"What's the plot doing way over there?"

(Paramount) Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgaard, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Thure Lindhardt, David Pasquesi, Victor Alfieri, Elya Basin, Rance Howard . Directed by Ron Howard.

Any institution that is around long enough is bound to acquire opponents, if not enemies. For the Roman Catholic Church, the oldest institution on the planet, those opponents are many. But, as they say, it only takes one.

The Church is mourning the sudden and unexpected death of the pope, considered a progressive and fair-minded pontiff, beloved by his flock. As the College of Cardinals gathers to elect a new leader for their church, two very disturbing events occur. The first is the theft of a small but significant amount of anti-matter, a substance manufactured in an experiment partially funded by the Church. The second is the kidnapping of four respected cardinals, all of them considered favorites for the papal election, or as they are known more commonly in the Vatican as the preferati.

The powers of the pope are invested in Patrick McKenna (McGregor), the assistant to the previous pope (or Camerlengo as the position is titled), and he is given further reason for misgiving when he receives a cryptic but menacing note, as well as a live cam feed that indicates that the missing anti-matter is somewhere in the Vatican.

To help in the investigation, Inspector Olivetti (Favino) of the Vatican Police Force recruits an unlikely ally – Robert Langdon (Hanks), the Harvard professor of symbology whose investigations in The DaVinci Code brought down the Opus Dei group and caused much embarrassment for the Church. He arrives in the Vatican along with scientist Vittoria Vetra (Zurer) who was working on the anti-matter project and whose father was gruesomely murdered during the theft. She reports that the battery-charged electronic cannister holding the anti-matter would eventually fail when the battery died; when it did, a sizable chunk of Rome would be vaporized.

Langdon determines that the note was written by the Illuminati, an ancient society of scientifically-inclined Catholics who underwent extreme persecution in the days of Galileo. Deciphering the note, he figures out that the plan is to execute the four cardinals, once every hour in four locations sacred to the Illuminati (each having to do with one of the four elements). Langdon must follow a variety of clues to discover where each cardinal is going to meet a grisly end and arrive there before said cardinals get an early opportunity to see God live and in Person.

He is opposed by Commander Richter (Skarsgaard), the head of the Swiss Guard who are kind of the secret service of the Vatican. To let you know how he feels about the situation, he growls in a voice dripping with disdain “What a relief, the symbologist is here” when Langdon arrives at the Vatican. Also conservative Cardinal Strauss (Mueller-Stahl) is suspicious of the openly non-religious Langdon.

This is a very slick-looking thriller that utilizes its Roman locations effectively (although the Vatican locations were all recreated on a set – as you might imagine, the Church refused to allow the filmmakers permission to film there). Howard is one of the best directors working today, and his skills are one of the movie’s outstanding features. The pacing is brisk and doesn’t give you time to think about all the implausibility in the script.

The script is one of the major downfalls of the film. Writers Akiva Goldsmith and David Koepp – both of whom have delivered some really well-written scripts in the past – aren’t entirely to blame for this. Dan Brown, author of the novel, is a talented writer of page turners, but sacrifices a lot of common sense for the sake of a good plot turn. Are you telling me that the combined minds of the Swiss Guard and the Vatican Police Force, who guard some of the most important people and treasures in the world, were unable to turn the note upside down to figure out that it was sent by the Illuminati?

The script is also rather talky. Hanks spends a lot of time cogitating and then delivering a pronouncement like an explanation point “Why didn’t I think of it before? The Church of San Whoever, patron saint of Earth Wind and Fire!” It’s not that Hanks does a bad job – he’s quite believable inasmuch as he can be as an academic who isn’t fazed by being shot at and have any number of murder attempts made on him. In some ways he’s more of an action hero than scholar, but Hanks makes sure the scholarly side is well-represented.

The international cast (with actors from Israel, Scotland, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, Russia, Denmark, Austria and elsewhere) are solid. McGregor just about steals the movie as the pious Camerlengo. I like him as an actor more and more in every role I see him as. Zurer is likewise solid in a role that literally has no reason to be there – she’s eye candy, nothing more but she at least makes a credible attempt at being at least physicist-like. Skarsgaard and Mueller-Stahl, veteran character actors both, lend gravitas to their roles.

I’ve really spent a lot of time dwelling on the movie’s faults, and that’s a bit unfair. Granted, they are glaring imperfections, but quite frankly this is a solid summer thriller with plenty of mindless entertainment. The trouble is it kind of bills itself as a smart thriller which is a bit of a disservice. This is the kind of movie that if you think too much about it you’re not going to like it as much. Instead, just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s a pretty good one.

WHY RENT THIS: A nonstop thrill ride that doesn’t pause long enough for you to catch your breath. McGregor is becoming a much more watchable actor than he was in the Star Wars prequels. Breathtaking sets, special effects (particularly one sequence in St. Peter’s Square) and use of Roman locations make this extremely watchable.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The script is full of holes and lapses in logic that detract from the action. While it bills itself as an intellectual thriller, it works better as mindless entertainment. Some egregious factual errors, particularly as to historical context and Catholic  

FAMILY VALUES: Some rather spectacular and gruesome murders occur, some of which may be too intense for children.

TRIVIAL PURSUITS: While filming in Rome, the crew and equipment were blocking the passage of a bridal party on the way to a church for their wedding. Upon hearing about the situation, Tom Hanks personally escorted the party through the filming area and prevailed upon crew to move equipment so that the party might pass. The grateful family of the bride invited Hanks and director Howard to stay for the reception but their busy filming schedule prevented it.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: The Blu-Ray edition contains a feature on CERN, home of the large hadron collider and the world’s largest particle physics factory. The crew were permitted to film on the premesis (although not in sensitive areas) and the achievements of CERN are discussed in some detail.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: The Soloist

DVD Top 10.
Bestsellerliste der Woche
von Illuminati bis State of Play

Illuminati:
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) entdeckt Beweise, dass die mächtigste Untergrundbewegung der Geschichte, ein uralter konspirativer Geheimbund, den man als ‘Die Illuminati’ kennt, wiederauferstanden ist. Kurz darauf wird er damit konfrontiert, dass die katholische Kirche, der zutiefst verhasste Erzfeind der Illuminaten, einer tödlichen, existenzvernichtenden Bedrohung ausgesetzt ist…

Nachts im Museum 2:
Seine Tage als Museumswärter sind passé: Larry Daley ist als Erfinder nutzloser Dinge erfolgreich, kehrt jedoch ins Museum zurück, als er erfährt, dass die seinerzeit zu Leben erwachten Ausstellungsstücke in den Keller des Smithsonian in New York verfrachtet werden sollen. Ruhe ist allerdings auch dort nicht angesagt, weil auch die mystische Tafel von Akhmenrah, die den Exponaten Leben einhaucht, versehentlich zum neuen Ausstellungsort transportiert wurde. Nun bricht dort das Chaos aus, und Larry muss für Ordnung sorgen…

Slumdog Millionär:
Glauben Sie an das Schicksal? Für Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) ist es der größte Tag seines bisherigen Lebens. Nur noch eine Frage trennt ihn vom 20 Millionen Rupien-Hauptgewinn in Indiens TV- Show ‘Wer wird Millionär?’

Der Womanizer:
Der Junggeselle Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) gehört zu den Typen, die drei Freundinnen den Laufpass geben. Gleichzeitig. Per Telefonkonferenz. Auf der Hochzeitsfeier seines Bruders hat er also nur ein Ziel: Er will die einzige Brautjungfer herumkriegen, die er bisher irgendwie übersehen hat. Doch der Geist seines verstorbenen Onkels Wayne (Michael Douglas) – der Connor beigebracht hat, die Frauen zu wechseln wie die Hemden – verfolgt ein ganz anderes Ziel…

Star Trek – Die Zukunft hat begonnen:
James T. Kirk ist ein rebellischer Hitzkopf im amerikanischen Niemandsland, der nie den Tod seines Vaters bei einem Angriff eines romulanischen Raumschiffs verkraftet hat. Nach einer seiner Prügeleien fordert ihn Captain Pike, einst ein Freund seines verstorbenen Vaters, auf, der Sternenflotte beizutreten. Dort macht sich Kirk zunächst keine Freunde, bis ihn eine Mission zwingt, endlich Verantwortung zu übernehmen: der Romulaner Nero bedroht Vulkan, den Heimatplaneten von Kirks späterem Weggefährten Spock…

Transformers 2:
Nachdem Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) die Welt mit Hilfe der gutmütigen Autobots vor den bösartigen Decepticons gerettet hat, freut er sich auf ein normales Leben. Als er aufs College geht, lässt er nicht nur Freundin Mikaela (Megan Fox) zurück…

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
Hugh Jackman schlüpft wieder in die Rolle, die ihn zum Superstar machte: Wolverine – der Mann mit den unverkennbaren Stahlklingen, bemerkenswerten Selbstheilungskräften, ruppigem Charme und einer gehörigen Portion trockenem Humor. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ erzählt die Vorgeschichte Logans mit Augenmerk auf seine mysteriöse Vergangenheit, seine komplexe Beziehung zu Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) und das ominöse Weapon X-Programm. Der Zuschauer erfährt, wer Wolverine wirklich ist…

Duplicity:
CIA-Offizier Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) und MI6-Agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) standen früher im Geheimdienst ihrer Regierungen. Derzeit haben sie in die Privatwirtschaft gewechselt, um mit lukrativen Verträgen das meiste aus dem Kalten Krieg herauszuholen. Beide jagen jeweils für ihre Bosse Tully (Tom Wilkinson) und Garsik (Paul Giamatti) einem milliardenschweren Patent nach. Keiner ahnt, dass sie eine heimliche Affäre und eigene Pläne haben…

Männersache:
Tagsüber arbeitet Paul (Mario Barth) in einer Berliner Zoohandlung und abends an seiner Karriere als Komiker. Zugegeben, seine Auftritte laufen mies… bis Paul anfängt, Witze über seinen besten Freund Hotte (Dieter Tappert) und dessen Freundin Susi (Anja Kling) zu reißen. Auf einmal läuft es auf der Bühne: Pauls Gags über Hottes Beziehungsgeschichten, nicht enden wollende Shopping-Orgien von Susi und den Pärchen Kaffeeklatsch bei den Schwiegereltern sind ein Renner…

State of Play – Stand der Dinge:
Ein junger aufstrebender Politiker und ein Washingtoner Enthüllungsreporter finden sich mitten im Epizentrum einer Reihe von Morden wieder, die nur scheinbar nichts miteinander zu tun haben. Der Kongressabgeordnete Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) ist Hoffnung und Zukunft seiner Partei – ein aussichtsreicher und ehrenhafter Newcomer, unter anderem im Vorsitz des Komitees für Verteidigungsausgaben…

Weitere Informationen, auch Top 100 Liste, erhalten Sie hier

Il tredicesimo piano è un film di fantascienza del 1999, diretto da Josef Rusnak, che narra le vicende di un programmatore che si ritrova invischiato in un’avventura al limite tra la realtà e un mondo virtuale.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Fantascienza | Josef Rusnak | Craig Bierko | Armin Mueller-Stahl

"I wish I'd worn a scarf..." "I told ya to bring one."

R

Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl

Wilhelm: That’s the difference between truth and fiction…fiction has to make sense.

I probably won’t get this right, but I’ll try.

Louis Salinger (Owen) is an Interpol agent who witnesses a fellow agent murdered while meeting with an IBBC employee who is going to give them info about shady dealings within the bank.  Salinger, and his U.S. counterpart, Eleanor Whitman (Watts), make it their mission to discover who is responsible for the agent’s death and what kind of other illegal activity is going on within the IBBC.

Well, let’s see, in the 80’s it was the Russians who were the go-to villains in thrillers.  In the 90’s we moved along to Middle Eastern/Arab villains.  In the early to mid 2000’s, things shifted to vaguely European guys (often assisted by some American traitors).  Now…it’s the banks.  The banks are the villains, and what a powerful villain they are indeed.

They will kill anybody they need to if it means protecting their interests in weapons deals and war-mongering.  Even if they have to have a big shootout in the New York Guggenhem Museum.  That’s one of those scenes where 6 million rounds are fired, but our hero is only nicked once, while everybody else gets shot full of holes.

Speaking of our hero, Clive Owen is playing yet another part that could be described as James-Bond-light, in my opinion.  He’s not as suave or capable, but he’s still hopping from country to country, hunting down super-villains, and using spy equipment.  He doesn’t get to romance the girl, however, as Whitman is happily married and has children.  She doesn’t shy away from getting in the thick of things, though, even finding herself on the wrong side of a car windshield.  Unfortunately, she’s kinda brushed aside by Salinger late in the game, and disappears from the proceedings so that Salinger can do all the really dangerous stuff on his own.

I’ll admit it, even if it makes me sound a little slow, this movie confused me.  There are so many names and faces to remember that every time a character pops up, you’re left wondering if you’ve already heard about him or have even seen him before in the movie.  “Clement?  Was he the guy at the beginning?  In the car?  Who’s Skarssen?  Have we met him yet?”  I’m usually good about following movies, but that’s a pretty good sampling of what my internal thought process was during the movie.  Though, eventually it just shifted to, “I give up.  Can we just kill some of these people off?  That would simplify things.”  Happily, the movie obliged.

I guess I also just don’t find the high stakes world of banking, money laundering, weapons dealing, etc all that interesting.  When there are multiple scenes with multiple characters going on and on about that sort of thing, my mind tends to wander.  Far far away.  I did, however, enjoy the sequence where they’re trying to solve an assassination.  I like detective work like that, even if some of the clues and revelations were a little hokey in this case.

In the end, whether or not you’ll enjoy this one probably comes down to the subject matter.  If you like this kind of espionage thriller, with people in fancy suits talking about money and arms deals, then you’ll probably like this one alright.  It looks nice, the acting is solid, and it doesn’t go overboard with too much crazy action (though, the fast cut editing style is intrusive at times).  Most of that stuff doesn’t interest me much, so I only mildly enjoyed it.

Banks = evil.  Duh.

10 – 2.3 for being so darned confusing – 1.1 for too much dry conversation about random characters and shady dealings – .2 for tossing Naomi aside for the last 15 minutes or so! = 6.4

So, am vergangenen Wochenende sah ich bei meiner Freundin den deutschen Film “Ich bin die Andere”, konnte den Film bis dato nicht wirklich einem Genre zuordnen; jetzt, wo ich den Film gesehen habe, muss ich gestehen, dass ich es immer noch nicht wirklich kann.

Es geht um einen Architekten (August Diehl), der bei einer Geschäftsreise die Dienste einer Prostituierten (Katja Riemann) in Anspruch nimmt, die gleiche Person aber am nächsten Tag bei der Arbeit sieht, doch eben diese erkennt ihn nicht mehr und scheint wie ausgewechselt zu sein. Er erkennt, dass in ihr mehrere Personen leben und findet heraus, wie verkorkst sie und ihre Familie ist, doch er ist besessen von ihr und deswegen tritt er in Konflikt mit ihrem kranken, nahezu psychopathischen Vater (Armin Mueller-Stahl).

Der Film ist von der Idee her gar nicht mal schlecht. Es geht um die Liebe und wie man sie auf verschiedene Wege empfindet, manchmal ist der Film ein wenig langatmig und er ist einfach ZU merkwürdig. Er ist ziemlich düster und teilweise zu extrem in seinen Handlungen. Hoch zu loben sind allerdings alle drei Hauptpersonen, die grandios gespielt haben.

Fazit: Menschen, die deutsche Filme mögen, auch welche, die noch mal ganz abseits der Norm sind, werden bestens unterhalten, alle anderen sollten den Film meiden.

Der Womanizer

Bitte Lächeln – und Knips! Machen Sie sich ein Bild von Mode-Fotograf Connor, der seine Freiheit liebt und seine Freundinnen nach Lust und Laune abserviert.

In der Nacht der Ex-Freundinnen führen ihm drei ganz besondere Geister alle seine gescheiterten Beziehungen vor: Der Womanizer.

Auch eine junge Bankangestellte bekommt es mit übernatürlichen Erscheinungen zu tun, als eine alte Zigeunerin sie mit einem mächtigen Fluch belegt. Ob Drag Me to Hell der Verbannung entkommen kann, flüstert Video Buster Ihnen in der Filmkritik.

Gespenstisch geht es dann weiter, denn dort werfen die Halloween-Collection und ein Star aus Trick’r Treat ihre Schatten voraus.

Top-Film: Der Womanizer
Der Junggeselle Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) gehört zu den Typen, die drei Freundinnen den Laufpass geben. Gleichzeitig. Per Telefonkonferenz. Auf der Hochzeitsfeier seines Bruders hat er also nur ein Ziel: Er will die einzige Brautjungfer herumkriegen, die er bisher irgendwie übersehen hat… Filmperlen Bewertung ***

Filmkritik: Drag Me to Hell
Verflucht! Sam Raimi kehrt zurück in unsere heimischen Player. Höllisch gut oder zum Gruseln schlecht?

TOP 10 bei Video Buster:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Hugh Jackman schlüpft wieder in die Rolle, die ihn zum Superstar machte: Wolverine – der Mann mit den unverkennbaren Stahlklingen, bemerkenswerten Selbstheilungskräften, ruppigem Charme und einer gehörigen Portion trockenem Humor. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ erzählt die Vorgeschichte Logans mit Augenmerk auf seine mysteriöse Vergangenheit, seine komplexe Beziehung zu Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) und das ominöse Weapon X-Programm. Der Zuschauer erfährt, wer Wolverine wirklich ist.

Slumdog Millionär
Für Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) ist es der größte Tag seines bisherigen Lebens. Nur noch eine Frage trennt ihn vom 20 Millionen Rupien-Hauptgewinn in Indiens TV- Show ‘Wer wird Millionär?’. Doch was in aller Welt hat ein mittelloser Youngster aus den Slums von Mumbai in dieser Sendung verloren? Und wie kommt es, dass er auf alle Fragen eine Antwort weiß…

Duplicity
CIA-Offizier Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) und MI6-Agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) standen früher im Geheimdienst ihrer Regierungen. Derzeit haben sie in die Privatwirtschaft gewechselt, um mit lukrativen Verträgen das meiste aus dem Kalten Krieg herauszuholen. Beide jagen jeweils für ihre Bosse Tully (Tom Wilkinson) und Garsik (Paul Giamatti) einem milliardenschweren Patent nach. Keiner ahnt, dass sie eine heimliche Affäre und eigene Pläne haben…

Männersache
Tagsüber arbeitet Paul (Mario Barth) in einer Berliner Zoohandlung und abends an seiner Karriere als Komiker. Zugegeben, seine Auftritte laufen mies… bis Paul anfängt, Witze über seinen besten Freund Hotte (Dieter Tappert) und dessen Freundin Susi (Anja Kling) zu reißen. Auf einmal läuft es auf der Bühne: Pauls Gags über Hottes Beziehungsgeschichten, nicht enden wollende Shopping-Orgien von Susi und den Pärchen Kaffeeklatsch bei den Schwiegereltern sind ein Renner…

The International
Im Mittelpunkt steht die Entschlossenheit von Interpol-Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) und der New Yorker Staatsanwältin Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), eine der mächtigsten Banken der Welt zu Fall zu bringen. Während sie eine Reihe illegaler Aktivitäten aufdecken, folgen Salinger und Whitman der Spur des Geldes von Berlin nach Mailand, New York und Istanbul. Bald schon befinden sie sich mitten in einer hochriskanten Hetzjagd rund um den Globus, bei der sie durch ihre kompromisslose Hartnäckigkeit auch ihr eigenes Leben aufs Spiel setzen…

Defiance – Unbeugsam
Kriegsjahr 1941: Zu Tausenden werden Juden in der Sowjetrepublik Weißrussland von den Nazis ermordet. Darunter auch die Eltern und weitere Familienangehörige der drei Bielski-Brüder. Um ihre nackte Haut zu retten, fliehen sie in die undurchdringlichen Wälder der Umgebung. Als sich die Kunde ihres Partisanenkampfes gegen die deutschen Besatzer verbreitet, stoßen immer mehr verzweifelte jüdische Landsleute zu ihnen. Unter der Leitung von Tuvia Bielski bereitet sich die Notgemeinschaft auf die unabsehbar lange Zeit im Versteck und den harten Winter vor…

Willkommen bei den Sch’tis
Der Postbeamte und Südfranzose Philippe Abrams (Kad Merad) wird unfreiwillig in den rauen Norden versetzt – zu den Sch’tis, wie die ‘Ureinwohner’ wegen ihres Dialekts genannt werden. Zwei Welten prallen aufeinander! Schnell merkt Philippe, dass er den Sch’ti-Dialekt zwar überhaupt nicht versteht, die Menschen aber unglaublich herzlich sind…

Der fremde Sohn
Los Angeles, 1928. Die alleinerziehende Mutter Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) verabschiedet sich morgens von ihrem Sohn Walter und geht zur Arbeit. Am Abend ist der Neunjährige spurlos verschwunden. Fünf verzweifelte Monate später bringt ihr die Polizei einen Jungen, doch Christine ist überzeugt: das ist nicht ihr Sohn! Die Behörden tun alles, um Christine zum Schweigen zu bringen, aber die kämpft unbeirrt weiter. Ihre Suche nach der Wahrheit bringt einen Sumpf aus Korruption und Lügen ans Licht, erschüttert die Öffentlichkeit und verändert L.A. für immer…

Appaloosa
Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) und Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) werden als Unterstüzung gegen die Herrschaft des Ranchers Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) in einer kleinen Stadt angeheuert. Schnell bekommen sie die Situation in Griff. Als jedoch die junge attraktive Witwe Allison French (Renée Zellweger) anreist, ändern sich die Pläne für die beiden…

Hilde

Hilde
Hildegard Knef geht einen langen Weg, bis sie zu sich selbst findet: Aus bedrückenden familiären Verhältnissen gelingt ihr der Sprung in die Schauspielausbildung, doch in den letzten Kriegswirren zählt nur mehr das blanke Überleben. Nach Filmerfolgen und Fehlgriffen, falschen und richtigen Männern, lähmender Langeweile in Hollywood und einer turbulenten Hass-Liebe mit dem deutschen Publikum muss die Kämpfernatur Hilde lernen, dass manchmal andere Dinge zählen als der Ellenbogenkampf im Showbiz: In ihrer eigenen Geschichte und im Inneren ihrer Seele findet sie die Substanz für die ‘Hilde’, auf die sie selbst aber auch das deutsche Publikum immer gewartet hat… Einer der deutschen Lebenswege nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Hildegard Knef war die Sünderin, ein Kinotraum, ein Weltstar, eine Ikone. Und sehr, sehr cool. Dies ist ihr Leben.

Filmperlen-Tipps zu Halloween
Die lange (Film-) Nacht des Grauens…
Ob Sie nun einen privaten Halloween-Abend planen und zu Ihrer orange-schwarzen Dekoration neben einem ekeligen Büffet mit Kürbissuppe noch die richtig unheimliche Filmkost reichen möchten, oder sich ganz einfach mal wieder im Heimkino erschrecken lassen wollen: Video Buster hat viele höllisch gute Vertreter und einige ‘Geist-reiche’ Filmvorschläge versammelt. Grausige Gestalten, schauderhafte Schauplätze, mörderische Träume. Nebel zieht auf… das Böse stirbt nie. Oder doch?
Bloß nicht erschrecken lassen – buh!
Freitag, der 13. (2009) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Der Fluch der 2 Schwestern (2009)
Der Nebel (2007) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Das Omen (2006) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
The Descent (2005)
Saw (2004)
Gothika (2003)
Ring (2002) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Haus der 1000 Leichen (2002)
Final Destination (2000)
Das Geisterschloss (1999) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Haunted Hill (1999) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Blair Witch Project (1999) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Scream – Schrei! (1996) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Candyman’s Fluch (1992)
Stephen King’s ES (1990) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Friedhof der Kuscheltiere (1989)
Nightmare on Elm Street – Mörderische Träume (1984)
Poltergeist (1982)
Tanz der Teufel (1982)
Stanley Kubricks Shining (1980) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
The Fog – Nebel des Grauens (1980) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Amityville Horror (1979) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Carrie – Des Satans jüngste Tochter (1976) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Das Omen (1976) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Die Wiege des Bösen (1974) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Der Exorzist (1973) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Filmperlen Bewertung ****
Night of the living dead – Die Nacht der lebenden Toten (1968)
Tanz der Vampire (1967) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Der schwarze Abt (1963)
Freaks – Missgestaltete (1932)
Dracula (1931) Filmperlen Bewertung ***
Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922). Filmperlen Bewertung ***    Mehr über Video Buster erfahren Sie hier:  Video Buster – Erleben Sie Hollywood mit dem Filmtipp der Woche!

Die Buddenbrooks

Die Buddenbrooks
DVD mit Armin Müller-Stahl

Lübeck in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Die alteingesessene Kaufmannsfamilie von Konsul Jean und Konsulin Bethsy Buddenbrook hat im Getreidehandel über Generationen ihr Glück gemacht und genießt, gesellschaftlich anerkannt, mit ihren drei Kindern Thomas, Christan und Tony das Leben einer wohlhabenden Patrizierfamilie in einer aufstrebenden Wirtschaftsmetropole.

Im Universum der Buddenbrooks ist das Private mit dem Geschäftlichen untrennbar verbunden. Familie und Firma sind eins. Persönliche Bedürfnisse treten hinter den sozialen Status zurück. Die Lebendwege der drei Buddenbrooks-Erben sind vorbestimmt:

Von den Söhnen wird das Erlernen des Kaufmannsberufs und seine Ausübung zum Wohle der Firma erwartet, für Tochter Jenny ist eine standesgemäße Ehe vorgesehen.

In Anlehnung an den mit bedeutendsten Gesellschaftsroman von Thomas Mann, der für diese Werk 1929 mit dem Nobelpreis für Literatur ausgezeichnet wurde, schaffen die Autoren einen Film, der fesselt, anrührt und mitreißt. Das nicht zuletzt durch die hochkarätige Besetzung mit namhaften und beliebten deutschen Schauspielerinnen und Schauspielern.

Darsteller: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Lea Bosco, Iris Berben, Justus von Dohnanyi, Sunnyi Melles, André Hennicke, August Diehl, Jessica Schwarz, Sylvester Groth, Martin Feifel, Nina Proll, Raban Bieling, Elert Bode, Teresa Harder, Thomas Meinhardt, Maximilian von Pufendorf, Josef Ostendorf, Leonard Proxauf, Nicholas Reinke, Tonio Arango, Alexander Fehling, Katharina M. Schubert, Martin Horn, Mark Waschke, Jan-Hendrik Kiefer, Jan Peter Heyne, Maja Schöne, Ina Holst, Frank-Leo Schröder, Fedja van Huêt, Ariella Hirshfeld, Wolfgang Hinze, Krijn ter Braak, Daniela Merz, Hannah Corogil, Cas Enklaar, Christoph Michel, Matthias Deutelmoser, Tim Reingruber, Michael Abendroth. Filmperlen Bewertung *****

Illuminati mit Tom Hanks

Illuminati
mit Tom Hanks

Robert Langdon entdeckt Beweise, dass die mächtigste Untergrundbewegung der Geschichte, ein uralter konspirativer Geheimbund, den man als Die Illuminati kennt, wiederauferstanden ist. Kurz darauf wird er damit konfrontiert, dass die katholische Kirche, der zutiefst verhasste Erzfeind der Illuminaten, einer tödlichen, existenzvernichtenden Bedrohung ausgesetzt ist.

Nachdem Langdon herausgefunden hat, dass eine unaufhaltbare Illuminati-Zeitbombe tickt, die noch am gleichen Tag zu explodieren droht, fliegt er unverzüglich nach Rom, wo er sich mit der schönen und rätselhaften italienischen Wissenschaftlerin Vittoria Vetra zusammentut.

Gemeinsam machen sie sich auf zu einer atemlosen, actionreichen Hetzjagd quer durch die ewige Stadt, durch versiegelte Krypten, gefährliche Katakomben, verlassene Kathedralen und sogar mitten hinein ins Herz des geheimsten und best bewachten Grabgewölbes der Welt.

Langdon und Vetra folgen einer 400 Jahre alten Spur altertümlicher Symbole, auf der die einzige Hoffnung für das Überleben des Vatikans ruht…

Das Team hinter dem weltweiten Phänomen The Da Vinci Code – Sakrileg kehrt zurück mit der mit Hochspannung erwarteten Verfilmung von (Illuminati), basierend auf dem gleichnamigen Bestseller von Dan Brown. Tom Hanks greift seine Rolle als Harvard- Professor Robert Langdon wieder auf.

Erneut findet der Experte für Kunstgeschichte und religiöse Symbolik heraus, dass altertümliche Mächte mit weit zurückliegenden Wurzeln vor nichts halt machen, noch nicht einmal vor Mord, um ihre Ziele zu verwirklichen.

Ron Howard führt wieder Regie, als Produzenten fungieren Brian Grazer, Ron Howard und John Calley. Das Drehbuch stammt von Akiva Goldsman und David Koepp.

Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) entdeckt Beweise, dass die mächtigste Untergrundbewegung der Geschichte, ein uralter konspirativer Geheimbund, den man als Die Illuminati kennt, wiederauferstanden ist. Kurz darauf wird er damit konfrontiert, dass die katholische Kirche, der zutiefst verhasste Erzfeind der Illuminaten, einer tödlichen, existenzvernichtenden Bedrohung ausgesetzt ist.

Nachdem Langdon herausgefunden hat, dass eine unaufhaltbare Illuminati-Zeitbombe tickt, die noch am gleichen Tag zu explodieren droht, fliegt er unverzüglich nach Rom, wo er sich mit der schönen und rätselhaften italienischen Wissenschaftlerin Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) zusammentut.

Gemeinsam machen sie sich auf zu einer atemlosen, actionreichen Hetzjagd quer durch die ewige Stadt, durch versiegelte Krypten, gefährliche Katakomben, verlassene Kathedralen – und sogar mitten hinein ins Herz des geheimsten und best bewachten Grabgewölbes der Welt. Langdon und Vetra folgen einer 400 Jahre alten Spur altertümlicher Symbole, auf der die einzige Hoffnung für das Überleben des Vatikans ruht.

