Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

My wife really liked the film too. It held my attention, drew me into the story and found the melodrama fascinating. Very cool film!

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Cast: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch

About: Set in 1984 in communist East Berlin, Germany. The Stasi secret police are conducting surveillance of a suspected subversive writer and his girlfriend. The agent finds himself strangely drawn into the lives of his two targets.

Review: First off, the subject matter of Communist East German Secret Police and their network of agents and informers and how they operate...is right up my alley! I love this subject matter, because it's history. I love history, especially history that hasn't been covered much in movies.

I found the first act totally fascinating: the Stasi secret police headquarters and the interrogation of a suspect who's being grilled because his friend had escaped to the west. Even better was the scene of the interrogator teaching a class of Stasi candidates the finer points on how to break a person over hours of sleep deprivation and how the innocent act under duress vs how differently the guilty act....Man powerfully stuff! I had this film pegged at a 5/5.

But then the film shifts gears and becomes an introspective look at a lonely Stasi police officer and how the lives of a writer and his actresses girlfriend changes his outlook on life. That part was well done, but it was so not want I wanted to see. I wanted to see a film more like the first act.

I felt the natural ending of the film was when the writer, a few years latter encountered the ex minister at a stage play and tells him it was people like him who made life miserable. I thought that should have been the end of the movie, but then we get another epilogue about the ex Stasi agent years latter. That seemed to me to dilute the power of the previous scene. Sometimes less is more.

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Review: This is one powerful movie. I like films that are 'indie films', small budget and up close and personal and Lilya 4-Ever certainly is that and much more.

I was really impressed with the first hour when we see Lilya in the slums of Russia, I kept thinking I was watching a documentary and Lilya and her young friend Volodya were real people....and that's powerful film making! I felt like I was transported to those run-down flats and I was watching real life unfold. It wasn't pretty, but it seemed very real.

The actresses who played Lilya (Oksana Akinsjina) was amazing! I never thought she was acting, it was like she was a real person and that's high praise. Same for the boy Volodya (Artiom Bogutjarskij) he was really good too, and together they had a real chemistry and a bond that came through and made the bleakness, a bit easier to watch.

The second part when she's forced into prostitution in Sweden, I could barely watch that, as it was so sad and so horrible for that to happen to her. I didn't like the Sweden part as much. I wanted to see more about how the illegal trafficking was done and the effects it had on her psychologically. We see a number of close-up scenes of guys with her and after a while that stopped being effective and I thought became counterproductive...I just wanted to see more from Lilya herself.

Lilya 4-Ever made a big impact on me and most movies don't do that.

I agree with you about Lilya 4-Ever. The first part of the movie was better than the second part. Overall it's a very good movie, but it's a tough watch.

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Director: Olivier Dahan
Writer: Arash Amel (screenplay)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, André Penvern
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance

About: A brief time period in Grace Kelly's life as Princess Grace of Monaco. The movie follows a political crisis that develops between France and Monaco during 1961 and the resulting martial problems between Grace and her husband Prince Rainer III.

Review: Olivier Dahan and Arash Amel, are two names that you should remember because it's their sole responsibility that this movie is such a mess. At least they could have made a film that didn't insult the audience's intelligence with arch villains and character types that even Disney wouldn't touch. OK, well maybe Disney would go to the character trope cupboard and say, 'lets get the evil step mother to be the protagonist to create some drama'...In Grace of Monaco I expect better, but got worse.

Right off the bat we get a one dimensional foe in the Countess who takes great glee in putting down the Princess in front of her entourage. Then we get more drama when the outspoken former Hollywood star gets told she's having a bad hair day by her husband Prince Rainer during a very important dinner none the less. The director and script writer really didn't know how to create believable tension, and it shows.


Oh I could go on, but let's say this movie is the twin of another infamous movie disaster Diana (2013). I do have to laugh at the reuse of scenes towards the end of the movie, way to save money guys! Nicole Kidman is one of the greats and she try's to lift the movie up, but she's working against a lame script.

Director: Elia Kazan
Writers: John Steinbeck(novel), Paul Osborn(screen play)
Cast: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris
Genre: Literary Drama, Romance

East of Eden incorporates the best of John Steniback's novel, along with Elia Kazan's personal style of direction...and pairs two phenomenal actors, James Dean and Julie Harris. On top of all that, it's a very powerful story of unfulfilled love and forgiveness.

Novelist John Steinback once said of his novels, 'that he wanted to help reconnect people to their lost humanity.' Steinback felt if his stories could point a way for people to reconnect and heal, it would be a better world. And that's what this movie is about, it's about the inability to love and the inability to forgive and the ultimate need to heal those festering wounds.


