Confessions of a filmoholic

That's it. Confessions of a Filmoholic is no more. It's an ex-blog. There are several reasons for that - I'm going to be pretty busy for the next couple of weeks, and rather won't have time to write, I'm also struggling for ideas what to write about. And, last but not least, I seem to be the only person who reads it. I even can't get my friends interested. But, just in case I'm wrong, and there actually is somebody who reads my scribble, there is one more film I want to tell you about. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers tells a story of, well, I think it's quite easy too guess by only looking at the title. For those who don't know, Peter Sellers was one of the best actor of the 1970's, famous for his chameleon-like thespian skills, mostly known for the original Pink Panther series, where he played the clumsy inspector Clouseau. And that was his problem, since he sought recognition for his more serious work. Or, at least that is what the creators of this biographical movie claim. No matter if true or not, The Life and Death... is a very insightful attempt of depicting a difficult personality with serious emotional issues. Also, it is a must-see for a cinephile, since people like Stanley Kubrick or Blake Edwards play an important role in the plot. Unfortunately, people who are not into the history of film may be a little bored. But what I liked the most the movie is, that it doesn't give you any straight answers, most notably to the question if Peter Sellers was a genius, or only wanted others to think he was. And let me finish my last post with this mystery unsolved.
7/10

(I might be back)

Let me tell you about my another favourite, a film I really enjoy coming back to, especially when feeling down, since it is pretty uplifting story. It also is set in a very appealing environment - on a road with a rock band in 1970's America, the time in history when the best things were created in music. In Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous you really can see the climate of creativity and joy people were experiencing then, and though the dark sides of rockers' lives are present too (drugs, loneliness etc.) they in the end don't overshadow the feeling of youth and happiness. We all have our cherished memories from childhood, Crowe's happen to be the ones shown in his movie. If you want to trigger some nostalgia for the long gone, Almost Famous is there for you. Yes, the grass was greener then.
9/10

The book vs. the movie part 3. I have got another thing to add to the never-to-be-solved issue if reading the book before seeing the film that was based on it enhances or spoils the experience. You may already know my point of view as for two titles: Watchmen and 2001: A Space Odyssey, now let me tell you about The Road. The movie is based on a brilliant novel of the same title, written by Cormac McCarthy, which won numerous award, including the Pulitzer Prize. So, according to the theory, that you can't make a good
movie out of a great literary source, John Hillcoat's piece should be watchable at best, especially if you had read the book before. Well, this is not the case, simply because the film is as good. Somehow the director managed to make a very faithful adaptation, which not only doesn't feel overshadowed by McCarthy's masterpiece, but also, thanks to the amazing performances from the cast, makes it more heartfelt. To summarize, it doesn't matter if you read the book or not - the film is brilliant enough to entertain you anyway.
8/10

Not very often I watch a movie I haven't heard anything about. Well, I simply do not like to take a risk. Yesterday I did - honestly, I wasn't familiar with the fact of existence of The Squid and the Whale - and I wasn't disappointed at all. It is a small, independent film, sometimes funny, but dealing with serious issues. Thanks to  great writing and impeccable performances from the likes of Jeff Daniels and Jesse Eisenberg it never loses the balance and is really entertaining. The film's biggest drawback is its length - it lasts for mere 75min. Since we are used to movies that usually are twice longer, the moment we get attached to the characters and become really interested in how their problems are going to be solved, it ends. Still, when The Squid... lasts it is a worthwhile experience, one more reason for it being it features Pink Floyd's song Hey You in a pivotal role.
8/10

Masterpiece time! No, really. There Will Be Blood is without a doubt the best film of the last years, which makes it one of the best cinematic experiences ever. Paul Thomas Anderson has always been keeping good form, making the likes of Boogie Nights, or Magnolia, but in his latest outing he simply committed a flawless piece. I won't be writing for too long, there is really not much to add - if you want to see an important film, dealing with serious moral issues, with impeccable performances from some of the best actors out there, with astonishing music and cinematography, the film that is intense and addictive, There Will Be Blood is just for you.
10/10

Hi everyone! Let me tell you about one of my favourite movies - Little Miss Sunshine. It is generally considered a good film, but I get the impression it is not as popular as it deserves to be. It might be the title that puts people off, maybe they don't realise how contrary it is, that, in fact it is a story about members of a dysfunctional family learning to live with one another, and not a 100th version of Rocky, the "rise to fame against all odds" thing, this time set in the beauty contest environment. What you must love about this movie is how utterly witty it is - the dialogs shine, the characters (played by some of the best actors in the business) are true people with real problems and, let's not forget a very important part, it is absolutely hilarious. While I could point out a couple of scenes, that may not fit perfectly, this one should clearly be on your "to be watched asap" list.
9/10

