In the spirit of F4tG's quickie reviews in the spirit of Rhino, quickie reviews of a bunch of crap I've just watched on DVD -- Rhinotainment

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 13:33:45 08/12/04 Thu
Author: Dog of War
Subject: In the spirit of F4tG's quickie reviews in the spirit of Rhino, quickie reviews of a bunch of crap I've just watched on DVD

Since F4tG and Rhino have all the current releases covered, I thought I'd throw out some quick reviews of various films I've rented/bought recently.

City of God: Remind me to never, EVER get lost in Brazil. This is the story of a teenager who dreams of being a photographer, growing up in an area of Brazil known as "City of God" (basically, the Brazilian government wanted to clean up Rio for the tourists, so they shipped all the homeless to a prebuilt ghetto of tin shacks; over time this area developed into the City of God, a crime-ridden slum largely run by various gangs).

A very intense, disturbing film, made all the more frightening by the fact that it's true. But great stuff.

American Movie: The story of Mark Borchardt, a Wisconsin filmmaker who has spent years trying to get his horror movie "Northwestern" completed.

Really, this is a tale of determination and vision versus lack of talent. This guy is a bad writer, a bad director, and an even worse actor. The other actors he's recruited just as bad or even worse. His two passions appear to be filmmaking and booze, and his dreams of being the next Spielberg would be funny if they weren't so pathetic. Unfortunately, Borchardt isn't even a particularly likable figure. He's kind of a jerk to his family, including his senile uncle who he manages to talk into funding his film, and his total cluelessness is more annoying than charming. But for all that it's a fascinating look at the very bottom of the barrel of amateur filmmaking.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: I hate musicals, and I HATE Rocky Horror Picture Show, which Hedwig is often compared too. Well, the comparison is entirely unfair, because Hedwig is brilliant. Great acting, great directing, and amazing music highlight this story of an East German transsexual rock star's journey from Communist Europe to fame and fortune (well, kind of) in America. Seriously, a couple of the songs in this film (most notably Origin of Love) are among the best rock songs I've ever heard. Funny, sad, and suprisingly moving, this is just brilliant stuff.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

City of God!!! -- The Rhino, 17:25:10 08/12/04 Thu