Illuminati

Der Kinostart von Ron Howards The Da Vinci Code – Sakrileg gehörte 2006 zu den aufsehenerregendsten Medienereignissen überhaupt und wurde weltweit mit größter Spannung erwartet. Nur wenige Filme zuvor haben ähnlich viel Aufmerksamkeit erregt.

Und auch Illuminati kann jetzt schon zu den absoluten Highlights des Kinojahres 2009 gerechnet werden. In der Hauptrolle agiert erneut Oscar®-Preisträger Tom Hanks als Robert Langdon. An seiner Seite spielen Ayelet Zurer (8 Blickwinkel, München), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episode I-III), Stellan Skarsgård (Dogville, Fluch der Karibik) und Armin Mueller-Stahl (Die Buddenbrooks, The International).

Darsteller: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ewan McGregor, Skoti Collins, Tom Hanks, Stellan Skarsgård, Carmen Argenziano, Elya Baskin, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Norbert Weisser, Pierfrancesco Favino, David Pasquesi, Thure Lindhardt, Ayelet Zurer, Endre Hules, Pascal Petardi, Curt Lowens, Ed Francis Martin, Richard Schimmelpfenneg, Gino Conforti, Joel Shock, Dave Johnson, Cosimo Fusco, Ursula Brooks, Stephen Sepher, Paul Richard, Masasa Moyo, Shelby Zemanek, Bryan Friday, James Tumminia, Michael Arturo, Rashmi Yan Cuikl, Calvin Deanm, Kristof Konrad, Jonas Fisch, Ted Hollis, Luca Costa, Kimberley Joseph, Luis Fernandez-Gil, Craig Seitz, Laura Mary Clarke, Jon Lucero, Jason Ciok, Allen Dula, Arlo Hemphill, Peggy Lane, Victor Alfieri, Michael Patrick Breen, Nancy Guerriero, Jerred Berg, Les Feltmate, Aaron Denius Garcia, Jeffrey Boehm, Bacha Chilaia, Cristy Joy Slavis, August Fredrik, Shervin Davatgar. Trailer. Filmperlen Bewertung ****

I watched “Angels & Demons” expecting escapist entertainment, because really, expecting anything else from a film based on a Dan Brown novel is just silly — I have not read “Angels & Demons”, but I read “The DaVinci Code” and if there’s one thing it teaches us, is that there is such a thing as an overwritten plot (and that, okay, bashing the Catholic Church is fun). I fully expected that for this film, with fast-paced editing to hide all the holes in it and expositional dialogue to make sure the audience could keep up with all the mythology and symbology, because it’s a well-known fact the audience is fully comprised of utter morons like myself who need arrows pointing to the screen in a movie theather so they know where to look at.

And even with my hopes low enough to be capable of withstanding an Aaron Seltzer/Jason Friedberg spoof flick for five or six minutes before slamming my own head with a car door, “Angels & Demons” still managed to fall many miles below said hopes and the more I think about the film, the more its quality approaches the center of the Earth.

In the film, scientists have managed to produce antimatter with the Large Hadron Collider. Right after they do it, the capsule containing the antimatter is stolen by a hired gun. Soon, the battery keeping the antimatter suspended in vacuum will run out of power, which will result in a huge — yes. In other words, the movie simply uses the antimatter as a glorified (and very preposterous) nuke, and the only reason it’s antimatter and not any other kind of powerful bomb is because the plot needed an explosive device that could be made by the Large Hadron Collider (which, in real life, it can’t make anyway), for the sake of pretentious “Science vs. Religion” symbolism (something Ron Howard very subtly depicts by interrupting the flow of the movie to show a bunch of cardinals using cameras and cellphones like that’s a groundbreaking revelation or clever irony). How the hired gun knew the antimatter experiment would be successful, and why he didn’t look for a less complicated bomb, is cleverly left unexplained by the film, since any attempts to actually explain it would certainly result in utter embarassment. Shame the film stops caring about not embarassing itself in a matter of minutes.

The Vatican is about to choose the next fanatic moron to lead them and wear that remarkably goofy hat, since the previous pope has just died. However, the four favorite cardinals have been kidnapped by the same hired gun who stole the antimatter. He claims he will kill one of them every hour, starting at 8 pm, until the battery of the antimatter capsule runs out at midnight. Cry your heart out, Anton Chigurh. You spend an entire movie hunting a redneck with a briefcase and meanwhile this guy steals antimatter and kidnaps four cardinals in the first minutes of the film. However, I think this is because Chigurh is a character in an actually good movie with a believable plot. Also, the Swiss Guard are not depicted as very intelligent or efficient people in “Angels & Demons”, since their reaction to finding a cardinal immediately after he’s attacked is to stare at him dramatically as he dies instead of hunting the killer who is very possibly still around.

With the antimatter stolen and four cardinals kidnapped, the Swiss Guard turns to Robert Langdon, a symbologist who seems to think everyone around him is retarded, judging by how he finds it necessary to use Italian terms mixed in with English sentences and then translate said terms to characters who either speak or are Italian. This is especially dickish of him since he’s a religious symbologist who, in two scenes, needs help to read Italian and, for fuck’s sake, Latin. Granted, all the characters in the film have this overpowering urge to explain everything. Every time someone mentions a religious term, someone else describes it. Or the character himself does. A particularly hilarious moment is when Langdon says “You didn’t tell me they were the preferiti — the favorites to be named the next pope”. And when your character feels the need to explain what the preferiti are to the Swiss Guard — your dialogue is shit. That or your character is a pedantic asshole.

But really, I should have realized that this being a film co-written by Akiva Goldsman, I’d have to be dead and in Hell to enjoy it. Yes, the usually very competent David Koepp is the other writer, but according to imdb.com, he was hired to re-write the script. My guess is that he read it and realized the only way to re-write it would be to throw it in the fire and start over, but probably there wasn’t time for that, so he threw in one or two passable lines of dialogue and called it a day — hopefully moving to a better project that is more suitable to the man who wrote my favorite film, “Carlito’s Way”.

It isn’t only the dialogue being absurdly badly-written and the plot preposterous that ruins this film — it’s also extremely predictable. And the really pathetic part is that it tries its best to hide who the villain is — and that’s precisely why it’s so easy to figure that out. (Rest of this paragraph might reveal the villain, so spoiler warning, if you care) The writers pretty much put a halo in his head and treat him as a complete saint, while making the other characters unreasonable by contrast. They even go as far as hiring an actor who usually plays good guys for said role, while the other ones have played proeminent villains in other productions. And if you’ve ignored the spoiler warning and this reveals who the villain is for you, really, I doubt the movie would be more successful in fooling you. If it is, maybe you’ve hit your head recently.

However, what truly destroys this film and makes it such a disaster is how pretentious it is. It actually thinks it has something relevant to say about the ongoing debate (and in several cases, war) between Religion and Science. In fact, the characters feel the need to spell the movie’s simplistic message out for us, the poor misleaded audience, in case we have failed to grasp it. And at the same time, “Angels & Demons” ignores that it has invalidated its own message — and if at this point you still care about spoilers, don’t read the rest of this paragraph (or the entire review, since I’m not being too careful with spoilers anyway) — it is revealed the Illuminati do not exist in this film and are used as a deception by the villain, who is a Catholic fanatic. In other words, this whole mess has originated within the Church and there is no war between Science and Religion at all. The blame falls squarely on the Catholic Church alone. This explains why, in the ending, when a character says there is room for Religion and Science in the world, I wanted to claw my own eyeballs out.

