luca's house of mirrors

why did God give men the screwdriver ?
and what gives them the impression they know WHEN to use it ?

... don't answer any of that.
please.

hilariously brilliant.or brilliantly hilarious . or something like that.

haven't laughed so good since "Shoot'em Up" ...

it's been fun to try guessing all the references. it's been a joy to see the oh-so-classical-cliché's put to good use.

and what can beat the "I'm your father " line ? nothing, I guess...

and yet...it's not just silly fun. on the contrary.

and to think the humor was lost on some posters / reviewers... guess post-modernist sarcasm isn't everyone's bowl of soup ...

( unfortunately I have to type a few more lines in order to get the comment approved, as IMDb considers that a certain text length is an a priori condition for coherence... although everyday life and posted comments prove the opposite... and most of the times less is actually more... )

but, long story short .... thank you, John.

(posted on IMDb as 'taifunu' on 26.07.2008)

I've read the reviews on various sites and, frankly, I'm not surprised. I almost saw them coming. "why doesn't she google him ? " "Why don't they send e-mails, pictures, etc" "what's with all this time-travel BS? " and so on and so forth. OK, so this movie is no Oscar material. so what ? it wasn't intended to be in the first place. it's a touching story about loneliness, introversion, search for one's true self, true love, second chances... and the handwritten letters are something that defines the characters. they are not business people, not over-pragmatic, not interested only in instant gratification. Both characters are portraited as romantic in a nice old-fashioned way, looking for personal touch, for soul-mates, for that "something" that nowadays is , unfortunately, forgotten. this relationship has nothing to do with messenger or google or SMS. it's a connection between two souls, not wireless instant communication.

the timelines aren't too clear, I agree, but that makes the intriguing quality of the movie. nothing is served on a silver platter, we have to think, to figure it out, to try to understand...and finally to let go of logic and follow our intuition . it's not easy. and the movie definitely needs to be seen at least twice, to get it right.

(posted on IMDb as 'taifunu' on 28.06.2006)

later edit - as of today .
Also watched 'Il Mare' - the original movie on which this 'Hollywood' remake was based. and it's very interesting to see the similarities and the differences , the translation of a South Koreean modern story into an American story...  there's an attention for the details, as in the red coat of the heroine,  detail found in both movies.  but the main difference is in the ending/s ... and no, not gonna reveal it for you. go rent the DVDs. support the industry. make movie producers happy ;)

just saw the movie. In a cinema theater. Sunday morning, only four people in the audience, myself included.

I'm blown away.

here, normally, I would have added only another sentence to this post - but the IMDb rules state a post must have a minimum 10 lines.

so I might write that this is not just a movie. It's a tribute to all movie makers, of all times. It's a tribute to all the people passionate enough with an idea to be able to follow it until the very end. A tribute to those few people that do not sell their soul, or their ideals. In a way, one might read it as Caranfil's manifesto.

but ignore all the above. Ignore all the comments. Just go see the movie. It speaks for itself better than anybody ever could.

the rest is silence.

(posted at IMDb as 'taifunu' on 23.03.2008)

I watch the very first scene and I'm thinking " so it's 'Constantine meets Bugs Bunny' " . And then it gets better. Eleven minutes into the movie, I'm laughing with tears and counting all the references, noting down all the movies spoofed in this one...it's a beautifully funny tongue-in-cheek to the Matrix , Bourne, Bond movies ; it's got Blade Runner, M.I, X-files , Dirty Harry - like hints, North by Northwest -like lines ; Clive Owen's spoofing his own Sin City character...it's all the action movies ever made, all the comics and cartoons...it's such a treat for a movie buff ! and Clive's my hero. for being able to keep a straight face all through the movie. I've got a problem, though. don't think I'll ever look at a carrot with the same eyes again...

(posted at IMDb as 'taifunu' on 26.01.2008)

Let me start by saying what this movie isn't . It's not the original. Obviously, it couldn't be. But it's an interesting re-telling of it. It's not yet another alien invasion movie. It's not Independence Day. At the end of the day, no-one gets to cheer that we kicked the big bad alien's taillights. Or that we blew up the big bad asteroid which was just minding its business… It's not a movie about aliens. It's a movie about US – and our paranoia. Our fears. Our hysteria.

And it's not a 'green' movie, either. I mean, Klaatu is actually eating a tuna sandwich…

But it's no blockbuster material, either. Or at least,doesn't seem like it to me.

It's got beautiful cinematography, though . AND little subversive lines. (And for those who complain this movie has images which remind us of The Sphere, Contact, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind… pop-quiz , what do all these movies have in common ? answer : they hold the mirror at US)

It doesn't preach, it just suggests. It gives us the test paper, but we're the ones who have to connect the dots and find the hidden figure in the drawing… It doesn't have any moralist speech at the end . we're past speeches. "They" have tried to talk with our elected authorities, but all we did in response was to wave our guns. So the message is given at an individual level. And there is where we'll have to look for salvation, in the end. Inside us. The change will start with each and every individual who'll make it.

