Anatomy
May 6th, 2007
The grandchildren of Mengele and Coca-Cola run amok in old Heidelberg. I used to think I was too squeamish for this German horror flick that promises “terror, violence, gore, sexuality and language” on the warning label, but after Taxidermia, I was ready for anything. Franka Potente plays a medical student who uncovers nefarious goings-on in the anatomy department. Corpses on metal slabs, deadly hypodermic needles, slashing scalpels, and real-life Visible Men abound, but Anatomy isn’t nearly as bloody as the title suggests, and a lot more entertaining than you’d expect from a German slasher movie.
Anatomie. Stefan Ruzowitzky, 2000. ***
World Trade Center
December 3rd, 2006
Our mail these days looks like Ray Pride’s, times two, and we’re trying hard to work our way through a ridiculous stack of For Your Consideration screeners before the NYFCO awards meeting next week. It’s the only explanation I have for putting on Oliver Stone’s insufferable September 11 drama. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello act their hearts out, but it’s no use–nothing can save this crushingly sentimental turd. At least United 93 had the good sense not to milk that day for “uplift.”
World Trade Center. Oliver Stone, 2006. *
[tags]oliver stone, film, 1 star, maria bello, nicolas cage, maggie gyllenhaal, michael pena, september 11, nyc, world trade center, schlock, terror, cops[/tags]
United 93
September 21st, 2006
Terror porn, every bit as repellent as that other big-budget snuff movie, Passion of the Christ. I thought Greengrass’s Bloody Sunday was terrific, even though it uses the same quasi-documentary style to recreate a real event. Why was Bloody Sunday so much better? Probably because there’s a more solid consensus about what happened, and there was more context, which allowed you to actually draw some conclusions. With United 93, you’re left with nothing but horror and a big fat question mark–why would anybody do this? The movie just fades to black.
And again, the question of fiction vs. non-fiction. If United 93 wasn’t based on a real event, nobody would want to watch it–it’s a lousy story.
United 93, Paul Greengrass, 2006. *
United 93 at Rotten Tomatoes - 90%! Somebody calls it “A fresh and powerful reminder of the day the music died.” Don’t they have the wrong movie?
