aboudaqn Reviews

Monk (2002–2009)

how can this be so stilted?

[22 August 2002]

I love Tony Shalhoub and cannot imagine how he has been locked into this turkey, full of stilted, self-conscious acting, bad lines, improbable flow of plot - after seeing him act so smoothly in so many movies, is this even possible - or is this what happens when you get sucked/suckered in with your own money (Shalhoub also produces)?

The Dish (2000)

quietly rocking

[9/10 · 6 January 2002]

Like its unprepossessing setting, _Dish_ sets about quietly to lure you into where eye of its own storm on July 20, 1969, when Parkes satellite outside Sydney, Australia, transmitted the first TV broadcast of men on the moon. The characters are phenomenal, the soundtrack moving, the outmoded and clunky computers worthy of wonder -- a movie to show your children, not just to show that a little longer attention span really pays off but what life was like when almost every eye in the world made a momentary agreement to put aside all differences and watch American astronauts step onto lunar soil in the name of humanity.......

Vatel (2000)

Reserved for Americans of taste

[9/10 · 6 January 2002]

Vatel is a movie to be relished for those not with time to spare but who will spare the time this film deserves. Only those with short attention spans will find it slow or uninvolving. True, Umma Thurman is typically misplaced (what has she been _good_ in?) and Tim Roth gives a typically villanous performance (isn't he always good? -- is he really like this or is this a persona he has perfected?), but this interpretation of perhaps the world's first great French chef (played by Gerard Depardieu, typically inimitable) makes one think twice about the current excesses of Emeril, Puck & Co. on TV.............

Merlin (1998)

great cast, bad outcome

[3/10 · 6 January 2002]

Painful to watch such great acting talented wasted. Who comes up with such plots? There are so many good sources... While I understand the commercialism involved in making such a TV series, I never understand why producers and directors believe that audiences will tolerate such poor quality as fare... Those interested in Merlin would be advised to read Mary Stewart's trilogy.

Century of Cinema: Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) Season 1, Episode 9

best introduction to New Zealand film

[10/10 · 6 January 2002]

I saw _Cinema of Unease_ on STAR-TV out of Hong Kong a few years back, during the centennial celebration of film. To date, I find it the best overview of a nation's film that I have seen. And, of course, NZ film is not to be missed. Not only does Sam Neill (whom I admit is one of my favorite actors - from _Reilly: Ace of Spies_) act well, but he writes and directs a workable, tongue-in-cheek story of himself, of his country, and of the film he loves.

Map of the Human Heart (1992)

deeply moving

[9/10 · 6 January 2002]

I saw this movie in the theater and found it deeply moving, expressing an array of confusing emotions so profound and intense that I found breathing difficult, while my heart actually ached for the protagonist. Vincent Ward has not found this power of his again, but I hope he does. To take a love from childhood between two children denied their heritage and then to explore that love again in a larger world far more dreadful than that childhood...

The Celebration (1998)

best of the best

[10/10 · 27 July 2001]

Content is the most important element of any Film for me, complemented by Form, and I follow Aristotle's stylebook, so 1998's _Festen_ (_The Celebration_) must top my list of best movies as the leanest, most focused, intense, and enthralling movie I have ever seen.

No detail is extraneous. No character is spared by a roving,hand-held camera so intimate that it passes beyond intrusion right into the psyche of each person in front of it -- you never think about the camera itself, only the object of its focus.

Time is condensed; a lifetime is somehow conveyed without for one second interrupting a present rush of circumstances that will make this birthday party the most unforgettable family event you will ever witness.