It takes time for European movies to sail down to Oz. It’s probably a good thing, as the ones that are not good enough usually drown and never make it down here to pollute our waters. Yet pity that the better ones can’t sail a little faster or take a plane instead.

Anyway, enough of mediocre jokes! Time for real mediocre views now!

Following its unpredicted although not surprising Oscar success earlier this year, German movie The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen, 2006) hit Australian and other English-speaking cinemas. A movie about Stasi agent spying on a dramatist and his mistress is cinematically simple, nevertheless captivating and convincing. What makes it a real gem forcing people to remember it, is main character’s face through which audience reads his thoughts and understands his moves.

It’s East Berlin of 1984 — that almost makes one think it isn’t coincidence — when agent Gerd Wiesler (outstanding Ulrich Mühe) sets surveillance on Georg Dreyman, played by Sebastian Koch, and his lover Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). Obviously, he’s only following the orders. Until he finds out that a minister of culture lures Dreyman’s girlfriend and wouldn’t mind having him out of the way.

That somehow makes agent Wiesler re-think his commitment to watch and report while he’s getting to know Dreyman. Gradually, a first-rate spy starts to gather useless intelligence and covers Dreyman’s actions in a bid to keep him out of jail. Wiesler becomes intentionally ineffective, and potentially self-destructing. Deep down, he changes, but for those around him, this change goes overlooked. Bosses question his competence and as he hardly talks to or meets anyone else, there’s no one to notice his metamorphose. Yet he bears the cross of being ousted until the fall of the regime, and even afterwards, as a former Stasi agent.

The debut of German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is a bit long, albeit a superb film. It avoids cliché, doesn’t mentor, makes people talk, and above all, drives Hollywood to produce a remake. Definitely worth seeing.

Today, we were discussing if there ever was a movie that two of us went to see together. We actually found one in last ten years, so we’re quite happy to present another. That will probably be it for a while, we guess.

Being in Surfers Paradise (where we do absolutely nothing), we decided we would see and comment on a British flick, one that was given a positive reviews from both audience and critics. Mind you, it’s pretty hard to find such a gem.

Gabriel

One star for funky British accents, another for handful of gags. Pretty lame reasons, innit?

Martin

What an experience! 75 minutes of painful boredom nailed by a thrilling finish of unstoppable laughs.

The Oscar night is long gone, but we decided we would spam tm91.net with more movie-related posts; but to save our precious time — while smartly trying to avoid admitting that we’re lazy — we’re giving the world our view in condensed form. Until we come up with a better name, we call it Duel, however, this is not a duel in a popular sense, we’re just shooting without rules, and not at each other, but at the stars. Movie stars.

The proof shot is Mr Scorsese’s virgin Oscar-decorated flick, The Departed.

Enjoy our intellectual banalities.

Gabriel

Actors' performances make this flick enjoyable. L. Di Caprio, M. Damon, J. Nicholson, M. Walhberg, A. Baldwin - they simply take turns in stealing the show.

Martin

Smart and subtly crafted movie. Di Caprio is stunning. Worth seeing again and again.

In few days, on 25 February, there will be a red carpet laid in front of the Kodak Theatre and the world famous film celebrities will walk in through the blinding flashlights of hungry paparazzi. Gabriel and me have decided that we would give it a miss this year as we’re extremely busy preparing our holiday in Oz (due next month). Otherwise we would go, we’re not some sort of self-absorbed allenesque farts who ostentatiously enjoy staying behind. While, of course, in no case we’re trying to imply that Woody is.

Where was I? Oh, yes. So the Oscars are to be given away. The Academy shortlisted number of hopefuls (so called nominees) who still have a chance and by the end of the week we get to know who prayed the best.

However, what if we guessed how it’s going to be before it’s going to be? Let’s predict the winners of ten most important categories. And — so you can all laugh out loud next Monday — let me take a guess first:

Best Picture: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Direction: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel)
Best Actor: Peter O’Toole (Venus)
Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Best Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)
Best Supporting Actress: Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Best Animated Movie: Happy Feet
Best Foreign Language Movie: Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
Best Original Screenplay: Pan’s Labyrinth

Now, let’s see. I hope I won’t have to delete this post once my score turns out to be 0/10.

I’m eager to see your qualified shots. You can find the list of hopefuls here. Go ahead, it’s your turn.

Few times a year there are movies that everybody talks about but only some of these are really worth seeing, and, what more, remembering. Usually, Mel Gibson’s epic accomplishments come under the latter, however it is rather questionable where to put his latest bloodthirsty flick, a story of an ancient tribesman fighting for his life, set during the late Maya civilisation.

Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a hunter and a family man. One morning, his village is rampaged by violent raiders led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and its adult population is subdued and taken to a Mayan city. Jaguar Paw manages to hide his pregnant wife Seven and his little sun Turtle Run in a well-like cave but then he’s taken with other hostages. In the city, women are sold as slaves and men are to be sacrificed to sun god Kukulkan on the top of the pyramid. Few get sacrificed but when it’s Jaguar’s time, a solar eclipse makes the priest pronounce that the god had enough for the day. And captives are to be disposed of.

Men are led to a ball field and forced to run for their lives to the jungle in the rain of javelins, arrows and stones. As even an untrained audience suspects, Jaguar, though being injured, makes it and in the process of doing so, sends Zero’s son Cut Rock to heavens.

What happens next is not hard to imagine. Zero Wolf takes it personally and consequently he and his warriors are chasing Jaguar Paw for the rest of the movie. Until most of them drop dead, of course. In the meantime, busy Jaguar has some more agenda on his hands: he’s to save his family members from the well.

Won’t spoil it for you and tell you how it ends, yet to a certain extent it’s predictable…

I am puzzled. And slightly disappointed. Honestly. I was ready for another dose of slit throats, ripped hearts and chopped heads and I got exactly that plus a marathon jog through the jungle as a bonus, yet I am not happy. Mel Gibson didn’t deliver another masterpiece in the best tradition of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ.

The flick wasn’t boring for a second, yet it’s not enough. It seems to be clear: blood, cruelty and historical settings (let’s not talk about accuracy, all right?) or even Mel’s direction won’t do it if there’s something missing. And one can only assume if it is the style, or an undeniable hesitation of the camera. Or a b-grade script? Revenge of the Jews? A momentary lapse of reason?

I’d tick almost all of the above.