I am getting old, I guess. Yesterday I started watching Michael Mann's Miami Vice, and did something, I hardly ever do - I turned it off before the end - after half an hour, to be honest. I simply decided that life's too short, to lose another hour of it for a pointless effort like that. And then I saw something quite different - The Conversation. I'll tell you, that switching from a modern action film to an over 30-years old drama was my best decision of the day. Francis Ford Coppola rarely makes movies that aren't awesome, and this one is no exception. For the first half it plays like a social drama with elements of a love story, where Gene Hackman plays a troubled and lost professional eavesdropper, only to become a gripping thriller after an hour. The film is written perfectly, the hints we get in order to be able to solve the mystery are put in the exactly right places, and Hackman's slow fall into paranoia is shown with unspeakable craft from both the actor and the director. A must-see, trust me on this one.
10/10

A little warning. Most of the time the only thing I care about when choosing a film to watch is the name of the director. Usually good directors make good films. Usually... Clint Eastwood more than often makes a great movie - Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby are pretty close to being masterpieces. But once he cheated by making a film that pretended to be quite an achievement but, in fact, was dreadful. I'm talking about Changeling. It is all beautifully shot, well acted, it even is reasonably written, with believable characters and a proper plot twist, but it is no good. The problem is, you do not care about what is going on on the screen for a moment. To be honest I can't name the reasons for that, all the elements seem to fit, but the movie as a whole makes an impression of being calculated - cold and heartless. Which makes it utterly boring. Avoid then.
4/10

Great actors can't be around forever. Sometimes they die. If this happens, they don't make new films anymore, which is a shame, but it's not really their fault. At least the ones in which they've already acted will stay with us. Like Blue Velvet in Dennis Hopper's case. He was great in a few other movies too, but in this particular one he was completely magnificent - sad, terrifying, engaging and full of passion. Exactly the same can be told about the film itself - a flawless take on the dark side of a human soul performed by the master of such trips - David Lynch. If you are the director's fan already I don't have to convince you, but if you haven't seen any of his works - or saw the likes of Mulholland Drive and didn't 'get' them - please, give Blue Velvet a go. It is pure cinematic perfection.
10/10

Ok, so I just have written about three comedy films in a row? I guess you can tell that summer is finally here. But enough of that cheerful rubbish, back to the proper, depressing stuff. I am in my mother country at the moment, so how about a review of a Polish film? Unfortunately, the vast majority of them are impossible to get outside Poland (which is a shame, because there is quite a few, that are worth getting to know), so I'm forced to write about something more accessible, which means it will only be remotely Polish. Something like a film shot by a Polish director living abroad. With it being this season of the year, I choose My Summer of Love by Pawel Pawlikowski - a beautiful story of a friendship (and more) between two teenage girls, based in the ever-sunny (at least on film) English countryside. This coming-of-age drama is thoroughly gripping, being at times funny, at times touching, always melancholic and asking serious questions about the meaning of relationships, religion, honesty. It's truly one of the best films of the last decade.
9/10

And now for something completely... foreign: Cinema Paradiso – a small masterpiece from Giuseppe Tornatore, a modern Italian genius. Italy has never been shy of talented directors, enough to mention the likes of Bernardo Bertolucci or Michalangelo Antonioni, but there is something special about his films, Cinema Paradiso being his best achievement so far. It is a story of Toto, a boy growing up in a small town, discovering the delights of love to both movies and girls. Many others have been telling similar stories about coming of age in the place of their childhood, those nostalgic and romantic stories of long-lost innocence, but hardly anybody (apart from Federico Fellini in Amarcord, from which Cinema... borrows a few scenes and motives) does that with so much charm as Mr Tornatore. It may seem boring when read, but believe me this is one of the most touching and funny movies you'll ever see.

Hi! Let me begin with my latest discovery. Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn. This film has been lying on my shelf for a long while and I wasn't really very keen on watching it. Werner Herzog (the guy who recently makes slow-paced documentaries) and a war movie? This didn't add-up. Well, as you've probably guessed by now I was wrong. Very wrong. First of all, IT IS NOT A WAR FILM in a common meaning of the expression. It is a beautiful story of male friendship and sacrifice, although set in Laosian jungle (mostly in a POW camp) during the Vietnam war. The visuals are astonishing, the story is incredibly tense and gripping, everything told with warmth and humor. I can honestly recommend it to anybody. You won't be disappointed.
9/10