I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started this film. But I found this depiction of two suicide bombers to be very engrossing. There was no thought of stopping this to watch the rest later. Overall, I thought the film did a great job of depicting the two main characters as men struggling with the issues of their existence on a daily basis. The film was also shot in Nablus at considerable risk. The shots of Nablus alone made it worth watching for me. Whenever I talk to students about the Middle East suicide bombers often come up because their motivation is so intriguing. This film is like that opening discussion, it seeks to understand and show the circumstances that lead people to take their own lives. It also does a pretty convincing job of showing the faults of the tactics. The only people who I developed strong feelings against were the men running the resistance. The story takes many interesting turns to keep us wondering about what decision the men would make right up until the end. I only give this film an A- because of the woman and Khaled. It seemed like her affection escalated a little too quickly and his transformation also seemed a little abrupt. However, they probably acted that way because of the short time frame of the film.
I definitely have a pro muppet bias, but am also aware that these movies can be a little slow lacking. That was true for the first part of this film as Kermit struggled to make it in the big city. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie, it is fun to watch and provides some of the stuff that only muppets can do.
This was my first Jarmusch movie, but I don’t think it will be my last. I read one review of this film that said “this is the one that catapulted Jim Jarmusch to the forefront of obscure American cinema in the 1980’s.” Now I don’t know what it means to be at the forefront of obscurity, but this is a surprisingly fun movie. Tom Waits and the pimp are both kind of interesting, quiet, surly white guys who go down strangley similar paths to get thrown in prison. In prison they are joinned by Roberto Benigni, who gives them a way to interact and makes the whole thing a lot more pleasant.
Jarmush takes his time with the story and has many shots with engaging framing. But I did feel like Benigni was kind of the MVP. He gives the depressing story line a delicious splash of spice that also brings out the flavor of the films other ingredients.
I cannot place it, but I remember a scene in a movie where a character related his crime fighting exploits by saying “I felt like Serpico.” Who is this Serpico character, I thought to myself. I knew it was a vintage Al Pacino performance about a cop in New York.
What I learned was that the film is based on a true story and it is not just another cop movie. The pace is slow yet tense with the only real soundtrack being several Pacino tirades. I liked that the occasional violence was a big deal, even though it was nothing compared to what we might see in Bad Boys. There aren’t any diabolical mastermind villians, just some crime and some beauracratic corruption. Pacino does a convincing job with a tricky character. Serpico is a counter-culture idealist working in an uber conservative organization. It is fun to watch Serpico interact with the squares that he works with.
I don’t rank the film higher because it didn’t leave me with that feeling of intense engagement that I got from The Hustler. I don’t feel the need to tell all my friends to go out and see this movie, but it is absolutley worth watching.
This movie made my head hurt. There were so many impossible missions that they built up the last one by saying it was more impossible than getting into the CIA (most impossible ever), showed him getting in, then showed him getting out. I was actually kind of relieved because I couldn’t take anymore near escapes. But then, they blew it with a ridiculous frogger-like scene.
I also have gotten a little tired of Cruise’s action hero. I guess that is where the money is and he needs it to support his Scientology habit. Plus, it makes him feel young enough to get with a 24 year old. So that probably helps.
Though the bad guy was good, he did now wow like some reviews said. Still, I was relieved when he was in scenes because I was confident he would improve them. One of many ridiculous parts of the film is the two younger members of Cruise’s team. And there are plenty of shaky camera action scenes to go around.