This is the role James Dean was born to play. East of Eden is the only movie he ever lived to see released and the only one he ever got to watch. He died in a car crash before his other two films were ever released. I think Dean is amazing in this.

But it wasn't until my second viewing of this movie that I realized just how wonderful Julie Harris is in this. When she's doing a scene with the older brother, Aron (Richard Davalos) she's good as any other actress. But when she has scenes with James Dean she lights up and 'is in the moment.'

I watched a documentary interview with her done a few years back, and I could tell that she was deeply touched by her time working with James Dean...and it shows on the screen as she comes alive when her and Dean have scenes together.

It's a tragedy James Dean only was able to star in three movies before his untimely end. If you wonder what about him, East of Eden is a good place to start.

This movie looks AWESOME, definitely adding it to my watchlist.

Grace of MonacoI'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it.

Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander
Genre: Comedy Drama

About: A mild mannered Englishman (Donald Pleasence) is married to a hot blooded, sex starved French wife (Françoise Dorléac). They live in a remote castle on the beach. Along comes two moronic criminals, one of them critically wounded. Mayhem ensues.

Review: I went into this movie with good spirits, but this zany,1966 Roman Polanski film is not to my liking. As much as I love the 1930's screwball comedies, I dislike the zany, unstructured comedies of the mid to late 1960s. I don't find them funny for the most part. I believe this film succeeded for what it was trying to do and for the target audience it was made for. Just not my cup of tea.

Pretty much all the characters in the film, annoyed me. The little guy with the thick glasses had such a grating voice that I was glad when he finally kicked the bucket! The gangster with the wounded arm and the French woman also were so unlikable that it effected my viewing of the film. It seemed like the director was going for zany characters in a zany situation, located in a zany location....a little too zany for me.

I did like Donald Pleasence, and laughed a few times. The scenes where the family visited for dinner and the gangster had to pretend he was the servant...was my favorite part.

Another funny part was when Donald Pleasance's is dressed in horrible looking drag and carrying the unconscious gangster on a stretcher...The gangster wakes up and sees Pleasance face and looks terrified! Ha! Great use of a 1st person POV camera angle for that shot.

Oh, all the eggs at the beginning were funny. Eggs outside, eggs in the chicken coupe and when the gangster sneaks into the kitchen and opens the fridge door.....it's full of nothing but eggs!

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You're not going to believe this Citizen bu before I had even read your review, I had given East of Eden a serious bumpup on my watchlist.

East of Eden and Cul-De-Sac were my two favourite first time watches from the 10th HOF. I get why you don't like Cul-De-Sac much, i don't think it is a particularly great film i just really enjoyed it. We seem to disagree on the characters, Pleasance was my least favourite and the gangster was the one i liked the most. East of Eden was excellent, a better film than Cul-De-Sac certainly but i think i enjoyed them about the same so it was difficult to decide which would be my #3. And yeah Harris was amazing, while not the best scene in the film i think the one that stuck with me the most was when Dean went to her office to ask her for money. Not sure why exactly but when i think of the film that and the ending are what come to mind first.

Lilya i think is a rare case of me liking the film less when i think about it. Don't know i know it is based on a true story but so much of it annoys me which is partly the intention so i'd say it is successful, but i honestly think i got more out of Amour despite how grim and depressing it was. Man that HOF was full of sad films . I'm nominating a Care Bears film next time .

If you liked Lilya you should try Show Me Love (1998) from the same director. I liked it a lot more, watched it last week. It felt like the first part of Lilya without the depressing second half. It is pretty sad too at times i suppose but to nowhere near the same extent. Also the characters are mostly angsty teenagers so that might stop you liking it as much but i'd say it is worth a shot.

I was glad to watch Cul-De-Sac as I had never even heard of it and I haven't seen many Roman Polanski films either, like maybe only 1 or 2. It was a good nom but not my type of comedy.


Two things I didn't like about East of Eden... the diagonal camera shots, which ever body else loved, but I thought they took the focus off the characters/situation, and put the focus on fancy cinematography.

And I didn't like the opening scene where Dean goes and sees his mother and comes back on the train. If I was the director I would have started the movie on the next scene when we first see Julie Harris and the older brother walking down a sunny road with James Dean following them in the tree line acting odd which then gives us some foreshadowing of what his character will be like, without giving away the ending, so to speak.

You might clean up with Care Bears!

I appreciate Lilya but man it's one of those films I don't want to revist, I think I'll skip Show Me Love. I did see your review of it and it was a good write up.

