This is a "Crash"-style story of lives in Dubai, set, apparently, just before the financial crash. Although it resembles, somewhat, "Crash," it manages to pull away from the most obvious clichés as it unfolds three or four representative stories from some of the major populations who live and work in the city. The low rating (currently 4.5) is entirely unjustified; it's a solid, competent work with only a few off notes, and in many ways it represents the arrival of first-class film-making to the Emirates. Each of the three major plots - Emirati, European-expat, and Indian-expat - have a strong narrative arc, and each come to a satisfying, if not always happy, end. In all, it's a fascinating view into worlds rarely, if ever, depicted on the world screen.
Reviews
6 Reviews
Summer Lover
(2008)
Sigh; nothing you've not seen before.
25 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Yet another lesbian drama (set, of course, on the Isle of Lesbos) where the "transgression" of lesbianism is punished by the death of at least one of them. The relative tedium of the movie is offset by the lovely scenery (oh, and the island's pretty, too), along with the amusingly bad acting of, well, pretty much everyone. So, to sum up: lovely women getting naked (good!); plot, acting, script, direction: bad! (Unfortunately, though, not bad enough to give it cult status.) I'd say that if you were stuck on a desert (Greek) island with just one movie, and it were "Sappho" ... oh, you poor thing. On the other hand, it might help you pass those long, lonely nights (just fast forward.)
Atonement
(2007)
A powerful, complicated, wonderful movie
27 October 2007
This is a movie where coming in late (like the couple behind me tonight) will lead you to be utterly mystified. The movie unfolds and envelopes you with a complex plot with a sudden shift at the end. If you've read the book, you know what happens; nonetheless, the movie is worth seeing if only for its absolutely pitch-perfect depiction of the characters, environments, and situations. (Actually, I gained an insight into the book by watching the movie, which for me is extremely rare.) I don't give tens - a movie would have to basically be the Second Coming for that to happen - so this 9 is about as good as it gets.
By the way, the version I saw here in the UAE was bowdlerized; if you're looking for that crucial scene that was snipped, search YouTube for "Atonement" and "GQ."
By the way, the version I saw here in the UAE was bowdlerized; if you're looking for that crucial scene that was snipped, search YouTube for "Atonement" and "GQ."
The L.A. Riot Spectacular
(2005)
Direct-to-video for a reason
6 December 2006
It's weak and obvious, with only modest production values, a ham-handed script, and labored humor. If the director and writer were sophomores in high school, I'd give them very high marks, but they're not. There are some good actors here, although it's a challenge to see that.
So what's wrong with it? Satire is supposed to give the viewer a dose of reality and then, with subtlety and taste, twist it. This movie takes the most obvious idea and walks with it... oh... so... slowly. You get it. You GET IT. But it just keeps going. It's like any of a thousand of bad Saturday Night Live skits, where in the first twenty seconds all comedic juice has been squeezed out of that lemon... but no: you've got another ten minutes. And then a commercial.
I'd suggest that if you get it for free (for god's sake, don't spend any money on it), you watch it long enough to figure out that it's not worth the time you spent; after, you'll wonder why you wasted that half-hour of your life.
So what's wrong with it? Satire is supposed to give the viewer a dose of reality and then, with subtlety and taste, twist it. This movie takes the most obvious idea and walks with it... oh... so... slowly. You get it. You GET IT. But it just keeps going. It's like any of a thousand of bad Saturday Night Live skits, where in the first twenty seconds all comedic juice has been squeezed out of that lemon... but no: you've got another ten minutes. And then a commercial.
I'd suggest that if you get it for free (for god's sake, don't spend any money on it), you watch it long enough to figure out that it's not worth the time you spent; after, you'll wonder why you wasted that half-hour of your life.
Where the Truth Lies
(2005)
Wow, what happened here?
12 March 2006
Well, it is just a bad film. It's remarkable given the talent what came out of all this. Two usually fine actors - Bacon and Firth - and one hot babe (Lohman) equals... well... not much. The film's okay for the first half or so, but as more is revealed, less comes forth.
