Tanin no Kao (a.k.a.
The Face of Another) (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966) -- The third of the surreal trilogy by Teshigahara keeps up with the surreal theme, but adds in a bit of reality to make it all stranger still. It's about a facially scarred businessman who obtains an amazingly lifelike mask from the doctor; though the plot of the movie deals much more with the arbitrariness of identity. Teshigahara is no stranger to exploring the darkest parts of human experience, and in this case he does it with strong influence from Kafka and Dostoievsky, with a bit of Sartre added to the depressing mix.
Throughout the movie, we discover how precarious identity truly is, and the doctor's and patient's behavior affords a glimpse into the anarchic potential of the terrible invention, one that would rend civilization archaic. To the point that the final words are particularly unnerving: "some masks come off, some don't". An excellent movie with great psychological undertones, amazing photography and lighting. I'm also amazed it's not in the Top 250 8.5/10
Le Mans (Lee H. Katzin, 1971) -- An almost documentary, depicting one of the hardest endurance races in history: The 24 Hours of Le Mans. As far as
motor racing movies go, I'd say this is in my Top 3, especially because of its lack of CGI and the impressive camerawork around the actual cars at what also seems to be a high rate of speed. There's very little in terms of plot and dialogues, to the point that the off-track story is very weak and the acting is bland, but the racing shots are truly spot on. That's because actually, the race IS the story, and the story of the race is very well told. McQueen's racing experience, his need to have credibility within the racing world and the large number of real racing drivers and real racing cars involved all add up to an authenticity which is still unequalled. A couple of minor errors in the cars' paint jobs fail to dampen the reality of the on-track action. 9/10
Renaissance (Christian Volckman, 2006) -- In 2054, Paris is a labyrinth where all movement is monitored and recorded. Casting a shadow over everything is the city's largest company, Avalon, which insinuates itself into every aspect of contemporary life to sell its primary export: youth and beauty. In this world of stark contrasts and rigid laws the populace is kept in line and accounted for. The movie, being French, is a great crossover between mainstream American animation and Japanese anime, with no annoying animals to perform lame songs written by has-been musicians and no esoteric detours through alternate dimensions. Instead, it's a gritty, innovatively drawn thriller with an engaging central story.
The movie's greatest asset is its stunning "film noir" animation, using only black and white; no gray, no shadows, no derivations of black, just two colors. And the point is that although its animation is impressive, ranging from simple two-dimensional outlines to scenes involving the most intricate animation imaginable, it actually involves a very interesting storyline. I can say beyond a doubt, that
Renaissance is one of the best animated flicks aimed at adults, that is not from Japan. The pace is brisk, the tone is evocative and the direction manages to be effortlessly stylish. 8/10
Dredd 3D (Pete Travis, 2012) -- In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO. I've never been a die-hard comic book fan, though I do read one every now and then and follow some series with passion (namely some of the more recent
Vertigo adventures), but I have to say that
Dredd is quite simply, a very good movie, whether it's capturing the essence of the 2000AD strip, delivering brutal action by the bucket-load, excellent central performances, and inspired direction, or the fact that they are all enhanced by breathtaking state-of-the-art 3D special effects; filmed in 3D and with many action scenes that take full advantage of this.
Karl Urban absolutely nails the role, with his humorless face and raspy voice, making (thankfully) my image of Stallone in the role completely disappear. The movie is also abnormally violent, yet the violence isn't unfounded and it's not like they did it just for the hell of it. In fact, many bloody scenes which could be milked (no pun intended) to further exploit the gore factor, are not overdone, yet the 3D parts with the slow motion shooting and wounding are insane! From what I've read, the movie bombed the box-office, so a sequel is out of the question, yet I think they did an excellent job here and don't really need a sequel to taint the greatness of this one. 8/10
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