Yeah, i'm not convinced Show Me Love would be for you. Or that it should've been for me even but i related to it, especially in the love-hate sister relationship that was portrayed, since one of my sisters was closest in age to me growing up. Especially in this quote after an argument which i'm paraphrasing:

Mum: What's up? You two not getting on again?
Elin: Of Course not! Because she is terrible and i'm the coolest in the world.
*mum continues watchng TV barely paying attention to her childrens BS*

I also related to certain other reactions from the characters. I think that me not being so far removed from teenage life may have something to do with this though.

That's probably true. For me I often like to watch films with older actors, but not always of course. I did like Juno, though no here seems to like that film. I thought it was fresh at the time.

I liked Juno the first time i watched it. I liked the light approach to a difficult subject and the music. Last time i watched it though just about everything annoyed me. Especially the music.

Honestly, i think this may be the most irritating song ever:

Ha... Yeah, I can see that song by itself, seems little annoying. I suppose I should watch Juno again just to see how I feel about it BTW Camo weren't you going to host the 11th Hof? It's cool by me and I have my nomination all ready to go. (no it's not Juno)

Director: Gregory La Cava
Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady
Genre: Screwball comedy romance

About: A rich, ditzy woman (Carole Lombard) goes on a scavenger hunt for a Forgotten Man and finds Godfrey (William Powell) living in the city dump. She then hires him to be the butler to her eccentric family and promptly falls in love with him.

Review: I had watched this classic only once before when I was first getting into 'old films'. I liked it but I wasn't well versed enough in the style of 1930s film making to truly appreciate it. This time around I was even more impressed with this delightful screwball comedy.

Right off the bat I loved the title credits. How clever with the billboard theater style, art deco design. You know for a movie to work like this you need to care about the characters...instantly I liked Godfrey, the Forgotten Man, a derelict living in the city dump. You might think that's preposterous, that nobody would live in dump! Oh, but they did, the Depression of the 1930s was horrible and unlike today there was no 'safety nets' for the destitute.

In the movie you'll hear the phrase , 'prosperity is just around the corner'...being repeated with indignantly by the the city dump dwellers. That phrase resonated with1930s audiences, who recognized it as President Roosevelt's catch phrase. OK...I could go on with the history lessons but the point is this is a brilliant film that was relevant to the target audience as it spoke of the suffering the average person faced and lampooned the ultra rich who made idiots of themselves as they burnt money like it was a stack of firewood.

A lot of movies start off with a good premise, then fizzle out in the end...but not My Man Godfrey. As the story unfolded and we learned more about Godfrey the funner it got. I enjoyed the snappy dialogue, it was cleverly humorous as it lampooned the rich. Carole Lombard was one of the greatest comedians who graced the silver screen. Sadly she would be killed in a plane crash in 1942 helping to sell war bonds. She was only 33 at the time.


In the last few years a digital colorized version of My Man Godfrey. I was curious to see what it looked like. I read about it and learned, it's not one of those hideous Ted Turner colorized movies from the 80s. The colorization process was done in 2005 by the Legion company. It looked great and while I usually hate the idea of colorizing movies, I have to say it looked like an authentic early 1930s color film. The colors were not bright an garish but were muted and matched the color palette of the 30s art deco style of the movie to a tee.


I quickly forgot I was watching a colorized movie and I could actually see a lot more detail in the film too. I noticed some set pieces that I hadn't even seen before. And I could spot some subtle facial inflections that I hadn't noticed before.

After a second viewing of My Man Godfrey, I have to say I was even more impressed with the characters and fast witted dialogue.




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Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Stars: Wings Hauser, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Arevalo
Genre: War Action

About: A tough as hell Marine sergeant and his military buddy find themselves at a demoralized military firebase outpost in the jungles of Vietnam, where the commanding officer has gone nuts and the V.C. are about to attack the under defended base.

Review: This movie rocks! I don't know why it's not better known. It's not a big Hollywood film but it still looks good and it's one of the most rewarding, action packed 90 minutes you'll ever see from a Vietnam war movie. Not only is this action packed, it's character driven with very colorful characters.


R. Lee Ermey plays the gung hu Marine sergeant. A role Ermey was born to play. Ermey was a real life Marine who served in Vietnam. I can't think of a more dynamic and engaging character, than his portrayal of Sgt. Hafner. Pairing up with him, is his friend and fellow Marine Wings Hauser. Wings too brings his character alive with a no nonsense type performance. And everyone in this film is like that, no nonsense, no fluff. I actually believed I was watching real soldiers in Vietnam!

Siege of Firebase Gloria is the type of film you can watch over and over as each scene and each line is dynamic and a mini story in itself. This is much more than just an action film, watch it!