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Fellani
I loved watching movies as a teen
I still do!
Reviews
Bandits (2001)
Great performances by Thornton and Blanchett wasted
Bandits has a few funny moments, but overall, considering all the talents involved, it is a disappointment. Blanchett continues to impress with another superb performance and Thornton provides the few laughs of the movie. Bruce Willis is just being Bruce Willis. But that's it for the positives, the movie is mostly boring because it tries to mix a love triangle, buddy movie, comedy and crime story all in one, so it loses it's focus and it's not really good in any of those aspects. The flashback structure is mostly annoying and really doesn't add much, it just seems like a trendy thing thrown in. Not one of Levinson's best.
6/10
La dolce vita (1960)
Absolute classic, but quite depressing
This movie is great in all aspects and it shows why Fellini is one of the best director ever. I really appreciate this movie as art and as a vision of life, but I can't saw this movie impacted me in a positive way, I was quite down after watching this. For me it shows the decadence, emptiness, superficiality and lost of any meaning of our civilization. La Dolce Vita affected me so much emotionally that it might take me a while to watch it again, but touching me like that is surely the sign of a special movie.
10/10
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Perfection
Usually, when I watch classics from the early part of the century, I can usually appreciate the historical values and innovations in those movies, but they don't usually blow me away like Sunset Boulevard did. I was speechless for most of the movie and the ending, although I knew about it, still amazed me.
Everything is perfect in this movie: direction, script, scenario, photography and the acting. That movie and Double Indemnity really made me appreciate the genius of Billy Wilder.
One of my top ten movies of all time.
10/10
Suspiria (1977)
Another brilliant nightmare from the mind of Argento
Like a lot of other Argento movies (Phenomena, Inferno), this movie works better if you treat it as a nightmare from start to finish. The scenario, often maligned, does hold up, but it's not really the strong point as it's secondary to the style. Like all nightmares, leave your logic at the door and prepare to assault your senses with brilliant set pieces, camerawork and pounding music by Goblin. There are a few dull moments in the middle part, but it's usually very creepy and bleak, and it's always pleasant to look at the amazing color compositions used thoughout the movie. A must see for any horror buff, and a nice introduction to Argento's work, even though I like Deep Red and Phenomena better. If you get and liked the nightmarish atmosphere of this film, Phenomena uses a similiar approach, although it's a little weird for some tastes.
8/10
Black Christmas (1974)
Superior horror movie, but not as innovative or important as some say
Having read some reviewers say that Halloween was a rip-off of Black Christmas, I watched this movie and I'm relieved to say it's not really the case, since Halloween is the summum of horror movies for me. There is not a lot in common between the two movies that I can think of: madman killing people, heavy breathing/mysterious killer and nice POV camera work. I liked the POV in this movie, but it wasn't as effective as in Halloween because we see from the killer perspective before he commits a murder, therefore there was not really any suspense in those scenes, since we know where the killer is. In Halloween, the POV is used to create suspense when the killer is prowling, but it's not used before the murders, the fear of the unknown is what works best for me in those cases.
Also, some people seem to think this movie invented POV in horror movies or the slasher flick. This is far from the truth, people should check some of Mario Bava's work or Peeping Tom. It was still an interesting stepping stone for the genre, but nothing innovative.
Still, I found the first half chilling and interesting, but after a few murders, the movie became a little tedious because of the dumb script and predictable plot in the second half. Still, this movie gave me some chills in the first 30 minutes, I liked the bleak ending and the nice camera work and atmosphere, so it all adds up to a superior horror movie, well worth seeing but not quite a classic.
7/10