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Reviews
Obsession (1997)
Interesting Premise.....
yet baffling as well. Often times when viewing foreign films which I love to do, I realize that there is such a Huge difference between American movies and cinematic "ART." That said, with "Obsession," we get a tale of one woman who at the start of the film is having a relationship w/ one man. Through coincidence, meeting the second man, she is honest and lets him know that they cannot have an affair. However, it is clear to see that as she keeps asking her boyfriend to "..look at me," that something is missing from their relationship. With the second man/character you see a void filled. He is sweet, caring, fun, loving. Her boyfriend is anal, entrenched in his work & very different from the second man. That said, once the female character loves both men, I get frustrated at her lack of compassion. Her character becomes placid, almost child like about the way she is treating these two men who love her. Why? She explains (to John, the second love played by Daniel Craig, who asks her to be only w/ him as he feels tortured) that she would miss Pierre if she left him for John. Quel Selfish! O.K. she is having more than just cake to eat, she is having the entire buffet. Her wall of disregard for their feelings makes for an unsettling and frustrating viewing towards the end. And the end will either tick you off or leave you going, "what?"
Archangel (2005)
Interesting plot, location & characters but........
While this film had an interesting plot and I always enjoy other locations it was missing something. The out door scenes, and there were lots of them, were great. However while the premise of the story was interesting, it was also too clichéd. And while Daniel Craig, looking gaunt, thin & very much the bookish professor was alright as the professor, it seemed just like an acting gig he took to go to Russia. I could be completely wrong, but it lacked...his very direct focus that he does so well. He is such a superb actor that he seemed to just be doing minimal work in this picture. As for the female lead, she was tough, depressed & there was absolutely no romance or chemistry. Yes, it was Russia and it was a hard story & the Russian characters had hard lives from the domino affect of Stalin, but there was absolutely no levity to transition from one scene to the next. Mel Gibson was supposedly going to do this film. Ithink if there had been a better budget and Mr. Craig had consumed some food that maybe the picture would have been better. The movie was alright, but not great & could have been much more I am sorry to say.