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Reviews
Año bisiesto (2010)
Remarkable semi-experimental film
If you have watched movies very seriously for very long, you have probably at some point wondered what it would be like if you made a film by rigging up someone's apartment with a bunch of cameras, turning them on, see what happens, and then later editing it down to documentary. A watered-down version of that is done on reality-TV shows, but that would make for a boring film if you take away all of the sensational stuff needed to make reality-TV shows watchable. But it is possible to construct a fictional film that takes the same realistic approach, but using actors, dialogue, set design, lighting, and composition of shots that goes into fictional films. The most famous example of that is Chantel Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, which was an obvious influence on Leap Year. Both films provide an intimate portrait of a young women by just showing what she does, day-to-day, with the camera never leaving her apartment. If the viewer pays attention, and if the director uses some intelligence, it can make for an absorbing portrayal of real life, in spite of the fact that it is actors on a film set. Leap Year is far more explicit about sex than Jeanne Dielmann..., but the film really isn't particularly erotic until the final scenes. All that nudity isn't to build her up as an object of lust, but rather to create a sense of intimacy with the character, to show what it's like to be her. She proves to be a pragmatic and unsentimental person, and probably has to be, given her life situation. You might find her life depressing, though there is a clear spirit there, a determination to do what she needs to do. However, the last part of the film becomes sensational and erotic, in an S/M way, living up to this film's reputation as an explicit sex film. If you are fascinated by film, and like to ponder what is cinematically possible, you may want to give this film a watch (as well as Jeanne Dielmann
).
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
A cigarette commercial
Is is right to rate a movie on a moral basis? Fair to cry foul about a popular film promoting a lethal product? Is there anything sadder than a (once) esteemed director whoring himself by sticking in a blatant product placement for a cigarette manufacturer? Does Mr. Fincher have no self-respect? For that matter, does the film industry overall? (Remember In The Bedroom, which did the same thing and still received multiple Academy Award nominations.) You can answer these questions for yourself, but I just wished I had been forewarned before the people behind this film got some money out of me. If you want to see a film version of this book, there is still the 2009 Swedish production, against which this new production is being compared.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Disappointing follow up to BB
Comic books are simplistic narratives for children and young teens who lack the sophistication and understanding of people to be able to relate easily to adult books. This is a comic book film, so perhaps I have no right to expect much from it. But the Batman franchise has had a history of attempts to transcend the limits of the comic book genre, and some of the past entries have done fairly well, including the director's previous effort. But this one falls well short of Batman Begins. Regardless of genre, all films depend on characters and acting, and there is no excuse for a large budget film like this having poor acting and a hero is just irritating, as Bale is here. The director's inability to use actors effectively has never been clearer. A hero film like this cannot succeed without characters who are easy to identify with. The shallow characters, which include crude ethnic stereotype villains, are compounded by nervous cutting and scene changes, and most annoyingly, alterations between 1.85 and 2.40 aspect ratios. This film is obsessed with gadgets and fantasy technology. If you like "neat" and "cool" things but can't understand people's behavior, this film is for you.
I am a long-term fan of IMDb and have rarely experienced such a large disparity between my own ratings and the group norm. With this film's stellar ratings, I expected a lot more. I can accept that many viewers enjoyed this more than I did, but there is no way on God's green Earth that this is the fourth best film of all time. IMDb need to take a hard look at their rating system, and consider the possibility of manipulation of the rating system.