Reviews

4 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
Borgia (2011–2014)
10/10
Much better than others
24 December 2011
It's difficult to make straight-face judgment about such big movies, but I loved it. For someone trying to understand Machiavelli, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Spanish Reconquista, the atrocities of conquistadors in the New World, the Xenophobia of the Italian Wars coexisting with the globalization of Politics (Avignon, Holy Roman Empire, America) and even a little of the soft underbelly of Catholic Faith, this is really good. Compared to others' sensationalism, this show is more like a loving son's explanation of a disreputable mother.. "yes, she was what you say, but look at the choices; and how did things change?"

It's also difficult to compare once immersed in one version of the Borgia story. But I thought the choice of Doman, and his accent, and all other actors well thought out. Narration by the Vatican Historian Burquardt puts it all into proper perspective, especially through the choice of Schefe's delivery. The comic is introspective and subtle and coated with the gut feeling one gets watching men executed by slow sawing in half, upside-down. Other productions seemed more careless to me, like casting the Three Stooges in an elaborate Hi-Def slapstick porno movie.

It's probably difficult to maintain the intensity, but there should be a season two.
32 out of 51 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Getting There (2002 Video)
8/10
You have to understand the point
8 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The face of the old woman near Baker or Bishop in California's Owens' Valley tells most of the point of this story.

Not all bumble through life as pleasantly as these dudes, well played morons by reasonably good actors. Some get to places they cannot drive out of and still make a life worthwhile.. picking oranges, running bakeries (Paul Schatz' in Bishop rules!), bumming at ski resorts, waiting tables, playing the piano, or..

The sequence of driving, busing, flying.. the parallels to college, drifting and 'hunting' their way to figuring out roles in life.. all are quite telling. The kids did a great acting job summarizing the idiosyncrasies of today's youth, I wonder if they realize it themselves?
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Russian Ark (2002)
theory of everything
26 April 2004
The quality of silence in conversation is a true measure of its worth (somebody said). I thought this movie to be like a formula that proves things like 'does a falling tree make noise when there is nobody in the forest to listen to it?' Or like (expensive) education, where one reads and practices pieces of a subject matter to perfection only in order to prove some measure of understanding of the whole when finally sitting for a long final exam. Or like life, where we try to understand 'things' in spite of being unable to build up consistent classification systems, observe without interfering with Nature, and really live both extremes of morality, physical beauty, wealth, power, wisdom. I would love to know everything about the tsars, about all the hermitage paintings, about Catherine's urinary bladder (was she diabetic, she died of stroke), and her retarded husband (who is said to have had to have a simple urologic surgery in his 20's to overcome impotence!?)...

But the amazing quality of Dreiden's facial expressions prove that any amount of Teutonic blood is sufficient and necessary for Genius.

Heil.
0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
What have I done !! :)
6 January 2003
Gea and Neptune's Ballo in Maschera would probably have been more popular if not so beautifully well disguised. Chronos is also there, hidden in the characters aging patterns and probably listening carefully to identify the characters' voices... "What have I done?! .. I don't usually come here.." hhhmmmm.
1 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed