The Fog Of War - 2003 - USA

The Fog Of War - 2003 - 8/10 

 
Ex-President of Ford Motor Corp, ex-USA Secretary of Defense (JFK and LBJ).
At 85, Robert McNamara converses with Errol Morris, detailing insights, blunders, successes, failures.
What he had learned from the troubled Vietnam War, as well as dealing with ordinary frictions.
Morris distills over 24 hours of interviews into 11 Lessons (learned).
#1: Empathize with your enemy.
#2: Rationality alone will not save us.
#5: Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
#6: Get the data.
#7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
#8: Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
#9: In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
#10: Never say never.
#11: You can't change human nature.
Sadly, global leaders never learn a damn thing.  Reference #11.

Battle Royale II: Requiem - 2003 - Japan

Battle Royale II: Requiem - 2003 - 5/10
AKA - Batoru Rowaiaru Tsū Rekuiemu // バトル・ロワイアルII

 
Why, why, why?
Why did they make this?  Why did I originally buy this?  Why did I rewatch?
Survivors of the first film are now terrorists.
The fascist government reacts by kidnapping more teens and sending them to a remote island.
Opening salvo explodes onscreen, yet exposes an inherent flaw.
There are … were … plenty of “contestants” and most are massacred at this time.  
Combatants who survive are dull and unsympathetic.
Moreover, the film is preachy, action-oriented yes, but laden with messages.

My Dinner With Jimi - 2003 - USA

My Dinner With Jimi - 2003 - 6/10

 
Nighttime in Swinging London, Turtles frontman Howard Kaylan encounters two obscure musicians.
Iffy docu-drama of the group’s momentous 1967 year is endless fun.
Depending on how steeped one is with the whole 60’s vibe and the sunshiny nightmare it was.
Plenty of songs, plenty of names and faces (such as Jimi and Brian above).
How much is accurate?  With all the substances, who remembers?
Nor is that the point.  The joie de vivre of this is infectious.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3368643

Love Actually - 2003 - UK

Love Actually - 2003 - 7/10

 
Zelda and I first watched this during its initial theatrical run.
Surprisingly, there were only two other couples in an otherwise empty theater.
Time has proven kind to this holiday bonbon, now is a staple in many homes.
Stories interweave.  Comical, romantic, poignant, frustrated, thwarted.
Looking past the credits, one might guess what relationships will founder, what might succeed.
Tremendous casting a major asset.  Film is overlong, but never feels that way.

Bon Voyage - 2003 - France

Bon Voyage - 2003 - 6/10

 
Grab bag of murder, comedy, mystery and wartime occupation.
Viviane has accidentally (?) kills an admirer / threat.
Old boyfriend Frédéric foolishly gets tagged for the death.
While Viviane woos an important minister (Depardieu) for aid.
More?  The Germans are overrunning France, while a professor tries to flee with gallons of heavy water.
Movie jumps heedlessly from serious to silly and back.
The film is well shot, with a impressive roster of A-listers, and the narrative actually sustains.

Calendar Girls - 2003 - UK

Calendar Girls - 2003 - 6/10

 
Middle aged women, members of the Women’s Institute, want to raise money for charity.
Eventually, they follow the idea of a “nude” calendar.
Nude meaning discreet and obscured.
Feel good film was a surprise hit, and still brings smiles.
Predictable, with several scruffy patches.
Big cast includes Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie.

Fast Film - 2003 - Austria

Fast Film - 2003 - 6/10

 
Wild cut of over hundred films, starting with Bogart opening the door.
From there, long chase sequence on a dividing train (yes), then underworld entry.
Train escapades feature versions of Cary Grant.  The subterranean realm, Bond.  007.
Classic film fans will have a field day tagging clips
One could rewatch this 13” experimental short over and over.