Now, the movie's good for one thing: Lohman is very fine indeed, and she has some very, very nice sex scenes. So - save your time and go to one of those sites that excerpts them. It'll take about four minutes of your life and you can move on. For the rest - well - it's just not worth it.
I wonder what the heck's happened to Egoyan. He used to make good movies. It's been about ten years now since his last good one (The Sweet Hereafter); everything since has been, at best, anticlimax. This one pretty much fits into that body of work.
Now, the movie's good for one thing: Lohman is very fine indeed, and she has some very, very nice sex scenes. So - save your time and go to one of those sites that excerpts them. It'll take about four minutes of your life and you can move on. For the rest - well - it's just not worth it.
I wonder what the heck's happened to Egoyan. He used to make good movies. It's been about ten years now since his last good one (The Sweet Hereafter); everything since has been, at best, anticlimax. This one pretty much fits into that body of work.
Unfortunately, not a lot here.
17 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this film at the Dubai Film Festival today, and... well... hm. The film starts off quite promising, as Brooks makes fun of his fading stardom and not-terribly-well-received roles. (Although Penny Marshall isn't all that great in her scene, Brooks carries it well enough.) His portrayal of the U.S.'s rather pathetic efforts to communicate to the "Muslim World" (and more on this in a moment) is also nicely thought out. And the sense that he's heading for disaster is well played. But...
Okay, here's the thing: yes, he's going to the "Muslim World." In this movie, that means India. True, there are some 150 million Indian Muslims, but ... what the heck? They're definitely not perceived to be the threat that, say, Arabs are. The irony of this was that I watched this in Dubai, probably the most film-friendly Arab country (at least as far as wanting foreigners to film there - there's a vibrant Arab film industry in Egypt, for example, but that's another post). So why didn't Brooks take this to, say, Dubai? It's unknowable. As it is, he spends all of his film in India, doing comedy to, among others, Sikhs, Hindus, and, oh yea, some Muslims. (In the one scene where Muslims are identified as such - Pakistanis - some of them are carrying guns! On the other hand, they _are_ totally stoned, so I guess it's not all stereotypes.) There are some amusing moments once he's in India but the film drags as badly as the nicely portrayed Delhi traffic. There are some amusing characters. For example, his Indian assistant, played by Sheetal Sheth (an Indian-American actress) - is charming, while the two U.S. embassy flacks are also well acted - but it doesn't add up to much.
Overall, it felt long and poorly plotted, with a quick, "let's-shove-it-off-a-cliff"-style ending that didn't answer anything. Oh, and the Muslim world? It's still looking for comedy.
Okay, here's the thing: yes, he's going to the "Muslim World." In this movie, that means India. True, there are some 150 million Indian Muslims, but ... what the heck? They're definitely not perceived to be the threat that, say, Arabs are. The irony of this was that I watched this in Dubai, probably the most film-friendly Arab country (at least as far as wanting foreigners to film there - there's a vibrant Arab film industry in Egypt, for example, but that's another post). So why didn't Brooks take this to, say, Dubai? It's unknowable. As it is, he spends all of his film in India, doing comedy to, among others, Sikhs, Hindus, and, oh yea, some Muslims. (In the one scene where Muslims are identified as such - Pakistanis - some of them are carrying guns! On the other hand, they _are_ totally stoned, so I guess it's not all stereotypes.) There are some amusing moments once he's in India but the film drags as badly as the nicely portrayed Delhi traffic. There are some amusing characters. For example, his Indian assistant, played by Sheetal Sheth (an Indian-American actress) - is charming, while the two U.S. embassy flacks are also well acted - but it doesn't add up to much.
Overall, it felt long and poorly plotted, with a quick, "let's-shove-it-off-a-cliff"-style ending that didn't answer anything. Oh, and the Muslim world? It's still looking for comedy.
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