REVIEW: The International [2009]

“Slaves to debt” Why do I keep questioning the work of Tom Tykwer? True, I didn’t know that The International was his film until way after the marketing onslaught, but even then I still held a little trepidation, although much less than when I first saw the trailers looking kind of mediocre. The guy most definitely has the goods and I’m glad English language producers are showing the confidence to start handing him big budget flicks. Much like a Marc Forster, known for small scale story-heavy movies getting a shot…

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REVIEW: Lola rennt [Run Lola Run] [1998]

“And then …” I am a big Tom Tykwer fan. Between his latest, Perfume, his short in Paris, je t’aime, and the wonderful directing of Heaven from the late Kieslowski’s script, I must say he is unafraid to use any technical ingenuity he can think of. This type of delving into mixed genres and cinematic senses needs to start somewhere though, and that start is Lola rennt [Run Lola Run]. This film is an adrenaline rush for the entire duration being driven by the pulsating techno/electronica beats behind all the…

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REVIEW: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer [2006]

“The sweet smell of innocence” Director Tom Tykwer has created a visually lush, unique piece of cinema again. From the highly original Lola rennt, to the visualization of the late Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Heaven (the first part to a planned trilogy, the second of which has been made by another director), Tykwer’s talents continue to make beautiful films built around emotion and characters. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is adapted from the novel of same name and, while I have not read the book, I can guess that the film…

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Top 20 Films of 1998

(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 71 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #20: Very Bad Things directed by Peter Berg. #19: The Big Lebowski directed byJoel Coen & Ethan Coen #18: Following directed byChristopher Nolan #17: Shakespeare in Love directed by John Madden #16: Pi directed by Darren Aronofsky #15: Elizabeth directed by Shekhar Kapur #14: Rounders directed by John Dahl. #13: Fear and Loathingin Las Vegas directed by Terry Gilliam #12: Fallen directed…

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