Untold Scandal - 2003 - S Korea

Untold Scandal - 2003 - 7/10
AKA - Seukaendeul: Joseon Namnyeo Sangyeoljisa

 
The young virgin is to the next concubine of the Lord.
She is innocent and fresh, and the wife cannot stand the youthful replacement.
So, she asks her cousin, a lecherous reprobate, to seduce and impregnate the girl.
Where’s the problem?  He has his eye on a chaste widow.
By any other name, this is a version of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses".
A cruel drama of gamesmanship and manipulation.
Scheming and treachery, which leave a powerful and bitter aftertaste.
If nothing else, the set design and costumes are radiant.

Love From Mother Only (Amor Só de Mãe) - 2003 - Brazil

Love From Mother Only - 2003 - 6/10  
AKA - Amor Só de Mãe

 
Fihlo’s mother is pious and in poor health.  Not dead, though.
Which is what his girlfriend, prostitute Formosa, urges him to hasten.
Oh yeah, she is also a devil worshiper.
By and by, Satan digs his claws into both, with gruesome results.
Festering Brazilian horror reeks of sweat, semen and blood.
Nudity and positions coaxing the hapless fool.
Warned, you be.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3356786

Lost In Translation - 2003 - USA

Lost In Translation - 2003 - 7/10

 
Film star Bob, his career someplace between a valley and on the skids, is in Tokyo.
Purpose: to make some commercials. (At the time, this was frowned upon and considered bad form.  Now, actors will do anything for spare change.)
He bumps in to Charlotte several times, and they form a friendship.
Lonely souls, one questioning his career trajectory, the other wondering about her marriage.
NOT a Hollywood romance.  These are similar people, talking and listening.
A muted film of disconnection, quietly foretelling the nature of life in a few years.
Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson surprisingly good together.

Dracula’s Bram Stoker - 2003 - Ireland

Dracula’s Bram Stoker - 2003 - 6/10

 
Nice overview of the theatre manager and writer of influential horror.
Childhood, college where he excelled,  Friends with the Wilde’s.
London, working as Irving’s manager, meeting the cream of society and the intelligentsia.
In between, writing stories, essays, articles, and working on “The Un-dead” which would be renamed.
Numerous talking heads include Neil Jordan, Christopher Lee, Paul Murray, Leonard Wolf …
The Irving period is well represented, as is his marriage, and latent inclinations.
His slapdash writing of Dracula, jotting whenever he had a moment, resulted in the unique structure.

Sky High - 2003 - Japan

Sky High - 2003 - 6/10
AKA - Sukai Hai  // スカイハイ

 
Killed on her wedding day (heart ripped out) Mina stands at the gate of the afterlife.
Three choices offered:  Ascend and reincarnate.  Wander the Earth as a ghost.  Or vengeance.
Mina opts for Door #3, despite the cost being damnation to Hell.
Supernatural / Fantasy has intriguing ideas, a parallel mystery investigation, adequate leads.
This is excessive, however.  Everything is too much, especially the running time.
The film feels padded, and lacks the furious momentum of the director’s previous film, Versus.
Later research revealed that is was made as a prequel for a popular Sky High TV series.
Following the film, there was a S02.
I have watched neither series, but they may inform the movie.

Zatōichi - 2003 - Japan

Zatōichi - 2003 - 7/10
AKA - 座頭市

 
Modern “update” of the extremely long running franchise.
Blind swordsman Zatōichi wanders into small village, oppressed by criminals.
Expect swordplay and bloodletting.
Stylish reworking, with high production values.
Kitano is somewhat odd casting, but he is writer / director in what must have been a labor of love.
Finale apparently a surprise twist, although I viewed it as cheating, or misfired joke.

Kapop - 2003 - Thailand

Kapop - 2003 - 3/10

 
“Hear what?  I didn’t hear nothing!”
After masked men try to forcibly rape a village girl, a ghost offers to settle scores if she can take possession.
Before long, men are slain, dangling genitalia bitten and horribly mutilated.
And even though menfolk KNOW a demon is in their midst, anytime a girl drops her shorts and says, “Happy hour!” foolish men follow their swords.
Bizarro Thai flick is 50% nudity, crazy floating ghost-head nonsense, and a van of visiting high schoolers.
Yes, add dead teenager trope to the mix.
The females are beautiful, the men oafish, acting amateurish.

