Hilariously wacky black comedy about a department store salesman whose comfortable life is turned upside down after he is passed over for a promotion. A modern, hip sensibility is beautifully integrated with deeply serious events, in this thoroughly winning Spanish farce. Indeed his life spins so wildly out of control, the results are delightfully ridiculous. Actress Mónica Cervera is particularly effective as Lourdes, a co-worker he would rather have nothing to do with.
Archive for 2004
The Perfect Crime
Posted in Comedy, Crime, Thriller with tags 2004 on October 16, 2009 by Mark HobinI Heart Huckabees
Posted in Comedy, Drama with tags 2004 on August 27, 2009 by Mark Hobin
Two private eyes that help people “find themselves”, are hired by an environmentalist to make sense of his own life. Unqualified disaster of a film feels like an acting exercise in search of a coherent plot. Muddled comedy is dull, meandering and disorganized. A staggering waste of genuine talent. Director David O. Russell abuses his actors in an effort to exercise his pseudo-intellectual ruminations on existentialism for the sole apparent purpose of just being weird. If seeing Jude Law in a blonde wig breastfeeding Jason Schwartzman sounds funny to you, please tune in. All others should avoid this lousy piece of bombastic trash.
Undertow
Posted in Drama, Thriller with tags 2004 on February 16, 2009 by Mark Hobin
Southern Gothic tale of a family in crisis. Jamie Bell plays Chris Munn, a volatile teen who runs away from home, bringing his sickly brother along. Deel Munn, the boys’ uncle, pursues them. Why, is a question best left answered by watching the movie. However, the reason will be the only excitement you’ll find in this rather uninteresting film. The random characters the boys meet along the way are a poor excuse for a plot. Two plusses: another great score by master composer Philip Glass and some stylish cinematography by Tim Orr.
Dear Frankie
Posted in Drama with tags 2004 on August 20, 2008 by Mark Hobin
Utterly charming, family drama about a mother who, out of love for her 9 year old son, maintains a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father. Bittersweet and touching, this film tugs at your emotions, not in a manipulative way, but genuinely, with a heartwarming story. British director Shona Auerbach is clearly talented so it’s a puzzle why she has yet to direct another film.
District B13
Posted in Action, Crime, Science Fiction with tags 2004 on August 10, 2008 by Mark Hobin
Kinetically charged, action thriller from France filled with dizzying stunt sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects. The stars David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli, both real stuntmen, join forces to do battle against a notorious gang leader who gets his hands on a nuclear warhead. If you love action flicks, you owe it to yourself to see this film!
Fast Film Reviews 