The Lotus-eater's Movie Reviews

The Golden Compass
Directed By Chris Weitz
Rating
Yet another movie that oversimplifies the book. Now anyone who's read Pullman's trilogy will know about the theories the author expounds at every chance. The movie cuts most of the 'philosophy' and insists on torturing us with extended scenes of the ruler-like Mrs Coulter and the monkey. If I thought there was a silver lining in all of this, it's Pantalaimon's voice. Truly gentle and androgynous creature. Sister says Dakota Blue Richards resembles the guy who played Faramir, David Wyndham. I think she's not off the mark.

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Directed By Francis Ford Coppola
Rating
What can one say when confronted by drivel such as this? Who cares if it's Francis Ford Coppola? The man deserves no special hushed reverence. He's not Stanley Kubrick. The movie is unnecessarily erotic. Mina and Lucy become lesbians when the Demeter arrives; Jonathan Harker - portrayed to fantastic wooden perfection by the bewildered Reeves - gets bitten in the wrong places by topless bitch vampires; Van Helsing, my only favourite thing in Stoker's collective oeuvre, is as lusty as the rest of the crazies when he slobbers all over Mina's non-existant boobs. I could go on. Eroticism aside, what's up with the misleading title? It's Coppola's Dracula not Stoker's. What the director did was simple and effective - in toppling the integrity of Dracula's profusions of blood spewing adoration of his wife. If the Prince became an undead out of love for that special ninny portrayed by the ninny incomparable, Ryder, what was he trying to prove to her by raping her best friend in bat/wolf mode? Like, what was that for?

Papillon
Directed By Franklin J. Schaffner
Rating
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman make an unlikely pair in this film adaptation of a French novel of the same name. McQueen plays the eponymous protagonist bent on escaping from jail. Papillon's misadventures are supposedly based on the ex-con author's experiences. Whether his claims are genuine or otherwise, his dogged determination to be free at all costs is remarkable. The landscape depicted throughout is wet, muggy and surely infested with mosquitoes. The escape sequences are brilliantly shot. The audience, already in cahoots with the principal characters' desires to be free, is made to sit through nail biting moments of taut drama and tension.

An Inconvenient Truth
Directed By Davis Guggenheim
Rating
It's bound to be a good conversation topic for some years yet. 'Scary' is exactly how eveyone describes it and I have nothing earth-shattering to add to that adjective.

Rushmore
Directed By Wes Anderson
Rating
Oh dear me. I'm watching this almost everyday. I absolutely adore this quiet little movie. Its charm, whimsy and trademark Wes Anderson soundtrack are just a few of the reasons why this movie works.

The Phantom of the Opera
Directed By Joel Schumacher
Rating
Sister and I were on a Gerard Butler binge, hence the seeming necessity of watching this grandiose and, let's face it, quite tacky production. Our dear Phantom can't hold a tune for longer than 5 seconds; Christine is a milk sop; Raoul is too boring to be the cause for any real reflection. I only enjoyed Minnie Driver's OTT performance - and I normally refuse to believe she's an actor. I still don't but that's besides the point. Poor Gerard. What were you thinking? You're much too delicious and "un-fat" to pass off as the Phantom of popular imagination. I mean, he's Andrew Lloyd Webber in disguise.

Napoleon Dynamite
Directed By Jared Hess
Rating
Not genuinely 'quirky' - it's an MTV production afterall. But I did like the anachronistic '80s charm and I did want to kick the sleazy loser, Uncle Rico, quite badly. I only wish Jon Herder doesn't turn out to become another Will Farrell.

The History Boys
Directed By Nicholas Hytner
Rating
I was fascinated - on many levels. What is the stuff that boys are made of? As to the performances, I can only say a big WOW. Griffiths is a tragicomic tour-de-force; Frances de la Tour's stoical countenance speaks volumes. How ironically apt that her sole outburst is lost on the men surrounding her. The boys, all unknown faces to me, are collectively good. The easy chemistry between them is praiseworthy.