Rocky Balboa (2006)

Rating: 80%



(www.denofgeek.us)

Great White Hope

Great White Hope of a movie with an eloquent and rather poetic performance from Sylvester Stallone in an articulate and literate script. This one is about growing old on one's own terms and the difficulty of sons living in the shadows of illustrious fathers.

Cultural tensions are subtly explored in the implicit discussion of whether Black fighters are better than White, especially because a Caucasian Heavyweight Champion of the boxing world is decidedly anachronistic. This is bundled up with the fact that the two fighters are from different generations; giving the whole enterprise an old age having a go at youth sensibility.

The love story is touching, tender and understated; rendering this as nostalgia with a human face and into a fairy tale told in a realistic environment that is thoroughly unashamed of its own clichés.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Amico di Famiglia, L (2006)

Rating: 60%

(www.rapportoconfidenziale.org)

[Family Friend;
Friend of the Family]

Bleak yet stylish foray into the world of those who are lonely, unhappy and desperate. Another film about White Western social alienation that is somewhat alienating itself.

The movie focuses on the male characters who seem terminally incapable of truly communicating with women out of either fear, a lack of understanding or a sense of their own ugliness as people. These are those locked into the past with no sense of how to escape the traps they have allowed themselves to fall into.

Despite the female flesh on show and which is fetishized, there's no real corollary analysis of misogyny nor gynophobia; deadening the drama. It is very good at describing the causes and the effects but not any kind of solutions. It all just seems so arbitrary somehow, as if made up by someone who does not really know what he's talking about.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Mike OLDFIELD Tubular Bells (1973)

RATING:	80%
FORMAT:	CD

(http://en.wikipedia.org)

Despite the grimly repetitive nature of this work, the cumulatively hypnotic effect quickly wins you over to its sublime charms.

A genuinely-inspired piece of work that Mike Oldfield has never really bettered since he is basically a one hit wonder who has very little to say, musically.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Clockwork Orange (1971)

80%

(www.theguardian.com)

Clever satire on the dehumanised pseudo capitalism of White Western and materialistic cultures. Their morality is expressed as forced goodness rather than a chosen code of ethics; resulting in the elimination of difference between criminals and non criminals.

Critiquing a cynical, crime creating culture that uses delinquents as scapegoats for its own ills, then exacerbates its own creation by conflating moral goodness with obedience; leading to the inevitable calls for totalitarian solutions to the self created problems.

Told from the point of view of rapists and the violent, we are invited to laugh at the goings on; reducing this film's audience to those who understand the underlying themes – and rapists and the violent.

The acting is superb from all concerned with Michael Bates a tour de force as an ex Forces Prison Officer.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

RATING:	40%
FORMAT:	DVD

(www.bustle.com)

Goblet of Dire

What could have been a spectacular treatment of children growing‑up into responsible adults turns into a rather pointless spectacle; masquerading as entertainment.

The children's powers don't represent a flowering of their innate gifts, but an excuse for special effects' pseudo‑creativity in visuals serving little dramatic purpose. There is a terrible lack of imagination here: A strong sense of making it up as they go along - not to stretch a child's imagination, but to conform to adult limitations.

The actors cannot make their parts live because they lack a precocious understanding of their own adolescence, nor much acting talent. However, pubescent jealousies, sexual feelings and ethical choices are depicted; eventually making the drama more engaging. The only other pleasure here is watching respected British thespians hamming it up for all they are worth.

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Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.