It has an interesting parallel, too : in both versions, Klaatu learns what it means to be human mostly from the boy. But in the 2008 version, the kid mirrors the "us against them" mentality of the society. " we should kill them anyway, just to make sure" . Thing is, this kid is able to change. How about the rest of us?

As for Reeves' Klaatu… it's been said he's sinister, menacing… he might appear that way. But above all, he's simply… ALIEN. From the very first moment, you get a clear feeling that whatever's watching through those eyes, it's not human.

(posted on IMDb as 'taifunu' , on 17.12.2008)

transferring here a few of the movie reviews I wrote over the years . 'cause , well... one of my pet theories is that the way one perceives a movie says a lot about that person. in other words, the movie acts like a mirror... in many ways.

too lazy to re-write them, so will just add some later edits. 

so here we go :

first of all, must say that this is a movie that benefits from - and actually needs - a second viewing. at least. maybe even a third. then, in order to fully understand it it helps doing some homework. I know I did. read almost all Ellroy's novels. Watched almost everything Ayer wrote. and also his previous movie Harsh Times. there are a lot of influences in this movie. after all, this is the post-modernist age...or are we leaving that one behind as well ?

anyway...

the first thing that 'hits' you as you sit in the theater chair is the score . it just blends in with the images, as if it's organic. it just insinuates itself in your ears, wraps you around...and you're caught. and don't even know what happened.
( later edit : original music by Graeme Revell, duh !  as in the man who , together with the director of photography, saved Red Planet ... but I digress ;) )

The movie… It's not a masterpiece, it's not gonna redefine the history of cinema. But it's a well made, well-thought movie. It's not just another cop movie ; it's not "the poor man's LA Confidential" as someone wrote . If it were to be defined in such terms, I'd say it's "LA Confidential" and "White Jazz" ( the novels ) mixed, stirred, not shaken ( or was it the other way around ? ) filmed by the man that made "Harsh Times". It's Ellroy's writing, with all his classic trademark notes, and Ayer's camera. It doesn't glorify cops; it doesn't judge them either. It just puts up a mirror : if the reflected image looks ugly, don't blame the mirror… blame reality. If anything, it's an ironic ode to the last "lone ranger"- but in this case it's not Wyatt Earp, it's just an obscure LAPD cop. Times have changed, legal system has been overtaken by procedures and technicalities and lawyers that can twist words such as a murderer can walk out of court with a grin on his face, all based on a tiny slip of the law…LAPD's answer to all this is Tom Ludlow. He follows different rules ; he defines justice on his own terms. The ancient terms. The law of the street. But he does not enjoy it. It's a duty, not a passion. He takes no pleasure in the pain he inflicts upon others ; deep down inside, it hurts him too. All those images haunt him, but he never complains . Instead, he just goes more and more out of control. And we gradually learn that he was shaped to become that way ; that his mentor noticed his temper and turned Tom into his weapon. A weapon he uses according to his own agenda. And everyone manipulates him. And he's a loner par excellence. Can't relate to people, can't relate to his own emotions. So he drinks to drown them. Ludlow is not an alcoholic ; he doesn't drink to stop the shakes; he drinks to numb his feelings. And it's not working.

The movie also touches the "why's" of corruption. For some cops it's about money, for some it's about dope ; for some it's about power. For Ludlow, it's about the purpose justifies the means. He breaks the rules for justice – or his idea of justice. All he wants is to 'get the bad people', whatever it takes. The irony is that this wreck train, this loose cannon, this half-demented character is in fact an innocent. Ludlow is just a soldier, following orders, and a code of honor that goes only one way. He's just a pawn – and he'll have the fate of a pawn. Used both to open the game and to end it…

He's used and framed by the people he considers his 'family'. After all, he's a victim of his colleagues' actions, and of his own self-destructive nature. Survives betrayal, yet he doesn't really change. And as the movie develops, Ludlow's eyes begin to open…just to realize that what it looks like is not always what it is . he gets tangled in the spider's web…and there's no way out.

Acting : Forrest Whitaker's captain Wander was a little over-the-top…but it was only this character who could have won over Ludlow, and be accepted as a mentor. As for Keanu Reeves…he just WAS Ludlow… he was so believable it hurts. After Constantine and Bob Arctor, I thought I've seen everything. Well, I was wrong. He surprised and amazed me again. And I have a feeling there are quite a few more surprises in store for us…if we'll just be patient. And if lady luck will be on his side
( posted on IMDb as "taifunu", on 21.04.2008)

went to the hairdresser's today and came out looking like Ted.
*hisses*
which leaves me with two options : either smash all the mirrors in the house, or go about finding my inner Ted.
*shrugs*
to be continued...