cscjr8
Joined May 2000
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews16
cscjr8's rating
This compilation of short, non-US films starts off well with "Doors Cut Down," a story about a Spanish teenager who is quite skilled in finding men for sex. It's funny yet realistic, erotic, and well-made.
Some of the other films don't fare so well, in particular: the unoriginal "Backroom," in which a camera floats through the backroom of a Barcelona club while the characters' thoughts are revealed in voiceovers; and "Touch" an interminably long, first-person narration of a teenager, kidnapped and beaten from a young age, who escapes and is returned to his family, only to seek out other men to beat him. "Touch" could have been a harrowing. It could have been erotic. Instead, the monotone narration renders the film BORING.
Some of the other films don't fare so well, in particular: the unoriginal "Backroom," in which a camera floats through the backroom of a Barcelona club while the characters' thoughts are revealed in voiceovers; and "Touch" an interminably long, first-person narration of a teenager, kidnapped and beaten from a young age, who escapes and is returned to his family, only to seek out other men to beat him. "Touch" could have been a harrowing. It could have been erotic. Instead, the monotone narration renders the film BORING.
This film opens as a great satire on war: Americans at war, journalism, the craziness of war, naked greed, and people doing anything they need to in order to survive. Nora Dunn gives a ferocious performance as a veteran reporter embedded with the troops during the first US-Iraq conflict. Director Russell also elicits great performances from Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg.
Unfortunately, Nora Dunn's character goes missing during much of the middle section of the movie, and a Hollywood resolution mars an ending that seemed to be headed toward the grim and bitter. (Perhaps military commanders have softened since the days of "Dr. Strangelove.")
But along the way, Dunn, Ice Cube, and Wahlberg demonstrate that they are worthy of any serious and demanding films that may come their way. Film directors: please take note!
Unfortunately, Nora Dunn's character goes missing during much of the middle section of the movie, and a Hollywood resolution mars an ending that seemed to be headed toward the grim and bitter. (Perhaps military commanders have softened since the days of "Dr. Strangelove.")
But along the way, Dunn, Ice Cube, and Wahlberg demonstrate that they are worthy of any serious and demanding films that may come their way. Film directors: please take note!
_Drift_ is an independent movie about a Canadian Asian guy living in L.A. who decides to break up with his boyfriend of 3 years to find his "soul mate." The movie shows 3 possible paths his life could take. I found the first 30 minutes to be reminiscent of film school productions I've seen, with unoriginal dialogue and earnest but amateur performances. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the writing and the acting got much better during the 3 different variations of the protagonist's destiny. In the end, the movie rises above its gimmick.