aztecp Reviews

Female Perversions (1996)

piece of crapola

[1/10 · 7 November 2001]

What a piece of pretentious trash! It's so bad that even on TV, it's boring. How did people like Tilda Swinton, Karen Sillas and Amy Madigan become involved in this piece of unredeemable garbage is beyond me. La Swinton likes performing in bad, pretentious movies, she is really quite insufferable. The other two, beats me. It's humorless and pointless and about some mysterious kind of female suffering that is quite unbearable to watch and a figment of a seriously misguided feminist's imagination. Just watching it gave me PMS. Listed as executive producer is Zalman King, king of soft porn laughable films. Yuck.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

classic lynch (godawful)

[1/10 · 6 November 2001]

I have never fallen asleep so many times during one movie. It's the usual puerile, masturbatory, pretentious, inane, shock value piece of drivel that Lynch always does. Obvious, infantile, horrid stuff. It has an interesting beginning and its all downhill from there. For a real nasty movie about Hollywood, see Sunset Boulevard instead. It's all there.

Amores Perros (2000)

Love is a bitch, allright!

[8/10 · 10 July 2000]

The structure of Amores Perros does remind one of Pulp Fiction, but this film has a lot more substance than Pulp Fiction. It also reminded me of Red, by Kieslowsi. Luckily, this movie is good and original and provocative in its own right. The acting is magnificent, particularly Mr. Echeverria as El Chivo. The cinematography and camera work by Rodrigo Prieto is awesome, the production design by Brigitte Broch perfect, the direction excellent, the music great. Technically dazzling. The animal training is probably the best I've ever seen, unless a lot of dogs died during the making of this movie ;). However, I felt that the writing was a weak spot. It was effective, and in some moments, even inspired, but not particularly rich or nuanced. And if only the episode of Richi the dog would have been shorter... it went on too long. Yet Amores Perros is a richly rewarding experience. Its darkness is extremely refreshing. It has a strong point of view that does not pander to the audience and it sticks with it to the end. The audience may be discomforted by the rawness of this movie but if you stick with it, you will be moved by it. Felicidades Negro! Si lees esto por favor mandame un e-mail que tengo algo para ti.

Gladiator (2000)

Give me 3 hours of Russell Crowe in a skirt, I'm a happy camper!

[8/10 · 10 July 2000]

I was ready to loathe this movie and I found myself enjoying it immensely. It has craters in the story the size of the Colisseum, but Russell Crowe makes it all work. He is totally believable as a hero, as a gladiator, as anything. He is a rare combination of star power and awesome acting skills, and he grounds and dignifies this movie even when it gets manipulative, cheesy and vulgar. Also, the writing was surprisingly mature. I loved the way the Colisseum looked, I loved seeing Oliver Reed again, and Richard Harris. Joaquin Phoenix was fantastic too. The music sucked big time. If Gustav Holst was alive he would sue the composers for stealing unashamedly from his symphonic poem, "The Planets". Gladiator is the best film Ridley Scott has done in a looooong time, but that doesn't mean much, does it?

It is well worth seeing. Hugely entertaining and not too dumb.

Jesus' Son (1999)

What a load of pretentious, artsy bull!

[4/10 · 27 June 2000]

Apparently, Billy Crudup is the male Jennifer Jason Leigh. That is, there are very few scenes in which he isn't twitching and making faces and showing an endless display of mannerisms and doing everything but act credibly. This movie is so obnoxious in its preciousness, nothing in it is believable. Its only saving graces are the wonderful, vomit-colored cinematography, the always amusing Jack Black and the always enthralling Dennis Hopper, who could give Mr. Crudup some lessons in movie acting stillness.

The myth of the innocent junkie is as tiresome and unrealistic as the myth of the hooker with the heart of gold. The quirkiness is such an effort that it's painful to watch. The "poetry" is laid on so thick it made me cringe. Go see Jim Carrey's latest and have a good laugh instead.

American Psycho (2000)

Great career move, Christian Bale!