Body Jumper preceded this and is better.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls - 2003 - USA

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls - 2003 - 7/10  

 
(I have not read Biskind’s controversial book upon which this is based.)
By the mid-1960’s, Hollywood was finished, going broke, audiences watching TV.
Who comes to the rescue?  All the young kids with zest, fresh ideas, and stories for younger audiences.
Coppola, Scorsese, Speilberg, Lucas, Polanski, Friedkin, Bogdanovich, etc …
This makes for an absorbing view, especially for buffs who should KNOW most of the films and interviewees.
That said, the premise that Hollywood was a shuttered graveyard is wholly erroneous.
Studio outings included: Bullitt, Cool Hand Luke, Dirty Dozen, Funny Girl, Butch Cassidy, Planet Apes, …..
An alternative documentary covering similar territory would be A Decade Under The Influence, also from 2003 with many of the same participants, although that is equally biased.

English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3287892

The Restaurant - 2003 - USA

The Restaurant - 2003 - 6/10

 
Early, so-called reality show hews closer to that overused “reality” moniker.
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito (celebrity meaning, he wrote a book) launches a Manhattan restaurant.
Series shows the serving staff and the cooks working the flames.
Also the problems: bad reviews, money issues, personal conflicts.
Plus, the obvious fact that Rocco flat out does NOT want to work.
He would rather wander the tables and flirt with attractive females.
Rocco does not even run the pass.
Unlike scripted reality shows, here you are a fly on the ceiling, observing a trainwreck caused by the owner.

Wonderland - 2003 - USA

Wonderland - 2003 - 6/10

 
Ugly, flip side to Boogie Nights, this one based on real events.
Porn stud John Holmes, career in the trash can, is suspect #1 in the death of four.
Low on cash, fried out brain cells, Holmes and drug buddies decide to rob a mobster.
Afterward, police try to untangle conflicting versions of events.
Repellent tale is grisly and frustrating, not leastways because of so many loathsome players.
The tone, the vibe, however, seems spot on, spitting the filthy payment due that came at the end of the 70’s.
Val Kilmer nails John Holmes, yet the whole cast is solid.
Gloriously slimy escapade, not a prissy docudrama.

Rolling Stones: Live L’Olympia Theatre - 2003 - France

Rolling Stones: Live L’Olympia Theatre - 2003 - 7/10

 
Professional capture of the band in a smaller venue.
Fans who want a show of greatest hits may pause, however.
One of the lures for this is the inclusion of many lesser performed numbers.
“Live With Me”, “Hand of Fate”, “No Expectations”, “Stray Cat Blues”, “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”, “That's How Strong My Love Is”, “Going to à Go-Go”, “Love Train”, “Respectable” …
Charlie is effortless and concise, Mick poster child for dynamism, Keith and Ron walking cadavers.
Although there is a horn section, keyboards, background singers, the mix leans towards the guitarists.
The cutting is much to rapid to study the musicianship.
Mere quibbles.  Stones’ fans, you know this.

Nathalie - 2003 - France

Nathalie - 2003 - 6/10

 
Catherine, learning her husband is cheating, hires a hooker to “test him” and report.
Yes, like in real life.  Most would hire a detective, but not here.
The plot lurches between absurd and unbelievable like a drunk trying to pass a sobriety walk.
Catherine (a wasted Fanny Ardant) is a folly of insecurity, while the hooker spins tales from the side of her mouth, and I found her impossible to believe from one moment to the next.
Not particularly suspenseful.  Not erotic, either.
Excellent cast wasted in film that promises more than it delivers.

Danny Deckchair - 2003 - UK

Danny Deckchair - 2003 - 6/10

 
Danny, construction worker, is bored with his lot,
Worse, his girlfriend is unresponsive.
What to do?  How about string helium balloons to your lawnchair and up, up and away!
Adventures, national acclaim, a MYSTERY, then a new girlfriend!
Reinventing Oneself 101.
Silly, harmless romantic fluff, based, astoundingly enough on a real-life, and far more compelling, story.
https://darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid1998-11.html
https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/lawnchair-pilot-larry-walters-0