There’s also the plotholes, of course. The executions of the preferiti are supposed to be public in order to achieve the desired effect, and yet most of them would have gone unnoticed if Langdon hadn’t found the bodies; the Great Elector says there will be no election without the preferiti, and half an hour later there he is trying to elect the new pope without them; and not only the movie fictionalizes some Vatican procedure (the Camerlengo is not as powerful as the pope during his absence, as depicted), but it fictionalizes science as well. Not only the depiction of antimatter is very dodgy, but for the love of Albert Einstein, since when taking a nuke (or antimatter that acts like a nuke) about a mile above the ground is a way of preventing destruction? Nukes detonate on the air for maximum impact — otherwise the ground soaks up a good portion of it. So when a character takes the nuke/antimatter/whatever to the skies in a helicopter, the other characters should have been trying to shoot it down with an RPG or something — but maybe then they remembered they’re in a film written by Akiva Goldsman based on a Dan Brown novel and relaxed.

The movie adds another interruption to the story so the Camerlengo can deliver a speech about Science vs. Religion that once again reiterates the film’s stupidity. “Who is more ignorant: the man who cannot define lightning, or the man who does not respect its natural awesome power?”, like you cannot both define it and respect it — and in fact, it’s thanks to attempts to understand electrical power that there is such a thing as a lightning rod. But the real gem is “There are things Science is too young to understand,” — and meanwhile the Bible claims the world was made a few thousand years ago. By an invisible man in the sky.

All this and I haven’t even talked about the technical aspects yet. I will avoid talking about the cast, since not a single actor receives a good character to play in this film. All I’ll say about the actors for having accepted their roles: are you all idiots/not rich enough yet?

Director Ron Howard continues his partnership with Akiva Goldsman by directing the film which as much ability as Goldsman writes it. Howard insists on spinning his camera around the characters while zoomed in on them, which causes that epic visual effect: the object or person focused by the camera spins slowly while the unfocused scenery behind them pans much faster. This, I presume, was Howard’s desperate attempt to make up for the endless talking and explanations. He does not restrain himself and as a result his job lacks subtlety — although the script (and Hans Zimmer’ overdone chorus-filled soundtrack) already did, but still. In fact, in two occasions, when Langdon is arriving at the possible location of a murder, he is startled by sounds that could be gunshots but are revealed to be perfectly innocent sounds from the crowd — this happens twice, consecutively.

The cinematography is not bad, although it overuses lighting coming from windows in otherwise dark rooms to shadow the many, many, many dialogue scenes. But considering this film happens in the Vatican, I can’t blame it for that, really. However, the cinematography is sabotaged by the inconsistent special effects, which reach their lowest by failing to depict the flight of helicopters convincingly — but to be fair, this might be due to Howard’s overdone camera movements.

Predictable and repetivive with only one action scene worth a fuck (the shootout in the church with a man being burned), “Angels & Demons” basically believes itself relevant and smart while at the same time believing the audience to be idiots, and the final shot is so nauseatingly optimistic and so horribly misses the point I could feel the bile trying to corrode its way out of my liver.

PS: I leave some room for the possibility of the movie being actually against the Church and pretending it’s not, in a satirical fashion, considering that the plot is pretty much revealed to be the Church’s fault alone — but this does not in any way enrich the film, since it’s never brave enough to admit its beliefs or even do satire properly, if that’s indeed the case.

Night on Earth es la cuarta peli de Jim Jarmusch que fue realizada en 1991. Anoche me la ví en DVD, después que me llegaran en versión Criterion Collection, esta y otra más.

De no ser por los costos de producción para montar las filmaciones en Los Angeles, Nueva York, París, Roma y Helsinki se podría decir que es una peli de corte serie B de bajo presupuesto. Es de saber que muchos de los actores que trabajan con Jarmusch no necesarimente cobran sus astronómicos sueldos cuando trabajan al lado de él y por eso podemos encontrar en esta peli a Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder o el mismo Roberto Benigni. Aparte de ellos se puede reconocer a Giancarlo Esposito (Do The Right Thing), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises), Isaach De Bankolé (Casino Royale) y Béatrice Dalle (la bellísima Betty Blue) lo que la cataloga de una como una peli independiente (indie).

Jarmusch nos tiene acostumbrados a una sensibilidad filosófica por la humanidad y los interrogantes existencialistas que esta se hace. Esta peli no es la excepción, cinco taxistas exploran sus planes de vida, sus principios fundamentales, sus morbos, sus miedos, sus rabias, sus creencias y nos esplican que el mundo no es diferente para nadie, que tan sólo somos seres que aleatoriamente fuimos repartidos en un uso horario específico.

Muy parecido a Wenders, Jarmusch está cautivo por la escencia humana posmodernista y en ese juego involucró maravillosamente a Tom Waitts con sus letras y su música. Qué bien que suena ese circo y qué bien que la música aglutina todas las ciudades en sus historias.

Hace mucho tiempo intente leer “El código Da Vinci”, no lo logre, el libro no me gusto. Ya sé que fue un bestseller y que Dan Brown hizo millones con su obra, pero no me gusta su estilo, no me atrapó. Su narrativa me parecio muy simple, falta de figuras literarias, sin sabor, prefiero leer un libro de Gabriel Garcia Marquez o de Yasunari Kawabata (a quien estoy leyendo ahora) que torturarme con Dan Brown. Sin embargo, al comenzar a leer “El código Da Vinci” algo se hace evidente: es un guión, esta historia es perfecta para una película. Y así lo fue.

Ahorael director Ron Howards nos brinda Angels and Demons, otra saga de acción-suspenso protagonizada por el profesor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) en compañia del Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) y del Cardenal Strauss  (Armin Mueller-Stahl). El final es predecible y muy mentiroso (Spoiler: el paracaidas) , Langdon es un ungido en cuanto decifrar lo indecifrable y las actuaciones no son para una Palma de Oro.

Conclusión: si quieres entretenerte un rato y ver los lindos lugares del Vaticano, esta película es para ti.

I’ve always considered Tom Hanks to be a sort of modern Jimmy Stewart: slap him in any role and you’ve got an instantly likeable, enjoyable character. His charisma and personality has a way of infusing any character, from Forrest Gump to a gangster in Road to Perdition, with natural charm and good humour. When Hanks was tapped to play Robert Langdon in Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code, I thought it would be more of the same.

Unfortunately, Hanks didn’t come close to pulling off an interesting character and his trademark likeability was right out the window. In Howard’s Angels & Demons, in which Hanks reprises Dan Brown’s hero, it’s more of the same for poor Tom. The character is bland and wholly flat, offering nothing by way of personality or individuality to speak of. Hanks’ acting chops are entirely wasted, unfortunately.

Angels & Demons is based on Brown’s novel, which takes place before The Da Vinci Code. Brown stirred up an awful lot of trouble from confused religious people unable to tell fiction from reality and from conspiracy nuts with similar problems. Angels & Demons takes similar ground, attempting to develop a sort of dingy Catholic theology adventure story with Langdon as a low-rent Indiana Jones.

Hanks’ Langdon is tapped to head to the Vatican shortly after the death of a Pope. This surprises him, naturally, as the events of the previous film should have left him in less than ideal standing with the Church. The Church needs his skill-set as a symbologist (?) though, so it’s off to the land of smoke and mirrors he goes. When he arrives, Langdon finds himself in the middle of a plot that includes kidnapping and a group called the Illuminati.

