Rendition. There are some clichés filmmakers can't seem to avoid. Shots of planes landing in Washington, D.C., being seen lowering behind the Washington Monument is one of them. Casting Meryl Streep as an evil politician or agent another. And I can't count how often I've seen a group of radical islamists coming together in a mosque to listen to the most general and unmotivating Jihadist speeches imaginable. These kinds of movies are lacking a twist, we've seen it all before. And it's not engaging enough (besides maybe the character Reese Witherspoon's playing, who becomes better towards the ending) to be controversial and have any political impact. It even got annoying at one point, when Jake Gyllenhaal's character started getting preachy.
6/10
Reservoir Dogs. Best thing about the movie is the companionship shown between Mr. White and Mr. Orange. The whole undercover cop aspect is riddled with plotholes, but as style triumphs over substance, it doesn't matter much.
9/10
Smilla's Sense of Snow. The title character's behaviour doesn't really make much sense, especially in the beginning - it always seems like important scenes were cut out between what you see. It's also funny how all the Danish people speak with British accents. Even though the plot is moved forward in overly contrived ways and the ending is too sharp a break from the rest of the movie (and bordering on ruining it all), this is actually a rather captivating thriller. The best thing about it is the cinematography, which manages to deliver a constant feeling of coldness.
7/10
Funny Games. Great opening sequence, great rest of the movie (with the exception of the actors seeming a little... stiff in the beginning). The nonchalance of the two hostage takers while committing their deeds was the most disturbing about the film.
9/10
Funny Games U.S. What's the point of remaking a movie exactly like the original, that is, using the same shots, the same words, the same style? It's just like the 1997 version, except that it's redundant and the acting is much worse - especially that of the two hostage takers, who were much more sinister and psychotic in the original. Interestingly enough, watching it all again had the effect on me that Haneke originally wanted to criticize: I grew indifferent to the violence and torture shown.
5/10
