impart mysticism on our country's history and makes you take new interest in it. The film is action packed and doesn't really get boring. And I was giggling intermittently at the 'Bad' jokes!
Yep, it's not exactly believable, but then we'd end up with films about our daily lives; Some overweight jerk going to work and gossiping about his coworkers for eight hours before driving home in his pedestrian SUV to a thoroughly pedestrian homelife, only to finally die after re-telling Al Bundy like stories about his exploits on the High School football team at some puke suburbanite chain bar-restaurant. Many movies, which are rightfully highly acclaimed, certainly have no chance of being believed.
Go see the movie and pay the eight bucks, or wait a few weeks until it's in the discount theaters.
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
Lack of Sophistication on My Part?
I can't seem to find anything to like here. My fiancé insists she likes it, but fell asleep about half way through
This was fortunate, as I could then turn it off. The actors appeared to be working without scripts-I really see no other explanation. One example: Lady sitting at table, thumbing through a magazine with firearms. Waiter tops off her coffee. She objects, saying she wishes he wouldn't have done that; the coffee was just the right color and temperature. The waiter intermittently returns with the coffee pot, awkwardly, and tries to start up a conversation. In between the patron thumbs the magazine or looks out the window. Yikes! Perhaps it was so deep that I really couldn't appreciate it. I did make it through four quarters of German film, which I quite enjoyed, so I don't think I'm entirely without sophistication!
Gods and Generals (2003)
Too long, too dramatic, a waste of an opportunity
Fast-forwarded through the most of this, something I never do. Apparently this was a cheap shot at attracting a more female audience that, according to the reactions of my girlfriend, didn't work. The accents (bad) and Gone With the Wind like dialog made me laugh.
The scenes of towns (Fredericksburg, etc) were drawn in, ala '20s movies! Yep, there were quotations and battle scenes, but these seemed secondary to the (over) drama.
Next to no historical value here respective the length of the movie. Very sad that such a grand opportunity could be wasted so badly.