The Illuminati is a group royally pissed at the Church for past persecution, so they’ve hatched a plan to interfere with the new Pope selection process and kill off the four top candidates for the appointment. They’re also going to destroy the Vatican c/o an antimatter vial that they stole from a nuclear research lab. Langdon’s eventual sidekick, Dr. Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), helps the effort to locate the antimatter.

Obviously Langdon is very helpful because everything the Illuminati does can be traced thanks to his knowledge of symbols and their predictable behaviour. Their plans to assassinate Church leaders coordinates with the four altars of the Path of Illumination, of course, and Langdon is able to crack this by rifling through some books in the Vatican Archives and by generally knowing a lot about symbols. Along the way, more corruption is revealed and nothing is as it seems.

If Angels & Demons sounds formulaic and ludicrous, it is. While ridiculous plots are frequently forgiven if they offer something of value, Howard’s movie doesn’t accomplish much. It’s a whole lot of rushing around the Vatican, complete with CGI renderings of important places, and a whole lot more intrigue and “shocking” revelations about Catholic Church history. There’s also a whole science vs. religion conflict occurring, but Howard plays that angle fairly safe throughout.

Hanks’ Langdon remains an entirely unlikable character throughout the film and his co-stars are of no help, including Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna and Stellan Skarsgård as Commander Maximilian Richter. Zurer looks good in the role, but she offers little other than a running partner for Langdon as he works his way through various archives, museums and sacred locations. A scene that could have provided some humour between the two is quickly discarded in favour of, you guessed it, more chasing around.

All in all, Angels & Demons is an uninteresting and predictable bore of a picture. It isn’t the worst movie of the year by any stretch of the imagination and Howard directs it well enough, but there just isn’t anything new or exciting here. As an action picture, it’s repetitive and as a film about religious mystery, it’s bland as all hell.

2.1/10

Trailer:

Sinopse: Louis Sallinger (Clive Owen) é um agente da Interpol que, juntamente com Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), a promotora de justiça de Manhattan, busca levar à justiça um dos bancos mais poderosos do mundo. Para tanto eles investigam diversas atividades ilegais, tendo que rastrear quantias espalhadas ao redor do planeta. (Adoro Cinema)

Tom Tykwer assina a direção deste longa. Ele também é o responsável pelo (até certo ponto) revolucionário Corra, Lola, Corra, de 1998, quando estreou na direção. Nunca conseguiu se manter lá no topo, mas também não foi a té o fundo do poço.

Quando o título do filme nos diz que a trama é internacional, nesse caso, pode acreditar que é. Os protagonistas cruzam o globo nessa história. Passam pela França, Alemanhã, Estados Unidos, Turquia e Itália, além de serem mencionados a Síria e Israel e focar conflitos africanos. Tudo por conta do antagonista do filme: o IBBC, quinto maior banco do mundo no filme. Isso mesmo. O vilão do filme não é uma pessoa. É uma empresa, instituição financeira.

Essa grande quantidade de lugares e viagens é justificável para mostrar o tamanho do problema no qual o agente Sallinger e sua companheira, a promotora Eleanor, se metem. Além disso, favorece muito ao filme. Novas locações, novas pessoas e novas paisagens a todo momento surgem na tela. Favorece também à fotografia, à cenografia e à trilha sonora.

É a segunda semana seguida que me deparo com um filme muito, mas muito bem montado (o anterior foi Intriga de Estado). Prova disso é a sequência mais marcante e sem fôlego do filme: o tiroteio que acontece dentro do Museu Guggenheim, em Nova Yorque. O plano sequência da cena mistura imagens reais do lugar e imagens feitas dentro de uma réplica do museu em estúdio, em Berlim. É uma das melhores cenas que vi neste ano em um filme. É uma cena típica de filmes de ação, com tiroteios, gente desesperada correndo, bandidos e mocinhos sendo baleados e sangrando… Mas todo o balé é cheio de uma coreografia linda de se ver e os aspirais da construção ficam em perfeita sincronia com toda a ação do filme.

Clive Owen e Naomi Watts nos brindam com suas costumeiras boas interpretações e ele, ao que parece, incorporou muito bem esse tipo de personagem: policial, que “não dorme”, vai até o fim, até as últimas consequências. A interação entre os dois é muito boa, com uma química perfeita e o que poderia deixar o filme chato (o falatório investigativo, as suposições legais e as especulções sobre o fio da meada) não atrapalham em nada no filme. Darei um destaque também a Armin Mueller-Stahl, um ator veteraníssimo, e que faz toda a diferença no filme. Tem o papel de Wilhelm Wexler, consultor do IBBC, e que é a peça fundamental para o desfecho do longa. Brilhante a participação dele.

Legal é que o longa começa e termina do mesmo jeito: com um close no rosto dele, Sallinger, com uma cara meio desolada. E eu acho que quem vai ficar desolado é você, se não for ver esse filme na telona do cinema. Esse também (tenho dado uma sorte danada ao escolher os filmes ou eles estão caprichando de vez?) vale a pena conferir!

Trama Internacional (The International – 2009, EUA/ING/ALE), distribuído por Columbia Pictures, um filme de Tom Tykwer, roteiro de Eric Singer, com Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen e Luca Barbareschi, Suspense/Drama/Policial, 118 min., inadequado para menores de 14 anos. Classificação:

Religion vs. Vetenskap

Tom Hanks är tillbaka som professor Langdon i uppföljaren Änglar & Demoner, baserad på Dan Browns bästsäljande bok, och som är en prequel till Da Vinci Koden. Bakom kameran hittar vi min favorit igen, nämligen Ron Howard. Howard som är en av Hollywoods främsta filmskapare, och som brukar casta in sin bror och far, tyvärr såg jag ingen Clint Howard denna gång.

Änglar & Demoner handlar om religionens “bad-boys” Illuminati och deras eviga kamp mot kyrkan. Eller ja, eg inte, det handlar om Langdon i Vatikanen som försöker stoppa Illuminati som har kidnappat 4st påve-kandidater eftersom den dåvarande påven har dött och de skall välja en ny (enkelt förklarat).

Filmen har ett bra tempo och är lika spännande som första filmen, tyvärr var den lite för komplex för mig när det gällde alla tekniska termer på många religösa saker som tex påvens hjälpreda har ett speciellt namn, ett visst rum har ett annat osv. Men det funkade ganska bra ändå och enda negativa jag eg har att säga om filmen är inte om filmen i sig. Det faktum att man var tvingad till att se den i kanske nordeuropas sämsta stolar förstörde filmen för mig, eftersom filmen är över 2 timmar lång och mitt arsle gav upp efter ca 1½ så satt man och var mer irriterad av att det kändes som om någon misshandlat ändan så den totalt tappat känslen den sista timmen. Skärpning SF, investera i era kunder om ni vill ha kvar dem!

En annan sak som jag kan förstå varför de gjort men som inte förklarar kvalitén direkt är alla dessa CGI miljöer, dvs data-animerade miljö, var så slarvigt gjorda. Med tanke på hur bra många andra filmer får till det så var det nästan pinsamt ibland att se vissa effekter. Att de är data-animerade är inte konstigt, jag har svårt att tro att de skulle få tillstånd att få filma inne i Vatikanen på det sättet vissa scener var. Speciellt med tanke på Vatikanens respons på första filmen som de allt annat än positiva till.

Änglar & Demoner: 8/10

Filmen får ett ganska högt betyg av mig ändå, den har allt jag hade förväntat mig och ett bra tempo även om filmen är över 2 timmar lång som sagt. Det är ingen actionfilm utan en smart thriller och sånt gillar jag. Det skall bli intressant hur de kommer att göra med DVD släppet, en extended version med någon kul förpackning är ett självklart köp i mitt fall. Att den har blivit sågad av mediakartellen jag gillar att kalla för MediaSverige gör mig dock förvånad, så dålig är inte denna filmen även om nu Da Vinci Koden är snäppet bättre.