[8/10 · 15 April 2000]

I can't get the guy out of my head! The performance is chilling and extraordinary. DiCaprio should be kicking himself for not taking this role. Director Mary Harron has treated the very questionable material by Bret Easton Ellis much better than it deserves. She understands that leaving things to our imaginations is much more powerful than actually showing them and the violence in the movie is doubly disturbing precisely because of that. Is it me or it seems that lately women directors like Harron and Kimberley Pierce from "Boys Don't Cry" are bringing much more cojones to movies than the rest of the Hollywood gang? Their movies are streamlined, intelligent, unsentimental, and very well directed. They are kicking male butt. You go, girls! For one, I think Boys Don't Cry was a much better movie than any of the Oscar contenders this year. As for the eighties portrayed in American Psycho, they are suspiciously similar to the nineties and so far to the zeros as well. Insane obsessions with brands and logos, crazy food, restaurant madnesses and a total disregard for anything but money and greed. Ignorant yuppies ruling the world. Sound familiar? American Psycho could have taken place in New York today. The only difference is that instead of Huey Lewis, Patrick Bateman would be deconstructing Britney Spears.

Herod's Law (1999)

A fantastic satire about corruption in Mexico

[9/10 · 14 April 2000]

Satire is very difficult to pull off, but this one is a classic. It works beautifully, it's cleverly crafted, it's devilishly funny. The acting is superb. It was a joy to see Isela Vega again! I can't remember any other Mexican movie being as devastatingly critical of our "perfect dictatorship" as this one. It's really a pretty accurate depiction of the morass that corruption has created in Mexico and of the attitude of the ruling party towards the nation. The impunity, the cynicism, the paternalism, the graft, the slime, the crime, it's no exaggeration. The government is so out of touch and so stupid that they even tried to censor it. Needless to say, the movie has been playing to packed houses in Mexico. I hope it breaks all box office records. Even better, it should be Mexico's entry to the Academy Awards.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Glorified hack work.

[5/10 · 14 April 2000]

If you were to believe the critics that raved about this movie, you'd think it's a masterpiece. When in fact, only about the first half hour of it is worth seeing. Julia Roberts delivers a fine performance at the beginning and then proceeds to become more insufferable and self-righteous as the movie progresses. How many times can the camera cut to a close up of her listening raptly and reacting almost tearfully every time someone else shows up with cancer? It's repetitive, boring and needless and it makes you hate her guts instead of liking her. Aaron Eckhart, the darling, is stuck once more in a thankless role but we should be grateful to Mr. Soderbergh for casting him. A good actor and adorable to the bone. Everything else is totally fake in this film. And the critics who must be tired of seeing so much s**t, think this is better than average Hollywood crap. It isn't. The Limey was much better than average Hollywood crap. Erin Brockovich is Hollywood dreck.

Isn't She Great (2000)

She ain't that great but she ain't bad either

[6/10 · 1 February 2000]

Great oneliners by Paul Rudnick and a great turn by Stockard Channing and the always funny and fantastic Bette make this an enjoyable movie. But it doesn't really hold up to much scrutiny. And when is Hollywood going to stop using talented, classically trained Hispanic actresses to play over the top, stereotyped cleaning women?

Rosetta (1999)

Finally, a Gallic movie in which something actually happens!

[5/10 · 19 January 2000]

It's pretentious, it's obnoxious, it's condescending, it's trying real hard not to be arty, but it is totally fake. It's only an hour and a half long but it feels like a month. However, one thing that can be said about Rosetta is that at least something happens in it. It's not just talk, talk, talk, like many of the Gallic imports from across the ocean. There is action and there is drama. And since this is a MOVIE, I consider this a great improvement. Despite its pretentiousness, it is compelling. What is beyond me is that the actress in the title role won the award at Cannes. It's not a bad performance but it is totally one-note. And it is excrutiating (not in a Jennifer Jason Leigh kind of way, but still very hard to sit through).

Magnolia (1999)

What PT Anderson needs: a little humility.