MediaSverige: Aftonbladet 2/5, DN 2/5, Expressen 2/5, GP 1/5, SvD 2/6, SydSvenskan 3/5

]]> http://xcine.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/filme-trama-internacional-the-international/ Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:30:49 +0000 xcine http://xcine.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/filme-trama-internacional-the-international/

”Desliguem o celular, esqueçam dos compromissos posteriores… e foquem nesse excelente filme”

Não é um filme de ação, e sim de investigação. Se gostas, terá em ‘Trama Internacional’ uma surpreendente. Fora outras nformações trazidas com essa grande investigação que nos leva a mais reflexões.

Há nele algo bem comum: um agente tentando se redimir de um passo errado no passado. O diferencial estaria na forte pressão que o fará ficar balançado. Numa de: se não pode com o sistema, junte-se a ele. Ou, como numa fala do filme: ‘Quem sabe se o seu caminho está num que tanto evitas?’ É o que o destino colocou para o personagem de Clive Owen, o agente da Interpol Louis Salinger.

Se há atualmente, e já de conhecimento geral, o poderio de duas grandes indústrias – a bélica e a farmacêutica -, com ‘Trama Internacional’ ficamos conhecendo uma terceira, tão forte quanto: a dos bancos.

Mas antes que pensem na que causou uma recessão há pouco tempo – a do mercado imobiliário -, o banco aqui é outro. Ele aproveita-se tanto da bélica, como da farmaco para continuar no comando. Para se livrar, sem deixar pistas, de quem se põe no caminho, utiliza-se do que há de mais novo na bio-química. Até porque não há pé-de-chinelo, são todos da fina flor do jet set internacional.

Seus interesses não estão numa ‘revenda’ de armas. Seu interesse é outro… “Armas pequenas são as únicas usadas em 99% dos conflitos mundiais.” E quem compram? Ou, porque fomentam as guerrilhas sem cessar?

‘Trama Internacional’ nos leva a pensar até onde vai a ficção ao nos mostrar semelhanças com fatos reais. Se haveria algo dessa trama no FMI… Se antes existia apenas uma certeza de que pessoas físicas e jurídicas que usavam certos bancos para lavarem seus dinheiros, aqui verão as nações também fazendo isso. Assim, seria muito ingenuidade da personagem da Naomi Watts, a Promotora americana Eleanor Whitman, achar que colocará a todos no banco dos réus? A teia é mundialmente gigantesca…

Como citei no início, o filme é válido por todas as informações trazidas nessa monumental investigação. Prestem atenção a todas. Até nas ‘grandes’ informações passadas em pequenas notinhas de jornais. É a globalização a serviço da especulação financeira.

O que teria em comum a maioria das nações com conflitos internos? Pertencentes ao 3º Mundo? Se estivessem se preocupando mais com seu povo, tratariam de não gastar tanto em armas. Num desarme-se mundial. Veríamos mais falências de banqueiros. Mas por conta da paz, o povo aplaudiria. E o pior, que há quem culpe os grandes donativos no campo social aos países do 3º Mundo como sendo um vilão que impede o crescimento interno. Santa ingenuidade!

Desliguem o celular, esqueçam dos compromissos posteriores… e foquem nesse excelente filme. Que também tem cenas de ação sim: um eletrizante tiroteito dentro do Museu Guggenheim, de Nova Iorque. Não deixem de ver ‘Trama Internacional’!

Para conferir fotos, vídeos, curiosidades, notícias e mais sobre o filme: www.xcine.com.br/filme_tramainternacional.html

Campanha, ajude a movimentar a comunidade xcine no orkut : http://www.orkut.com.br/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=48138198

                                                    
                                                        (Xcimetro – Excelente)

Podem comentar

This film was interesting throughout, and thought it was just as good as The Da Vinci Code. If course working in an art field, it doesn’t hurt that they are darting from church to church in Rome looking at ancient statues doesn’t hurt a thing for me.

The only thing that really did bother me in the movie was that Ewan McGregor’s character jumped into the helicopter and took off as if he were a flying ace with hours of flight time. Yet, in a high position in the Catholic church, something that I think would take years of dedication, I really doubt he could have spent enough time flying to react like that. Oh well, we are talking about movies here. And my wife pointed out that there was mention in a line about the character doing something in aeronautics, an obvious line to justify his later actions.

Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump) was his usual inquisitive bookworm type character already developed in the previous film, and his performance was good, but nothing groundbreaking. Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises, X-Files: Fight the Future) and Stellan Skarsgård (Good Will Hunting) had the most interesting characters since their stance on the mystery at hand is not really as it seems.

This might be a movie that I will enjoy even more a second time, knowing the outcome, might pick up on more interesting details. To me this is a very entertaining film. Worth checking out.

Although I liked both X Files movies, this one is the better of the two. I am not a huge TV watcher, and I think I have only seen one episode of X-Files on TV, so you don’t have to be a die hard fan to enjoy this film. I am sure there are things placed in there for the die hard fans, but, I wouldn’t know.

This a a very in depth plot dealing with the preservation of an alien virus and the elaborate cover up that ensues once the virus has leaked out. (Hope I didn’t describe every plot of the TV series…probably did, after all it is X Files.) Lots of fun details and very clever plot twists, any mystery fan will enjoy this one.

The performances were about what I expected, but a great job of quickly defining who the main characters are and what they are about. Again, taking into consideration viewers who may not be that familiar with the series. The conversation on the roof of the building defining Scully, and the first bar scene defining Mulder. Loved seeing Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor Ed Wood) who is always wonderful and the great Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises) with a small part.

This is good exciting movie making. Lots of fun with great action and suspense. I’ve watched this one over and over and never get bored with it.

The holiest event of our time. Perfect for their return.

Após a minha saída do meu antro de adoração (aka sala de cinema), a minha ideia sobre adaptações literarias de Dan Brown saiu reforçada. Nunca se consegue fazer o que o livro tão de magnifico possui. Para quem não leu o livro (eu conheço pessoas que não o leram) o filme até é bastante agradável, mas perde a mistica conseguida através da escrita de Brown. Brown consegue mexer com os nossos mais profundos receios, mas o tarefeiro Ron Howard já não o consegue fazer. A piada dos livros de Dan Brown é sem sombra de duvida a inquietude que ele emana nas pausas entre capitulos, provocando um vontade indomável de chegar ao fim da obra. O que seria deste filme e do seu predecessor, se atrás das câmaras estivesse um Alfred Hitchcock, um Brian dePalma, um Christopher Nolan, um Gaspar Noé, um Jean-Pierre Jeunet, um Jean-Jacques Annaud ou um Marc Caro. Estes são alguns dos realizadores tratam um filme por tu e sabem realmente sacar de uma obra-prima, uma obra-prima ainda maior. Fico pelos sonhos. Ron Howard não é mau realizador, mas é muito linear. Angels and Demons é muito mais do que um thriller sobre um rapto, sobre uma bomba. É a questão do que realmente acreditamos, no que realmente é importante, no que realmente faz sentido. Tom Hanks é igual a si mesmo, sem ser brilhante, fica abaixo do que mostrou em The DaVinci Code. De salientar Ewan MacGregor que como Carmelengo surpreende a quem não conheçe este actor. De resto temos Stellan Skarsgård, Ayelet Zurar, Pierfrancesco Favino, Armin Mueller-Stahl e Nikolaj Lie Kaas.

Ok, nós confessamos. Ontem estivemos no Hi5 Porcas.

Vale a pena deixar de ver a bola e a caneca da cerveja a aquecer para ver isto