[19 January 2000]

PT Anderson is gifted but too arrogant to edit himself. Which is a pity because this could have been a truly great film had he not been so self-indulgent. The first 2 hours are fantastic and then he doesn't know how to tie things up so he starts playing God and it's all downhill from there (the effects are spectacular,though). Another thing that works my last nerve is the preachiness, the moral grandstanding. He's too young to take himself so seriously. However, I admire his gumption and his uncompromised vision. Also, the acting is so good, that Tom Cruise gives the best performance of his life. He may finally become a good actor after this one.

The End of the Affair (1999)

I thought they didn't make them like this anymore

[10/10 · 19 January 2000]

This movie is so beautifully crafted, so well written, so well acted, so gorgeously well made, that it reminds me of the time when movies knew how to tell a story with a lot of class and in less than 3 hours. This is the best Neil Jordan film so far and it's a beauty and a joy to watch, because it is made with such care and intelligence. Both Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore are excellent, but Stephen Rea steals the show with his heartbreaking portrayal of a cuckold, and the guy who plays the photographer is also fantastic. Ah, the simple, yet increasingly rare pleasure of watching a story unfold on the screen with luxurious and subtle attention to detail, both psychological and of atmosphere. What a joy!

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

The less talented Mr. Minghella

[6/10 · 19 January 2000]

The original french version, Purple Noon, with Alain Delon (yum) was much better. This movie looks great but it lacks edge. It's shoddily written and the symbolism is so obvious (mirrors everywhere) it feels like one of those blows to the head that Mr. Ripley is so fond of giving. The great performances here are Cate Blanchett's and Phillip Seymour Hoffmann's. Matt Damon looks great and he isn't too bad, but he lacks mystery. The movie is too sympathetic to his character, which is a pity. I'm sure the story could be told in less than three hours and be less concerned with showing us every corner of Italy and more with plot coherence and character development and motivation. After all this is supposed to be a psychological thriller, not a travelogue.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Tom Cruise SUCKS!

[3 August 1999]

And so does most of this movie. A major disappointment from one of the most innovative minds in film. Some of it is gorgeous and eerie, with the master's touch, but most of it preposterous, ridiculous, bizarre, stilted, cheesy, slow as molasses, over the top, obvious and just plain awful i.e: The orgy sequence. And I'm a big Kubrick fan! Is it only me, or is nobody else tired of the premise of whining male anglo-saxons that f**k outside of marriage and lo and behold, it turns out to be such a nightmare for them? Oooh, such bad things happen to them, they feel so guilty... Remember Fatal Attraction? The topic is getting tired. If you are going to cheat, enjoy it or don't do it but stop whining. I still love him but perhaps he should have ventured out in the world a little bit, the movie would not have been so out of touch with the times. It felt like a bad Seventies trip. Bummer.

Little Saints (1999)

Charming but uneven

[7/10 · 14 June 1999]

Santitos has many wonderful things: great photography by Xavier Perez Grobet, some good acting, particularly by Demian Bichir, and the supporting actors, excellent art direction, a nice sense of humor, a good music score by Carlo Nicolau. Its weaknesses are a wooden performance by the actress who plays Esperanza, the main character. With a better, more expressive actor, this movie could have soared, since she has to carry the bulk of it. She's lovely to look at, but her performance lacks character. The story drags on a little bit too long and doesn't really seem to have much of a point. As is typical in Mexico it seems that women can only be either saints or whores -- and the novel and screenplay were written by a woman! However, it's a promising first film by Alejandro Springall and will undoubtedly delight fans of the "Like Water for Chocolate" school of magical realism.

Mr. Skeffington (1944)

They don't make them this good anymore.

[8/10 · 26 October 1998]

Sharp writing, sharp acting, lots of sex but none on camera, why can't they make movies like this nowadays? Paired against a formidable ham such as Bette Davis, Claude Rains makes her scenery chewing look amateurish. And still, she mesmerizes. The one weakness of the movie: you really have to suspend your disbelief at the amount of suitors after la Davis. She is so relentlessly obnoxious, what could they possibly see in her?